Thanks guys.

Shultzy....you said he'd probably get one bigger than me - he darn near did! [8D]

Ed, yes its quite fun seeing the young ones be successful. It won't be long for you....I began taking them with me at 4, for very small trips. They had a blast. The key with the young ones is to not push them beyond their threshold - either time on stand, or weather conditions.

Yes, it was quite a week....and our young hunters are doing VERY well! Heck, I hunted for YEARS before even seeing a buck like they got, muchless getting one. And Ididn't start at 9 like them....more like 17! My nephew actually let his first buck walk this year (a spike)....and it paid off for him a couple hours later! My son hasn't quite reached that point yet, as he is still jacked about ANY buck. Might be different next year now, since he got a nice one. I bet he'll have trouble dropping the hammer on a spike [8D]Doesn't bother me either way, they have plenty of time to mature.

Its a great place to hunt, and we have been letting the small ones walk for 10 yrs now. We aren't under an official management plan, more like the "don't shoot it if it doesn't make you really happy"plan, and make sure you shoot a doe or two each season also. It has worked pretty well, as we have definitely seen a major improvement in our herd - both in size and age of the bucks, and in the buck/doe ratio. First 3 years we shot about every doe we saw....there was way too many. Now we take about twice as many does than bucks for the year most years at least, if not more. Our area is not known for real big bucks, but these sure beat what most folks were bringing into the check station. First buck by....is what most hunters do - just like bullelk1 said.

Good luck to you guys the rest of the season!

-Mike