Sounds like you' ve got a good plan for the season. Don' t leave out dad. I hope I can convince my 7 year old to tag along when she gets old enough. She told me the other day that she could go and watch the animals, but she couldn' t kill them. That' ll be her choice, but she' ll at least have the opportunity. She' ll have to fight her younger brothers to get the chance to tag along though. They are gonna be die-hard, just like their daddy.

I kicked around in the Winston Creek unit during early archery for elk a couple of seasons ago. Way too crowded for me. I did take a song dog one morning in there with an ' 06 while elk scouting/bear hunting. I think either gun is plenty of firepower for deer. I' d pick the one that you' re most familiar with. There' s nothing I hate worse than using a strange gun, and having to look for bells and whistles on it when I get ready to hunt. Good luck.