Since opening day - Daddy - when are you taking me hunting with you?

Well - It's been a beautiful day here in northern Illinois, cool temps and beautiful skies. So I ask my daughter, wanna go hunting?

Man she got ready so fast. She meets me in the garage with her little cammo hat, cammo sweatshirt & facemask. She was bouncing in the car all the way to the hunting spot. She couldn't wait.

We get to the spot, park the car, about had to tie her down to keep her from running out to find a deer. I got her to slow down & help me get everything out of the car, gear bag, bow & ground blind.

She wants to RUN to set up the blind. Wow - enthusiastic is an understatement. We get out into the alfalfa/hay field, set up the blind, get in and.... "Where are the deer daddy?" Man it's like going somewhere in the car - "are we there yet?"

I soon discover that my release did NOT make the trip to the field. Well, this could be a good thing. Let's just see how still & quiet she is. Bet we'll be out of the blind in 15 minutes. An hour later & I'm the one wanting to get out. I know that I can't shoot without the release. She's trying to console me about the darn thing. Couldn't believe it.

We decide to get out and scout some - look for rubs & scrapes. It must be her size or proximity to the ground. She was spotting deer trails & tracks before I even had the chance to process what I was seeing. Kids a regular scout.

We're coming up on a clear space between two windbreaks and we see a really big bodied buck about 50 yards away. Half of his left side rack is missing. I'd seen him the week before & he was intact then, so who knows.

We decided to have some fun and do some "Ultimate Stalking" in the open field. Well - it works. We got within 30 yards with him head down, munching away & broad side. All the while, my daughter and I are whispering and about what we should do & what we think he'll do. At least 5x she says, "I wish you had your bow thingy (release)".

We start to tire & I did not want to stand up & let him know who or what we were, so I start to blow at him. Soon my daughter starts to blow at him. It was hilarious. The buck just looked at us in disbelief. We spent 15 minutes playing with the buck like this.

Soon however, even I am tiring of this. We decide to take the "Ultimate Stalk" one step further. I stand up in a crouch, with my daughter behind me, holding on to my belt - with her head bent. We start walking parallel to him. He just stared & chewed. His face looked like - "What the $@!* kind of animal is that?". Eventually he decides that he's had enough and ambles away.

Man what an evening. My daughter was going a mile a minute when we got home. The wife looks at me and says - "Well, is this true?" Yes I reply. I'm expecting a warm appreciative look of "Isn't it great that you 2 had so much fun!" Instead I get, "How could you get so close to a buck with our daughter - she could have been hurt". We hear the 7 year old yell from up stairs - "Aw mom, you just don't get it - we were hunting!" At that, we both start to laugh so hard we've got tears running down our faces.

Learned allot this evening. Need to sort everything out & apply this stuff.

Anyone know of a bow built for a 7 yr old little girl?




&quot;It's not the kill, it's the adventure and challenge! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>&quot;

Edited by - justinl on 10/14/2002 00:13:04

Congratulations . . . what a special and precious memory. Neither of you will ever forget this experience. In fact I'd bet your season will be the greatest . . . Whether you score or not!

Bowhunter

Justin, you are one lucky hunter! I know because I have an 11 year old daughter who is the same way. She would rather be out tracking a deer and looking for rubs than just about anything else. We started out buying Corey a Golden Eagle Brave bow kit. She didn't like it. It was black with stickers on it, not camo like ours. So we bought her a Browning Micro Eclipse. It's really adjustable and fits her perfectly.

I would also recommend a Mossy Oak Jakes Turkey Vest. It is perfectly sized for kids, with a seat cushion attached, bird bag on the back perfect for storing a jacket and lots of pockets for things like a snack and ziploc bags for collecting interesting items found while in the woods. Corey is always bringing home acorns or feathers found along the trail. She also keeps some handwarmers and a flashlight in her vest. It makes our trips a little easier and she thinks she is so cool, having her own stuff.

I will warn you though, once you start this, there may be no turning back. We started this stuff with Corey when she was 6. She took her hunter trapper education course this summer, she can legally hunt after her 12th birthday in January. She has asked for a treestand for Christmas and a shotgun for her birthday. Her stocking is usually filled with outdoorsy type stuff in addition to the usual girly type lipgloss stuff. She is relentless about going with us to practice shooting her .22 or her bow. I keep telling my husband, she could hate all of this stuff. We are sooo lucky she is even willing to go along.

Take your daughter as often as possible!

You truly are a bless man and I thank you for sharing it with us.

That is an awesome story JUSTINL thanks for sharing it with us.

JUSTIN you have experienced the joy I felt last year when I took my twins out(one at a time) hunting with dad. I know you are pumped and proud. I will not repeat what we shared, I spelled it all out last year, suffice it to say that I know where you are coming from, the excitement is beyond beleif, the look of amazement and excitement are priceless. Congrats on putting forth the effort.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

I'm glad you and your daughter had a great time, that's what its all about.

Thanks everyone.

Our hunt was the first thing she talked about this morning.

Big smile on her face. The tough thing will be keeping her from going into the woods by herself.

She's already mastered the art of building box & snare type trap to catch chipmunks & squirrels. Not uncommon to have her walk in to the house with a &quot;New Pet&quot;.

The great thing is both daughters understand where our food comes from. Thinks it's cool that the venison we had Friday, was from the deer dad got last week. Circle of life type stuff.

Now to only get the wife to start hunting. I can see the future of vacation destinations....Alaska for bear, Montana for Elk, the Dakotas for Pheasant etc. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>


&quot;It's not the kill, it's the adventure and challenge! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>&quot;

Great story Justin. I have an 8 yr. old son myself that I am dying to take out this year. Our season opens tommorow!!!!! This is my first year bowhunting so we will learn together. We went driving around the fields/woods that I hunt last night after a night of bass fishing. We saw 2 bucks sparring and about 10-12 doe on our adventure. It's truly amazing how excited they get. He asked me &quot;daddy which one are you going to shoot tuesday...can I pick him?&quot; I just hope I'm presented the opportunity for him. Wish it was that easy!! Maybe it will be?? we'll see.

Wow, that sounds like an awesome trip justinl. I can't wait until my little girl is old enough to go with me! (that is if she wants too)

My Web Page
www.geocities.com/hfpmad