My son's first buck.
#23

Hunting in Catskill, NY with my youngest son Stuart. His Uncle and cousins are hunting the same piece of property, exclusive rights on 75 acres carved out of NY State Forest.
After discussing it with him (Stu), we decided to go up when everyone else went elsewhere.
After dawn, we decided to continue climbing.
After reaching a draw where two ridges combine, he wanted to go left. I wanted to go right and up t tip-top. After discussing, we chose his direction. It was 12:30 or so and we decided to break for lunch at a boulder at the beginning of the 5th steppe.
Seated in close proximity, we were quiet, he chowing down on a sandwich and I peeling a hardboiled egg.
I heard a thud-crunch and just as I asked, "did you hear....", he says, "Uhhh, Daddy!"
I looked up and not 8 yards away is this massive gray ghost looking at us like we were aliens.
He froze, Stu covered his ears automatically, knowing what's coming next. I stood, grabbed my .30-30 and leaned forward.
The bucks boilerroom was behind a tree but he left me a shot at his liver/lung which I took. Albert (his later assigned nickname) hunched and jumped. Tracking him, I fired again after he cleared the tree, exactly as he started quartering away downhill, connecting both lungs and his heart with my 150gr. Silvertip.
I jumped out of our lunchspot to try for a third shot but there was only silence after he jumped off a boulder and crumpled 20 yards from where he took my last round.
As I returned, Stuart said, "I guess we have some work to do"?
So proud, brought a tear.
Of course, the rest was ALL work with that monster.
After discussing it with him (Stu), we decided to go up when everyone else went elsewhere.
After dawn, we decided to continue climbing.
After reaching a draw where two ridges combine, he wanted to go left. I wanted to go right and up t tip-top. After discussing, we chose his direction. It was 12:30 or so and we decided to break for lunch at a boulder at the beginning of the 5th steppe.
Seated in close proximity, we were quiet, he chowing down on a sandwich and I peeling a hardboiled egg.
I heard a thud-crunch and just as I asked, "did you hear....", he says, "Uhhh, Daddy!"
I looked up and not 8 yards away is this massive gray ghost looking at us like we were aliens.
He froze, Stu covered his ears automatically, knowing what's coming next. I stood, grabbed my .30-30 and leaned forward.
The bucks boilerroom was behind a tree but he left me a shot at his liver/lung which I took. Albert (his later assigned nickname) hunched and jumped. Tracking him, I fired again after he cleared the tree, exactly as he started quartering away downhill, connecting both lungs and his heart with my 150gr. Silvertip.
I jumped out of our lunchspot to try for a third shot but there was only silence after he jumped off a boulder and crumpled 20 yards from where he took my last round.
As I returned, Stuart said, "I guess we have some work to do"?
So proud, brought a tear.
Of course, the rest was ALL work with that monster.
Last edited by DeppedyDogg; 11-29-2012 at 08:49 AM.