I don't see that anyone has started one yet, so here goes (if one already exists, I'll pull this down).
My Daughter is on the board in a big way. She's quite obviously the luckiest kid in the entire West; she drew premium Mulie AND Elk tags (same unit, really made scouting more efficient for me). She and I have been out 5 times this summer, mostly looking for bucks since I already have experience for elk in that unit with a buddy years ago. We found multiple good bucks and had the great fortune to acquire permission for her to hunt on a private ranch (huge advantage).
We'd identified 3 bucks with big frames that she would have been over the moon to take (not big scorers, but we aren't into that; they all had big heavy frames). One of them was on the private that we had access to (he and his bachelor herd were very well-patterned, always within a 500 yard radius). The other two big bucks were on public and we didn't think they were a safe bet (although one was considerably larger). We decided to target the patterned buck.
The night before opener we watched that bachelor herd walk a mile to the west and onto public…. And on opening morning they were still there and had a group of three hunters that happened to find themselves between us and the bucks. Not good…. The hunters (a father with two teenage looking kids) quickly packed up the glass and made a fast approach to the feeding bucks at the top of the basin. I don't know what happened, their stalk looked good, one of the kids laid prone on top of the knife ridge, the big buck was broadside at a reasonable distance for 30 seconds, but no shot ever came. The herd eventually caught either movement or a silhouette and they busted up and over the main ridge (onto different private).
Back to square 1, I went through my options, which weren't good. A nearby wildfire had closed down access to about 1/3 of the unit (and it's not a big unit). The 250 tag holders were now even more congregated on the public. I assured my daughter that it was a long season (6 weeks) and that we'd be persistent. I also told her that we should consider lowering our expectations a bit, since our number 1 buck was unreachable and because there was so much pressure on the limited public. Fortunately the ranch manager had given us a key to a locked gate that we hadn't been able to scout all summer (cattle in the area) and he gave us free range of the place starting on the evening of opening day. We explored a bit that night and developed a plan to be way up high at first light on day 2. We were pretty high on anticipation given the terrain we'd seen and the way things laid out.
That next morning was a letdown, considering the potential of the area. We saw 5 does and a small 6-pt bull (so in reality it was a beautiful morning but considering what we'd grown accustomed to finding during our scouting trips, I was sure we'd find a few bucks up there). Around 9:00 I'd given up on the high country and turned my 15x Leicas to the lower draws at the bottom of the foothills. About 5 minutes in and I spotted 2 small bucks and a spindly but large-frame 3x3. I watched each of them scratch out and lay down in their beds on a small finger ridge. I had my daughter look at him through my binos and she agreed that we should get closer. I told her to pack up her stuff so we could hike back down to the truck. Just before I picked up my tripod, I looked one last time through my binos to get some good reference points for the stalk. Just then another buck walked in and I could immediately tell that he was a heavy 4x4. From .99 mile away, I really couldn't see any detail but knew that he'd be something she'd be proud of. We nearly ran back to the truck (15 minutes) and then I drove with haste to the bottom of the mountain.
we parked in the bottom of a creek draw and quickly made an 800 yard hike to almost the top of the ridge that I thought we'd likely want to shoot from. At that point she chambered a round and we dropped our packs (maybe 50 yards from the top of the ridge). We slowly worked our way towards the crest, playing the prairie dog game of sneaking, popping up to glass, and so on, until I spotted the bucks. They were at 210 yards and still bedded, with the large buck having his head nearly flat on the ground (he couldn't really, his antlers were too big). I whispered to my daughter that they were all asleep and that we had lots of time, and that we weren't going to screw it up by rushing. I pointed out a few leaves to avoid (noisy crunchy buggers) and we took the next 15 minutes sneaking like mountain lions the 25 yards to the crest. I set up the shooting tripod for her and secured the rifle. We slowly switched places and she settled into the rifle. She got on target and zoomed in. With the big buck needed broadside, but with his vitals being obstructed by a big sage bush, the waiting game began.
She was sitting on one of her boots to get some elevation so she could shoot over the sage, but otherwise very comfortable. I checked in with her every few minutes for about 15 minutes. Around that time I noticed her fidgeting more and asked how she was holding up…. "Good, but my leg is asleep". Oh crap, that's not good. I really didn't want for her to be fidgeting when he finally stood up and knew that I didn't have much time before she'd need to reposition.
I told her that I was going to try and get him to stand up, but that it's risky and that she might not have much time to shoot (But still maintain a good slow squeeze, just like we'd practiced). She was good with it so I started whistling ….. no reaction whatsoever. I then told her I was going to tip like a coyote. The first few got no reaction so I picked up the volume. That at least got him to turn his head and look at me, but after 10 seconds he closed his eyes again. I told my daughter that if I made any more aggressive noises, that he'd likely jump up and run.
Fearing that our window was closing given her leg situation, I asked her if she'd be comfortable taking a neck shot. She asked where she was supposed to shoot so I drew a diagram in the dirt for her. She said she felt confident that she could do it.
I told her to click the safety off and gave her the go ahead to shoot when she was comfortable and steady. Almost immediately after flipping the safety she took in a long quavering breath and began to shake. I quickly stopped her and told her to back off the gun, to which she replied "my hearts beating so fast". I explained what was happening to her and reassured her that we had all the time in the world, she could recover and try again soon. After a couple of minutes of me getting her mind off of it, she got back into the scope and looked solid. I asked her if she was ready and she said she was. I gave her the go-ahead again.
She broke the shot about 10 seconds in. I was kneeling and looking through my binos unsupported…. And dealing with my own bout of Dad-nerves. I was shaking like a leaf, with my heart in my throat. Boom….. Whack……zzzzzzzooommmm (ricochet). The bucks head slammed down and it was all over. She absolutely drilled him, right where I'd instructed.
He's a monster deer. I never really got a good look at his antlers, I was so focused that whole time on helping her to be successful.
I've got more to the story, but that's enough for now. She's on cloud nine, and I'm so proud of her. Coolest 10 year old in Idaho!
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