Well this past Thursday evening we headed out to take my 10 year old son on his cow elk hunt in New Mexico. He had this same tag last year and shot one at 500 yards with the 6.5 Sherman I had built. This year he wanted to use the rifle again as he has practiced with it a lot and has become quite proficient with it.
When we got there, we barely had any time to set up camp before the rain started. It rained all night and the rain became snow. We saw no elk on Friday (opening morning) as the weather was just terrible. Friday evening was no better as the wind and snow kept coming. It snowed about 6" total which my kid thoroughly enjoyed. He begged to bury my wife in it which I was more than willing to help but she had no interest in it.
Saturday morning came around and it was a nice clear morning with no clouds. The wind was blowing a bit but no rain or snow. We decided to check deeper into some canyons we had looked at before. The first canyon we saw 4 bulls together with the biggest being around 320". The next canyon we found what we were looking for. There were 8 cows up at the top of a saddle feeding like crazy. We got all of our gear and set out after them. We had quite a climb and my son took it like a champ even though I could tell it was tiring him out. He didn't complain once.
My son and I had been getting him proficient at targets out to 800 yards which he had been doing REALLY well. I like to let him make his choices in shooting at things before I intervene and try to coach him. We got to one place we could take a clear shot and I ranged the group of cows at 750 yards and the wind was blowing back and forth between 5-15 mph from the 9 o'clock. I asked him if he would be comfortable taking the shot. He told me that with the wind being so gusty that he didn't feel comfortable taking the shot this far out on a live animal. If we never killed another animal, I couldn't have been more proud of him right then and there for realizing his limits. We continued moving closer but were running out of cover. We got to another shooting spot and I ranged them at 590 yards. The wind had surprisingly calmed down to 5-8 mph. I looked at him and he gave a confident "let's do it". So we got set up and I dialed 8.5 MOA up and 1.75 MOA left. He got down prone and got set up solid and told me he was ready. I told him to take it nice and slow and go ahead. He sent the round and the cow dropped immediately. My buddy who was spotting said it was a perfect hit. I don't watch the animal because I am watching and coaching my son the whole time. The cow slid almost to the bottom of the mountain which I was super pleased with. Hugs and congrats took place and then the fun began haha. It's quite amazing how calm he is when he gets behind that rifle. He is usually bouncing all around and talking non stop. I am super proud of him.
When we got there, we barely had any time to set up camp before the rain started. It rained all night and the rain became snow. We saw no elk on Friday (opening morning) as the weather was just terrible. Friday evening was no better as the wind and snow kept coming. It snowed about 6" total which my kid thoroughly enjoyed. He begged to bury my wife in it which I was more than willing to help but she had no interest in it.
Saturday morning came around and it was a nice clear morning with no clouds. The wind was blowing a bit but no rain or snow. We decided to check deeper into some canyons we had looked at before. The first canyon we saw 4 bulls together with the biggest being around 320". The next canyon we found what we were looking for. There were 8 cows up at the top of a saddle feeding like crazy. We got all of our gear and set out after them. We had quite a climb and my son took it like a champ even though I could tell it was tiring him out. He didn't complain once.
My son and I had been getting him proficient at targets out to 800 yards which he had been doing REALLY well. I like to let him make his choices in shooting at things before I intervene and try to coach him. We got to one place we could take a clear shot and I ranged the group of cows at 750 yards and the wind was blowing back and forth between 5-15 mph from the 9 o'clock. I asked him if he would be comfortable taking the shot. He told me that with the wind being so gusty that he didn't feel comfortable taking the shot this far out on a live animal. If we never killed another animal, I couldn't have been more proud of him right then and there for realizing his limits. We continued moving closer but were running out of cover. We got to another shooting spot and I ranged them at 590 yards. The wind had surprisingly calmed down to 5-8 mph. I looked at him and he gave a confident "let's do it". So we got set up and I dialed 8.5 MOA up and 1.75 MOA left. He got down prone and got set up solid and told me he was ready. I told him to take it nice and slow and go ahead. He sent the round and the cow dropped immediately. My buddy who was spotting said it was a perfect hit. I don't watch the animal because I am watching and coaching my son the whole time. The cow slid almost to the bottom of the mountain which I was super pleased with. Hugs and congrats took place and then the fun began haha. It's quite amazing how calm he is when he gets behind that rifle. He is usually bouncing all around and talking non stop. I am super proud of him.
