First, I tried to get above the area he was raking saplings all to shit. We sat there until Cheyenne decided it was time to go hunt the brush. Basically, we sat until she started getting cold. We had to climb a few hills on the way, so we were both wet with sweat, it didn't take long.
I wanted to make her part of the process as much as I could. I explained our options and the different routes. Then, I asked which route she wanted to hunt. Fortunately, she picked the best route. Stay up high and work our way down through the system. Staying above the animals gives you an advantage and helps you cover more ground with your vision instead of your legs.
Right away, I looked up ahead and saw a silhouette standing in what was somewhat of a trail we were headed toward. With the early morning light, and some fog rolling in, I actually was thinking it was an elk. It was a large body deer as it spun and took off. Cheyenne only saw the back end of it and we couldn't make out well enough whether it was a buck or not. It seemed square bodied but, you never know.
I let Cheyenne get out ahead for a bit so she might see the animals first with her young eyes.
As we made our way down the ridgeline(just below it actually), I asked her if she wanted to go up over the top and over to another system. She said why leave where we know there are deer to find deer( smart kid, huh?). So we continued down the system.
A few hundred yards further and I got that feeling. People who push the brush know what I'm talking about, that feeling where you feel someone or something looking at you. I glassed back across the draw to a thick piece of brush tangles and, there he was with that familiar blacktail bullseye face. He was standing broadside with his head turned looking straight at us. If I had to guess, I'd say he figured we couldn't see him if he stayed still. I told Cheyenne right where he was. She was having a tough time seeing him and then finding him with her scope. She dropped the gun a couple times try to see him better and then lifting the scope to put him in it. Finally, she saw him. It seemed like forever, with every tick of the clock I was sure he'd bolt before she got a shot.
And now, here is where I made my mistake that cost Cheyenne her first buck. I should have talked her through calming her down. I should have had her sit on her butt and take the shot or, brought shooting sticks to help steady her shot. I did neither. Instead, I let her take an offhanded shot. She missed and the buck bolted. We spent the rest of the morning circling and climbing in and out of the tangles to be sure no blood, hide or deer.
I was seriously disappointed in myself but, Cheyenne couldn't have been more happy. You see, she had been hunting with her dad every year from the age of 9 years old, on the mentor progarm. Basically, that means she could have filled her dad's deer tag. Now that she was 12, she had her own tag. That's how she was allowed to hunt with me this year. I didn't even carry a gun. Anyway, that was the first time out of all her hunts that she actually saw a legal buck. As excited as she was for the opportunity, you'd have thought she shot deer.
It's Okay, she's got plenty of season's ahead to get a deer. Hell, who knows, maybe her dad will get the time to get her back out there after he hears her story.
