Daughter infected with hunting bug
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:50 pmTook my daughter out on her first hunt last weekend. Went out after the rare and apparently very reclusive New Mexico whitetail.
We went high end and stayed in a motel. We hunted 3 strait days.
Day one 7 degrees 20 mph winds and 1/2 mile visibility with snow. We scouted from the truck, and ended up still hunting some cedar for about an hour and a half. No sign, no noises, just a rally loud crunch from the snow with every step. She liked it.
Day two. I am on it. I have a plan, explain spot and stalk, weather sucks 15 mph winds 7 degrees. get her to our hide just as the sun sun comes out to warm the eastern slopes of the lee side of the ridges. Bam. 15 minutes later a big buck walks 400 yards in front of us. She spots it through the binocs and calls it what it is. A Muley. And we watch it run over the ridge. We glass some more and see a herd 1500 yards off moving towards us. We move and set up the ambush. Wait patiently for an hour. nothing. We decide they have bedded down and decode to go after them. Find the buck's tracks, and find why he was moving with a purpose; mountain lion tracks right on top of his. Start heading to the draw where the herd has bedded down. She finds fresh tracks in the snow, we back track them and bump a doe at less than 20 yards. Mule deer again. She had a blast. 6 mile walk 300 feet down 300 feet up 15 degrees and sunny. Good times.
Day three. Start at a balmy 5 degrees light winds with and snow falling out of a blue sky. I let her pick the spot to glass walk her in and leave her by herself for an hour. Come back. She is all smiles. Hasn't seen anything, heard anything, but still thought it was cool. We relax call it a hunt and head to a restaurant for a big chunk of dead cow.
On the way home she can't stop talking about how much fun it was. Especially day two. But day three was nice with the solitude and day one was awesome cause the weather suucked.
I think she's got the bug.
Overall we saw 33 Muleys (30 doe 3 bucks one of which was trophy class) 8 elk, 200+ antelope, and a bald eagle. Good times.
We went high end and stayed in a motel. We hunted 3 strait days.
Day one 7 degrees 20 mph winds and 1/2 mile visibility with snow. We scouted from the truck, and ended up still hunting some cedar for about an hour and a half. No sign, no noises, just a rally loud crunch from the snow with every step. She liked it.
Day two. I am on it. I have a plan, explain spot and stalk, weather sucks 15 mph winds 7 degrees. get her to our hide just as the sun sun comes out to warm the eastern slopes of the lee side of the ridges. Bam. 15 minutes later a big buck walks 400 yards in front of us. She spots it through the binocs and calls it what it is. A Muley. And we watch it run over the ridge. We glass some more and see a herd 1500 yards off moving towards us. We move and set up the ambush. Wait patiently for an hour. nothing. We decide they have bedded down and decode to go after them. Find the buck's tracks, and find why he was moving with a purpose; mountain lion tracks right on top of his. Start heading to the draw where the herd has bedded down. She finds fresh tracks in the snow, we back track them and bump a doe at less than 20 yards. Mule deer again. She had a blast. 6 mile walk 300 feet down 300 feet up 15 degrees and sunny. Good times.
Day three. Start at a balmy 5 degrees light winds with and snow falling out of a blue sky. I let her pick the spot to glass walk her in and leave her by herself for an hour. Come back. She is all smiles. Hasn't seen anything, heard anything, but still thought it was cool. We relax call it a hunt and head to a restaurant for a big chunk of dead cow.
On the way home she can't stop talking about how much fun it was. Especially day two. But day three was nice with the solitude and day one was awesome cause the weather suucked.
I think she's got the bug.
Overall we saw 33 Muleys (30 doe 3 bucks one of which was trophy class) 8 elk, 200+ antelope, and a bald eagle. Good times.
