Not a bad day for "Junior".....

Besides her Yodel Dog this morning:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=623838

Her buck this evening……..

Quick Story of it:

Got on stand early (4:15 p.m.) nothing sighted until 5:30 p.m. when a young high racked 8 point came through, my Daughter looked at it...and wisely decided to "pass", (it will make a nice buck in a couple more years).

A single Doe with her fawn appeared about 150 yds. out later in the evening... with not much shooting light left.

Where her box stand is located (back in the pines) it gets dark much earlier than in the pastures. Often... it is almost too dark to see in the woods, when you still have 15 minutes of legal shooting time and can still see clearly out on a pasture.

Junior was looking at the Doe and Fawn to be sure there wasn't something in behind them....when indeed she DID spot something. But...it was so far away....and the light fading so fast...it was hard for her tell at first what exactly was coming up behind the Does.

She put down her Steiner's and reached back for my Pentax Binoculars to get a better view. I could tell by her excitement that we might have a "shooter", she quickly handed the Bino's back to me to "confirm"... and when the buck looked down our direction... there was no doubt.

The buck walked right past the two does (neither one in estrous...obviously) and took a track that would bring it in a bit closer IF it didn't disappear into the brush. When it didn't pop out where we thought it would....I was afraid it had vanished down an alternate trail.

The light was really getting dim now...when Jessica (with her Eagle Eyes) picked up the Buck on a logging road about 110 yards to our right.

The buck was standing broadside on the road but wasn't going to be there long....and we were right on the ragged edge for being able to see the animal through the scope.

She quickly pulled her rifle in from one window and got it pointed the new direction where the buck was still standing, then immediately realized that she would need to use the lighted reticle feature and chose the Green dot over the Red, settled the cross-hairs and pressed the trigger.

At the report...I could see the buck jump straight up and kick out behind itself. That is generally a very good sign (meaning a hard hit deer, usually heart shot).

We waited a bit, recounted the event and her sight picture then got down and looked for the buck.

The first pic is exactly how we found him (tangled in the brush). It took both of us to drag him out.

Edit to add this mornings Bobcat:

Cowpoke, she is partial to her 7mm-08, I hand-load for it so we can tailor a round for just about any hunting excursion.

okiewita40 wrote:

Congrats to you and your daughter. Plus the memories will last both of you a lifetime.

Click to expand...

You hit it right on the head Okie!

For both of us…that’s really what it’s all about.

She has been hunting with me (at her request) since she was nine years old.

She is our only child and a few folks I know have accused me of “trying to make a boy out of her”. Honestly, nothing could be further from the truth.

Of her own accord…when she was younger (pre-teen through High School), she was very much the Tom-Boy…but not because we pushed her that direction. She just enjoyed being athletic and has always been involved in such activities since the earliest age.

Yes, she had two years of Ballet, four years of gymnastics (State Champion) and always wore frilly dresses, little girl through and through…but multi-dimensional at the same time.

She also played Basketball, Softball, Tennis, Ran Cross Country and Relays, High Jumper, Martial Arts, Hunting, Fishing Camping, Water Skiing, Canoeing, etc...

But, of all these things….the only activity that involves just Dad and Daughter…. is the hunting. It provides both of us a time to visit and talk, enjoy the out of doors and the solitude we find there.

I am very careful to always make it “all about her” when we go hunting together. As a result…she has kept the interest since age 9 when she drew this picture commemorating our outings and celebrating the building of her own personal box blind.

I can still remember when she presented it to me. I was so touched…that later I put it on the wall in her stand.

O.K., so she’s not an artist (at age 9)!





We have spent countless hours peering out these windows and enjoying our time together.



To those reading this….a box blind somewhere in the Piney Woods of East Texas means nothing, I realize that. But to us….it is a special place, a place to bond….a place to talk, laugh, relax. It is a welcome tradition of some 16 yrs. now.

Each outing equally cherished.

I remember something my wife asked me a couple of years ago. It was a question very much out of the blue and caught me by surprise…. I must say.

She asked me if “I ever wished we had a Boy instead of a Girl”.

Somewhat puzzled by the question….I resisted asking the purpose of it… and simply gave her my honest answer.

“NO….and I wouldn’t trade my Daughter for 10 BOYS…..!”

Well….wouldn’t you know it, she burst into tears….which made me feel bad because I thought I had upset her. Sheeeesh…..why do women do… that?

Anyway, whether you have Boys or Girls…they are both precious gifts and I hope that every parent will find some activity that keeps them in contact with their children.

Flint.