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This was shaping up to be quite the year, with my son Zane drawing both a youth deer tag and a youth elk tag, one week after the other with the deer tag coming first. Thursday before the deer hunt came along after multiple scouting trips, and I sent him off to school to pick him up at noon to leave for the hunt. Between sending him to school and picking him up, we got the call that my father in law had a stroke. When I picked him up, instead of leaving for the hunt, it was rushing to point guard his deer tag and then leave out of state to go see grandpa in the hospital. After a whirlwind couple days, we headed up to get ready for elk. We grabbed an OTC turkey tag and got in a little turkey hunting. We didn’t get a shot but got in birds a few times and had a blast. It was nice to clear our heads in the woods. He turned 14 on opening day and we had more family matters to attend to, so we didn’t get to start our hunt until Saturday. Saturday AM, We were in place before sun up, listening to screaming bulls. About 10 minutes into shooting light, he spots cows across the clearing from us. The first one kept walking. The second stopped for a cow call, Maybe 40 yards away. It seemed like an eternity waiting for a shot that never came. When he said the gun wouldn’t shoot, the cow walked off as we realized the bolt had lifted a half inch. Got that fixed just as a third cow stepped out and stopped. Again, no shot. Trouble shooting in a hurry found the safety was on. Safety off just as that cow walked away. We moved to try to get ahead but never got another shot. He was pretty crushed, but I was proud of him for not taking a shot that wasn’t there. We spent the afternoon and evening hunting a different spot, and had eyes on elk but never had a shot. Sunday morning we heading back to the same spot as Saturday. This is my sons third elk tag, and it’s been magical watching his patience and hunting improve across the tags. We took our time, and he caught two cows crossing in a clearing at about 200 yards. One stopped quartering to. This time I heard the shot and watched her hunch up and stumble forward. We waiting a few and went to tracking. It was quick work. She had gone about thirty yards and piled up. Great shot and great bullet performance and we had a great birthday present for a happy kid. I wanted to thank @bojangles and @BritSaz for information during and before the hunt. This is a great community, and both were a huge help when I was in a bind and the usual spots weren’t producing. Thank you both. The last two stills are of opening morning. I was trying to film the bull when he saw the cow and the way it worked out I was able to get a short video . The shot above the gun was me wondering why he wasn’t shooting, then the last still was the camera flashing across the not closed bolt. Lessons learned all around. I was thankful for another hunt and time in the woods with him.

Second buck tagged.

Well Wyoming provided again this year on my annual hunt with my son. Shot a pretty decent buck opening morning about 9 am. I have found a few places that hold antelope in this northeast poverty unit and have been slowly gaining knowledge as to their behavior when pressured. My son an I hiked in 4 miles before the sun rose and sat a fence line that backed private. I knew this was a popular escape route when the shooting starts. Well at about 9 am, an outfitter with a client on the private bumped a herd right across the fence in front of us. I drew two additional doe tags and as soon as I shot the buck, I turned to my son and asked if I should shoot a doe. He say heck ya so I shot a doe as well. Probably not the smartest move 4 miles from the truck but it was good to have 2 tags filled opening morning. We took some pics and I began cutting them up. I considered bringing my pack frame but just opted for my lighter badlands super day. Well I pushed that pack to the absolute max and was able to get both boned antelope and my rifle strapped on. My son had to carry every other thing we had in his pack. We arrived back at the truck right at sun down. Today was cutting and grinding meat. Snuck out this evening looking for a whitetail doe but no luck.

One tag filled.

Pronghorn sliders on Sunday. Home ground with 15% beef fat. Tried them ‘White Castle’ style by smashing them on top of diced onions on the cast iron skillet. Pretty freaking good. 😉 (Was almost done with my last one when I thought to take a pic… LOL)

My CC just got hit!

Haven’t you heard, if you haven’t been hit by now…..it’s over for you! Sorry, I was having a fall draw flashback.

Hopefully…. 🤞. Be great to have a Goulds tag this go….

In this day and age you try to raise your kids right and give them opportunities and experiences that you enjoyed as a kid! Then getting to watch your kid pass the tradition on to their kids! Gives hope that not everything is a complete wreck out there in the real world!

I was able to take this absolute behemoth of a bear this morning. I typically hunt the spring but due to the shortened season, late winter moisture and cool temps, I was not able to turn a bear up. I had hesitations about hunting higher elevations in the oaks due the great crop of prickly pear not far away at lower elevation. Well I'm glad I stuck with my original plan.

I keep replaying Friday afternoon, Oct 6, in my mind and am so proud of our son, Jacob. I'm also thankful for the friends (family) that helped make this happen. Grandpa Goose and Christian made this hunt even more special. We were glassing in Unit 10 Friday afternoon, looking for a cow elk that we (Christian) spotted that morning over 2000 yards away bedded between two junipers. A bull bugled to our right down in or across the canyon immediately east of us. We knew he had to have cows with him. While making a plan, I decided we didn't need three people going in. That was too many bodies and, therefore, too many chances for something to go wrong. I stayed back with the gear while Jacob and Christian went in to look and, hopefully, make something happen. I know when it's time to let go and time for someone else to lead him, especially someone I trust wholeheartedly. 10 minutes later, at 4:40 pm, I heard the shot, followed by the wracking of the action of Jacob's 300WM. Then dead silence. Nobody answered my radio or text inquiries. This dad was shaking, but confident. Jacob is an ice-cold shooter. My radio went off at almost 4pm letting me know Jacob hit a cow solidly. She entered a thick clump of junipers and never came out. I grabbed the gear and headed down to Jacob and Christian. I got the full download. Jacob made a perfect 357-yard shot on a slightly quartering-away mature cow. Christian kept eyes on the area while Jacob and I picked our way across the canyon. Christian guided us in perfectly after seeing her fall and tumble down the canyon side. Jacob paid his respects to his elk and helped me drag her 15 yards down the canyon to the wash where we could process her easier. We got some great trophy pics before we ran out of light and began the hard work. Fortunately, Christian and Goose were able to drive Christian's Pioneer right up to the elk. The ride out on the tailgate of the Pioneer was beautiful under the stars. I got my chance to say thanks to all those above who watched over us. That's when my emotions caught up to me. I lost track of how many times I hugged Jacob.

Mine too, one youth and one adult

Fingers crossed 🤞 .

I’m used to the month long debate thread for the deer and elk draw. Good luck on a Goulds tag

Axis works just did 2 of my rifles they did a great job

I also use the cedar mtn quick loaders. This set up to me has been ideal to reload powder.

For a fall hunt that’s a lot of encounters nice work

If I have time prior to shooting (which I have in all instances except one), I lay my stuff out for a follow up shot (powder, sabot, rod, primer, etc). Now I shoot a bolt action with primer, but with my Thompson Center and Omega, I had a primer get stuck and make it difficult for a follow up. I always ensure I have a primer removal tool ready. I have a small bag with speed loaders and everything needed to clean the ML (just in case). These are my favorite speed loaders, a little pricy. https://cedarmtnquickloaders.com/

SOLD Like new swaro btx,85 mm obj, neoprene stay on case, original boxes. Travel valley to southern az frequently. Listing for a friend ,excellent condition

I have always enjoyed journaling my noteworthy hunts on here both for posterity and entertainment. Although this is not MY hunt, it is noteworthy as it is my sons FIRST hunt. Not just of deer but of ANYTHING.. My son has never shown ANY interest in hunting. ZERO. Not even in VIDEO GAMES. I mean ZEEEERO. So when he said he would be interested in applying for the deer draw I was somewhat surprised. I think we were ALL shocked when he actually got drawn. I spent a LOT of time planning and preparing and begging for advice (a HUGE thank-you to all that sent info to me) I had a pretty good game plan of how to get him a deer. All that went out the window after we learned he is HORRIBLE at shooting. We practiced and practiced and got help from some extremely good teachers(not me) but he just couldn't find the rhythm. He developed a pretty bad flinch even with the lightest of deer rifles. So I switched him to my 223ar and locked him into a pretty decent tripod system(field optics research) to help with the flinch and stability. He was shooting good this way but it severely limited our range and options for hunting. I decided we would be limited to 100 yds or less and in a controlled environment. So that means sitting water. So now our epic journey begins,,,,,, Day one. Opening morning. It's over. The end. Our view curios visitor The best part of the entire hunt for HIM The end...... Sat until 10 am when it started getting hot and I figured they might come get a drink. First saw the above doe and watched her for quite awhile. Then another and another. Eventually two small bucks showed up. There was a larger buck farther back behind the water hole but Easton could not see it well. The small one was standing broadside at 80 yds. After about 5 min of watching and waiting for the bigger buck he decided the little one was good enough. Calm as a rock he he went through the process we practiced. Pretty much a bang flop. I was a "little" nervous about the 223 but it WRECKED that little deer. Never had a chance. He was a ROCK. ZERO nerves. ME on the other hand. I was a nervous wreck. Took me forever to calm down. I was so bad I for got to video it. Oh, I HAD the camera set up and I turned it on. I even followed the deer around for 5 min all the way through the shot. I just neglected hitting the record button. I so totally suck at video. It is my Achilles heel. About 5 min after the shot 2 buggies came up the trail. I think if he waited for the bigger buck any longer we might have gotten nothing. I commended him for his good call and his excellent shooting. Funniest part of the entire event was afterwards. I asked if he had fun and he said it was awesome. I asked if he wanted to do it again and without pause and very emphatically he said... Nope. Oh well. We'll see,,,,,

Speed loaders are the way to go if you're walking . Extra muzzleloader for sitting a blind .

Great job! Congrats to all!

Axis works ! Eric and the guys are great and the work is top notch . He's done the kids giveaway guns the last few years and they all turned out awesome.

Outdoorsmans probably manages their pricing