Success on his first youth deer hunt!

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

(Edit):

We ended up hunting for 6 days straight, 3 with my little one right by our side.

 

On third day a forky ran right up on us at like 30 yards while we were talking to a game warden. He got spooked and darted off in the bushes

and while we were trying to find him, a truck pulled up from the road and the father and son jumped out and shot him right in front of us.

 

On the 4th night we spotted 2 forkies and a doe right at dusk at 460 yards, but we ran out of good shooting light and then they weren't there in

the morning. But while looking for them ended up spotting a nice 3 x 3 bedded down on the side of a hill at 315 yards. All we could see was his

big head and while attempting to get closer for a better shot he got spooked and ran over the hill. For the next two hours went all the way around

the hill, directly through the cat claw bushes trying to find him, but never did.

 

On the 6th morning we conquered just about the biggest hill in the area, to find this beautiful specimen. Ryder shot him in the lungs at 360 yards.

 

All of the hard work payed off and it was a great lesson for Ryder. Hunting teaches so many valuable lessons and that's exactly why I wanted to

teach my two sons to do it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[knothead]

A quick search on the internet found this 20c youth camp from last year.  Not sure if they are doing it again but might be worth contacting them.  Be safe and Have fun.

Unit 20C Youth Deer Hunt Camp - AMDO - (beoutdoorsarizona.org)

 

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

[Markleo21377]

 
This is the camp information for this year. Good luck!

 

 

[stanley]

Absolutely check-in with the YOU junior hunt camp!  Those guys are top notch and can provide some tips for the area.

Good luck!

S.

[oz31p]

This camp is listed in the regs but not on you website

[stanley]

21 minutes ago, oz31p said:

This camp is listed in the regs but not on you website

Hmmm......   Interesting.  Good catch!  (Strange that there are NO deer camps listed on their site...)

Anyone planning on it should confirm with AZG&F and/or YOU prior, I suppose.  

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:40 AM, stanley said:

Hmmm......   Interesting.  Good catch!  (Strange that there are NO deer camps listed on their site...)

Anyone planning on it should confirm with AZG&F and/or YOU prior, I suppose.  

Yes, really weird. My sons are already signed up for their predator/small game hunt in November.

 

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

Just to clarify, Donna just replied and said that AZGFD put that hunt camp in their booklet by accident. 

[stanley]

Ah.....  Bummer! 

Cool that your initial scouting efforts paid off!   No single right/wrong answer regarding whether to continue to focus your scouting on the area you have already identified or to look for a backup.  Maybe both?   Check-in on that area for a couple of hours and see if you can turn those deer up again.  Also maybe try to ID any water they may be hitting in proximity to where you saw them.  Then after you've spent a couple of hours on that area, possibly spend a couple of hours looking at new country?

Good luck to your son! 

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

On 10/3/2022 at 12:20 PM, stanley said:

Ah.....  Bummer! 

Cool that your initial scouting efforts paid off!   No single right/wrong answer regarding whether to continue to focus your scouting on the area you have already identified or to look for a backup.  Maybe both?   Check-in on that area for a couple of hours and see if you can turn those deer up again.  Also maybe try to ID any water they may be hitting in proximity to where you saw them.  Then after you've spent a couple of hours on that area, possibly spend a couple of hours looking at new country?

Good luck to your son! 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stanley]

Oh boy, I’m definitely no expert.  I think whether the water every day or not, it’s really gonna depend on how lush the feed currently is, and whether there is any heavy dew or rain to hydrate them.  
 

[TR0UBLE SH00TER]

Special thanks to:

Cody Bigelow

 

Johnny Bigelow

 

Brady Poggendorf

 

And, Matt & Mike!

 

 

[Coach]

Wow! What a fantastic first deer! He's gorgeous. Great job getting those boys out there and learning how to hunt together. 

[stanley]

Heck ya!!!!    That's SUPER cool!!!

S.