Lance Report post Posted November 4, 2009 I wanted to make a separate post for the awesome youth that we have been blessed to have been with in the field on their hunts so far this year! Truly our future is in good hands with these incredible youth! Nothing beats a first kill or the smile of a youth hunter knowing they got the job done. That twinkle in their eye! The excitement welled up in their soul ready to burst! The genuine smile on their face that lasts for weeks and even years! That contagious smile that seems to encompass and flow through their entire body! The loving feeling you are overcome with when they look you in the eye and say "Thank You". Well, no kids, Thank You! Thank you! Here's to the Youth, you are our Rock! You make us all we can be and I am proud to say that you are our future! Here's to you! There are so many awesome youth on this site or that belong to the families on this site! Thank you all for sharing their wonderful stories! These are some of the kids that we were able to be a part of so far this year! I hope I was able to capture some of the moments and smiles in photos for you! Enjoy! First was 17 year old "TLO associate Amy" Who was hunting with her father and sister when she took this beautiful big AZ archery mule deer buck! This is Amy's first deer and she did it with her bow! Her dad, TLO guide Ryan, did a drive and pushed the deer right by her! Congrats Amy you Rock! Next is Sam. You may recognize him from the other thread. Sam took this nice bull during his "Limited Opportunity" elk hunt in Northern AZ. Sam was hunting with his Grandfather and this was Sam's First Big Game Hunt! I called this bull in just before dark on the first day! Way to get it done Sam, congrats on a great hunt! Next was a couple of my nieces Layna age 14 and her little sister Lexi age 11. They were on the same "Limited Opportunity" AZ elk hunt as Sam. The elk tag they had was for "Any Elk" and they passed on several cows and small bulls while we chased some big ones around! We had a great hunt and it came time to fill their tags so the next bull Layna got a shot at was this Spike and she made it happen with a 60 yard shot to take her very first elk that her dad had pushed out of a thicket! Congrats Layna! Along with her sister, Dad and myself, her Grandfather (my Dad) her uncle Blair and uncle Mel were there for the hunting fun! We have a tradition that when you make your first big game kill of any species that we wipe blood on your face! Layna has killed two deer and two javelina and was proud to take some big hand fulls of bull elk blood across her cheeks! Next was 11 year old Lexi! Lexi had hit a big 6x6 bull earlier on this hunt but it ended up not being a lethal hit and the bull got away. She was sad but not deterred and got back in the game with a strong and lethal determination! This nice bull was located and called in and she put him down with one shot just over 100 yards to take her Very First Big Game Animal! Congrats Lexi, your smile says it all! These girls were a big help in cutting up their elk and did not shirk to any task! And they truly are good with a knife and can skin faster than many adult men! I was very impressed and proud of my nieces! Next was Karen and her Muzzleloader cow hunt on the Depot! 14 year old Caren is the above Amy's sister. This is Karen's second cow elk off of the Depot while hunting with her dad! She took her cow first thing opening morning! Next came a Northern AZ Junior deer hunt! My 13 year old son Ty and 13 year old Nephew Josh both drew the tag on separate apps as did their good friend 14 year old Zack. This is a pretty good tag, and these boys can shoot so the first day I took them looking for some big bucks! We only found one nice 3X that Ty tried to get Josh a shot on but he got away. Ty has shot several big game animals and Josh was looking for his first so that is why Ty was trying to get Josh the shot. We didn't find our big bucks that day and I am not one to stand in the way of a kid getting their first big game animal because I want to trophy hunt. So the next day I took them to what we call the "Nursery" to have some fun! This is the area where loads of does and small bucks hang out! We did a little hike and then drove from glassing spot to glassing spot looking over tons of deer! While driving between spots we spotted a group of 4 small bucks. I pulled off the road and said get em boys! There were plenty of bucks to go around this time so Ty waisted no time in grabbing my 7MM RUM and made a perfect off hand shot at 100 yards to drop the first buck that would hold still! the bucks stopped to look at their fallen buddy and Josh took a shot but missed. We hiked over the hill after the bucks and found them 300 yards away. I sat out the tripod for a standing shot and told him to aim at the top of the back, Josh leaned rested over the tripod and dropped the buck to take his first big game animal! Congrats boys, you are lethal in deed! They gutted their own deer, drug them back to the truck and even loaded them by their selves! Zack was not able to go with us on Saturday but I got the crew together Monday morning and we headed back to the Nursery! I took My nephew Zeb and my two head guides, my son's, 11 year old Weston and Ty.We joined Zack and his Dad and all headed out together. I let Weston and Ty go to work and they spotted most of the deer and were awesome when it came to helping Zack! Weston found the buck that we took. I was very proud of the job my boys did. We saw loads of deer and had found 3 separate bucks before sunup. The third buck stood in the wrong spot and Zack dropped him at a little over 100 yards to take his first big game animal! Congrats Zack and way to get it done! Glad we could all be there with you guys! This is my Family! All of us hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors all we can, and together as much as we can! Thanks to our Heavenly Father for giving us all the wonderful outdoors to bring families together in a bond that lasts! We have another dozen or so youth hunts to partake in this season so hopefully I can capture some more of these precious moments on camera to share! Lance and Carrie Crowther and Family MORE YOUTH PICTURES ADDED AT THE END! Updated Dec 11th 2009! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WFGinNM Report post Posted November 4, 2009 Lance, Thanks for sharing the pictures and stories, great to see all the kids getting out and smiling. Keep it up, --Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeybari Report post Posted November 4, 2009 That’s amazing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 4, 2009 Awesome stuff there Lance!! How great that you could help so many kids have some great hunts!!! Thanks for posting them. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted November 4, 2009 Lance, that was a very awesome post and thanks for all the pics and we are blessed we have you as a member here on CWT. When it comes to the kids it just doesn't get any better than that. Thanks again. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted November 4, 2009 Thanks Lance for to post. Nothing better than hunting with the youth. Good luck with the upcoming hunts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
couesdiehard Report post Posted November 4, 2009 Awesome post Lance. Needed something a little uplifting today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Archer Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Wow. You guys are blessed with some great hunters great job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swaro06 Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Congragulations to all the youth hunters. It is a real honor to hunt with a Young Hunter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Great post thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tines Report post Posted November 5, 2009 As Lance would put it, "Well, there you go!" Too cool, man! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobbyo Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Lance, Best post I have seen in a while. This is what hunting is all about. Those junior hunters will remember these hunts always. Bob p.s. O.K. I have ask What is the story with the guts on the face? A Crowther family tradition? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted November 5, 2009 What an awesome post! Way to get those youth hunters out there doing it up! Great job!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lance Report post Posted November 5, 2009 Lance, Best post I have seen in a while. This is what hunting is all about. Those junior hunters will remember these hunts always. Bob p.s. O.K. I have ask What is the story with the guts on the face? A Crowther family tradition? Not guts! But good clean heart blood. Wiped on the face for the first kill of every species! Yes, a great tradition and all part of the the whole experience! Thanks for the great comments guys! Hopefully there are many more to come! Lance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John O Report post Posted November 5, 2009 As far as I am concerned, those are the true trophies that come out of this state. Great job Lance!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
