Irish Luck --UPDATED WITH VIDEO!!!--

[Tines]

Well, sort of. He's far more Scottish than Irish but he's a redhead to the bone. Either way, he's probably the luckiest jr hunter on the planet.

 

Gavin turned 10 in April. This was his first big game hunt; and one all of us will never forget. I've had some epic hunts with Andy (Azlongears) and this one was no exception. Andrew (bowfishAZ) was along as well and I really appreciate everything!

 

I'll make this as short as possible.

 

Gavin hit this buck a little far back. His dad (me) didn't account for the wind, so I'll take responsibility for that. After a couple of more shots to try and finish the buck off, the buck went behind a juniper tree. We were just about to pack up and try to get a different vantage point when almost immediately after the buck went behind the juniper a lion jumped on him!!!!

 

I've heard of these stories. Never thought they were untrue. But always VERY difficult to believe. It was unbelievable!

 

Andrew said that at one point the lion grabbed the buck on his shoulder but the buck got away. It was almost as if this lion didn't know what to do with this deer. "Why isn't he running??" HAHA!

 

Finally the buck would lower his head to defend himself and eventually they went rolling down into the draw.

 

Now, there's a lot of advantages to having a lion hunter as a friend. If you ever glass up a lion they'll all but sell their child or leave their fiance' at the altar to meet you in the field. There's also this side of a lion hunter. If he's sitting next to you, he'll basically tie you to a tree and not let you shoot him until he can get his dogs on him first!

 

After taking in all that we just saw, Andy's amazing wife, Jess, met us with Andy's dogs.

 

It didn't take the dogs long at all to start blowing up the canyon. They trailed right over top of the dead buck (buried and uneaten) in pursuit of the lion. Treed!!!!!

 

Gavin, Andrew and myself bailed off of the mountain and worked our way up the canyon to the dogs and Andy. What a sight to see. My 10yr old experienced more in his first 2hrs of hunting than most would see in 10 lifetimes. It was a lot for him to take in but I'm super proud of how he handled it all. He was way more under control than his father.

 

Thank you again to Andy, Jess and Andrew for all of their help. My dad and 7yr old son Owen were back on the hill as well and got to experience some of it also. A hunt for the ages.

 

Night before the hunt. Eating junk food and being boys...

 

Watching the bucks

 

Gavin shooting

 

After hitting the buck

 

Buried buck

 

Lion and Gavin

 

Lion and Buck

 

Packout

 

Little brother (Owen) helping with the packout

 

 

 

 

 

[PRDATR]

Thats awesome and a memory maker for sure.

[218buck]

Wow that's incredible congrats to all involved what an exciting day

[azelkhunter69]

Awesome story. One you all will never forget. What an experience.

[standman]

That's a really cool story!!

 

Brian

[5nRamirez]

congratulations sounds like an incredible hunt thanks for sharing with us.

[creed_az_88]

That kid will never forget that. Awesome!

[DUG]

Wow! What a hunt! Totally amazing!

[Couzer]

Great job Dad!!!!

[BowHuntAZ]

Very cool! Congrats to your son. What an experience!!

[Zeke-BE]

This is so cool!!

[Shawn]

Very cool! Congrats

[5guyshunting]

Thats a great story congrats to all. Did Gavin get to kill the lion too?

[Tines]

Thanks for the comments guys. I guess I didn't explain the lion hunt portion very well. Yes, Gavin shot the lion too.

[buddydog]

Nice job!! Way to get it done! Another killer off the mountain.