Howdy Guys!
Well, the stars have aligned for our family and things are really coming together. The last 3.5 years have been really busy and I haven't had the opportunity to post as much as I would like. We've returned back to the U.S. from our previous station in Germany and been blessed by drawing some tags for our home state of New Mexico. While Germany is great, it was frustrating because people are not allowed to handle firearms until the age of 18. My son and daughter drew youth tags for antelope so we headed east to the plains. I didn't have time to figure out a load for the kids' .243 rifles, but mom was more than happy to let them hunt with her Kimber 84M in .257 Roberts. We did a quick stop at the NRA's Whittington Center, right outside of Raton, and let the children get reacquainted with mom's rifle. We received significant moisture this fall and the range grasses were tall so we practiced a bunch shooting from the sit and perching the rifle on top of a backpack. My daughter also drew a deer tag this year so she allowed her brother to get first dibs on antelope. On the opener, we located a group of four feeding on a knoll. Mom dropped off the boy and I who managed to use the topography close the distance. The antelope knew something was up and were fixated on our approach, but couldn't make us out through the grass. I saw a doe starting to move to the left and quickly got the boy into a seated position with the rifle over the pack. He removed the safety and I reminded him to take up the trigger slowly and let the shot surprise him when the sudden report of the rifle cut me off about mid sentence! He hit the doe square in the shoulder, killing her instantly. The boy obviously does not need dear ol' dad to remind him of his shooting fundamentals anymore.
We had no sooner managed to dress out the antelope and drive a mile before seeing another herd in a valley. This stalk was going to be tough. The antelope below us would be able to see just about anything approaching them and there was very little in the way of cover to conceal us. We decided to low crawl a ways to a big yucca. When we made it there and lifted our heads ever so cautiously we could tell they were still out of range. There was a little yucca another 70 yards away that would get us closer to the herd and so we repeated the process. We waited behind this yucca for over 110 minutes in hopes of their coming our way a bit more, but it just wasn't to be. With light running out and our backs killing us from being in the seated firing position for close to two hours, I finally managed to get a range on them at 533 yards. This equated to 1.7 mils of drop. She placed the second dot at the base of the antelope's body and squeezed ever so gently. I couldn't help but let out a howl when she hit it! She was overcome with emotion with the duration of the stalk, the difficulty of the shot, and the taking of her first big game animal. Her mom and brother were able to watch it all happen from afar and were a welcome sight to see when we were dressing out the animal.
To be at the side of my children as they both took their first big game animals while shooting their mom's rifle is a blessing and privilege like no other! This is the culmination of everything I dreamed of while we were away in Europe and as I watched them grow up. As great as this is, I'm excited to report that the fun is not over yet. Mom's deer hunt starts this Saturday and I've been covering a lot of country with my nephew looking for bucks. We're also fortunate enough to be hunting again in November, as my daughter will have the opportunity to hunt deer for the first time. She is excited to use her own rifle this time around; an old pre-64 Model 70 in .243. You can imagine that it's music to my ears when I hear her say, "I love my .243, daddy." Keep your fingers crossed and more to follow as our season unfolds!
V/R,
Joe
Well, the stars have aligned for our family and things are really coming together. The last 3.5 years have been really busy and I haven't had the opportunity to post as much as I would like. We've returned back to the U.S. from our previous station in Germany and been blessed by drawing some tags for our home state of New Mexico. While Germany is great, it was frustrating because people are not allowed to handle firearms until the age of 18. My son and daughter drew youth tags for antelope so we headed east to the plains. I didn't have time to figure out a load for the kids' .243 rifles, but mom was more than happy to let them hunt with her Kimber 84M in .257 Roberts. We did a quick stop at the NRA's Whittington Center, right outside of Raton, and let the children get reacquainted with mom's rifle. We received significant moisture this fall and the range grasses were tall so we practiced a bunch shooting from the sit and perching the rifle on top of a backpack. My daughter also drew a deer tag this year so she allowed her brother to get first dibs on antelope. On the opener, we located a group of four feeding on a knoll. Mom dropped off the boy and I who managed to use the topography close the distance. The antelope knew something was up and were fixated on our approach, but couldn't make us out through the grass. I saw a doe starting to move to the left and quickly got the boy into a seated position with the rifle over the pack. He removed the safety and I reminded him to take up the trigger slowly and let the shot surprise him when the sudden report of the rifle cut me off about mid sentence! He hit the doe square in the shoulder, killing her instantly. The boy obviously does not need dear ol' dad to remind him of his shooting fundamentals anymore.
We had no sooner managed to dress out the antelope and drive a mile before seeing another herd in a valley. This stalk was going to be tough. The antelope below us would be able to see just about anything approaching them and there was very little in the way of cover to conceal us. We decided to low crawl a ways to a big yucca. When we made it there and lifted our heads ever so cautiously we could tell they were still out of range. There was a little yucca another 70 yards away that would get us closer to the herd and so we repeated the process. We waited behind this yucca for over 110 minutes in hopes of their coming our way a bit more, but it just wasn't to be. With light running out and our backs killing us from being in the seated firing position for close to two hours, I finally managed to get a range on them at 533 yards. This equated to 1.7 mils of drop. She placed the second dot at the base of the antelope's body and squeezed ever so gently. I couldn't help but let out a howl when she hit it! She was overcome with emotion with the duration of the stalk, the difficulty of the shot, and the taking of her first big game animal. Her mom and brother were able to watch it all happen from afar and were a welcome sight to see when we were dressing out the animal.
To be at the side of my children as they both took their first big game animals while shooting their mom's rifle is a blessing and privilege like no other! This is the culmination of everything I dreamed of while we were away in Europe and as I watched them grow up. As great as this is, I'm excited to report that the fun is not over yet. Mom's deer hunt starts this Saturday and I've been covering a lot of country with my nephew looking for bucks. We're also fortunate enough to be hunting again in November, as my daughter will have the opportunity to hunt deer for the first time. She is excited to use her own rifle this time around; an old pre-64 Model 70 in .243. You can imagine that it's music to my ears when I hear her say, "I love my .243, daddy." Keep your fingers crossed and more to follow as our season unfolds!
V/R,
Joe
