Below is a message from Caleb T. about his family's opening day hunt here in NYS. This is posted with his permission. We did a similar post last year.
This year is different in that his oldest son, Noah, 12 years old, could hunt this year. Caleb had acquired a Sauer 100 Classic in 7mm-08 for his children to learn to hunt with. However, Caleb started Noah out on a single shot .22, then moved up to a .22 WMR, and then finally to 7mm-08 using Hornady Lite loads. Before the hunt we switched the ammo to Nosler 120 gr. BT factory loads, which the rifle shoots very well.
Dan
Hi everyone!
Hope all is well! We had a great family opening day once again!
"Twas the night before opening day and all through the house, none of the boys slept..."
I lost track of the number of times Noah came down to "use the bathroom ". (Admittedly I wouldn't have known if I myself had been sleeping
). He told me in the morning that at 1:30 am a "huge 6pt buck" activated the motion light on Dan's barn and him and his brother watched until the light turned off.
Things went surprisingly well getting all 5 of us out the door with our packs, rifles, little Debbie snacks, coats, ammunition, etc... We were seated for almost 30 minutes before legal shooting light, no small task for our small army! (Not to mention, pretty darn quietly too!)
Around 7:30+/- a lone young doe came into the field. (Noah decided Friday night that he would wait to shoot a doe and see if a buck came along) She acted as though more deer may come, but they did not. Eventually she came to less than 30 yds from our hunting blind. (Noah's first experience of some real time deer jitters!) That's where the comedy begins. Ashley was ready for some snacks and a warm drink, and every time she would move even slightly the doe would come closer and STARE a hole straight through the windows. This went on for more than 30 minutes. The kids had cold a while back and have a stubborn cough that hasn't given up yet. Of course, if you're going to cough, it's always when a deer is within ear shot! To top it off (and the funniest part of the morning), Sadie had fallen asleep. She then started snoring, and I mean SNORING. We were all trying so hard not to just burst out laughing! The doe eventually had enough and walked away, but she never flagged or blew! Once she had done one more walk around the apple tree, she all of the sudden ran off! About 30 seconds later, Noah says "She's back!- NO WAIT! IT'S A BUCK!!!". Sure enough, a handsome buck walked right out where the doe had been to get some breakfast from under the apple tree. (The tree is 65yds from the window.) I helped Noah get the rifle out the window, and encouraged him to pick a spot, and slowly sqeeeeeeze the trigger. (Admittedly, I got some pretty major buck fever on Noah's behalf). He shot, and the buck reacted and took off! Everyone was elated, but trying to keep quiet in case another buck came along for Mom! I then found out Noah's nerves come out in the form of very pronounced and loud talking.
Then he was "cold and shivering", and I explained even though he was cold, that was also his nerves. We waiting 30 minutes, and went to tracking.
Noah made a good shot with his 7mm-08, and we recovered his handsome 6pt buck! I gave Noah a pair of hunting knives to celebrate his first buck, and he assisted in field dressing and skinning and did great with both.
I'm more than proud of my boy, and how he handled himself. He was willing to learn safety, put in shooting practice, and be patient for a good shot.
Ben was more than happy to help his brother drag his trophy down the hill. Sadie says her snoring called the buck in for her brother.
Noah
Noah with Mom and Dad
Noah with his brother and sister
"punching" his first tag
This is my favorite photo. Brother Ben helping Noah drag out his first deer.
This year is different in that his oldest son, Noah, 12 years old, could hunt this year. Caleb had acquired a Sauer 100 Classic in 7mm-08 for his children to learn to hunt with. However, Caleb started Noah out on a single shot .22, then moved up to a .22 WMR, and then finally to 7mm-08 using Hornady Lite loads. Before the hunt we switched the ammo to Nosler 120 gr. BT factory loads, which the rifle shoots very well.
Dan
Hi everyone!
Hope all is well! We had a great family opening day once again!
"Twas the night before opening day and all through the house, none of the boys slept..."
I lost track of the number of times Noah came down to "use the bathroom ". (Admittedly I wouldn't have known if I myself had been sleeping
). He told me in the morning that at 1:30 am a "huge 6pt buck" activated the motion light on Dan's barn and him and his brother watched until the light turned off.Things went surprisingly well getting all 5 of us out the door with our packs, rifles, little Debbie snacks, coats, ammunition, etc... We were seated for almost 30 minutes before legal shooting light, no small task for our small army! (Not to mention, pretty darn quietly too!)
Around 7:30+/- a lone young doe came into the field. (Noah decided Friday night that he would wait to shoot a doe and see if a buck came along) She acted as though more deer may come, but they did not. Eventually she came to less than 30 yds from our hunting blind. (Noah's first experience of some real time deer jitters!) That's where the comedy begins. Ashley was ready for some snacks and a warm drink, and every time she would move even slightly the doe would come closer and STARE a hole straight through the windows. This went on for more than 30 minutes. The kids had cold a while back and have a stubborn cough that hasn't given up yet. Of course, if you're going to cough, it's always when a deer is within ear shot! To top it off (and the funniest part of the morning), Sadie had fallen asleep. She then started snoring, and I mean SNORING. We were all trying so hard not to just burst out laughing! The doe eventually had enough and walked away, but she never flagged or blew! Once she had done one more walk around the apple tree, she all of the sudden ran off! About 30 seconds later, Noah says "She's back!- NO WAIT! IT'S A BUCK!!!". Sure enough, a handsome buck walked right out where the doe had been to get some breakfast from under the apple tree. (The tree is 65yds from the window.) I helped Noah get the rifle out the window, and encouraged him to pick a spot, and slowly sqeeeeeeze the trigger. (Admittedly, I got some pretty major buck fever on Noah's behalf). He shot, and the buck reacted and took off! Everyone was elated, but trying to keep quiet in case another buck came along for Mom! I then found out Noah's nerves come out in the form of very pronounced and loud talking.
Then he was "cold and shivering", and I explained even though he was cold, that was also his nerves. We waiting 30 minutes, and went to tracking.Noah made a good shot with his 7mm-08, and we recovered his handsome 6pt buck! I gave Noah a pair of hunting knives to celebrate his first buck, and he assisted in field dressing and skinning and did great with both.
I'm more than proud of my boy, and how he handled himself. He was willing to learn safety, put in shooting practice, and be patient for a good shot.
Ben was more than happy to help his brother drag his trophy down the hill. Sadie says her snoring called the buck in for her brother.
Noah
Noah with Mom and Dad
Noah with his brother and sister
"punching" his first tag
This is my favorite photo. Brother Ben helping Noah drag out his first deer.
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