I thought I would start a thread as I work thru this adventure. The season prep was going well I had a 2 acer field that I had planted in red and white clover and two in the woods staging areas/ kill plots that I had started last year prepped this year in Austrian winter pea, grain rye and forge oats. So in August I put up three ladder stands and prepped a fourth spot to use a climber so I had a set for the wind as follows field stand east/north east, creek stand north/northwest the house stand south/south west, the climber stand west/northwest and a wood platform stand for a northwest wind. So the opening weekend in Virginia was a washout. I hunted Saturday October 3 in the evening and Sunday morning saw no deer I did not hunt Sunday evening as I had to be at a HOA meeting as the HOA President. At the meeting one of the neighbor’s grandson came up to me and asked if he could hunt my land. I have a 25 acer piece that is east coast suburbs. So I told the kid (Blake 13 years old) that he could hunt with me but not if I was not hunting the property. So he tells me that’s what he meant to say. His Grandfather tells me the kid is all into archery and hunting but the Grandfather knows nothing in the world of archery so I agree to coach the kid. The adventure begins. We agree to meet at my house Tuesday after work so I can see him shoot and give him a list of things he must have to go with me. My train was late and I did not get home until after dark so I went to Blake’s house. We reviewed his gear he is shooting a Parker bow at 45lbs and 26in carbon express pile driver 100 gr tip. This setup gives him a 385 gr arrow with a foc around 11 and they tell me he hits bullseyes at 20 and 30 yards and was shooting in a league “just killing it”. Next on the list was the broad heads he had two 1.5 inch mechanical NAP spitfires a three blade fixed and a Muzzy MX4 a four blade fixed. The kid informed me that he planned to shoot the spitfires I told him to put them away until he could pull at least 60 lbs. Both of the fixed blades had no edge left on them. I think they had to shot them into a sand pile. The list was starting to show some shape- one three pack of the Muzzy MX4, a safety harness, three life lines and a Dead Down Wind scent free kit. As fate would have it I had a death in the family and had to go home to northwest PA. I returned home around 2:30 AM Saturday and did not get up to hunt Saturday morning but I had three leftover ladder stands that I spent the morning putting up so I could get him on the hunt and in the air. We put up the safety lines and told him to be down to my house around 3 pm for our first hunt. He said he had camo but he showed up in a pair of dark sweatpants and a black long sleeve t-shirt. He did have a camo baseball cap .I told him scent control is first then movement in the stand camo is way down the list and not to worry. I showed him how we sneak into the stand and how to tie a bowline knot to haul up his bow and he clips in on the safety line up we go. Our first hunt was at the field stand with the wind north/northeast. I gave him a wind checker along with a spare warm weather baklava I had and told him he needed to think abought gloves. The kid is florescent white. Of course he wants to shoot squirrels and as long as he with me I know the wind direction LMAO. At the last 20 minutes of the hunt I see three does coming down the trail just like they had read the play book. I get the kid to his feet and bow in hand one of the yearlings is broadside at 30yds.I am thinking this is way too easy. The deer play around for five minutes or so and head into the field. No shot taken so I ask if he had a shot and he said he was not comfortable with the opening that he had. I told him that was a good decision and that was a good hunt even if he did not shoot. The next day Sunday AM we are at the house stand with a southwest wind and at dawn I see a doe out around 60 yards so I get Blake to stand up. I may have been better off to have him sit until he saw the deer. I have him around 10 yards to my left and he is looking at me so the deer was directly behind him. When he gets up this time he jumps up turns around quickly and starts jerking his head around the tree looking for the deer. Blake saw the deer as she signaled to the rest of the world something is wrong she busted him and up went the flag as she bounded away. That was it for Sunday AM. I explained to move his eyes then his head and to slow down slow way down. Sunday afternoon I had him shoot the practice Muzzy and he is limited to 20 yards for deer. Blake hit ok at 20 yards but missed the target at 30. I told him to change up some of his form and we will shoot each weekend in the afternoon to get him good enough to add 30 yards to his hunting distance and to practice at home each day if he could. Sunday evening we got skunked but we had a good lesson in clothing as he showed up in insulated camo coveralls and it was around 75 degrees so before we got to the stand he was a mess, overheating ect so we get in the field stand and he decides to take off the coveralls and he has a black short sleeve T with bright red letters. I will update this with shorter post as we move thru the season in search of Blake’s trophy first deer.
First off I want to give you props for going out of your way to show the next generation how to hunt and how to hunt the right way. I sure as heck wished I had someone to take me under their wing when I started out as a 26 year old hunting newbie. Second, I just can't wait to see this kid with a trophy shot. Me being 32, I know how giddy I was when I shot my first deer, but seeing that on a kid who is so young learning the ropes, that to me, would be almost as fun as shooting a deer my self. Nice work man, you are giving hunters a better name. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Kirk, First of all I want to say thank you for doing this. Its awesome to hear about someone taking a kid hunting and you are doing us all a service by teaching him the right way of doing things. Good luck and thanks again.
October 17, 18 2015 Saturday Blake reported to the house at 6 AM and we had a north/northwest wind temps at 38 deg. we could have hunted the creek stand or the platform stand. I believe the creek stand would have the best chance for an encounter and a longer sit. On the way into the creek stand Blake informs me he has a soccer game and has to be headed home by 11 o’clock. I would have went to the platform stand as we would have no in or early out issues so we talk abought getting all the details out first thing LOL. We get set up and Blake is on my right 10 yards away I am facing north and he has his back to me facing east. We see three doe in the AM at first light and mom ma is blowing she has seen something. We sit until 10:30 and I get him down and have him shoot at the target. He is improving but still at a 20 yard limit. Sunday No change in the wind so we go back to the creek stand setup Temps at 34 deg. We see 3 doe in the field out 100 yards or so and Blake sees a deer in the woods around 50 yards from his stand that I don’t see. Blake informs me that it was a buck. I ask if he got a good look at the horns he says no he did not see his head. So I ask how are you so sure it was a buck. In 13 year old confidence he explains to me he could “see his junk” LMAO I explain to him that would be a first however he is convinced of what he thinks he saw. We get down from the stand around 11:30 as the kid was cold We have a little target practice I show him how to use booth belts and the strain relief to get out of a tree if needed and have him start to use the tree tie off. We have a knot tying lesson and I send him home with a piece of rope for practice he shoots a few arrows. We meet back at the garage at 3 still no change in the wind so we head back to the creek stand. We are all set and on the hunt. Nothing happening the kid is getting ants in the pants but in the last 5 minutes of shooting light I hear the deer working down the hill and should pass by the kid. When he hears them he turns around in the stand and whispers loudly “hey Mr. Kirk somebody is in the woods I can hear them walking around” I almost fall out of the stand laughing I give him the deer signal and the shut up signal he turns around and starts looking around after a few seconds he turns around again and says “it’s people in the woods I can see them” I give him the deer sign the shut up and then the standup sign. He gets up and looks back and gives me the thumbs up. He gets his bow and the deer come into my view. A nice doe is on the 20 yard trail and stops broadside in the shooting lane. The kid draws back I think I hear smoothing the doe stays in the lane looking for acorns for 30/45 seconds or so then walks off. The kid looks back at me and I give him the sit down sign and 10 minutes later we are out of shooting light so I give him the get out of the stand sign. As I am lowering my bow down I hear “Mr. Kirk I’m stuck up hear” Blake cannot get the tree strap off in the dark I tell him calm down keep trying and I will be over. Blake drops his broad head arrow forgot his flash light did not shoot and ended as he saw it stuck up in the tree. I had him lower down his pack and sit down as I knew I was going to exceed the ladder limit. All went well and as I thought he was not getting the flap at the end of the strap flat. We had a good talk of when to shoot within his approved yardage and that he had to decide if he has a good clear shot as most of the time we could not talk with deer that close. Blake ends with I think I am really going to regret not shooting. We had a great encounter and the kid is one step closer
I sure wish I had someone like you when I was a kid!!! I don't know you but I can tell your a great MAN!! My dad didn't hunt anything and both my grandpas had passed on already. Taking my son hunting makes me realize all the knowledge I have picked up over the years and just take for granted. Mentoring young kids is truly a learning experience for the adult and probably one of the best gifts anyone can give a young person. I use to coach a Mite hockey team ages 5-8 and I found patience I didn't even know I had.
Definitely following this thread. I admire you for taking the time to teach a kid to hunt. My uncle and my dad invested a lot of time with me. Not so much for deer hunting but for goose and small game. It is something I will never forget and neither will this kid. Can you believe I was going goose hunting with my uncle I forgot my gun at home!! That's what he had to deal with lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is very exciting of a read. That kid is in for a great learning experience and years of memories. Having someone there to help and explain every little thing is great! Hopefully he realizes this too and doesn't get the "cocky" teenager attitude. Can't wait to keep following!
I hope the kid sees a buck in stand. I would love to hear the story about that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
October 24, 25 2015 October 24 Saturday gave us a southeast wind and I did not have a good setup for that wind so we decided to not deer hunt my property and Blake had a few things he needed to finish up so I went archery bear over in Page Co, VA and had no encounter with anything other than a “bull squirrel” Sunday Morning the weather forecast was light rain until 8 AM with a south/west wind that was to shift to the west –north/west around noon. So I talked to Blake on Saturday night driving back from the VA mountains and learned that he had a Sunday soccer game at 1 pm. We planned to hunt the house stand in the Am and pull out around 11 to allow Blake to make the soccer game. I told him in the afternoon to come down to the creek stand as the wind would be good for the afternoon sit. 6 am we meet at the house and we had the expected light on and off rain and a mild temp of 50 degrees. The kid has a bag full of new camo that he purchased last night. I ask did he have a chance to wash it in the scent free soap Blake claimed yes but on one sniff back in the bag. It may not have been washed or it was dried with a flowers of the field drier sheet. We walk in and get set Blake is still unsure on his bowline knot so I go with him to his stand and I tie the bow to the pull rope and remind him everything is slippery. After an hour I see the kid looking for something, he breaks out a hand warmer mixes up the chemical and puts it under his outer jacket. 15 minutes later I can see the kid getting ready to take a leak in the empty bottle I gave to him just for such a moment. Blake gets all done and starts asking what he should do now with the bottle. I try to tell him to pour it out away from the stand and anyplace he could walk. Blake misunderstands me and drops the bottle crash bang boom. That thing bounced around over 8ft. I decide we need to have more work on how to take a leak in the stand LMAO. Then as Blake is putting his jacket back on he drops the hand warmer. Not a soak-er but it rained lightly more on then off all morning and we got skunked. I went down to the creek stand in the afternoon around 1 and got setup. Blake came down around 2 and did a good job of getting into the stand. He is still struggling with matching the correct gear to the temperature. It was 67 in the afternoon and he had himself bundled up for 30. Blake gets in the stand and has to shed a couple layers. I had decided to take a doe if I had a chance and have Blake watch if it worked out but I did not have a chance to have a talk with Blake on how we would get this done. At 4:45 I see two doe on the trail on my side and I get up and plan on taking one when they get to the 30 yard shooting lane. I look over at Blake and he is eating something I whistled softly but he still looking the other way second whistle nothing third time Blake looks over my way and I let him know I see two deer. He sets the pop tarts down slowly then jumps up and starts jerking around looking for the deer. A third doe was in the brush with a better site line to the stands 40/50 yards. She sees the kids gymnastics blows and all three flag for the pine thicket Busted. We sit down no shot. Around 6: 20 I am on my feet looking out into the field and the woods are a few minutes from the end of shooting light I turned to take a look at the kid and busted! She blows and I send a doe flagging back to the thicket. It has been a while since I have had the busted feeling. It was a good reminder for me. After that I give the kid the signal to get down. I explain why I did not shoot the deer in the brush as I did not see her until she sounded the alarm and I had no clear shot if I had seen her. We had a talk a bought what flavor the pop tarts should be if we wanted to see more deer as the cinnamon frosted did not work as well as we hoped for. LOL he got the message and if he needs a snack we will be looking at something better like apples or sunflower seeds. I take full credit for not seeing the second doe as I want the kid to understand I do not blame him for things he did not do. Overall a good learning hunt. Next weekend starts a two week rut vacation for me and hopefully a Halloween deer for the kid.
November 3rd Blake was not able to hunt Halloween weekend due to football and family I had a lot of encounters but no shooting. Blake called and could hunt the 3rd as school was closed on Election Day. We had an east/ northeast wind that had us setup in the field stands. That is a good setup with Blake 6 ft. to the east it is easy to coach him. He showed up in the morning and we got setup Blake could only hunt until 11:30 football practice. At 9; 30 I see a buck small 4 point 70 yards down the power-line in the thick brush. I tell Blake we have a deer and get ready. I tell him to stand when I do and get his bow if the buck comes in he can take the shot. I gave the buck a grunt and he stopped a second grunt on the call and he started coming in. At around 40 yards he stopped and started munching on the clover. He turned and went up the hill to around 55 yards. I grunted again and he started towards us again but stayed out in the field never any closer than 40 yards. Then as normal up went his head he saw something and hightailed back to the brush. Great encounter but not close enough for Blake to take a shot. He was a little behind the curve on getting to his feet and was busted reaching for the bow. Close but no cigar. I really thought the kid was going to get a chance. He did a lot more things correctly and each time we get a little better. He sent me a text and cannot make out this coming weekend. The rut is in full swing with a weekend or two to go we will put in as much time as he can. (Blake left the pop tart in the golf cart)
