Congratulations to the young lady! I think what she has done is fantastic!Great for she and her family to share in that experience! Thanks Gary for sharing the story!
Great story Gary.... VERY sad to see it turned into this. Its pretty sad to see the division in hunters... the "my weapon is better than yours" or "my hunting style is more challenging than yours" attitude. It seems that I am one of the few younger guys who wasn't brought up that way.... hunting is hunting to me and my family/friends. There is no seperation in accomplishments for any reason.... afterall a deer is just a deer, and a hunter is just a hunter.... is just a hunter! I would love to see somebody come up to my grandfather (a lifelong HUNTER who just so happened to have used rifles/pistols/in-line's/flintlocks/x-bow/compound/trad) and try to referance their accomplishments as better than his rifle kill.... he would look at them and ask "Does that make you special"... and then probablly offer to make them a nice gold star that they could wear on their coat with pride because they are just "God's gift to hunting".
Sharing hunting with family and kids is what it's all about. I am sure this will cost me, but who cares!! We made a mock scrape together and talk how the deer move along the river. Friday night in the blind with dad for the frist time deer hutning. She was at the farm when I shot that beast of a doe I shot.
That's great Germ. Every weekend I pull in my driveway from college and my 12 yr old sister is waiting for me with her bow case up by the target ready to shoot. Took her shed hunting this winter, and she asked a question every 3 minnutes. She loves hunting with Dad and I. Great job
Who cares it right. That is the stuff you and her will remember for a long time.....likely forever. I'll take moments like that over a 150 class buck anyday.
OMG!! (I love using that) What a funny thread. It's all feel goody and stuff until someone states the blatanly OBVIOUS and then just hold on for the ride. Anyone ever watch a hunting video where they take some kid/woman/handicapped hunter and stick them in a spot to kill a big deer, hell any TV hunter for that matter. That person may or may not know whitetails but in the end they usually kill a hell of a buck. I don't hate them or think they didn't earn it, or even judge them as a hunter, but I am smart enough to see and know what the hell is going on. I generally think "Hey that's a nice damn buck" and move on to the next clip where some other hunter watches 20 something deer per sit with lots of nice bucks and ends up shooting a monster. What's the difference here? It's a kid killing great deer (3 in a year or so to be exact) in the same kind of enviornment. It is the flat out truth, if speaking it is bad ....whatever. I have stands I have looked at and hung with my oldest this year and he will kill his first deer and maybe more this season. There will likely be no articles in sportsmans magazines, all over the internet, or anywhere else. There will be 1000's of other youngsters who do the same thing, good for them all and their parents or whoever is taking them hunting but other than those people practically noone will pay too much attention. All I'm saying is don't piss down my leg and tell me it's raining, this girls situation is no different except for the caliber of deer she is killing, they are flat out giants. So of course everybody cares, there are enormous antlers involved and I mean really, truthfully isn't that what it's "all about" anymore?
Great post! We think the same way BM but I'm afraid we are an ever growing minority. I'm glad there are still some folks out there that still "get it". Jeff, There is nothing wrong with not wanting anything to do with gun hunting, everybody is entitled to do what they want (as long as it's legal of course) and I understand why you wrote what you did. I don't have a problem with what you or anyone thought about that little girls accomplishment or their perception of what exactly it was. I do think however it could have been kept to ones self but that's just me I guess. I also know that you acknowledged her accomplishment and congratulated her on several occasions. But it's no secret how you feel about gun hunting, guided hunting, or how much effort one puts into their hunt. Try as you may those feelings bled through in your posts or perhaps because most know your position on the matter, they simply perceived your intentions. Either way it's what got this whole thread rolling. What I'm trying to say is all this bickering doesn't help hunting, it hurts it, tears it down. Yes I know some will say it's just one thread on one hunting web site, what could it hurt. The point is, this goes on a lot more than most know, and it's detrimental to hunting. It's not just you, hell I've been guilty of throwing my opinion out there when I knew full well I shouldn't. That's pretty rare for me however and most folks don't know where I stand on a lot of hunting subjects. There is a reason for that and it's because by stating my opinion about a legal form of hunting that is in any way shape or form derogatory, only serves to fuel the fire of decent and ill will. Nope, if it's legal, I'll be the first to congratulate that person and I'll keep my personal opinion of how, why and where they killed it to myself. If we all stopped and actually thought about what we are about to say/write before we do it, threads like this won't happen. Maybe I'm different, but in my eyes, a little girl killed a deer. Who cares about the hows, whys, difficulty, ease, effort or commitment she put into it??? A young hunter killed a deer legally....congrats to her....nothing more.
pretty impressive!!! She should be proud I know id be proud if I was her or either of my two kids accomplished anything like that!! Kudos to her!
there it is ...... you nailed it there, NEW ... BINGO!!! John gets it The problem is, YOU are the MAIN voice of dissention on ALOT of threads ..... you have something to say about everything and it's not all nice ... spade a spade ... I love ya Jeff .... but you put yourself in the bullseye ..
Seems a bit overblown in all honesty...... Sorry, but now that I've read the thread (on MI Sportsman) I'm LESS IMPRESSED!!! I can teach my kids how to tune a bow or how to hunt, starting at a very young age, and they will become prodigies of a sort, but that would be because they'd had it "ingrained" into them at a young age. Certainly Larklyn had to pay a little attention, and pick up some things along the way, but it sounds like she was raised into this, it's like a family event, not unlike dance, gymnastics, or sports are in a lot of families, it was HUNTING and MANAGING DEER in this family. There certainly is a LOAD of $$$$ behind this operation, and certainly she's killed some great deer, but in all honesty, in that situation, who wouldn't??? I suppose some of the following statements turned me off a bit...... Dad AND daughter spent the night in this blind.....Sounds like it must be pretty big and roomy, and costs around $2k!!!! Not many hunters spend that kind of money on a shooting house!!! And I'd be pretty willing to BET that it was DAD's idea or information giving that lead the daughter to the idea of staying in the blind d/t the wind. Could be wrong, but I suspect I am correct. Sorry, this is just a bit eery, but I believe this guy has a reason for posting this information on Larklyn...... Sorry, I just gotta call 'em as I see 'em....... So here you have a guy who's high on the QDMA wagon WISHING he could also hunt this property, tells me it's a better than avg. property for sure, and well set-up. Not sure about 9 of 10, but maybe in Michigan, I've seen a few hunters from Michigan I wouldn't want to be within a couple miles of!!! :D Seriously, I'm impressed with the ballistic studies, and such, it's a neat story, but I'm not sure she's any better hunter than the average hunter given similar opportunities. It's a good story, but it feels a little overblown as I read it, and "Dr. Jim" would be accused of being a "ball-washer" here if he were saying stuff like this about Lee Lakosky or Michael Waddell!!! It's great that this young girl is getting this great opportunity to hunt such a great place on her families land, but will she be ruined when she want to hunt somewhere else and all she sees is 100" 2yr olds and does??? Sorry, I'm impressed more with how her family has created their OWN sanctuary, and it is producing, yet at the same time, what's the "cost per deer" of managing that "sanctuary?" And it goes to show what a little management and "RESTRAINT" will do for a deer herd. Congrats to the family on their success as managers far moreso than as HUNTERS!!! Because if you don't MANAGE them well, you don't have good deer to HUNT!!!
I think everyone can agree those are some awesome bucks and kudos to her.....like I said before though just don't piss down my leg and tell me it's raining. I'm calling it now she is being groomed to take over Tiffany or that other chicks job, look for her on a hunting dvd near you........sarcasm people...relax. From threads about her deer. I won't comment on the quotes. "How many adults are willing to make a commitment like sleeping overnight in the stand? Larkyn has also put in 100s of days over the last several years doing habitat work with her Dad (I introduced you to him at the habitat day). She has done ballistics studies on her muzzleloader for a science project. She lives for deer hunting. She probably has more knowledge about whitetail deer behavior and biology than 99.99% of hunters. These kills are no accident." "We're witnessing greatness no doubt. Larkyn knows what has to be done to experience the success...and then she goes out and does it. Incredible story in the making!" "I happen to be watching Tiger woods on the 6th hole as we speak--of course it is DVR so please don't tell me what happened--but, this reminds me of his early years--he was amazing when he was 12-13." "I remember the pic of her monster last year. Looks like she has got this hunting thing down." "I'm afraid to say she has a long career of shooting good bucks" "Way to go Kiddo! I can't believe you don't have your own show on Versus yet!!"
From all i have read about this little girl, She might be hunting in paradise, but she works real hard at it. I mean, How many 12 year old girls are gonna do a ballistic study of thier Muzzle loader for school. Learning Deer managment can be a benificial and important thing as well, and you bet we could all kill big deer there, but there is something to be said for the creation of this place, and the work she has apparently put into it. If it means one or more kids starting to hunt. I am Proud of her!
Disagree??? If someone was on here talking about Buckeye or Rob or Jeff and said they "Speak his name in "awe." wouldn't someone call them a "Ballwasher???" I believe they would. Heck Tony, if I gave you 350 acres and the funds to manage it, liberal seasons wouldn't you kill a few good deer after about 5yrs or so of managing it??? If the neighbors are in conjunction in a co-op for deer managing and you have a couple thousand acres of PERFECT habitat, it shouldn't be that difficult to accomplish the task.......IF YOU HAD THE $$$$$$!!!!! I'm not discreditting her, it's impressive that she's killed these 3 dandy bucks, but if DAD is in the stand telling her when to shoot or when not to shoot, which deer to shoot and which deer not to shoot, it's a little different that the avg. 13 yr old who is hunting public or non-managed land from the ground or from a treestand rather than from an elevated shooting house that is big enough for 2 people to sleep in, and has a system that puts you scent up and away from game.....Regardless of all the help she had getting here, she still had to steady the rifle and squeaze the trigger with a cool head about it, but her opportunity is extraordinary to say the least and not comparable to any opportunity you or I, or anyone I know of will ever have. Is she being groomed to be the next Tiffany......in all honesty I HOPE not, I hope she's being groomed to be a mature and intelligent young woman. A doctor, a biologist, something other than a professional hunter, as then she'd be giving more to society. I say Kudos to mom and dad for getting her into this, but I hope that no one bruises her by patting her on the back too hard. Having seen a few amazing athletes ruinned by everyone else's expectations, I hope she is being encouraged to do whatever her desires are, rather than forced into this as a notoriety or fame grasp....
Doug the 9 of 10 line was right on. That was an intersting view, as for the comments they are all from guys who are in the SE MI CO-OP or members of QDMA from MI. Yes people comments that go over the top both ways. I can tell you from FACT, she plans all her hunts, from spending the night, to where to hunt, etc. New so what if she wants to be the next Tiffiany, does it really matter? WKP Todd hunts some nice land in SE iowa, I don't see people commenting about his advantages, Todd would tell you himself he has them. To get an advantage like they have, it takes a lot of work and a lot of money here in MI. It takes a Co-OP of a lot of land owners working together. They did the work, why not reap the rewards. I guess if her parents spent money on designer cloths and little dogs we'd all be happier. I mean really would someone post a page long post on how WKP_Todd has an it easy and anybody could shoot those deer he shoots? The guy has passed on more bigger bucks than I have seen in three years in his videos. Todd is a class act, he'd congrat the girl and move on. Why I congrat the guy and moved on, he has created his advantage, took a chance and is shooting some great deer. I honestly don't get it, Doug you have it better than me hunting in Ohio, when you kill a bigger buck than me this year, should I go into a page long post on how Ohio is better than MI and this is why your so succesful? Being I know you worked hard, hunted the land you were able to hunt hard, and shot the best buck you could, I'd say well done. Is it that hard for some of us to say Well done to any kid who kills a big buck?
Here is the difference, Doug ... I would NEVER even think to look into it so deeply ... I was just happy for the little girl ... WHY would someone want to look deep into it.... I mean, what would the motivation be? I saw the thread and thought, "Wow! Good for her!" ... when I read on in the article, I had thoughts of "it woould be incredible if I could hunt that place" ... but I NEVER felt the need to post about her advantages .... when Jeff shoots a dozen doe and Greg H shoots the pigs he shoots, I am happy for them .... that is all ... I would never assume I could duplicate either, had I had their situation ..... I just aint made that way .....
