Grandson Ben's first deer hunt and first deer X 2

[Okanagan]

Fourteen year old grandson Ben has been more fisherman than hunter.  He has enjoyed hunting grouse and rabbits and bought himself a gorgeous Henry lever action .22.  Last week a change in family plans opened opportunity for Ben and me to go hunting for whitetail.

We tried an area unknown to me but much closer than my old whitetail haunts in the Canadian Rockies.  We drove up and started exploring in the new area which this year opened a 2 deer either sex youth season for the first time.

Super cold, the first night camping at least -20 F, likely colder high up where we were.  In three days of hunting we got glimpses of three whitetails, one of those probably the same deer seen twice.  A rancher rounding up range cattle told us there are few whitetails in the area.  We tried rattling and had a deer snort at us several times as it walked around us in timber.

Ben felt jinxed and was discouraged.  We took off for the Canadian Rockies where Code and I did so well last year, several hours drive.

Ben killed a nice doe the first morning and another deer that turned out to be a button buck the next morning.  That used up my two whitetail tags so we headed home.  (The accompanying adult has to use his tags on anything the youth hunter shoots.)  We only saw one buck while hunting without a chance for a shot. 

The doe he shot was the sixth deer we saw that morning.  At 105 yards Ben shot it through the front of the chest and out the mid ribs on one side, right through the heart and one lung.  The doe ran 50 yards steeply downhill in snow. 

Not sure he had hit it until we found this spray of blood on the snow.




As it lay when Ben found it.



Heart with bullet path of 95 grain Nosler Partition through it.





On the second deer, Ben pulled off one of the better shots I've seen made on game.  The deer took off running through the timber but stopped at a come back call.  It was 100 yards out, downhill in fairly heavy timber but we could see part of it against the snow through a gap between limbs.  To get a shot at the deer's chest Ben had to stoop halfway over, no rest.

It was quartering away and he hit it high behind the last rib on the near side, bullet angling down and across through its chest to exit below center mid ribs on the off side.  That one ran 40 yards.  .243 in Remington Mohawk with 2-7 Bushnell scope.

We packed up both deer, glad to head home out of the cold, and Ben told me stories to keep me awake on the drive home.  He had real Canadian poutine in Kamloops for a late supper to cap off the trip.  Good time with fine grandson.  I am blessed.

[riverboss]

Way to go Ben!!!! You got to love it when the young ones start coming into there own. Congrats to the whole family for such a greay job at getting him there.

[FinsnFur]

Beautiful shot! Nice job Ben

[Carolina Coyote]

Congratulations to Ben, Very Gratifying to take a Grandson on his first trip hunting, I did not  have any boys but my girls provided me with 3 Grandsons to play with, the oldest went with me last weekend and killed a big Tom Bobcat and a  Doe, Sure enjoyed the weekend with him. I enjoy reading your stories of your adventures with your Grandsons, Good for you.  cc

[HuntnCarve]

Congrats to the young man!  It's even more special to have Grandad there to share in the hunt.   Look forward to more stories in the years to come.

Dave

[Hawks Feather]

Congratulations to Ben and a big thanks to grandpa for using his tags.  I am sure that you will both enjoy talking about it for years to come.

Jerry

[bambam]

Good job Ben !!!

[coyote101]

Congratulations Ben.  Way to go Grandpa.  I don't want to wish my life away, but I can't wait till my grandson is old enough to go with me. 

Pat

[Dave]

14 year old in -20 degree weather, camping?  He's the real deal!
Congrats to you both on a great and successful hunt.   

[Okanagan]

Thanks for the good words.  I am glad that my grandkids have experienced some hard hikes and tough cold and windy camping.

The first night was way the coldest.  We slept warmly enough in mummy sleeping bags with an extra rectangular bag zipped open to a square and thrown over both of us like a quilt.  Plus, I cheated and stuck tear open hand warmers in my sock and chest pocket.  But it was still painfully cold any time outside of heated vehicle or sleeping bag:  hands in pain within seconds of exposure, noses raw, feet cold quickly if all was not quite right.  We talked about bailing out and going home but day by day decided to keep going, and it warmed up to probably 10 F on the second night and gradually warmed till I think at noon in the sun it was right at freezing the last day.

We used a tipi and stove I picked up since last year.  Tons of room in the sylnylon tipi, 8 feet high with plenty of room to stand, and 13 feet diameter.  We tried a small homemade stove for the first time with mixed success.  The tipi has a stove jack for stovepipe.

Basically my little stove was too small, a rectangular box 5x5x9.  I have backpacking in cold weather in mind for all of this gear (tipi weighs 4 lbs.) but the stove has to be bigger to keep heavy frost from forming inside the tipi.  Moisture from our breath and from heating cans of chili etc. on the little stove froze into hoarfrost on the inside tipi walls. 

When going full bore the stove raised the temp to above freezing above chest level and made the inside of the tipi wonderfully warm compared to outside.  However, the dinky thing had to be fed sticks almost constantly and the fire still galloped from almost out to red hot in five minute cycles.

Also, ground frozen like iron so we could not use tent pegs, but that has been my plan all along rather than carry tent pegs.  We tied to rocks, log chunks etc.  It has potential to be a good system of compact, lightweight gear that gives lots of room and warmth. 

[HaMeR]

Nicely done Ben!! You guys can handle that waaaay better than I can for sure!! I'm a wimp at 0*!! Good shooting!! Thanks for sharing the trip once again Ok!!

[coyote101]

That tipi sounds like great fun to me.  Little wood stoves have a voracious apatite.  I wonder if you could get a longer burn and more consistent heat output from one of those fake logs cut to size? 

Pat

[JohnP]

 

[KySongDog]

Good story and congratulations to Ben and for braving the cold and staying with it   

[FOsteology]

Congrats to the young man. With my thin Texas blood, I'd have likely wussed out and gone home! I'm not accustomed to the cold anymore. lol

[Frogman]

WTG!!

Jim