There are a lot of sons and daughters of members of this great forum. They all put time in and hunt hard. As far as Kody, my 13 year old, goes... I couldn't be more proud of him. He hunted his ass off this year and just continued to stick with it. From early October until now, he was holding out for a buck.
During bow, gun, and muzzy he had plenty of chances at doe. He missed a nice buck opening morning of gun week. During muzzy he was tempted by 4 doe feeding 45 yards in front of him. He kept whispering to me about taking one. I told him it was his decision and in the end, he decided to wait on a buck.
The attitude about what to take changed around early last week. We set up a spot behind my house. The doe were coming in like clockwork and we were getting one nice 8 pointer on camera, but always after dark. The first two sits he held out for the buck while passing on doe. By mid week though, he had made the decision to take whatever gave him the first chance.
Three consecutive evenings produced near shots. Each time, he would attempt to draw and get nailed. The one time he did get to full draw, he had just settled the pin, and she bolted before he could shoot.
Frustration was setting in. At the last minute today I posted the question on my journal page about using the netting in the window and if it would affect the shot any. Brock chimed in quickly and said to use it. At the same time I sent out a text to a few members on here. Flutey was the first to respond saying to use it as well and Joe confirmed. In fact, Flutey said we could break dance behind the netting and they wouldn't see us. So, I asked Kody to do the worm. Lol
Mainly, I was worried about what it might do to the shot. The guys were right. Their advice paid off big time tonight!
We left my house around 4:45 and was sitting in the tent by 5:00. During the day I watched doe come in to feed repeatedly all day. Two were there when we walked out. They trotted over the hill and we continued on to get set up.
About 5:15 I see doe coming out of the woods to my left. Kody looks past me and sees her as well. He slowly grabbed his bow and readied himself for the shot. She walked past the front windows without even looking our way (they usually peer right in at us). Kody slowly draws, but she pauses behind a tree... of course!
He's holding and a second doe comes out. I whisper to him that another is coming and he slowly tries to settle on her. She stops short of the opening.
A third is coming... Kody is still holding. I can hear him breathing and he whispers "I can't hold any more."
At this point I'm not saying a word. This is all him.
I can see him start to let down. Another doe comes out and he firms his draw back up as she is walking steady toward his lane.
The lead doe must've heard him re-draw because she snorts and bounds a few times back where she came from and freezes. The fourth doe continues on and stops perfect.
I whisper, "now or never bud... 25 yards."
With that, Kody settles in and lets her fly. The arrow settles in and she bounds one time and goes down. Game over!
"You drilled her!", I tell him and look over at him and give him a high five. He's all smiles. Then he starts breathing again.
The time he put into this season is unreal. Granted, there were days he took off and two of them bit him. November 13th he was supposed to be in the tent where Klay, the little brother, shot his 10 point. He was also supposed to be in the spot I was Saturday of gun week when I got the 9 point he missed on Monday of that week. If you take away those two days, he didn't miss many. Even lately he has been attending after school lifting for football/baseball and then rushing home to hit the woods. He was committed. It just seemed luck wasn't on his side. We all know a little, or a lot, of luck is involved with hunting.
So, with the season dwindling down, Kody finally got to put his bow to work. All the hard work of practicing, getting up early, sitting in the cold, missing out on things with friends, and spending long hours just waiting finally paid off.
I have to give a big thank you to my dad, Old Scout, for helping me get spots ready and always coaching Kody.
I also have to thank various members of this site for continuous support and help. It may have been in person, on this forum, or via text. Regardless, we greatly appreciate it!
At Woodbury this summer Flutey, Beener, Jesse, and Joe all took time to work with Kody and Klay on their shooting. Milo took the time to let me bother him via texts about things to do to Kody's bow to help him out. And of course, the last minute advice today by Brock, Flutey, and Joe most definitely helped seal the deal. If I missed anyone, I sincerely apologize as my memory sucks. Lol
Oh! And Ric, Ron, and Ryno for putting up with all my texts this year as well.
I must say, we had a pretty cool season. Both boys harvested their first compound deer. I was able to cash in. I'm just a proud dad! And... The freezer is full!
During bow, gun, and muzzy he had plenty of chances at doe. He missed a nice buck opening morning of gun week. During muzzy he was tempted by 4 doe feeding 45 yards in front of him. He kept whispering to me about taking one. I told him it was his decision and in the end, he decided to wait on a buck.
The attitude about what to take changed around early last week. We set up a spot behind my house. The doe were coming in like clockwork and we were getting one nice 8 pointer on camera, but always after dark. The first two sits he held out for the buck while passing on doe. By mid week though, he had made the decision to take whatever gave him the first chance.
Three consecutive evenings produced near shots. Each time, he would attempt to draw and get nailed. The one time he did get to full draw, he had just settled the pin, and she bolted before he could shoot.
Frustration was setting in. At the last minute today I posted the question on my journal page about using the netting in the window and if it would affect the shot any. Brock chimed in quickly and said to use it. At the same time I sent out a text to a few members on here. Flutey was the first to respond saying to use it as well and Joe confirmed. In fact, Flutey said we could break dance behind the netting and they wouldn't see us. So, I asked Kody to do the worm. Lol
Mainly, I was worried about what it might do to the shot. The guys were right. Their advice paid off big time tonight!
We left my house around 4:45 and was sitting in the tent by 5:00. During the day I watched doe come in to feed repeatedly all day. Two were there when we walked out. They trotted over the hill and we continued on to get set up.
About 5:15 I see doe coming out of the woods to my left. Kody looks past me and sees her as well. He slowly grabbed his bow and readied himself for the shot. She walked past the front windows without even looking our way (they usually peer right in at us). Kody slowly draws, but she pauses behind a tree... of course!
He's holding and a second doe comes out. I whisper to him that another is coming and he slowly tries to settle on her. She stops short of the opening.
A third is coming... Kody is still holding. I can hear him breathing and he whispers "I can't hold any more."
At this point I'm not saying a word. This is all him.
I can see him start to let down. Another doe comes out and he firms his draw back up as she is walking steady toward his lane.
The lead doe must've heard him re-draw because she snorts and bounds a few times back where she came from and freezes. The fourth doe continues on and stops perfect.
I whisper, "now or never bud... 25 yards."
With that, Kody settles in and lets her fly. The arrow settles in and she bounds one time and goes down. Game over!
"You drilled her!", I tell him and look over at him and give him a high five. He's all smiles. Then he starts breathing again.
The time he put into this season is unreal. Granted, there were days he took off and two of them bit him. November 13th he was supposed to be in the tent where Klay, the little brother, shot his 10 point. He was also supposed to be in the spot I was Saturday of gun week when I got the 9 point he missed on Monday of that week. If you take away those two days, he didn't miss many. Even lately he has been attending after school lifting for football/baseball and then rushing home to hit the woods. He was committed. It just seemed luck wasn't on his side. We all know a little, or a lot, of luck is involved with hunting.
So, with the season dwindling down, Kody finally got to put his bow to work. All the hard work of practicing, getting up early, sitting in the cold, missing out on things with friends, and spending long hours just waiting finally paid off.
I have to give a big thank you to my dad, Old Scout, for helping me get spots ready and always coaching Kody.
I also have to thank various members of this site for continuous support and help. It may have been in person, on this forum, or via text. Regardless, we greatly appreciate it!
At Woodbury this summer Flutey, Beener, Jesse, and Joe all took time to work with Kody and Klay on their shooting. Milo took the time to let me bother him via texts about things to do to Kody's bow to help him out. And of course, the last minute advice today by Brock, Flutey, and Joe most definitely helped seal the deal. If I missed anyone, I sincerely apologize as my memory sucks. Lol
Oh! And Ric, Ron, and Ryno for putting up with all my texts this year as well.
I must say, we had a pretty cool season. Both boys harvested their first compound deer. I was able to cash in. I'm just a proud dad! And... The freezer is full!
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