Andrew Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 My son shot his first deer this past weekend. His University schedule over the last 4 years had kept him away during the Fall hunting seasons but a respite between his undergraduate and graduate school this year offered the opportunity to do some hunting in South Dakota. He is a fine varmint hunter/stalker and a superb off hand shot. It was nice to see him stalk his way into rifle range of this fat doe. He took the shot at 75 yards with his Model 70 Featherweight 6.5x55 using a 129 grain Hornady Interlock. The deer made two bounds and collapsed sans lungs. She weighed 118 pounds on the hoist. (And tastes delicious!) Thanks or letting a proud Dad boast a bit.~Andrew He's really not grimacing. He's got the sun in his eyes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redfox Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Nice doe and he will carry that memory for the rest of his life. Great Redfox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Very nice Andrew, well done to your son. You better keep up the competition otherwise they'll just send you back to load rounds. Now we would like to see the father son picture! edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted November 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 I shot mine at dusk so there was no chance of for a side by side photo, drat it. I had to take what I could get as I'm on crutches (post hip replacement) so I got dropped off on the prairie and left to see what happened. I got mine with a 6.5x55 at 200 yards off of crutches. The Red Gods of Shooting were smiling on me that evening! My deer was a little bigger than his but, as he will tell you, his tastes better! ~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 Well done Andrew. Hope you get rid of those crutches soon. Nice to see a bit of commitment. edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted November 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Thanks. The Commitment part was easy: My brother got us the permits before the surgery was scheduled! He'd have killed me if we didn't show up! My a** was sore for the trip having been only 18 days out of surgery but it was worth it. My daughter showed up from Washington DC by way of Kansas City, Missouri where she met up with her boyfriend and they drove the 8 hours to South Dakota. Her beau, Jason borrowed my brothers custom 7x57 and I brought Sarah a Winchester 243 I keep around as a loaner. Jason got a nice, whitetail doe but Sarah's one and only chance had her scoping a pair of does -dead to rights at 150 yards- when 60 elk came out of a draw behind them and began milling about in the background. She held the shot and got no other chance. Still, three out of four ain't bad! Saw at least a hundred deer in three days, as well as several hundred wild turkeys. It was quite a hunt.~Andrew \ PS: Jason's deer: it was actually the biggest of the lot tho it looks small in the pic. PPS: Sarah kept the .243 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Andrew, you don't have a family, you have an army. Now the Freezer will fill nicely with those. Well done to all. I'm so envious of your dry terrain. We are flooded here and every step one sinks. Coming weekend I'll take out my son and the two girls all aged 16, to prepair them a bit for their ranger course in S. Africa. I'll include some gun handling, rifle and shotgun shooting. Hopefully we'll track a sika and do the gutting and skinning bit. My son has done all that before, just they should all learn to work together. Requirement for the course is that they can quarter an Impala.... edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted November 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 EJG: I have been keeping up on the horrible rains you have been experiencing. I would much rather have -20F than rain. That ranger course sounds great! I'm not even sure what it is but for a guy who grew up reading Bell, Selous, Finnaughty, etc, the words "ranger" and "S.Africa" used in the same sentence conjure up pleasing images! I hope you get a Sika for them to get blooded on. I was unable to get close to my son's deer due to terrain and infirmity so my brother gutted it while explaining the procedure to him. When I shot mine, my son returned dragging my doe with blood stains to his elbows and a grin on his face! I hope your kids get the same satisfaction from learning the more base survival skills.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varminter Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Well done buddy!! So great to hear about your boy harvesting his first deer , and with dad too!!!! heres to many more!!!! All the best................ RAY................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Next time you'll watch your son shoot, gut and drag... It's a bit of an experient with the kids. They have a school gap year at this age so that they can gather some work experience, do red cross courses and travel a bit. The game ranger course is normally only on offer for over 18's and includes shooting, 4x4 driving, rounding up of game or counting, tracking and so on. The experiment is that they are the first at this age. I presume they will fix fences for a week or so to start with and possibly work at the veterinary station. All together 6 weeks. At least my son has his own 12ga already and shoots rifle a bit.. and has a worldwide shooting insurance. We are not so worried because all three do extreme sports. One girl is an excellent competition athlete and dingy sailor. The other girl is also a top competition dingy sailor. My son sails, surfs and is third in Ireland in downhill biking in his age group. I think they'll be ok. Might not cope with the heat though, they can surf for 3 hours in frost conditions but heat??? Shamwari The game reserve close to Port Elizabeth. About 70 miles from where i grew up. Last years photo of my son, a great game getter. errr, he has to get the deer to the car Got a bit bigger and stronger since then. edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varminter Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Next time you'll watch your son shoot, gut and drag... It's a bit of an experient with the kids. They have a school gap year at this age so that they can gather some work experience, do red cross courses and travel a bit. The game ranger course is normally only on offer for over 18's and includes shooting, 4x4 driving, rounding up of game or counting, tracking and so on. The experiment is that they are the first at this age. I presume they will fix fences for a week or so to start with and possibly work at the veterinary station. All together 6 weeks. At least my son has his own 12ga already and shoots rifle a bit.. and has a worldwide shooting insurance. We are not so worried because all three do extreme sports. One girl is an excellent competition athlete and dingy sailor. The other girl is also a top competition dingy sailor. My son sails, surfs and is third in Ireland in downhill biking in his age group. I think they'll be ok. Might not cope with the heat though, they can surf for 3 hours in frost conditions but heat??? Shamwari The game reserve close to Port Elizabeth. About 70 miles from where i grew up. Last years photo of my son, a great game getter. errr, he has to get the deer to the car Got a bit bigger and stronger since then. edi Ahhh thats great to see too Edi!!!!! Nice photo of the lad carrying the Sika out!!! All the best................. RAY............................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted November 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Thanks Ray. Next time I will! EJG: That is one of the finest activities I've ever heard of for kids taking a hiatus from studies! I'm sure they will all do well and learn some real world skills. Nice looking boy you have there and a nice deer, too. I send my well wishes their way, and wish you luck on the Sika hunt.~Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg223 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Thanks Ray, missed him when I shot a few stags at the early part of the season. Stags seem to weigh twice as much. Andrew thanks for the best wishes. I'll try to get some pictures this weekend. Really also want to show the kids a few things of how to recognise a sick animal. Check glands, lungs and gut. They'll love that. regards edi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob tail Posted December 2, 2009 Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 Well done you guys, these memories will be treasured forever with all of you and you will smile in years to come when you all look back on them . Nice read guys CHEERS CHRIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varmartin Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 Memories to be cherished for sure, here `s to many more ...edi and Andrew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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