Youth Hunter Mentoring Program Scores Again!!

[Klamanite]

Well, since I drew a goat tag last year, I figured my chances of getting another one were about nil. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded when I was selected again this year I immediately told my 13 year old son Tyler, that the tag was his thanks to the Youth Hunter Mentoring Program. He was quite excited with the news since he was with me on my hunt last year. We didn't have a lot of opportunity to scout this year due to other obligations, but we did get in a half day in last Sunday and had to limp my truck home from the Lakeview area because the injector pump went south. We managed to see one real nice buck and were anxious to find him again on the opener.


We left on Thursday afternoon so we could get in a little more scouting prior to the hunt. We located several herds in the same area we had seen the buck the previous week. We kept a close eye on them and paid close attention to where they spent their mornings and evenings. We decided on a game plan for opening morning. Befrore daylight, we hiked about a mile and a half to a waterhole they were frequenting throughout the day and got set in a location that offered Tyler a clear shot. Once it got light I located a herd with several good bucks in it and it had one that stood out from the rest. We had seen him the day before, but it was from more than a mile away. Initially they were about 800 yards out and slowly feeding towards us. Tyler took that opportunty to catch a few ZZZ's while I kept watch on the herd. We adjusted our position twice based on where it appeared likely they would come off the hill to water. He was ready for about a 200 yd shot, but they had other ideas. They dropped into a gulley directly in front of us, and since we were on the back side of it, there was no chance to shoot or adjust our position again. We could only wait until they walked completely into the open next to the waterhole which was less than a hundred yards from us. Just as we settled in waiting for them to pop out, 2 does and 2 fawns unexpectedly appeared on the opposite side and one briefly saw Tyler move his hand. We froze and it stared us down for a minute or so and then went down for some water........Phew!!! They were in full view of the approaching herd and would have blown the whole deal if they spooked. Shortly after that, the first small buck darted out into view not 60 yards in front of us. I said "don't shoot, wait for the big one" I said that seven more times as they all appeared into view wayyyyyyy to close for comfort. The ninth one was the biggest of the bunch and he went straight into the water and mixed in between a few smaller bucks. No shot was available immediately for fear of wounding a second animal. Pretty soon he shifted a little and the others closest to him moved so he was finally separated a safe distance from the others. I said "Take him" and he carefully touched off the Ruger .243 passed down from his great grampa. The buck whirled and headed right back toward us while Tyler chambered another round. He went about 25 yards and piled up right in front of us

After he was down there was a huge round of hugs, high-fives and cheering from both of us. What an awesome experience this hunt turned out to be!! We went over and inspected his trophy and it sure looked like the one we scouted the week before. After looking at pics when we got home, I belive it is the same buck. Needless to say, he is the happiest kid on the planet today and we are both very proud of his accomplishment. He was just shy of 15 inches at 14 3/4. What a beautiful animal

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. His buck is two inches bigger than mine. I'll probably never hear about that

[Fool4FishnHuntn]

Congratulations on a job well done Tyler. The mentor program is a good thing in my opinion. It's nice to see a plan work out even though you had a little excitement!

[Joe]

What a great story! Good job dad and congrats to Tyler!!! That is a dandy buck. My son Taylor drew a tag last year at age 12 and killed a bigger buck than the ONE I have killed in my life. Great stuff!

[loper]

Excellent!! Congratulations on a great hunt.

[Rauly]

Now that is awsome!!!

[sliverpicker]

What a beautiful pronghorn guys, congratulations Tyler!

The root beers are on me...

[Big Unit]

WAY TO GO TYLER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since Sliverpicker bought the first round of rootbeers, the ice cream is on me! LOL

BU

[ElkTalker]

That is one incredible gift.
Great job Tyler

[Blackbeardown]

Pretty darn cool. Well done.

[huntntrap]

nice goat well done

[Trick]

I am truly impressed. Fantastic job!

[waterflogger]

The smile says it all!
Way to go.

[sturgn]

Very nice, I hope I can do the same next week with my boys they have the 2nd season tag over there.

[Ras]

Congrats Tyler; that is a dandy sage goat. Tell the ol' man I need your guide services on our hunt next week; I plan on letting Deirek take mine.

Job well done too there dad. That is as much of a trophy as the occasional lunker brown.

Ras

[BeaBeaver]

What a great experience to share with your son! The memories of this hunt will last two lifetimes. Way to go!

[brianschnoor]

Sweet buck!!! Brian

[Klamanite]

Originally Posted by Ras

Congrats Tyler; that is a dandy sage goat. Tell the ol' man I need your guide services on our hunt next week; I plan on letting Deirek take mine.

Job well done too there dad. That is as much of a trophy as the occasional lunker brown.

Ras

Good luck over there Deirek. That's so cool that your dad is going to let you take his Antelope Tyler had a great time on his hunt and I'm sure you will too. Shoot a big one and send us some pictures

[Limbhanger]

Wow, congrats to Tyler! That is a great looking Pronghorn

[No Fences]

Nicely done guys. Beautiful first speedgoat.

[ehunter]

Very cool congrad to you guys and Tyler good story you should print that out and put it in the scrap book.

[sprigkiller09]

That is a great story!! And what an awesome parent to give up their tag

[scubaseth]

Thats pretty awesome. Good job!

Scuba

[Nw dukn]

Way togo, that is an awesome buck..

[Rank Amateur]

That is just awesome! Very nice goat to boot!

[BlacktailBowhunter]

That is way coool.

Gotta give some props to OHA for getting that legislation passed.

[elkmagnet]

Well done Tyler!! I bet you'll be a hunter for life after starting out like that! Thanks for sharing the great story and photo's.

[beardbuster]

I got a little side tracked, but I wanted to say congrats on a magnificent animal!!! I have read the story a couple times - awesome hunt!

[oregonmuley]

Wow - now thats an antelope - nice going and thanks for the great story and pictures. Keep that luck going and just draw another one next year

[BrianMaguire]

That is an awesome story. Congrats, way to go.

[billc_sbio]

That is so COOL!