DON’T FORGET THE OREOS

 

October 25^th was my son Reese’s first night out bowhunting.  I was so excited to bring Reese out with me for the first time.  I had been waiting for a good opportunity to take him bowhunting all season and after a couple of nights scouting a bean field that bordered an Alfalfa field I had permission on, I felt it was a good opportunity.  There was one buck in particular that we were targeting.  He was a very nice, white racked 5×5 that had good tine length and stretched out well beyond his ears.  Even though I couldn’t get the best look at him from the long distance I was scouting from, he looked like he was worth getting a closer look.  With Reese only being four years old and the fact that I didn’t have permission on any of the trees, I felt that a ground blind was really our only option.

I have never taken a four year old bowhunting before, but after reading a couple of good articles on open field hunting, I had a plan in mind.  My plan was to place a ground blind in the middle of the Alfalfa field with a buck decoy out at about 25 yards facing the blind.  The wind was going to be out of the North East, which made for a perfect setup to keep us from getting winded if a buck so happened to approach.  In the event that the buck circled around to face the decoy head on, it would then afford us a perfect 20 yard broadside shot.  I know that putting up a ground blind in the open sounds crazy (it wasn’t turkey season), but I have found that deer are far less wary of a ground blind in the open as it allows them the opportunity to survey it far in advance for any suspected danger.

When Sunday evening finally came, I was ecstatic!  Reese was all in, and I was one happy dad seeing his enthusiasm. So, as I packed up the truck, my wife and Reese packed a lunch box (soft shell of course for noise purposes).  I know that it was going to be a pretty long sit so I also made sure to pack his Kindle.  He was going to need something to do as we waited on the deer to enter the field.

When we arrived at the property, the first thing I did was give Reese a job. On this occasion his job was to carry the rattling antlers and his lunch box. Reese was really excited about bringing antlers.  Having seen me crack them together around our house, he knew that it meant we get to make some noise.  He was one proud little hunter walking out to the field.

We finally got setup at about 4 pm and the hunt was on!  It was going to be about a three hour sit, so it was important to bring snacks and something to keep him entertained.  A four year old can only look at an empty bean field so long.  Although, he was having a blast coming up with a big buck dance for after we shot one.  What a goofball!  It wasn’t long before Reese was digging in the lunch box and as I glassed for deer he asked if I wanted some Oreos.  Occupied as I was, I declined, but believe me when I say he wasted no time helping himself to my share of the Oreos once his were gone!

As the evening continued on I was realizing that it was a little bit slower than the night before when I was scouting.  It concerned me a little because I really wanted Reese to see at least one deer.  Those concerns soon disappeared as I caught movement and the brown outline of a couple does on the edge of the woods.  Someone must have rang the dinner bell, because shortly after, three young bucks entered the field a couple hundred yards in front of us.  Now Reese was excited!  He was out of his seat glassing the deer with my binoculars and persistently asking me if we could shoot them.  I had to remind him that we were only looking for the “big one,” to which his reply was, “he will come dad”!  I had to admire his positivity!  He was right.

About thirty minutes later a young 5×5, with great potential, entered the field, and only moments after that I noticed another buck on the edge of the tree line raking the trees.  It was the “big one”!  The problem was that there was only about ten minutes left of shooting light.  That didn’t matter one bit to Reese.  Even though it was almost dark and my hopes of having the buck come into range were dwindling, Reese stayed positive and was almost completely convinced that he would come.  The buck did end up coming within 100 yards, but with the light quickly fading there wasn’t near enough time to allow him to get into bow range.  Still, we had seen twenty deer on the night, and I was the happiest dad in the world having been able to spend the evening doing what I love, with one of the ones I love.  Even though an arrow never left my rest, it was a great reminder to me that success isn’t always measured in inches, but rather being able to share my love for the outdoors with my son.

All in all, Reese had a great time and was even offering up advice!  He told me, “Dad, tomorrow we need to face the decoy the other way so that the deer can see it better and know that it’s a deer!”  I couldn’t argue with him, and I especially liked that he was expecting to go again the next day.  Hunt, successful!