When my son got to old for the youth hunts I started taking my nephews. Well my youngest nephew Sam is now 16 and we went on what is most likely our last youth hunt this week at Kerr WMA for a youth management hunt. Kerr has been a special place for me as it is where my son shot his first doe and exactly 1 year to the day later shot his first buck. Both times on a standby. I also shot my personal best buck(my avatar) there also on a standby. It’s only somewhat appropriate that I finished with my nephew at Kerr as well.
The hunt was Mon-Wed this week. We were there with a buddy and his daughter. After an abbreviated orientation and being shown our pasture which was E Turkey we did a quick lunch and got settled in the blind. I will say the blinds they have now are pretty nice. Targets were a doe and a 4pt or less. Weather was little warm and fairly windy so wasn’t expecting too much till later but around 3:30 had a doe and yearling come out. Took a bit for them to separate and get the right shot but he was finally able to get the shot at about 70 yds. Both lungs and clipped heart and she only went 20 yds.
Field dressed and sat back in blind for the last hour and half but no more deer. Unfortunately my buddy’s daughter had a rare miss on a doe. We searched for a good while to make sure no hair or blood.
Tuesday morning before shooting light we already had deer out and had deer till about 9:30. Total of 6 bucks and 6 doe. 2 of the bucks were very nice. A 10 and a 9 with split
Too bad it wasn’t a buck hunt but we had a blast watching them.
When we checked in after the morning hunt the staff had a surprise for me. I had mentioned some of the hunts I had been on there the first evening and they handed me this picture they had on the wall of the old check station of me, my buck along with Daniel and his dog Gus that found my deer.
After lunch we went to a different blind in our pasture for a change of scenery and my buddy and daughter went to were we were. It was pretty hot and I was in shorts and sandals in the blind. Even with the heat we had a small 8 come in earlier than I expected. A little later a nice 9 comes in.
He milled around for a good while 40 yds from us just eating corn. I then noticed movement to our far right and put the binos on it but it wouldn’t lift its head to see what it was. It finally raised its head and wow it was a 3 point. Sam tried to get a good position but the buck wouldn’t cooperate. We finally switched seats and he was just able to get a good aim on it. Took the shot and dropped it in its tracks. Looked back and the other buck was still just eating corn. We got out of the blind and the 9 still didn’t leave. I even waved at it and it started to walk away I thought but instead it stopped at an oak and rubbed his nose and antlers in the tree and then ****** on the ground. I guess he was telling me this was his spot. We walked over to the 3 and left him still feeding.
When we got to the 3 I went to give Sam a high five and he immediately embraced me with a huge hug. You don’t get many hugs out of a 16 year old boy so that was a real special moment.
We started to field dress it and I went back to blind to get my bag and when I turned around the 9 was still there along with about 50 Turkey that just seemed to appear form nowhere.
Crazy how long that buck stayed around. Wish I was going on the adult buck hunt there next week.
My buddy saw a few bucks and some yearling doe and then finally an older doe but it disappeared before his daughter could get a shot.
Wednesday morning we went to the 3rd blind in our area with only the slim chance of a hog or coyote since we already tagged out with deer. Was watching a small 8 when all of a sudden he trots off and we see a trio of coyotes come in about 230 yds out. Can’t believe he might get a chance at one. They disappear in brush for a awhile and then they make an appearance again. Sam took a shot at 1 about 170 yds out but just missed under it. They scatter quickly and that was pretty much it. He was pretty excited to just get a shot at one. Couldn’t ask for a much better week for him. Unfortunately my buddy and daughter only saw a small buck and never was able to take anything. She was a little disappointed but was still happy and enjoyed the hunt.
All in all it was once again a very memorable hunt for me and I can’t say enough good things about the staff there. Some good people. We might try standby on one the remaining hunts this season but even if we don’t get to hunt one it has been a great way to wrap up the youth hunts. I’m out of youth family members so until I get some grandkids I might be out of the youth hunts for a while. It has been a great time and I want to thank all the TPWD staff and TYHP volunteers over the years that have made these memories possible.
The hunt was Mon-Wed this week. We were there with a buddy and his daughter. After an abbreviated orientation and being shown our pasture which was E Turkey we did a quick lunch and got settled in the blind. I will say the blinds they have now are pretty nice. Targets were a doe and a 4pt or less. Weather was little warm and fairly windy so wasn’t expecting too much till later but around 3:30 had a doe and yearling come out. Took a bit for them to separate and get the right shot but he was finally able to get the shot at about 70 yds. Both lungs and clipped heart and she only went 20 yds.
Field dressed and sat back in blind for the last hour and half but no more deer. Unfortunately my buddy’s daughter had a rare miss on a doe. We searched for a good while to make sure no hair or blood.
Tuesday morning before shooting light we already had deer out and had deer till about 9:30. Total of 6 bucks and 6 doe. 2 of the bucks were very nice. A 10 and a 9 with split
Too bad it wasn’t a buck hunt but we had a blast watching them.
When we checked in after the morning hunt the staff had a surprise for me. I had mentioned some of the hunts I had been on there the first evening and they handed me this picture they had on the wall of the old check station of me, my buck along with Daniel and his dog Gus that found my deer.
After lunch we went to a different blind in our pasture for a change of scenery and my buddy and daughter went to were we were. It was pretty hot and I was in shorts and sandals in the blind. Even with the heat we had a small 8 come in earlier than I expected. A little later a nice 9 comes in.
He milled around for a good while 40 yds from us just eating corn. I then noticed movement to our far right and put the binos on it but it wouldn’t lift its head to see what it was. It finally raised its head and wow it was a 3 point. Sam tried to get a good position but the buck wouldn’t cooperate. We finally switched seats and he was just able to get a good aim on it. Took the shot and dropped it in its tracks. Looked back and the other buck was still just eating corn. We got out of the blind and the 9 still didn’t leave. I even waved at it and it started to walk away I thought but instead it stopped at an oak and rubbed his nose and antlers in the tree and then ****** on the ground. I guess he was telling me this was his spot. We walked over to the 3 and left him still feeding.
When we got to the 3 I went to give Sam a high five and he immediately embraced me with a huge hug. You don’t get many hugs out of a 16 year old boy so that was a real special moment.
We started to field dress it and I went back to blind to get my bag and when I turned around the 9 was still there along with about 50 Turkey that just seemed to appear form nowhere.
Crazy how long that buck stayed around. Wish I was going on the adult buck hunt there next week.
My buddy saw a few bucks and some yearling doe and then finally an older doe but it disappeared before his daughter could get a shot.
Wednesday morning we went to the 3rd blind in our area with only the slim chance of a hog or coyote since we already tagged out with deer. Was watching a small 8 when all of a sudden he trots off and we see a trio of coyotes come in about 230 yds out. Can’t believe he might get a chance at one. They disappear in brush for a awhile and then they make an appearance again. Sam took a shot at 1 about 170 yds out but just missed under it. They scatter quickly and that was pretty much it. He was pretty excited to just get a shot at one. Couldn’t ask for a much better week for him. Unfortunately my buddy and daughter only saw a small buck and never was able to take anything. She was a little disappointed but was still happy and enjoyed the hunt.
All in all it was once again a very memorable hunt for me and I can’t say enough good things about the staff there. Some good people. We might try standby on one the remaining hunts this season but even if we don’t get to hunt one it has been a great way to wrap up the youth hunts. I’m out of youth family members so until I get some grandkids I might be out of the youth hunts for a while. It has been a great time and I want to thank all the TPWD staff and TYHP volunteers over the years that have made these memories possible.
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