2019 Father and Son Hunt. The Scout.
 

My Son and I put in a fair bit of time scouting some land we hunt this year. He just finished high school and has enlisted in the military, so who knows what opportunities we'll have to hunt together in the coming years.

This will be his first year bow hunting and he's ready and raring to go. I've been practising too.

We have a cow moose draw and a couple of whitetail tags. We had 5 cameras out starting in May and got a good idea of what's in the area.
There are about 10 different moose with bulls and cows with calves.
The whitetail herd there is good and the buck to doe ratio seems to be 50/50 or so, with several fawns.

In abouts 2014 the deer took a pretty good hit with hard winters and the population seemed to be quite low. They look like they've recovered nicely and the moose have always done well here. Whitetail bucks of all ages but nothing over 5 1/2 or so. Hard to say for sure. Looks really promising overall though.

We set up our blind, cleared lanes, etc., and set up cams last weekend. Strategy and plans made. Now we wait. Really looking forward to opening day.

I posted some of the moose pics in the other thread I made today (asking about how to post pics :)). There are two sisters from last year that hang out together. One of those would be perfect.

These are the best bucks we've seen:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/dzwL0ZF.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/vGxhIwM.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ndFdqyy.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qa5Dvly.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ap0Tykz.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/DBDjTXH.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/dJCmt3O.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qa2Nyhl.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/NrULsSM.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/CwwnFiz.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/O4O5THP.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/iYbb6Ys.jpg[/IMG]

Will update about our hunt as it progesses. Stay tuned.......

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qgElTHf.jpg[/IMG]This deer was never seen on any of the cams in the day light. This was mid July and they tended to grow quite a bit from then to mid August. Last pic of him showed he's going to be a 10 point buck.
And the split tine buck above wasn't captured on cam during the day since early June.
Was interesting and fun watching them grow.

And as an aside, the grouse population looks to be good here this year.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/474gGFn.jpg[/IMG]

The blind. Situated 30 yards down wind of prevailing winds, on a good trail which crosses a small creek.
Placed a vertical licking branch over trail at approx. arm pit height.

Looks like you’re putting in some good effort. Best of luck to you guys this year, hope you make some good memories.

Thanks. We should get a lot of action. Hoping a moose doesn't decide to thrash our blind in the next couple of weeks :).

Some great young deer there! Will be something in few years

great job on the blind, you guys look to be in a money spot with a great set-up. keep us posted!

Can’t see the pics


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It's Bears I've always had trouble with

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Really? Don't know why. I see them and someone else has too.
Anyone else not seeing the pics?

Don't have any bears here.... yet.

Best of luck to you and your son, you got a nice set up there, your son will get leave periods just tell him to put in during hunting seasons if his unit isn't on tour etc...

Thanks. Yeah we don't know where he'll be (Infantry) or anything yet, but I'm sure he'll figure things out as he goes.

I thought I'd ad a few moose pics. There are at least 10 moose we've seen on the cams. Several bulls and some cows with calves.
There are two dry young sisters that hang out together and one of those would be ideal. We don't want a large mature cow and the calves will be awful small this time of year.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2eaRuO4.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/lFupeY9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/HK5TVcB.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/wp9Gh6P.jpg[/IMG]

THE HUNT........


Things have been slow so far but having a good time nonetheless. No moose seen yet. Seeing some does. No ruffies so far which is a bit of a surprise considering we saw quite a few earlier. Wind has been a bit crappy for our main set up.

Landowner decided to cut and bale everything on all fields the day before the opener and is pretty much done now. May have disturbed the game some but shouldn't have any effect going forward.

Animals don't seem to be moving much and what activity there is, seems to be random.
Based on what we have seen and know about the area, we've moved 5 cams to spots trying to establish some patterns right now.


Mid day on the 1st, my son jumped a great buck at about 20 yards or so. The buck grunted and ran, stopping at 55 yards to have a look back at what startled him. He was standing at full alert broadside for about a minute, before he put his head down, flicked his tail, and slowing walked away to find another spot to lay down. Son decided that attempting a 55 yard shot through the trees at an alert buck just didn't sit right with him. He backed out and let him go for another day.
Just managing to stalk that close to a whitetail of that quality was an experience he'll never forget. He did real good.

So, we've been taking a break for a couple days to let things settle and see if the cams pick up some intel.

The hunt continues, stay tuned.......:)
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Xz9AS7i.jpg[/IMG]

Update on hunt..............

We've been out several times and have been having a great time. Sights and experiences only time spent in the woods hunting can bring.

Seeing lots of game but nothing we've wanted to shoot yet. Signs that the moose are starting to rut are beginning to show up.


***Saturday morning we came across a sow grizzly with two large cubs. They were just west of (1/2 mile) Buck Mountain, in the Buck Mountain Grazing Reserve, in 332.***

Another update......

Nothing on the ground so far but we've been enjoying the time afield, with great experiences every day. Many close calls and a few passes on deer.

This is my Son's first season bow hunting. We could probably be tagged out if using a rifle but getting close enough for the bow has brought many interesting encounters.

My Son has been within 40 yards and less of several moose now. A couple bulls, one with steam coming from his back and nostrils, head swinging side to side and grunting. He'll never forget that.

A few times now he got within 20-25 yards from cows but each time they were in the thick cover with only head and neck shots, which he doesn't want to chance. He's doing real good getting close and the right shot will come.

As mentioned earlier we saw 3 grizzlies in a place I've hunted in the past and wouldn't have thought twice about going into in the dark, or gutting an animal at last light.

He's managed to get a couple of grouse with the bow.

Taking a break for a couple days but are going to be back in the bush soon.....

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/UNU4KhJ.jpg[/IMG]

I've been fortunate enough to hunt with my son quite a bit over the years, love every minute of it. Glad you're getting this chance. Good luck!

Nothing better than being able to go out hunting with your kids. Good luck and enjoy the time out there, I hope you’re able to continue for years to come!

hes a dandy

nice chicken