Youth Hunt

This week when I looked at the list I saw that I would be guiding a youth hunt. I love taking anyone hunting, but I especially enjoy taking a young person. I like to see young people involved in hunting. Of course young hunters are much less likely to try and do my job for me as well. A guide never hears a young hunter say things like, I think we should do it this way or let's not get up that early. For the most part kids are excited to be hunting, curious about hunting skills, and listen for advice. This would prove to be true again when Morgan Menke arrived with her father Ray. Morgan and her Dad arrived mid-afternoon. With only a couple hours of daylight left we went to the range to check Morgan's rifle. With only one shot I knew that her 6mm was sighted in. We drove to an oat field about a mile away to glass and see what was there. Within ten minutes we saw probably thirty bucks. We saw a few eight points, which is what Morgan was after, but nothing that I thoughted warranted the hunt being over in the first hour. I had seen a buck two days before this hunt was to start and I wanted to go look for him. I had guessed this buck in the mid 140's with tall tines and heavy antlers. The buck we were looking for was using a mowed area along a main road towards the center of the ranch. When we didn't see him I started driving back towards the lodge for supper. About three miles from the lodge I found a buck that was a serious cull. With a spike for a left antler and a fork on the other side and no brow tines he had to go. I told Morgan that it was fine that she take him and that it wouldn't count towards her buck. The ranch is under MLD permits, meaning the state issues Mellon Creek Ranch tags. By using these tags Morgan could take this cull and not use her tags on her hunting license. With a well placed 6mm bullet the buck was in the back of my truck. We had dinner and I went to bed. I arrived at the lodge earlier then usual the following morning. I hoped to have breakfast and get to the area I had seen that buck before daylight. Morgan's father walked out and told me that she was sick. I really felt sorry for her because I knew how excited she was. I decided to go scout for another guide and wait to see if Morgan felt better. Jimmy Brown, the man in charge of all the booking called a doctor in Victoria. Dr. John McNeil saw Morgan and wrote a prescription for some kind of medicine that turned out to be a miracle drug. That afternoon we got in the truck and went looking around. I knew she was weak so I ellected to sit on a road intersection and watch deer. I assumed that she didn't feel like bouncing around in the truck. She slept most of the evening so my assumption must have been right. The next morning with Morgan feeling much better we headed to the place where I had seen the big 8. We saw him just as he was stepping in the brush. I hid the truck and we walked about two hundred yards to a place we coulds hide and rattle. Just as I was getting her set up on my shooting sticks he walked back out. The buck was following a doe and walking in our direction. I told her we would let him get closer, big mistake. He made it to within 118 yards of us and started running after the doe. He and the doe ran right by us and disappeared into the brush. We waited an hour but he never came back out. Explaining to Morgan that I thought we needed to move on we walked back to the truck and drove east. Dustin, another guide here at Mellon Creek called me on the radio. He said that he had a nice eight point feeding down a pipeline. We drove to where Dustin was sitting and looked at the buck. The wind was wrong to make a stalk from where we sat; I would have to drive way around and come at him that way. Once in position I looked through my binoculars and guessed our distance at about 1500 yards. I explained to Morgan and Ray that we would hug the edge of the pipeline and walk in the bucks direction. With dry blood weeds head high we began our stalk. Luckily the buck kept feeding and we made it to within 150 yards. I was wanting to get closer but knew the buck would hear us moving through the dry weeds and grass. Just as I was going to set up my shooting sticks the buck picked his head up and started walking in our direction. I quickly and quietly motioned for Morgan and her dad to move back deeper into the brush. I told her that when he got even with us I would stop him. Likewise I said that she would only have a neck shot and a quick one. I knew he would be close and run if she didn't shoot fast. Not liking the way this was working out and not knowing what I could do to make it better I stood there right beside Morgan. Within a minute he appeared and I grunted. "Can you see him Morgan" I whispered? Yes sir, she said. I grunted and he stopped and looked in our direction. With no more then a foot of his neck above the blood weeds I had just enough time to think, man that is a tough shot. The 6mm shattered the morning silence and the buck dropped in his tracks. Morgan was so excited and so was I. What a stalk, what a hunt, and how it all happened made it even sweeter. Later I stepped off the shot and we were only fifty-two feet from the buck. We never did get that one I was after but there will be more to come on him in a later blog.

Posted: 12/5/2010 10:31:24 AM by Global Administrator | with 0 comments

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