sons 7 and 8th deer.

[johnson1942]

my 15 year old son took his 7th and 8th deer this nov. with his trusty savage .270. the first one was a huge 6 by 5 mule deer buck. the second was a very respectable 4 by 4 that would have pleased any one. the first was at 80 yards and the second was at 225 yards. the first one was so heavy that even after field gutting him my son and I couldnt lift him into the back of our suv. we then drug him to the top of a hill, I then backed the suv hard into a snowbank at the base of the hill. we then slid him down hill right into the open door of the suv. getting him out the canyon he was shot in wasn't fun either but it got done. my sons bedroom wall is getting really full of horns. 3 years ago he took a 9 by 6 monster white tail. big deer seen to be attracted to him when he hunts. with most of the boys in his school hunting he is getting quite a rep for being a good hunter. he also took several rabbits and some pheasants. we always bring his 20 gauge along when we hunt deer.

[nagantguy]

Real nice, you have taught him well, lessons that will last a life time. He's a good shot, ethical, patient can sot still, understands the weight of taking life and I expect gets good grades and is polite or you wouldn't take him hunting and stick a rifle in his hands. Good fer both or you. And also thanks again for all the tips on getting those Lee reals to shoot good. The kurl with a file did the trick!

[birch]

I cannot wait until my kids are old enough to hunt with me. Congrats to you and your son.

My first gun was a 20 gauge that went with me almost every time I got the chance to go out with my dad. I still have it--It is probably only a 75 dollar gun, but it would be the last gun I had to sell if my kids needed something.

[starmac]

Sounds like he will be enjoying a lifetime of hunting and great adventures, it just doesn't get much better. I bet you were all smiles yourself, even if his big deer gave you a workout. lol

[johnson1942]

his 20 gauge is a cheap h and r single shot I traded for a bunch of .270 brass. it shoots just as good a group as a 1500 dollar gun. no need for any other shot gun when the patterns are tight from this one. he is a good boy and gets good grades. he is leaning toward going to college to be a game warden. I think he was made for it.

[starmac]

For shotguns I have single shots, doubles and pumps. Truth be told the single shots are capable of doing pretty much anything I can do. I still have a 36 in barrel 12 gauge stevens, I paid 25 bucks for in a pawnshop when I was 13 years old. I won 2 turkeys and 2 hams with that old gun and brought home truck loads of squirrels and rabbits with it. I always kept a few 3 in 00 buck in my pocket, and more than paid for it betting other kids they wouldn't shoot it twice, 5 bucks a whack. lol

[johnson1942]

I have also 2 old single barrel 12 gauges I bought in pawn shops for 70 dollars and 90 dollars. both hold a group as good as a very very expensive modern shot gun. they will roll anything out their at shot gun distances. I even forgot on out in the yard for a couple of days leaning against a black pine. I had it in the garden with me to get rabbits if one appeared. it was rained on and had a very fine coat of rust on it. I took it apart and cleaned it and oiled it and it was back to the shape it was in before. have no need for an expensive shot gun when I have these old timers.

[starmac]

Once when I was a kid, I got ready to go camping and hunting for the weekend and my old 12 gauge was nowhere to be found. I got to thinking and remembered the last squirrel I had shot (a few days before) was not dead, so I leaned the shotgun against a tree to use both hands to dispatch it. Sure enough I went back to the woods, and it was there leaning against the tree, right where I left it. lol

[johnson1942]

up date, my son got his 9th buck during muzzleloader season.it was a older huge buck with a small 2x2 rack. as the muleys get older they get bigger but the racks can be small. im very proud of him. he also go several rabbits and pheasants during deer season also. a close friend of mine who is from London thinks im teaching my son to kill to easily. he was raised different than us americans from the rural part of this country. what do you all think? my son doesn't display cruelty he just like to hunt. nothing is wasted and you never know when you will need the skills of a gun. he wants to go into game law enforcement when he goes to college and handleing a gun is a part of it. he is safe and very fast on target. I tell my friend I appreciate his input but he has told me several time of his concern at the ease of killing by me and my son. I just say its not a problem.

[starmac]

I take it your friend doesn't hunt. I would much, MUCH rather a kid grow up killing, butchering, cutting, grinding.canning and wrapping meat, than have one that doesn't realize where meat comes from or want to deal with the fact that ALL of it has to be killed before it hits the frying pan.

[johnson1942]

I believe your right. also I have another motive. what if the draft started again. he is much better off like I was when I went in the service. they can teach you guns but if your really good with one before hand it does make a difference. I was born with a gun in my hand and I could never understand those city guys who couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a scoop shovel why they at leaste couldn't learn. it may save his life some day. I friend doesn't hunt and sees killing as killing. hunting is skill and way more than killing.

[starmac]

Hunting is a way of life for some people that non hunters will never understand. They will also never understand the fact that the kill is seldom the driving factor. I don't know how many older hunters that I know, who still enjoys the hunt, goes every year like clockwork, net has no desire to make the kill shot anymore for various reasons.

I was never in the military, but grew up hunting. I do see some of what you are talking about though, as our public range gets plenty of traffic from the base. I sit in the pickup and watch when there are more than just a handfull, hopeing they will leave in a few minutes, but more often than not, leave without ever getting out of the pickup.

[johnson1942]

we laugh at the greeny wenies out here. im for nature and preserving it but I couldn't see no hunting as deer would get totally out of hand here. turkeys are growing In leaps and bounds here. antelope are increasing so fast that one ranch we can hunt on has a propane cannon on it or they would ruin the new alfalfa. saw a herd of about 50 or 60 on their anyways. the cannon ran out of propane. we found a large skeleton on a antelope buck. some one shot him and let him lay. I took the head as I can make nice powder horns out of his horns. mountain lions are getting to be a real problem here also. I love the outdoors but critters have to be kept in control. that mountain lion cost my neighbor some real money. it ran 40 head of cattle out of his corral and he lost 3 of them to the highcountry and the trees. that's 1800 dollars apiece. deer seasons are over now so it is back to rabbits and pheasants and varmits if we see them. I watch the yard as the sun goes down and if a rabbit goes to my apricot trees I yell for my boy to get his shot gun, we can never keep up with it, they breed faster that we can shoot them.