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Jacobs First Bow Kill!!!

scottonbuck

Well-Known Member
My oldest son Jacob who is 13 wanted to start bowhunting this year, we had several discussions on bowhunting and what it takes to actually bowhunt. Growing up as kids we were never given anything so we had to save up and or earn things that we wanted so i suggested to Jacob that he should save up his money to buy himself a nice hunting bow. He jumped on that idea and ran with it. All summer Jacob delivered newspapers and mowed lawns to earn some cash. I hauled him around and allowed him to use our mower as long as he did the work. I always told him if he was going to mow for other people and expect to get paid he better not half ass thier lawns or word would get around and he would be out of a job. He practiced several times on our lawn to perfect his skill since i was his harshest critic. He did well and picked up more
lawns and pretty soon his goal had been met and we went in search of a new bow. We headed over to Sam Collaras shop and found the perfect bow for him and left that day the proud owner of a Mission Craze. He was gleamy knowing he bought the bow all by himself and that his hard work had resulted in purchase of his new bow he insisted on counting out the cash and paying at the register. I picked up the tab for his release and arrows. Jacob practiced with the bow before and after school and worked his arm strength up to shoot 42# consistantly and accurately. We worked on form and his anchor point beating into his head to do the same thing everytime just as if he was hitting a baseball and he caught on quick. I stressed that in bowhunting you get out of it excactly what you put into it, so if you half ass things and take short cuts you can expect half ass mostly crappy results. Boy he must have thought i was a hard ass.
Fast forward to November 8 I told Jacob i would take him out when the rut really started heating up and let him get the full experiance, so at 4:15am He came upstairs to wake me up i told him my alarm didnt go off untill 4:30 and he told me tough luck it was time to get up and get ready to go. After showering we were off to the stands. I snuck in the previous night and hung a stand above a ladderstand. we were set up well before daylight and rode out the 30mph winds untill 9 then we hit the ground as the it was getting sketchy. As we were walking to the truck i spotted a 125" eight point headed our way in the switchgrass. We crouched down and got ready when a doe went bounding across the field with a heavy 140" 8 chasing her, before long 4 bucks were on her tail and Jacob was itching to intersept one of the bucks. It was fun to watch as he had never seen a buck chase a doe, I asked him if he was glad he didnt have to chase girls like that he laughed and said if you have money at the dances you dont have to chase the girls. Kid cracked me up.
Fast forward to that evening we skipped out on a family gathering as i knew once the wind died down it was going to be a wild night. We were set in the same stand as that morning and instantly were seeing deer. After 2 hrs of watching the doe parade and no buck i decided to hit the horns. I told Jacob to keep his eyes open i smashed the horns like it was my job and instantly had a 135-140" 8 come flying in on a dead run and actually ran past us. I still had the horns in my hands and looked at jacob who had already picked up is bow and drew back, unfortuantly the buck stayed just out of range and worked off. Within minute i see him reach and pick up his bow and i saw another 8 pt working down the creek towards us. this buck came all the way to 30 yards when i told Jacob to draw and as soon as he did the buck looked up and spotted him. The stare down began and after a minute at full the draw the buck decided to head back the other way and walked off with out offering Jacob a shot. During all this action i got a call that a close friend killed a good buck. I relayed that information to Jacob and his excitement grew. I also mentioned rattling doesnt always have those results. Well after 45 minutes Jacob was itching for me to hit the horns again. So I did and wouldnt you know it the same 8 pt that ran in the first time came charging back in trying to circle down wind of us. With no shot due to brush the we continued to watch the 8pt when i heard the crunch crunch crunch followed by a short grunt I looked up the creek to see a familar buck headed our way. I told Jacob the heavy 10 was headed our way and for him to turn around and get ready. Well the buck read the script and walked in to 30 yards then stopped then turned right i was thinking shit so i gave a light grunt and he stopped in his tracks and damn near twisted his head off trying to turn around. After a short time he flicked his tail and started walking so i hit him with another grunt and that fucker spun around and wouldnt you know it he laid eyes on that sneaky 8 pt that was trying to get downwind of us. The heavy ten started marching in once he reached 25 yards i told Jacob to draw his bow and that big bastard kept walking on in he passed our 20 yard tree but was still facing us. I told jacob wait untill he turns broadside and no sooner than i said that he turned broadside and within seconds i watched an arrow bury into his ribcage. Jacob smoked him, i watched as the buck made a mad dash out into the switchgrass and within 150 yards watched him pile up. Holy smokes i was stoked and after several high fives and fist bumps we started lowering our gear down to go claim the prize. I was stoked I passed this buck twice thinking that it would be a perfect buck for Jacob to shoot or at least try to shoot and wouldnt you know he showed up. I asked Jacob if all the hard work and practice was worth it and he said for sure it was. I was very impressed at how focused he was when he had bucks all around him that evening, i have seen grown adults fold in those situations and fling arrows thru the trees. Jacob stayed focused on his target and aimpoint on the buck, he told me he never looked at the antlers once he knew the buck was coming in range. He was pretty excited that it all came together and he killed a really nice buck. I wished my first buck was that nice but i didnt have anyone who knew shit about bowhunting when i started and it took 4 years to kill a deer with a bow. It took Jacob one day to punch his tag I wished i had a guide who knew how to kill deer to take me when i was 13. Pics coming soon. Sorry for the long post im just pretty dang proud that he took the challenge, bought his own bow, camo hunting gear, and put in the work of practicing and even helped hang that stand and cut shooting lanes and it all came together.
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That's a great story and very impressive work by your son to truly earn that buck. I always enjoy reading about young hunters having success...especially when they have worked as hard as your boy did. Congrats to all!!

PS. If your son is looking for a job in about 5 years, please let me know, for real. It's darn hard to find youngsters that know what it means to work for something these days and your son has shown more maturity at 13 than many do at 30!!
 
Best story I've read on here this year congrats to both of you glad to see a young boy into hunting and not video games
 
Awesome write up. Hopefully he kept mowing lawns after he bought the bow to pay for the taxidermy bill. Or maybe dad can get him a great Christmas present. Congrats to you both on an awesome buck and the time spent together.
 
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