Years ago when my son was 14 I set him a on stand for the first time and five minutes later he shot a huge buck. I had barley driven away. He was like, "This deer hunting thing is easy!". I was upset because I knew he was ruined! You are not supposed to get your first deer like that. You are supposed to freeze your buns off for weeks and though you started off imagining shooting a buck so big it could cradle a baby grand piano in it's rack, you end up settling for a spike buck and you are exhilarated about it. That is how your first deer season is supposed to go. Then each year, as you get more experience, you get a bigger deer and so on and so forth. Shooting a massive 200lb 10 point buck with your fathers rifle on a 70 degree day after sitting on the stand for only five minutes is the worst thing that could happen to a beginner. It creates an unreasonable imbalance in their expectations. There is nothing left for them to aspire to after that.

Just as I expected, the next year when he did not get a huge deer in five minutes suffering some minor cold on the stand, he was like, "I don't think I want to hunt deer no more." Each year, I would ask him if he wanted hunt deer and would not show much interest. He bought stupid guns like AR-15s and pimped them out with all kinds of gadget that made them look real cool, but when it came to accuracy, they were sorry at best. All the while, I was like, "Hey son, why don't you buy a serious deer rifle." Finally last year Savage had a sale on a Axis II XP package with a weaver scope for $289 after a $50 rebate. It was a heck of a deal and after much pressuring, he finally caved and bought one, a .243. After putting three in a 1/4 inch group at 100 yards, he was like, "Hey this gun is way more accurate then those other guns I paid $800 for. I said, "Yes, that is because this is a serious long range hunting weapon, not some cool looking toy that was designed for close quarter fast action combat."

So after I shot that nice buck a while back, my son finally said (after 6 years), I think I would like to try to get a buck. I showed him pictures of all the bucks coming to my feeders and said he could shoot anyone but my target buck. I told him. "You go out morning and afternoon. It might take a few days, but if you are patient, you will get one. He did and after about five days, he got this nice one. He was so happy! I was like, "Yes! He is finally getting back to what deer hunting is supposed to be." Getting a good deer is supposed to be a reward that you earn.

Nice buck.

Very nice!. I agree with you to a point, but they have other things occupying their minds at that age too No doubt things that come tough, usually are much more appreciated, even for us older folks (sometimes).

Congrats to both of you!

Nice job! I know people love their black guns and I guess they have their place but I just love the feel of a good bolt action. Also nice to hear that the Axis was so accurate. I have a Savage 111 and love it but the deals they run on those Axis rifles always intrigue me.

Great story and congrats!

I have a Savage 110 in .234. I bought it in 1992. It is a nail puncher at 100 yards. It is my baby. It only comes out of it's hard shell case for deer season and it goes right back in. I put a Bushnell 4x12x40 scope on it in 1996 and sighted it in and that was the last time I messed with it. I used it for years to cull deer for the White Point Ranch in Paint Rock, TX. They require head shots only. I have shot many deer in the head with it at range of 300 yards. It is just a sweet shooting gun. It does not have the nice accutrigger on it, but I have never needed it.

The Axis 2 XP is a significant improvement over the original Axis. Aside from design improvements, it comes with the Accu-Trigger standard, which is an $80 upgrade over the standard triggers that come on the Axis. The XP package also comes with a Weaver Kaspa 3x9x40 scope which a $120 scope. So for $289 (after $50 rebate), if you deduct $80 + 120, you are only paying $89 for the gun, that was an exceptional deal. It was so good I bought a 233 for myself. Both of these guns can shoot sub MOA groups at 100 with no problems. My 233 hates Remington ammo though. With Winchester ammo I can shoot 1.5" groups at 300 yards with it.

Great story Dad, and congrats on being patient with the boy/man. He's well on his way.

Awesome

Thanks.

Awesome Buck! Congrats to you both

Great story. We hunt small acreage and so the deer are not as routine as some of the larger acreage are. I have had my son out a few times with me and this weekend will be the first where he is the shooter. My girlfriend asked if I wanted to take him to her parents where 20 minutes after corning the roads the deer show up every night. I said, no hunting shouldn't be that easy, if he doesn't get a deer this year then he doesn't get a deer. I grew up knowing I probably wasn't going to get one but that's all part of hunting.

Excellent!

You have the right idea there. I know we live in a microwave society that thinks kids should be encouraged by us giving them everything they want without any effort on their part, but that teaches them the wrong thing about life and leads them to believe they are owed the best for no reason other then they are alive. When they enter the work place and experience real life where only hard work and dedication are rewarded, they get confused and angry because reality does not live up to the expectations of the illusion they were led to believe is real. I have dealt with hundreds of modern young people that fail in life and become angry at everyone because of this.

Kids need to learn that in real life, reward is not deserved, it is earned. The same goes for trust and respect, which are also earned but are to often confused with love and forgiveness which are given.

I have a saying that I teach to people. "You will learn. Either your parents will teach you or life will teach you, but you will learn. The only question is, what will be left of your life by the time you do."

You are teaching your son well. Who knew that kids could learn real life lessons from deer hunting?

He's got the hang of it looks like.

Awesome!!

Sure beats the heck out of my first buck.

Congratulations!