Last weekend (12/3-12/4), my 10 yo son and I participated in one of NewJeep's "cheap" deer hunts. The hunt was advertised as a no-frills hunt for typical low-fence hill country whitetails and hogs. If by "no-frills" he meant no food or lodging, then I guess it was as advertised. The blinds and feeders were average, nothing fancy/nothing shabby. The placement of the blinds and feeders is well though out and shows an intimate knowledge of both the deer herd and the property. We saw lots of deer and during our second sit on Saturday, my son took his second ever buck, a nice little 8 point that he chose for its symmetry and the fact that the antlers were "two-tone" (dark bases and lighter tines). All in all a pretty good experience for a "cheap" hunt.

However, when it came to the intangibles, those little things that don't show up when you just talk about the the "stuff" of the hunt (blinds, feeders, herd, etc.), our time there pretty much rivaled or exceeded what I have experienced on much more expensive hunts. Andrew could not have been more welcoming to, and patient, with my son. He treated him like he would any other hunter (which my son loved), answered any question he had and listened to his multiple re-tellings of how the deer was DRT. Andrew pulled off that rare combination of making you feel like you were hunting with a buddy, while simultaneously providing all the services you expect from a guide (a talent he shares with fellow THFer Deer Hound).

I would give the overall experience an A++

Congrats! Sounds like y'all had a good time. Good hunts make good memories.

Glad to hear it was good hunt. Any pics of your sons deer?

It is always good to hear about enjoyable hunts. Especially when it involves youngsters. Congrats. to you, your son and new jeep.

I know in the hill country you may not see any monster bucks, but other than the nice 8 your son took (congrats to him on that), y'all see other decent bucks? Thanks

We saw a pretty decent mix of bucks. I'm a sucker for super symmetrical typicals and there were some really nice 8's that fit that category. I definitely would have taken one, but I was waiting for my son to take his buck first and he didn't do that until later on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday morning, just as I was making mind up about whether I was going to take (i) a really dark antlered 8 or (ii) that huge bodied doe that was vacuuming up all the corn under the feeder (she looked like really good eating) Or (iii) come up with a cunning plan that would allow me to take both, a really pretty 10 came ghosting up through the cedars that edged the shooting lane near the feeder. He wasn't huge, maybe 125, but his rack swept up and out and then curved gently back in at the tips.

At his arrival, the other bucks excused themselves, as did most of the smaller does. after a couple of minutes, all that was left was the 10, doezilla and a tiny yearling doe that hadn't lifted her head up from the corn since the feeder had gone off 30 minutes earlier.

I sat there for 45 minutes watching those two does eat and catching glimpses of that rack through the cedars, until the two does walked over to the 10 pointer and they all disappeared back into the brush. He apparently has a big brother that goes over 140 that sticks to the other side of the property and if his rack is anywhere near as pretty as the one I saw, he is one he77 of a buck.

Thanks everybody for the congratulations for my son. Here's a pic pf his deer. For comparison's sake, my son's about 5'2"

Congrats to your son!

Nice review and great job by the young man!

He got him a nice one. Sounds like a good weekend

The smile on his face says it all

Thank you for the kind words. I enjoyed meeting and getting to know you and your son. Looking forward to the next hunt.