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Sometimes it's just meant to be!
#6981279
12/03/17 11:04 PM
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,198
Smokey Bear
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,198 |
I have a 18 year old son who was home for thanksgiving break from college a week ago. My best hunting pardner since age 6 when he took his first deer. I had a birthday during the week he was home, and we made a hunt I don't think I can ever top. The morning before my birthday, my son asked if I could get off work early and go hunting the afternoon of my birthday. I told him I thought I could. He then told me in all the years we had hunted together, that I had never shot a deer if he was there. I had always let him shoot them. I hadn't thought about it before and it made me grin. I agreed and told him "that's what dads do". He then asked me "why don't you take a rifle and shoot a deer on your birthday? I'll leave mine at home and sit with you." That one surprised me, so I asked if he was sure about that? He grinned back at me and replied "yup, it'd be fun to finally see you shoot one". By choice and over time I have become a very selective trophy hunter. So I decided to shoot a doe. No worries about age or antlers. Just have some fun and peg a doe on my birthday. I put my 223 bolt gun in the pick up along with a box of my reloads that morning and shot it that day, to make sure everything was still as it needed to be, to pop a doe in the goozle. I left work about 1:30 on my birthday. Went home and picked up my son. After a quick stop at the feed store, we were cornining the shooting lane 15 minutes later. We sat in the truck and he caught me up on college life while a front came through and we waited for the wind to steady up out of the north. At 3 pm we got out and made the 1/2 mile walk to the stand. When we climbed in the box, there were already two grown does and two small fawns picking up the corn. Both fawns were obviously born late and were tiny. Looking at them, I wondered if they were still sucking. I decided to pass them up and not orphan either little one. About 20 minutes later a nice young 10 point quickly crossed 120 yards away. He was trailing something at a fast walk with obvious purpose. He would be a good one in 3 or 4 years. Still on the lookout for a doe to take and trying not to whisper or laugh too loud. I was having a good time sitting there with my son. I thought I saw slight movement through the woods on the same trail the 10 had crossed on earlier, so I picked up my binoculars. In a moment I recognized a deer my son had named 4 years earlier. A big nocturnal 7 year old 10 point with lots of mass. The only buck I was aware of that would cause me to use my trophy tag on. Recognition was instant and as I admired his antlers through the binocs, unwittingly, I was momentarily vapor locked. He was trailing and on a mission. He was walking at a quick clip and about to be gone when a heard a soft whisper "you better hurry". I would like to think I would have killed him anyway, but the boys heads up did refocus me. As I shouldered the little 223, the 55 gr soft points I had loaded put a knot in my gut just before I put the crosshairs right above the shoulder where the spine dips low and transitions from neck to spine and stoned him. It happened quick. All told maybe four seconds elapsed from the initial sighting to laying on the ground. My son looked at me and he was laughing. He asked me "did that just happen"? The buck was in plain sight and as we waited about 15 minutes I could tell he was bigger than I had thought from the trail cam pics. After we walked up on the deer and were certain he was down for keeps. We did a quick occular field score and got 171". We both started laughing. My son reminded me It was the first deer he had ever seen me shoot. I reminded him any other day it would have been his. About that time he noticed a big piece of aluminum foil laying flat on the ground about a step and a half from where the buck had fell. My eyes were still full of the buck and I hadn't seen it. He asked me what it was. I said tin foil, let's pick it up. When he picked it up, it was a flat helium balloon that had fell to the ground. He flipped it over and it read "Happy Birthday". When we finally quit laughing my son got a serious look on his face and said "that kinda scary, but it was just meant to happen. That buck was meant for you". The buck ended up scoring 174" and has 39 2/8" inches of mass. On the way home the boy looked at me and said "when I was little, I thought you were the smartest, the best fisherman, and the best hunter in the world". I looked back at him and told him "you were right". The boy is back at college now but that was a hell of a birthday.
Smokey Bear---Lone Star State.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981289
12/03/17 11:13 PM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 18,721
Roll-Tide
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 18,721 |
Thank you for posting this a great story
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981293
12/03/17 11:19 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 40
blaklab
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 40 |
Great father-son story, any pics?
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Roll-Tide]
#6981302
12/03/17 11:26 PM
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 82
21xsElite
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 82 |
Thank you for posting this a great story x2
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981311
12/03/17 11:36 PM
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,256
Shooter5645
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,256 |
Now that was really, really cool....thanks for posting it.
The truth is like a Lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself. St Augustine
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981319
12/03/17 11:41 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,683
Walkabout
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,683 |
AWESOME! Great story thanks.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981324
12/03/17 11:44 PM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 612
wtr
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 612 |
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981341
12/03/17 11:57 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 29,608
Sneaky
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 29,608 |
You’re tossing around numbers like that with no pictures? Is that even legal?
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981356
12/04/17 12:05 AM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,124
postoak
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,124 |
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981388
12/04/17 12:29 AM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 773
TexasUplander
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 773 |
what a great story. cant wait for the pics!
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981394
12/04/17 12:35 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,063
Wilhunt
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,063 |
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981406
12/04/17 12:50 AM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,032
deerhunter1956
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,032 |
Happy Belated Birthday Great story.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981440
12/04/17 01:05 AM
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 680
Eyesofahunter
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 680 |
A great story about how being a great dad pays off not only in the deer but in having a son like the one you described. Happy belated B-day.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981509
12/04/17 02:01 AM
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Shecrappiekilla
Unregistered
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Shecrappiekilla
Unregistered
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Dang Smokey! That's awesome.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Roll-Tide]
#6981512
12/04/17 02:02 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7,806
Deerhunter61
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7,806 |
Thank you for posting this a great story Congratulations! And like everyone else...it feels a little incomplete without a pic!
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981533
12/04/17 02:17 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 107
alsaenz
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 107 |
Amazing story. Happy birthday, and congrats on the buck. Nothing beats having time with the kids, and that is certainly one of the best ways to spend time with them. Happy for you.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981620
12/04/17 03:16 AM
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,091
Wacm
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,091 |
Yup let's see some pictures. Your boy is officially a man.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981622
12/04/17 03:19 AM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 612
wtr
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 612 |
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: wtr]
#6981626
12/04/17 03:22 AM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,478
4Weight
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,478 |
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981668
12/04/17 03:53 AM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 19,249
TEXASLEFTY
THF Whiskey Sommelier
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THF Whiskey Sommelier
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 19,249 |
Never been to a camping world. I prefer Dick's to be honest.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6981960
12/04/17 03:00 PM
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Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 179
D'hanis
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 179 |
Wow, great story. Thanks for sharing!
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Sneaky]
#6981978
12/04/17 03:12 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,526
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,526 |
You’re tossing around numbers like that with no pictures? Is that even legal?
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6982114
12/04/17 04:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,574
Leonardo
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,574 |
Great story. Would love to see a picture too.
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6982179
12/04/17 05:19 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 316
LTC Realty
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 316 |
great father son time! wish my dad hunted so I could share these memories
Look-To-Christ Real Estate. Let me know if I can help you with any of your real estate needs!
Bryley Doucet Ph: 469-261-1076 Email: Bryleydoucet@yahoo.com
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Re: Sometimes it's just meant to be!
[Re: Smokey Bear]
#6982548
12/04/17 10:01 PM
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,198
Smokey Bear
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 5,198 |
Sorry guys. No pics on the net. We have had issues with poachers apprehended on the property. The landowner now adamately discourages members from posting deer pics from his property on the web.
Smokey Bear---Lone Star State.
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