I’d been waiting my entire life for this moment – I was finally old enough to hunt in my home state of Arizona. Application season came and went without me drawing a single tag my dad had put me in for. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
After several years of applying, my Papa Joner had drawn his first Coues deer tag, and when he found out I had not drawn, he graciously transferred his deer tag over to me. I was so excited. I could now hunt deer!
While patiently waiting for my November deer hunt, my dad was able to purchase me an OTC bear tag that would allow us to hunt a single weekend in October due to his work schedule. On the second and last day of the bear hunt, my dad and I were sitting in a canyon where he had seen bears many times. It was midday when my dad heard a stick break. He turned around and saw a bear at very close range. I quickly grabbed the gun and turned around. Dad told me to rest the gun on his shoulder and if I felt comfortable and wanted to shoot the bear, to go ahead when I was ready. Without hesitation, I squeezed the trigger, and with one perfectly-placed shot, I had just harvested my first big game animal.
October turned into November, and a game plan was made for the first day of my deer hunt. We awoke early the next morning and drove to our predetermined spot where we met my dad’s hunting buddy, Kyle, who was coming along with us to help glass. We got our gear, put on our headlamps, and hiked to the top of the mountain, arriving just as the sun was coming up.
We quickly set up and started picking the hills apart with our binos in hopes of finding a buck. An hour went by without any bucks being spotted, so my dad went to the other side to look into the country we had hiked through coming in. It was only a couple of minutes later when my dad came and told me there was a small 3x3 over there and asked if I wanted to shoot it. I said, “Yes!”
We quickly made our way over to where my dad had seen the buck, and he was still standing there at 325 yards, eating a barrel cactus. I got all set up on the tripod, and after a couple of dry fires, my dad asked if I was steady enough and calm. I had ice in my veins and was ready for the shot. My dad was filming and was ready when I slowly squeezed the trigger. At the sound of the shot, the buck lunged and ran about 20 yards out of sight, but we could tell he was hurt badly. Kyle also said he saw him falling down as he ran out of sight. With our gear gathered, we quickly made it over to the barrel cactus and found blood. I tracked it to the small ravine he disappeared into, and he was piled up right there. A perfect shot through the lungs did the trick.
My dad and I dragged him a little ways up the hill and took a lot of pictures. I called Papa and told him that I had just shot my first deer. He was very excited for me! We quartered the deer up, got all the delicious meat off of him, and headed back down the mountain to the truck. I was excited to get home and show my mom and sister.
My luck didn’t end there. I also harvested a javelina the following February. I am thankful that Papa gave me his tag, and I’m thankful for my dad who always takes me hunting.
After several years of applying, my Papa Joner had drawn his first Coues deer tag, and when he found out I had not drawn, he graciously transferred his deer tag over to me. I was so excited. I could now hunt deer!
While patiently waiting for my November deer hunt, my dad was able to purchase me an OTC bear tag that would allow us to hunt a single weekend in October due to his work schedule. On the second and last day of the bear hunt, my dad and I were sitting in a canyon where he had seen bears many times. It was midday when my dad heard a stick break. He turned around and saw a bear at very close range. I quickly grabbed the gun and turned around. Dad told me to rest the gun on his shoulder and if I felt comfortable and wanted to shoot the bear, to go ahead when I was ready. Without hesitation, I squeezed the trigger, and with one perfectly-placed shot, I had just harvested my first big game animal.
October turned into November, and a game plan was made for the first day of my deer hunt. We awoke early the next morning and drove to our predetermined spot where we met my dad’s hunting buddy, Kyle, who was coming along with us to help glass. We got our gear, put on our headlamps, and hiked to the top of the mountain, arriving just as the sun was coming up.
We quickly set up and started picking the hills apart with our binos in hopes of finding a buck. An hour went by without any bucks being spotted, so my dad went to the other side to look into the country we had hiked through coming in. It was only a couple of minutes later when my dad came and told me there was a small 3x3 over there and asked if I wanted to shoot it. I said, “Yes!”
We quickly made our way over to where my dad had seen the buck, and he was still standing there at 325 yards, eating a barrel cactus. I got all set up on the tripod, and after a couple of dry fires, my dad asked if I was steady enough and calm. I had ice in my veins and was ready for the shot. My dad was filming and was ready when I slowly squeezed the trigger. At the sound of the shot, the buck lunged and ran about 20 yards out of sight, but we could tell he was hurt badly. Kyle also said he saw him falling down as he ran out of sight. With our gear gathered, we quickly made it over to the barrel cactus and found blood. I tracked it to the small ravine he disappeared into, and he was piled up right there. A perfect shot through the lungs did the trick.
My dad and I dragged him a little ways up the hill and took a lot of pictures. I called Papa and told him that I had just shot my first deer. He was very excited for me! We quartered the deer up, got all the delicious meat off of him, and headed back down the mountain to the truck. I was excited to get home and show my mom and sister.
My luck didn’t end there. I also harvested a javelina the following February. I am thankful that Papa gave me his tag, and I’m thankful for my dad who always takes me hunting.