08/31/2025
Buck & Denise came in to kick off our season. I have to thank them for their patience on this first hunt. With a new horse & a 14 month old there were some challenges!
First hunt out we tried to take Landon, but 200 yards from the pickup we had to send Aspen & Landon back to the pickup to entertain great grandpa. We continued on & did well for a couple hundred yards, then we broke some roping reins. Good thing Aspen had gone back cause she was able to get a lead rope out to us. There was another misunderstanding between horses & equipment so Aspen rescued us again. We started out with 5 people & 2 horses & soon had dwindled to 2 people & 1 horse. We saw the buck who had bedded not far from where we first saw him, but he had 24 sets of eyes with him & we decided there were easier ways to do things.
The next stalk was a lone buck. My favorite kind!!! He cooperated well. We were getting in nicely & all horses & people were doing everything right. The buck had bedded down when we were getting close, but bedded down with his butt toward us. So now it was a get the right angle game. We'd gotten to 39 yards on him by then & our attempts to swing around him were proving slow. The buck got up & bedded again another 60 yards out. It just didn't happen.
No worries. Lots a nice bucks to pick from. Over the course of 2 days were had some great stalks on pretty bucks, but kept coming up short. By the afternoon of day 2 we were gonna try another lone buck. He was gorgeous!!! We were slipping in close. He wasn't too concerned, but we also weren't far from the road. There was one drive-by too many, and at 61 yards he decided it was time to walk. He was never spooked, so we tried a bit longer, but were playing in the 90 yard range & decided to call it quits with him. Had another try on a buck that afternoon & spooked up a freak so not everything was for nothing.
The next morning Aspen decided she was gonna take the lead. So happy to have her do that!!! We couldn't believe it, but the big buck from the day before was almost where we left him. Off we went, down the hill. Meanwhile, back at the pickup, great grandpa was blossoming into a great toddler wrangler!!! So much so, he had put Landon to sleep!!! Being second horse I was able to send pictures & updates to him while he held the sleeping boy. Aspen did it like a pro!!! We crept down that hill so nicely that the buck bedded down. Her biggest obstacle though was the fence. The buck was just inside the next pasture so she had to do some calculating to get Buck in the right spot for a shot. At 54 yards he let an arrow fly!! Unfortunately things didn't connect & the buck walked out across the field & was gone.
We really had a great first hunt & are happy to add Buck & Denise to our group of friends. And hunting with 4 generations is even better than hunting with 3 ๐นโค๏ธ