Bagel_7
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2015
- Messages
- 128
My 11 year old daughter went on her first hunt the last weekend of January and we had a blast. The story starts a few weeks prior when I entered her into a hunt giveaway with Hunt AZ on Instagram. Her and another youth hunter were selected to hunt with JP at Big Chino Outfitters out of Seligman AZ.
Over the next 10 days we got in a lot of range time and some time behind the glass.
Fast forward through our 13 hour drive and we arrive the day season opens. JP spoils my daughter and gives her all kinds of swag which she loved. We eat dinner and make plans for the morning.
we get up early and head out to an area they’ve seen pigs in the past. We hike up a small mountain and get to the first glassing knob. Within 2 minutes of sitting down our guide Cody finds a group feeding away from us. We gather up a few things, ear pro not being one, and head down the mountain to start our stalk. Over the next hour and a half we trail the group trying to get my daughter the perfect shot. I get her set up with the gun in the pig saddle on my tripod but the pigs keep feeding away not going her the broadside shot we’re waiting for. Finally we get a shot at a pig broad side about 80 yards, she’s a bit nervous to shoot since I left the ear pro in my back on the mountain. She settles in and shoots, immediately jumping up holding her ears. We missed.
We move ahead and check for blood but don’t find anything.
We start on our way back and I find a lone pig from the group. We move up a hill to cut it off and stay down wind. We wait but the pig never comes. We head back toward where we last saw the pig and unknowingly stop about 10 yards from where it bedded in a bush. It spooks and runs off never giving us a shot.
We decide to move to a new spot and head up a new mountain to glass, after seeing nothing for 1-1/2 hours we hear over the radio a second guide Brady spotted a group of pigs. So we head down the mountain towards where he had last seen them. The pigs had headed into the thick brush. As we are moving through the brush our guide Cody jumps up onto some rocks to peak over the other side to see if the pigs moved around the hill. As he’s up there glassing I hear movement through the brush and start to move for a better look and I freeze. A small pig about 20 yards from me is looking right at me. After about a minute it puts its head down and feeds behind a bush. I signal for my daughter to move up and get ready. She gets behind the gun and a bigger pig steps out at 10 yards. She has it in her sights but it’s looking right at us. It turns its head and she pulls the trigger and I see the pig jump. It runs about 20 yards and falls.
She so excited she screeches and we hug. She got to experience highs and lows, action and slow glassing it was a great first hunt and she was successful. We made life long memories and I think this hooked her on hunting.
Over the next 10 days we got in a lot of range time and some time behind the glass.
Fast forward through our 13 hour drive and we arrive the day season opens. JP spoils my daughter and gives her all kinds of swag which she loved. We eat dinner and make plans for the morning.
we get up early and head out to an area they’ve seen pigs in the past. We hike up a small mountain and get to the first glassing knob. Within 2 minutes of sitting down our guide Cody finds a group feeding away from us. We gather up a few things, ear pro not being one, and head down the mountain to start our stalk. Over the next hour and a half we trail the group trying to get my daughter the perfect shot. I get her set up with the gun in the pig saddle on my tripod but the pigs keep feeding away not going her the broadside shot we’re waiting for. Finally we get a shot at a pig broad side about 80 yards, she’s a bit nervous to shoot since I left the ear pro in my back on the mountain. She settles in and shoots, immediately jumping up holding her ears. We missed.
We move ahead and check for blood but don’t find anything.
We start on our way back and I find a lone pig from the group. We move up a hill to cut it off and stay down wind. We wait but the pig never comes. We head back toward where we last saw the pig and unknowingly stop about 10 yards from where it bedded in a bush. It spooks and runs off never giving us a shot.
We decide to move to a new spot and head up a new mountain to glass, after seeing nothing for 1-1/2 hours we hear over the radio a second guide Brady spotted a group of pigs. So we head down the mountain towards where he had last seen them. The pigs had headed into the thick brush. As we are moving through the brush our guide Cody jumps up onto some rocks to peak over the other side to see if the pigs moved around the hill. As he’s up there glassing I hear movement through the brush and start to move for a better look and I freeze. A small pig about 20 yards from me is looking right at me. After about a minute it puts its head down and feeds behind a bush. I signal for my daughter to move up and get ready. She gets behind the gun and a bigger pig steps out at 10 yards. She has it in her sights but it’s looking right at us. It turns its head and she pulls the trigger and I see the pig jump. It runs about 20 yards and falls.
She so excited she screeches and we hug. She got to experience highs and lows, action and slow glassing it was a great first hunt and she was successful. We made life long memories and I think this hooked her on hunting.
