ptarmigan
FNG
It had been about 10yrs since I went back to Maine to deer hunt. This year I decided I needed to take my boys back and hunt with my old man again. He's had a rough couple of years and figured I had better do it. Three years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinsons, last year he had shoulder surgery followed by both knees being replaced. My grandfather passed away just after my dads second knee surgery and he couldn't travel to the funeral. This April he had a heart attack followed by a quadruple bypass, which failed, followed by another heart attack then stents. In October my seemingly super fit and healthy Aunt passed away suddenly at the age of 62. My old man was pretty broken.
We planned the trip and surprised him with our arrival, which brought some big smiles. It was going to be a short trip so after traveling for 24hrs on no sleep, we hit the woods the next morning. Windy and cold the first couple of days with few deer seen. The third day brought a Nor'eastah which was fun to hunt in! What a difference having snow on the ground is. On our last day to hunt the weather was perfect, temps in the 30's with about 6" of fresh snow.
My 9 yr old was with me all day and my oldest stayed with my dad to help him out. We tracked a few deer during the day and decided to sit for the last two hours. My boy was cold and tired by about 2:45 and was ready to throw in the towel, but I convinced him to sit it out. At 3 this little spike horn came out bouncing behind a doe and I figured it was my only chance. I laid it out with my 8x57 using Hornady 195gr Interlocks. My boy immediately gave me hell for not letting him shoot it, but it was one of those times when you have about 2 seconds to shoot and he was eating a sandwich! Haha! We gutted it and dragged it out to the truck and my old man. He was in tears. It was a good lesson to my boys that it's not always about the size of the trophy, but it's about the experience. I also have to give some thanks to my dads best friend who hunted with us. He had tagged out a couple of weeks prior but beat the brush with no gun every day with us, doing so with a broken arm and a knee pumped full of cortisone.
We finished the trip with an early turkey day on Sunday and headed back to AK the following day. It was a short trip but it was so worth it. You'll never regret making those kind of memories and I hope to make it back next fall. Oh, and I ate more haddock, scallops, fried clams, and lobster than I should have but, when in Maine you just have too!
We planned the trip and surprised him with our arrival, which brought some big smiles. It was going to be a short trip so after traveling for 24hrs on no sleep, we hit the woods the next morning. Windy and cold the first couple of days with few deer seen. The third day brought a Nor'eastah which was fun to hunt in! What a difference having snow on the ground is. On our last day to hunt the weather was perfect, temps in the 30's with about 6" of fresh snow.
My 9 yr old was with me all day and my oldest stayed with my dad to help him out. We tracked a few deer during the day and decided to sit for the last two hours. My boy was cold and tired by about 2:45 and was ready to throw in the towel, but I convinced him to sit it out. At 3 this little spike horn came out bouncing behind a doe and I figured it was my only chance. I laid it out with my 8x57 using Hornady 195gr Interlocks. My boy immediately gave me hell for not letting him shoot it, but it was one of those times when you have about 2 seconds to shoot and he was eating a sandwich! Haha! We gutted it and dragged it out to the truck and my old man. He was in tears. It was a good lesson to my boys that it's not always about the size of the trophy, but it's about the experience. I also have to give some thanks to my dads best friend who hunted with us. He had tagged out a couple of weeks prior but beat the brush with no gun every day with us, doing so with a broken arm and a knee pumped full of cortisone.
We finished the trip with an early turkey day on Sunday and headed back to AK the following day. It was a short trip but it was so worth it. You'll never regret making those kind of memories and I hope to make it back next fall. Oh, and I ate more haddock, scallops, fried clams, and lobster than I should have but, when in Maine you just have too!
