Drawing a unit we don’t “deserve”

[Dfw2010]

So my 12 year old son got really lucky in the secondary draw and we got a 4th season tag in a unit that seems way beyond our pay grade. I’ve just gotten started doing western hunting after moving out west and the plan was to start building points while hunting OTC and easy to draw units. He has two white tails under his belt this past season. And is pretty accurate at the 100 yard range we go to.
Right now my plan is to start stretching out the distance to get him comfortable at up to 300 yards. I’m trying to read all I can about e-scouting to put a plan together for the hunt.
But any advice on a getting a young kid ready for a premium unit would be much appreciated.

 

[Mohican-Sneakin]

Looking back, the biggest thing where I struggled when I started hunting was the shooting and not getting buck fever. Now there’s nothing that will prepare you for buck fever, but shooting practice helps a lot. I remember my friends who shot all the time were absolute killers.


Also, set your boy up for success. Try not to shoot past 100 yards. If the tag is that good, then you should be able to do this easily


And one more thing that comes to mind. It’s his tag! I’ve seen many times when the dad wants to shoot a big buck more than the son. Guide him, and strive to kill the best animal you can find, and let him have agency on how he punches the tag. My .02


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[justinspicher]

Find a place to shoot prairie dogs. That’s excellent practice in many ways.

 

[TheDoublR]

What rifle you going to put him on? Going too big and developing flinch is counter productive. 243 is pretty good for a 12 year old.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Dont deserve?

 

[Steve300xcw]

243 is pretty good for a 12 year old.

I've heard rumors that it works pretty good for those adult folks too

 

[TheDoublR]

I've heard rumors that it works pretty good for those adult folks too

Ha. True that

 

[Mountainrancher]

Don’t make a big deal about it. It’s just a hunt at the end of the day no matter the unit. Don’t try and put any pressure on him or yourself. Shoot as much as you can especially 22lr. Then come season have fun and make memories it’s not about tagging out at that age.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Figure out what he wants out of the hunt and keep that in mind. IE don't look down on a certain caliber of buck because you think the unit can do better if he's comfortable with it. In may sour his impression only to end up needing to "settle" for that type of buck if you don't find something better and then bum him out. Its okay to be patient and not rush the hunt to review your options but keep you opinion of the bucks to yourself imho. Even in good units big deer aren't around every corner (and the kid might not be willing to grind to find one), you'll probably see a decent amount of younger bucks in good units and that is where you can say review your options.

 

[WRO]

It’ll be an awesome experience for you and him. My kids have drawn some great tags so far, it’s always a treat.

 

[sndmn11]

Right now my plan is to start stretching out the distance to get him comfortable at up to 300 yards. I’m trying to read all I can about e-scouting to put a plan together for the hunt.
But any advice on a getting a young kid ready for a premium unit would be much appreciated.

Get him able to shoot kneeling or from standing support to 200 and off hand to 100. There shouldn't be much reason to shoot out to 300, but there will be opportunity to close that distance.

 

[RockAndSage]

+1 for what everyone's saying about practicing, especially from field-realistic positions. Buck Fever is probably 95% about how confident you are in a shot, not the buck itself. Get him shooting so often he knows his capabilities in each position, in field realities, so that he's just a stone-cold shooter. The hours of doing that together is worth just as much when he's a dad himself, as the hunt itself.

Regarding the unit, I'd strongly suggest not building it up in your minds as a magical mule deer machine, churning out trophies with some sort of once-in-a-lifetime chances involved. That leads to both overblown and unrealistic expectations, along with increasing frustrations at why you're not seeing bucks everywhere. This is 10x important for guys still learning how to hunt muleys. Think of a good unit as one that just might make it a bit easier to find a buck, not the buck.

The rule to remember is this: never pass up a buck on the first day, that you wouldn't pass up on the last day.

Scouting the zone would be super helpful in setting expectations, too. If you can get out there this month, it'll double your hunt's success and enjoyability.

 

[BH107]

Like others have said, shoot alot with a 22LR and in all different positions. We built a really nice "trainer" for my son that is set up similar to his hunting rifle. He shoots at least 500rds a summer in all different positions. When he had an opportunity on his first nice mule deer at 11 the shooting part was automatic. He made a perfect shot at 350 last year at 12 too. Another thing we did was shot a little steel at longer distances before the season started with his deer rifle that made him even more confident at shorter ranges.

 

[ZWA]

Just wanted to add that if you have the ability try and have him practice shooting suppressed. When getting my daughter ready for her first hunt, not having a big bang go off really helped her avoid flinching or becoming scared of it. And yes I chopped a 243 to minimum barrel length for the can.