Jack’s big adventure!

[Pilchard]

We've officially kicked off our annual deer camp. My grandfather and I get together for the opening week of muzzleloader each year and I dropped him off at his stand at 5:30 this morning.

I debated whether or not to post anything because thinking about it too much makes me tear up. Every year I smile for 5 days while we are together and spend the rest of the year worried that my last hunt with him has already gone by.

At 81 years young, he's stubborn enough to still climb a ladder stand and he decided to hunt the same stand that he missed two bucks from last year.

I'll update this with a few pictures and stories throughout the week but in the meantime, good luck, Grandpa Jack!

 

[rem270]

Good luck to y'all!

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good luck to both of you.

 

[DMD]

Best to you both. My hunting partner of over 30 years "retired" from hunting a a few years ago at age 82... hunting hasn't been the same since.

 

[tellico4x4]

Good luck & enjoy the time!

 

[cbhunter]

Best of luck

 

[DoubleRidge]

Good luck to you both! Hope you both get the deer your after!

 

[Gravey]

I hope grandpa Jack lets the smoke roll on a good one but most of all have fun, soak it all in and enjoy the time with him. What I wouldn't give for one more hunt with my Pap. He passed away at 85 in 2005 but his picture is on my fridge and think of him every day. Excuse me now while I go wipe a tear from my eye.

 

[peytoncreekhunter]

I tip my hat to Grandpa Jack....!

 

[Lost Lake]

Heck yeah. Hope y'all have a great time.

 

[deerhunter10]

Enjoy it as I know you are. Mine died 5 years ago yesterday. Can't put a price on the memories you're creating. Hope he kills a big one.

 

[backyardtndeer]

You are very fortunate/blessed to get to hunt with your grandfather. Good luck to you both.

 

[Pilchard]

We each saw one deer this morning. I saw a doe that blew at me for 10 minutes straight. He couldn't tell what the deer was that he saw. Only caught a glimpse of it.

We will be back at it in a couple hours.

 

[Snake]

Enjoy while you can

 

[PalsPal]

At 81 years young, he's stubborn enough to still climb a ladder stand and he decided to hunt the same stand that he missed two bucks from last year.

I'll update this with a few pictures and stories throughout the week but in the meantime, good luck, Grandpa Jack!

Sounds just like my 82 yr old dad.

Can't wait to see how the week unfolds.

Is it just the two of you?

 

[Deer Assassin]

Good luck

 

[square]

I deer hunted with my dsd in his 89 th year. Turkey hunted with him on his 90th birthday. Savor every minute!

 

[Pilchard]

Sounds just like my 82 yr old dad.

Can't wait to see how the week unfolds.

Is it just the two of you?

Yes. Just the two of us.

No deer seen this evening. I shot a coyote at 25 yards but I'll spare you all the gruesome picture.

The highlight of the day was Jack telling our server this evening that his dinner was too dry to swallow and then arguing with her when she tried to take his plate and get him something else. I guess when you get to his age you can do whatever the heck you want.

I left her extra on the tip for putting up with him!

More tomorrow.

 

[Pilchard]

No deer seen by Jack this morning so far. A couple short rain showers is all for him.

I've had an eventful morning.

I have made friends with a fox squirrel:

Passed a nice 8 pointer that wasn't quite what I was looking for:

And saw 5 or six other deer. Two of them were young bucks pestering a doe.

 

[thirdwilliam]

enjoy making the memories

 

[AT Hiker]

Some of my fondest hunting memories are hunting with my grandad.

I too had the same feeling and made dang sure I took advantage of the time we spent together afield.

Best of luck to the both of you.

 

[Dbllunger]

Hopefully Grandpa Jack nails a good one this year. Good time of the year for the blackberry field

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

Enjoy. I coon hunted with my granddad. I cherish those memories.

 

[Pilchard]

No deer seen this morning by either of us so far. It's a beautiful day and I'm optimistic that one will come cruising by one of us soon.

My grandfather wants to get a deer to the processor asap so it will be ready before he heads back to Alabama. With that in mind, yesterday evening I set out to shoot a doe.

I had one come out early and bed down next to a briar patch in the field I was watching. I used onx to measure the distance as I waited for her to stand up. She was bedded at 165 yards.

When she finally stood up I realized I had to reposition for a shot so I snuck up the hill with a set of shooting sticks. I got all settled and thought the deer was at 180 which is on the far edge of my range. I was steady and took a shot. Turns out the deer was 210yds away. The deer ran off and I thought she was doing a death run but I found no hair or blood when I went to look. I either shot low or wounded her.

I'm taking ole @Dbllunger's advice and putting Jack in a stand that he should see quite a few deer in. We haven't hunted it yet due to wind direction but tonight is the night!

 

[Pilchard]

Well, today is in the books and we've already started on the bourbon so forgive my typos.

The morning was uneventful. No deer seen. I saw a coyote in the neighbor's field and tried to squeak him in but he wouldn't cross the creek.

This evening Grandpa Jack saw a 4-point buck and no other deer but he was thrilled to have seen a deer overlooking a food plot that was planted by one of our TnDeer brothers.

I forgot my boots and ran back to our rental after walking him into his stand so I got a late start. I got settled on the ground at 2:55 and at 3:00 I had a doe come crashing out of the woods into the field. She was running right at me and came to a stop at 10 yds looking straight at me. 30 seconds later, with my gun on my lap, I heard a grunt and out stepped this guy:

The doe blew and took off and he followed just as I was about to pull the trigger.

I was bummed but got a good laugh when I got back to the truck. I went to unload my gun and case my weapon only to find I had never put in a primer. Ha! It was the buck's day to live.

More tomorrow.

 

[Pilchard]

Well, our trip is over and no deer were killed but we had a great time.

Yesterday we saw very little in the morning and a dozen or more does between us in the evening. No shots were fired.

Today Jack saw no deer and about 80 cows. I saw 6 does and one buck that I didn't want to kill.

We left in good spirits and Grandpa Jack gave me a hug and told me he hopes we can do it again next year. He's half way back to Montgomery by now and probably needs a couple days to rest up.

I'm completely happy not getting a deer now that my son is a killer but wish he would have gotten one.

When I got home and started to unpack I looked out the front window and there was a huge 8 pointer cruising through the front yard. My wife thought it was hilarious and my son asked me if my muzzleloader was still loaded. Ha! He was 5 or 6 years old and probably 140". He was moving too quick for me to get a picture.

Here's to next year!