Hunting With My Sons.

[ACP230]

I watched an alfalfa field from a blind Friday afternoon and Saturday, from nine to around noon, with my sons. Friday the temps were relatively mild, but Saturday a cold front was coming through and the wind was up. I stuck it out in the morning but was too cold, stiff, and tired to go out again in the afternoon.
My oldest son, who just turned 21 this month, went out alone Saturday afternoon. My youngest son, 11, came out with us to watch both days.

We saw no deer Friday and our luck continued poor on Saturday. My oldest even went down in the swamp and stillhunted his way to the blind and didn't see a deer.

I got a small doe back in September during an early antlerless season, so we have venison for Thanksgiving already. All of us would have been pleased to get a deer, but the time spent was good anyway.

Due to college downstate, scheduling problems, and my state of health, my oldest son and I haven't hunted together for four years. It was great to get out with him again. I may or may not hunt again this season. I need a day or two to get back up to speed, and the weather is turning bitter. Number One son kept my scoped .30-06 so he can hunt this week after work. It would be nice if he got one, but I feel like, this year, I've had my reward already.

 

[Guyon]

A big part of hunting is the company you keep. Glad you've got some good company.

Since you're hunting out of a blind, I wonder if one of those little Coleman heaters and some good coveralls would cut the bitter cold.

 

[Byron Quick]

In eastern central Georgia I rarely hunt in bitter cold. But I've found a way to stay warm in it.

My permanent stands are platforms about four foot square with a railing around them draped with camoflage burlap. I sit in a chair sitting on the stand. When it's below freezing, I take a mummy sleeping bag with me. I step into it once I'm in the stand and zip it up to my waist.

In sixteen degree weather, I've had to take off my gloves and hat with this setup to keep from overheating.

I wouldn't try this in the stands that just have room for your butt. But then I don't use those stands anyway for general safety reasons.

 

[ACP230]

We brought a regular sleeping bag but forgot it in the car.

I've been meaning to buy a small propane heater but haven't got around to it yet.

I forgot to mention that we saw an owl. Just before we lost the light on Friday it started flying along the edge of the field. It moved several times as my oldest son tried to get a shot of it with his camera. He didn't get it because the camera was so cold the shutter wouldn't trip. I heard owls but haven't seen one in the woods for several years so it was neat to see.

 

[Guyon]

Coleman makes a series of flameless heaters. Here's one of them: http://www.a1camping.com/colsporcathe.html

 

[ACP230]

I could use one of those Colemans.

 

[pdh]

Yes...it is great to be in the field hunting with your son.It seems to get us even more closer to each other.

My son is not around firearms until deer season falls because of college and he plays football and other things .....I used to get alittle concerned sometimes....but in observing his gun handling and commitment to safety I am at peace that I have nothing to worry about.

Love my son very much and I keep telling him when he gets done with is education,gets on with his life and gets rich.....he is gonna have to take me out West for a quality elk hunt.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Great hunting tale ACP230. Thanks!

My kids are 5 and younger. My son, daughter, Dad, in-laws and I went out and built some ladder stands and one BIG stand this Fall on some land in Northern Minnesota. The big-honkin' stand is in a small field where some deer paths converge -- just off a much larger clearing It's near some scrapes and rubbings -- should be a great spot over the years. My kids helped cut wood and played while I set it up. My hope is that my Dad and son can sit together in it with my Dad's 30-06 in a few years while I drive deer to them.

My kids stayed at home for hunting this year, but I broke in the new stand and my Dad tried it out also. I got out an hour before dawn for the opener. It was a full moon and cold -- my room-temperature-at-camp Coke froze a minute or two after opening it. I found out it was -12 below (real F temp, not wind chill) on the opening morning, but it did warm up to nice hunting temps. Over the next few weeks, I put my time in on the new stand, but all I saw was a timber wolf and a fat Whiskey Jack the size of a pidgeon who both came to check me out in the new stand. I blame it on the cold, the wind, the full moon and the snow that kept the deer down each time I manned the new stand. It's going to produce over the years.

I saw a ton of tracks, saw some deer driving in (which I could have tracked into the woods and shot, but I don't need the meat, so that kind of hunting doesn't interest me) and jumped a few while still hunting -- I guess I need to work on the "still" part.

None of us got a deer this season, but it's really about being out there together and getting to know our new hunting area.

Regarding the cold -- I have a pair of insulated Gamehide overalls. I leave them in a stand or on a tree if I am going to drive or still hunt. They kept me sitting in below zero weather for about 4 hours until I had to get down and move around. I really like the sleeping bag idea, though.

Happy hunting!

 

[SteelyDan]

Being able to hunt with your sons is a big deal, and I'm afraid it doesn't happen nearly enough these days. My Dad died 11 years ago, and when I think of him, the first thing I think of is our hunting adventures. It's an unparalleled bonding opportunity that lasts a lifetime, and I wish more people would take the time to do it.