My brother lives in OR, my nephew in WA, and do to ex wive relations hasn't got to hunt with my nephew much over the years. After I tagged out in early archery deer, there was another buck I had been watching so my brother picked up a muzzy deer tag for my nephew and asked if I could get him onto a deer early muzzle season. Well it turned out not happening, a buddy of mine actualy ended up taking the other buck opening day of early rifle. I felt kinda bad about it knowing I would be hunting late archery elk and wouldn't be much help to the kid in late season, and my brother hunting second elk in OR wouldn't have much time. So my brother came over last weekend to try to find Payden a deer, they couldn't find a deer but got on some elk sign, and my brother decided to run to town and get him an elk tag as well. Well they never got back into the elk.
Fast foward one week. They were back out yesterday and not seeing anything. I was kinda bumbed thinking he was going to end up eating both tags on my advice as where to go. Well today they were back out there pretty much his last chance. Well I was hunting an archery unit about five miles away from where they were when I get the text "Payden got his deer" so I boogy back to the truck and bomb over to where they were to check it out. Payden had gotten not only his first muzzy kill but his first buck, a tasty little blacktail spork
. We BS a bit and congradulte the nephew, they were planning on heading home and hanging his deer and I headed back over to where I was earlier.
Ten minutes later I get a text fresh elk sign we'er going in
20 minutes later another text "Payden took a shot, we got blood", I'm clear over on the other side of the valley by now but turn and bomb back over to where I had just left them. The elk had taken them quite a ways down in a hole but real close to a lower road, so I met them way down by the creek and helped drag it out load it in my truck and run them all the way back up to their truck. From zero to tagged out in a matter of a few hours
"Way to go Payden!"
First buck, first elk and both with my brother's .50cal TC Hawken, two shots two kills.