nakneker
Gold $$ Contributor
I was asked to help on a hunt for a young man through the Hunt of a Lifetime Foundation. I’ve helped a few times when I can and this was good timing for me, I was happy to get the invite and go help. The young man who was given the tag has had over 6 million dollars of medical bills since his birth, he’s almost been lost on multiple occasions but the kid is a fighter. He has more steel in his back than you would think possible, every vertebrate has two big screws that attach to rods that run down his spine. He's faced more challenges in his short 17 years than anyone should have to deal with in several lifetimes. Great attitude, big smile and positivity are also some of his traits.
We left the house at 4:30am this morning. The tag was for cow elk and the bulls are still bugling so everything was stacked in our favor. We parked the jeep once we got to the area and listened for bugles, we heard several bulls going at it and backed out until dawn started to break. Once we had enough light to shoot we circled around a knoll and got ahead of the herd we were targeting. I sat up the bog pod for his height and positioned ourselves so we would have a good chance seeing these elk on the way to their bedding grounds. We know that area well and are familiar with how the elk use it. Garrison, the young man with the tag, was cool headed and calm. We had practiced quite a bit on steel and the kid can shoot well off a tripod so my confidence was high if we were presented a good shot.
As luck would have it the bull showed up first. A dark horned 330” bull with a beautiful rack but he was pretty beat up from the rut, we watched him limp and gimp across our shooting lane and knew the cows would show any minute. Right on queue they did, 13 cows. We had a minute to look them over and there was a cow that looked to be 2-3 years old and good eater, she became the target. She was 3 cows back, first the bull, then cow number one passed through our shooting lane, then cow number two and then cow number three. She stopped broadside quartering a little towards us and Garrison lined up for the shot.
Shot went off followed by a bone smacking thud and cow #3 was done. She took two more steps, wobbled and earned her wings to elk heaven. Garrison was excited, big grin but he jacked a second round into the chamber and just watched while the other elk wandered off. They never did explode out of there, just kind of trotted off. He u loaded the rifle, we were done. We went up and checked her out, she is fat and slick, gonna make for some good table fare. She had bedded down in a big blob of pitch which can be seen on her front right quarter above the joint.
We ran back home, grabbed the razor and cut a road that allowed us to quarter her and load her up, no packing. We were back in town and done by 10:30am, I was kind of hoping for a couple more days in the woods but was so happy for him at the same time.
Now for the rest of the story. Garrison is my nephew, his Dad is my brother. The two chapter ambassadors for the foundation in Arizona are both guys I know well and they know Garrison well. This was unexpected to me, it was planned and executed by the good people at Hunt of a lifetime foundation. One of the ambassadors is a guy I knew growing up, he got involved when his son had cancer and they got him a deer tag. It made such a difference in that young man’s life that his father really believes that’s a big reason why he beat the cancer. He’s healthy and active today and that was over 15 years ago. In order for this to work someone gave up their tag to the foundation because they couldn’t make the hunt. The foundation organized this hunt and several others and then volunteers are needed to take these young people out on their hunts. It’s a group effort.
There are chapters in just about every state. The link below is their home page. I’m not all that familiar with how it works from state to state but if you click on ambassadors it will give you names and links. If you’re interested in taking a young person who has their share of challenges in life you might enjoy reaching out and seeing if there’s something you could do. The smile on his face says everything you need to know. My own smile and my brothers were also pretty big. Sometimes I think these hunts do more good for those that volunteer than the tag holders. Spending time with someone who has a terminal illness or has more than their share of challenges has a way of sparking gratitude, it can help a person realize just how many blessing they have even if they forget at times. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done on several occasions and I hope I get several more opportunities to help with these hunts.
Equipment was a trusty old Tikka 20” CTR in your favorite 6.5 creed loaded with 140 accubonds. The bullet did a number on cow #3, there was half a lung laying on the ground, bullet did a complete pass through, took out both lungs and smashed The front shoulders. That short barrel makes the 7” thunderbeast a bit easier to deal with.
I wanted to take a new 260AI that Zack just built but I haven’t spent enough time with it yet, it’s turn is coming though, me and the wife have four deer hunts in two states in November and December, that rifle is up next.
We left the house at 4:30am this morning. The tag was for cow elk and the bulls are still bugling so everything was stacked in our favor. We parked the jeep once we got to the area and listened for bugles, we heard several bulls going at it and backed out until dawn started to break. Once we had enough light to shoot we circled around a knoll and got ahead of the herd we were targeting. I sat up the bog pod for his height and positioned ourselves so we would have a good chance seeing these elk on the way to their bedding grounds. We know that area well and are familiar with how the elk use it. Garrison, the young man with the tag, was cool headed and calm. We had practiced quite a bit on steel and the kid can shoot well off a tripod so my confidence was high if we were presented a good shot.
As luck would have it the bull showed up first. A dark horned 330” bull with a beautiful rack but he was pretty beat up from the rut, we watched him limp and gimp across our shooting lane and knew the cows would show any minute. Right on queue they did, 13 cows. We had a minute to look them over and there was a cow that looked to be 2-3 years old and good eater, she became the target. She was 3 cows back, first the bull, then cow number one passed through our shooting lane, then cow number two and then cow number three. She stopped broadside quartering a little towards us and Garrison lined up for the shot.
Shot went off followed by a bone smacking thud and cow #3 was done. She took two more steps, wobbled and earned her wings to elk heaven. Garrison was excited, big grin but he jacked a second round into the chamber and just watched while the other elk wandered off. They never did explode out of there, just kind of trotted off. He u loaded the rifle, we were done. We went up and checked her out, she is fat and slick, gonna make for some good table fare. She had bedded down in a big blob of pitch which can be seen on her front right quarter above the joint.
We ran back home, grabbed the razor and cut a road that allowed us to quarter her and load her up, no packing. We were back in town and done by 10:30am, I was kind of hoping for a couple more days in the woods but was so happy for him at the same time.
Now for the rest of the story. Garrison is my nephew, his Dad is my brother. The two chapter ambassadors for the foundation in Arizona are both guys I know well and they know Garrison well. This was unexpected to me, it was planned and executed by the good people at Hunt of a lifetime foundation. One of the ambassadors is a guy I knew growing up, he got involved when his son had cancer and they got him a deer tag. It made such a difference in that young man’s life that his father really believes that’s a big reason why he beat the cancer. He’s healthy and active today and that was over 15 years ago. In order for this to work someone gave up their tag to the foundation because they couldn’t make the hunt. The foundation organized this hunt and several others and then volunteers are needed to take these young people out on their hunts. It’s a group effort.
There are chapters in just about every state. The link below is their home page. I’m not all that familiar with how it works from state to state but if you click on ambassadors it will give you names and links. If you’re interested in taking a young person who has their share of challenges in life you might enjoy reaching out and seeing if there’s something you could do. The smile on his face says everything you need to know. My own smile and my brothers were also pretty big. Sometimes I think these hunts do more good for those that volunteer than the tag holders. Spending time with someone who has a terminal illness or has more than their share of challenges has a way of sparking gratitude, it can help a person realize just how many blessing they have even if they forget at times. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done on several occasions and I hope I get several more opportunities to help with these hunts.
Equipment was a trusty old Tikka 20” CTR in your favorite 6.5 creed loaded with 140 accubonds. The bullet did a number on cow #3, there was half a lung laying on the ground, bullet did a complete pass through, took out both lungs and smashed The front shoulders. That short barrel makes the 7” thunderbeast a bit easier to deal with.
I wanted to take a new 260AI that Zack just built but I haven’t spent enough time with it yet, it’s turn is coming though, me and the wife have four deer hunts in two states in November and December, that rifle is up next.
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