10-11-2015, 05:21 PM
I drew a doe antelope tag for the Paunsagaunt/Mt Dutton area this year. So I decided to take all three of my boys with me to do some camping, hunting, and fishing. I pulled the boys out of school and we headed down Thursday afternoon. We set-up camp in the dark and enjoyed seeing the stars that night. It's amazing how beautiful the stars are when you get out of the city! I showed my boys the big dipper, little dipper, and Orion. I also showed them how to find the North Star. We made our way to bed with high hopes of finding an antelope to hunt in the morning.
The next day we got up around 7:30ish. My 3 year old started to get a cold and didn't sleep real well. My main objective for this trip was for my boys to have a great time, so I didn't want to push them too hard. We ate breakfast and all loaded up in the truck. We didn't even make it a mile from camp before we spotted two antelope about 600 yards away. They were in a good spot to make a stalk, so off we went; me and my 8, 6, and 3 year olds. We made our way to where I thought we would be in close enough range to make a good shot and I looked up to see a beautiful buck and doe antelope staring at us not 50 yards away (apparently a Dad and 3 boys in tow don't make real quiet stalks[shocked]). They took off running and we ran up out of the ravine to see if we could see them and get a shot. Luckily they stopped about 150 yards away and turned broadside to look at us. Unluckily for me I missed what should have been an easy shot. DOH! We made are way over to where they were standing when I shot at it just to be sure, but there was no blood and it didn't show any indication of being hit as it ran off.
We drove around a bit more and then made our way back to camp to roast some hot dogs over the fire. So far the boys were having a grand time. We went in to Tropic to get some medicine for the 3 year old so he would hopefully sleep better and feel better with his cold. We then went for a ride on a different part of the unit and were lucky enough to find a herd of 15-20ish antelope not too far off the road. This time I left the boys in the truck as they had a perfect view of the antelope and of me as I made my stalk. I was able to get within 75 yards and harvested a beautiful antelope. I think she'll eat well. My boys made their way over and we snapped some pics. This was the first time I have taken all three of them on a hunt and the first time any of them have seen me harvest a big game animal. It was a neat experience and it's one I think we'll all remember.
As we were making our way back to camp my 6 year old asked if this means we get to go fishing tomorrow? I said "yup" and cheers followed from all three of my boys. [fishon]. I also got a call from my Dad and he said he would be joining us that night and fishing with us the next day. It's hard to beat time in the great outdoors with loved ones!
We broke camp the next day and made our way to Otter Creek. We arrived around 10ish and started fishing from shore. We were just using power putty. My main goals when I take my boys fishing are to have everyone catch a fish and have nobody fall in the water. We were successful on both! We caught around 10 fish in about 3 1/2 hours of fishing. The fishing really turned off around noon and we packed up and left around 1:30.
The weather was absolutely great the whole time we were camping and fishing. It was too nice for being October. To say it was a great weekend is an understatement! It's one that won't soon be forgotten!
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The next day we got up around 7:30ish. My 3 year old started to get a cold and didn't sleep real well. My main objective for this trip was for my boys to have a great time, so I didn't want to push them too hard. We ate breakfast and all loaded up in the truck. We didn't even make it a mile from camp before we spotted two antelope about 600 yards away. They were in a good spot to make a stalk, so off we went; me and my 8, 6, and 3 year olds. We made our way to where I thought we would be in close enough range to make a good shot and I looked up to see a beautiful buck and doe antelope staring at us not 50 yards away (apparently a Dad and 3 boys in tow don't make real quiet stalks[shocked]). They took off running and we ran up out of the ravine to see if we could see them and get a shot. Luckily they stopped about 150 yards away and turned broadside to look at us. Unluckily for me I missed what should have been an easy shot. DOH! We made are way over to where they were standing when I shot at it just to be sure, but there was no blood and it didn't show any indication of being hit as it ran off.
We drove around a bit more and then made our way back to camp to roast some hot dogs over the fire. So far the boys were having a grand time. We went in to Tropic to get some medicine for the 3 year old so he would hopefully sleep better and feel better with his cold. We then went for a ride on a different part of the unit and were lucky enough to find a herd of 15-20ish antelope not too far off the road. This time I left the boys in the truck as they had a perfect view of the antelope and of me as I made my stalk. I was able to get within 75 yards and harvested a beautiful antelope. I think she'll eat well. My boys made their way over and we snapped some pics. This was the first time I have taken all three of them on a hunt and the first time any of them have seen me harvest a big game animal. It was a neat experience and it's one I think we'll all remember.
As we were making our way back to camp my 6 year old asked if this means we get to go fishing tomorrow? I said "yup" and cheers followed from all three of my boys. [fishon]. I also got a call from my Dad and he said he would be joining us that night and fishing with us the next day. It's hard to beat time in the great outdoors with loved ones!
We broke camp the next day and made our way to Otter Creek. We arrived around 10ish and started fishing from shore. We were just using power putty. My main goals when I take my boys fishing are to have everyone catch a fish and have nobody fall in the water. We were successful on both! We caught around 10 fish in about 3 1/2 hours of fishing. The fishing really turned off around noon and we packed up and left around 1:30.
The weather was absolutely great the whole time we were camping and fishing. It was too nice for being October. To say it was a great weekend is an understatement! It's one that won't soon be forgotten!
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