Tawny's First Big Game Hunt

I got my draw results for the 2001 Fall hunt and realized that I was continuing to build my bonus points for elk.  Then I checked to see if my ten year-old daughter, Tawny, would be hunting.  This girl has wanted to hunt since she was old enough to realize that that is what Dad does whenever he can.  It was then that I received confirmation that Az. G&F has a sense of humor.  She didn’t draw a single tag. No, she drew two tags!  I had put her in for juniors’ only antlerless elk and antlerless deer.  The real challenges would be getting her through a Hunter Education class and getting her outfitted with gear.

I had figured that we should try to fill the elk tag first in Unit 6A and then make the trip to 12A West for the deer hunt (oh yeah, both hunts were for the same four day period-see sense of humor statement in first paragraph).  We got to the unit and set up our tent at a campsite se t up by a friend of mine, Ken Berdahl.  His nephew had drawn a tag for the same hunt and Ken asked if we would like to share their campsite.  So we did and spent some time catching up on old times and eating-a lot of good food.  This guy knows how to spend time in the woods!

            Opening morning we set out after a couple of bulls that were bugling to see if they had any cows with them.  It was perfect weather and we managed to find a good number of mule deer but did not see any elk that first day.  I reminded my daughter that is why we call it hunting. If we were guaranteed to see something, we would call it shopping.  The second morning I managed to put her onto three cows that were running with two bulls.  Tawny couldn’t get the sight picture she wanted and didn’t shoot.  We talked about it and I stressed that this wasn’t like dove hunting and that we probably wouldn’t have another cow coming along in five minutes.  I got her assurance that she didn’t feel good about the shot she had and that she would shoot if she had a shot she liked.

            We got caught in an incredible storm Saturday afternoon.  It started hailing and covered the ground completely before it started to pour.  We had several lightning strikes so close that you heard the sizzle and a “pop” before you heard the thunder.  Anyone who has been in one of these can appreciate this.  I wouldn’t mind so much if I was alone.  But, having my youngest daughter out there and seeing the worry on her face made the situation interesting.  I got her mind off of the danger by having her warn me if she thought a lightning strike was close to us by the brightness of the flash.  She started to actually have fun in the middle of this storm.

            We dried off and warmed up once we got back to camp.  We visited with Ken, his brothers Richard and Mike and Mike’s son, Brent.  It continued to pour until about midnight.  At around 10:00 we decided to turn in only to find that our sleeping bags were wet enough to make for a less than decent night’s sleep.  I figured that we would be better off to get a motel room in Flagstaff than to risk getting my daughter sick on her first hunt.  I went to Ken’s tent and told him my plan and he said that he wouldn’t let me do that.  He said we should all go to his place as he lives a half-hour from where we were hunting.  We got our clothes dried, showered and slept in warm beds.  The next morning we were as good as new.

            A quick stop at Wal-Mart for some rubber boots and we were on our way to get back out there again.  That afternoon we were back on the mesa where we had found the elk the day before.  The woods were so quiet after all the rain that had fallen.  I could sense that Tawny was getting frustrated.  Her comments like, “Dad, why are we even hunting here? There aren’t any animals up here.” told me she was having real high hopes. I had told her that you could go from not seeing anything to having your tag filled in a couple of minutes’ time.  We continued to slowly make our way through the woods, stopping every so often to blow on the Modern Call Products Thriller Cow Elk call that my good friends, Mark and Pam Cain, who make these calls, had set me up with the day before the hunt. 

I had turned around to check behind us when I noticed movement in the trees about 175 yards away.  I pulled up my binoculars and found we had two elk coming to our calls.  I told Tawny to get ready as I got down on my knees.  She got down behind me and laid the gun across my left shoulder.  I reached up with my right hand to help her steady the gun when the cow stepped into view.  I told her to shoot and she asked me if it was a cow.  Again I picked up my binoculars and reassured her that this was a shot to take.  There was a long pause, or so it seemed, and no shot fired.  The cow turned directly towards us and kept coming.  I thought, “OK, we’ll take a closer shot.”  The cow continued on for about 15 yards and then started to quarter across us to our right and was almost off of the old logging road we were on.  There was a small ponderosa pine on the road that, from where I was kneeling, obscured the shot.  The cow stopped there and I was sure that this would have to be another “one that got away story.”  Tawny had different plans.  Her rifle cracked and the big cow fell where she stood.  The cow was dispatched and tagged in very short order and we thanked God for this harvest and this privilege.

            Our family will have a lot of good meals because of Tawny’s first big game hunt and she will have stories for a lifetime.  And with a little good fortune I will have future opportunities to guide my kids on some more hunts.  I don’t honestly think I have had a better hunt.  Friends of mine had told me how much fun it is to take kids hunting and I thought they were trying to lessen the burden of having to be responsible for someone else while hunting.  I was so wrong!  Teaching Tawny and seeing her gain knowledge and confidence in the field was invaluable.