Two Moments Every Man Can Be Proud Of! Maybe three.

First off I have to say thanks to my older bro. He got my oldest son Austin interested in hunting that produced interest in me, followed by the purchase of a dog, followed by hunter's education for Austin and I and our very first hunts.

The first moment that I am extremely excited about is Austin shooting. I took him a couple months ago and he was using a barrowed 20 gauge shotgun that he proceeded to shoot about 4-6 times. It went well but it made him extremely nervous to shoot anymore after that and it left a reminder on his arm. Yep sore and bruised. The next several chances he had to shoot left me frustrated and him upset because he wouldn't do it. Being the patient person I am some of my frustration I let him know about. Finally on Sunday afternoon I finally got him to shoot. After he did it the first time he wanted to do it again and again. After shooting a half box of shells he fell in love and I was so proud I coudl hardly stand it. On the way home we talked about it and discussed the possibility of hunting tonight.

This picture is Austin putting each shell into the appropriate sleeve right before we head out to see what we could kill. He is so particular. I was a little nervous about him carrying around a loaded gun as we walked to locate birds but he was extremely cautious and respected the power and potential that the gun he had carried.



This next picture make s me so proud and possibly thinking I have a dead eye on my hands. Right out of the truck a couple Dove were sitting in a tree. Three of the all perched right next to each other. I said shoot away. His response "seriously!" He shot and feathers flew everywhere. We checked excitedly under the tree for his first kill and found nothing. I found it hard to believe that with all the feathers that fell there was no bird. I saw some birds out in the field and as we moved a little closer I noticed that they were Quail. I thought sweet. We proceed after them and to my surprise in flight going from Austin's right to left he nailed one. It was such a beautiful sight. The bird in mid-flight folded up and fell to the ground. I rushed over to him to congratulate and high five him. He has no shot a gun like maybe 20 times and during his first hunt he downed a bird. I honestly thought we would go home empty handed tonight and all that we would have come away is more practice for him. We walked up to the bird and it fluttered into the air about 2 feet above the ground into a bush and was gone. Are you kidding me! I was ticked. Austin didn't care much and was ready to prey on another flying object. Below is him joyously displaying arm in one hand and his first kill in the other. It made me so proud to take his picture. I think I got more joy taking him out and seeing him successfully shooting a bird than I got two days prior getting my first bird.

This last picture is of my first hunting trip where I got to carry a gun and could actually shoot. It was also the first time Kya went out after a year of training. She did awesome, didn't go on point but did track a bird that was running that she led Jake to and was eventually shot by Jake. She did a really good job locating the downed birds and fetching and brought them back. I had spent quite a bit of time in this area but most times she brought them back I had to coerce her to drop them. Out in the field, it was second nature, she knew to bring them back and literally dropped them in my hand. I was extremely excited to see her do so well and see the work I had invested prior pay off. She isn't done learning and is far from being a finished dog, but in my eyes well on her way. I was extremely excited to come home with a successful hunt for Kya, but also for me. I got 2 Quail and 1 Dove along with being drenched from head to toe. Although it was a bit cold I enjoyed every minute and look forward to my next chance. I also had Taylor in toe and he was such a trooper. When we were walking to each of the spots he reminded me how wet and cold he was. When it was time to locate the birds and shoot and retrieve them he acted as if he was as dry as could be. Can't wait for him to get a little older and take him out for his first hunt and kill! Look at him so excited to display our kill.