What a hunting season full of firsts! Kade went to the deer lease in Mason with Dane back in November where he got to shoot his first deer, a doe! He was very excited and made a perfect shot right in the shoulder. Wesley was also there with Austin that weekend, so the boys had a blast. Kade also got a lesson on how to skin a deer. I'm sure Dane can't wait for him to master that technique.
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| Kade with his first deer |
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| Kade with his first deer |
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| Like father like son |
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| Getting a lesson on how to skin and clean his kill |
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| Kade helping Wesley skin a deer |
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| Looks like he's getting the hang of it |
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| Concentrating hard | | | | | |
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We always hunt out on our place on hwy. 105. The boys enjoy going to hunt out there. Mommy ended up shooting two bucks out there this season. The first go around, Kade and I were hunting out there and a nice 9 pointer came out. I raised the gun, aimed for the neck, and shot. The deer dropped. We were so excited giving high fives and what not. When we got out to the blind to go see him, he wasn't there. He had gotten up and run off. We were stunned. We brought some dogs in and searched for almost four hours that night and never found him. What a bummer. The next weekend we went out and ended up shooting a five pointer. Still bummed about the big 9 pointer though. About a month later, Dane told me I should go back out there and hunt again before the season closed. We noticed on the deer cam that a 9 pointer had started coming to the feeder and it looked like it had a weird spot on its neck. Could it be??? Yes, it could. I went back out and sure enough out walks the 9 pointer I had shot almost a month earlier. He didn't get away this time. Come to find out, the first time I shot the deer, Dane had loaded the gun with target practice bullets; basically the shot was a kill shot, but the bullet wasn't powerful enough to go all the way through. It's comforting knowing that I wasn't a bad shot, and I can blame my husband for the deer running off.
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| The 9 pointer |
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| The 5 pointer |
The hunting season ended with a trip up the Fredericksburg to Long Branch Ranch. The boys always look forward to going up to Wallace and Delore's house to hunt. Papa and Nana Rau went with us this time. Brady got to go hunting with Mommy this go around. The first afternoon we went out, we didn't see much, and he was disappointed that we didn't shoot anything. We went out again the next afternoon. We had some bucks out at the feeder but nothing big enough to shoot. Than a nice wide 8 pointer came out, and Brady insisted that was the deer for us. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't shoot the deer he wanted? So we shot and ended up with a nice 8 pointer on the ground. The excitement on Brady's face was priceless. We had one happy little boy on our hands. Besides hunting, Dane and Papa took the boys fishing as well. Nate got a taste of fishing for the first time.
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| Brady trying to stay patient in the deer blind |
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| Waiting for the big one to come out |
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| Getting ready to take a jeep ride |
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| Fishing with Papa Rau |
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| My first bass |
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| Catch and release |
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| Waiting for another bite |
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| Brady and his bass |
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| The big 8 |
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| Excited Brady |
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| Family of hunters |
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| Mommy and Wallace |
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| The boys getting ready to clean Mommy's deer |
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| Kade cleaning the deer |
We went to Popo Loewe's house one Sunday afternoon, and the guys decided to go coyote hunting. Popo had been seeing several coyotes out there. Although they came home empty handed, they still had a great time.
The year before, Brady had gotten the opportunity to go hunting with Dane at the Long Branch Ranch. They ended up killing a nine pointer. Brady insisted that the horns be hung on the wall in his room, and that is exactly where the reside today. Brady just can't get enough of all this hunting business. He loves it!!!
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| Like father like son |
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| Brady is excited about his 9 pointer |
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| My sweet little hunter |
