# Great weekend hunting with my daughter!



## bgraftaas (Apr 22, 2009)

Just wanted to share that my 14-year old daughter got her first buck this weekend on the Minnesota youth season. She had a doe last year, but on Saturday, she got a young 8-pointer - or a 4x4 for you Nodak hunters ;-)

We started hunting on Thursday morning - saw a few deer, but my stand is set up to watch two fields, so all the shots are long. The closest we saw on Thursday or Friday was 260 yards, and most were out around 300. She was shooting a .243, and we had only practiced at 100 yards. We did have a good time just watching deer, and even got to see two young bucks fighting for a while, but none of them came to our end of the field.

On Saturday, I moved her to my brother's stand. The longest shot there is about 200 yards, and most are 100-150. We sat all day without seeing anything, but right before dark, this guy came out to feed. It was about 150 yards, and she fired once - he ran for the woods, but I whistled and he stopped, looking right at us. I told her to shoot again, but she didn't have to - he took another step and he dropped dead. We were both pretty excited.

I've attached a couple pics - the second is of her rack next to my 10-point from last year (shot about 1/4 mile away). I'm pretty sure it's the same bloodline.

Proud papa!

Brian


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Great memories. I had a wonderful time squirrel hunting with my granddaughter this week-end. Next she says she is going to do it with her bow.


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## 6162rk (Dec 5, 2004)

congratulations to your daughter and you.


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## bgraftaas (Apr 22, 2009)

Thanks guys! Yes, it's great bonding time for us. The older she gets, the less time she seems to want to spend with me - she'd rather "hang out" with her friends. I'm hoping that hunting is something that stays a priority for her. I always enjoyed hunting on my own -- the solitude of spending time in the woods without the phone ringing. But I'm enjoying spending time with her a lot more - teaching her to look for scrapes, bedding areas, etc. And I get a lot more excited about her shooting a deer than I have myself in years.


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## bornlucky (Jul 24, 2007)

I like the rack on her deer a lot better than yours. And you can tell her that. The smile is priceless. It brings back fond memories.


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## specialpatrolgroup (Jan 16, 2009)

Congrats, I got to hunt with my 15 year old niece, its fun watching the younger ones have some success and be excited for the next day\year.


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## bgraftaas (Apr 22, 2009)

Yes, it's a lot of fun. Now my 5 year old, who I never thought would want to hunt in a million years, is actually asking her big sister, not me, to teach her how to get a big buck ;-) I'm loving it. Maybe I'll end up with both of my girls as hunting buddies.


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