Thank you sir, I will. He is 15.
He got his first cow elk two years ago. A large ranch locally allows kids who successfully complete a hunter education camp held in that county to hunt for a cow on their property. It is guided by a wildlife officer and a ranch employee. They do most of the work and the hunt isn't at all hard, but it gets them started with a successful hunt under their belt. He knew that from that day forward he would have to earn his elk the old fashioned way. He now helps me teach the younger kids the big game rifle portion of the class at this camp and demonstrates techniques for me.
Last year we hunted hard with no luck.
On this hunt he learned the merits of enough snow on the ground for great hunting, getting up early, learning how to find the animals, plan and execute a stalk, the disappointment of a plan not working and then a plan coming to a succesful conclusion.
I've killed plenty of elk in my own hunting and in the work that I do, so it is a bit of an old hat. I still get the gitters when hunting for myself, but the satisfaction to see the excitement on his face is priceless.
Take care,
RB