Hunting With My Grandchildren | Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

TRCP’s Nevada field agent Carl Erquiaga recently published the story below about hunting migratory deer with his grandchildren in the November 2024 issue of Game of Fur Fish magazine. This long-established publication will celebrate 100 years of joint publication in 2025.

As I grew older, having grandchildren has become one of the greatest joys in my life. My oldest grandson Hayden, now 14 years old, pulled his first deer tag in our Nevada area in 2022. We did our best to make the most of the experience. well and it was, honestly, nothing missing. He bagged a nice muley pipe after a few days of hunting, and the family was proud of him – no one was prouder than his Papaw.

Every child and grandchild that my wife and I have been blessed with has a special place in our hearts. My second granddaughter Carly, which is my nickname, has a style that I can’t explain. He has a little sense of humor that we share. He is also fiercely independent.

In 2023, 12-year-old Carly qualified for a hunting license. He was hoping to draw one of Nevada’s youth deer tags. Before he could purchase a license and apply, he had to pass the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Hunter Safety course. I helped Carly study, learned about gun safety and wildlife management, and took a class with her. He passed with flying colours.

When Hayden was 12, I bought him his first hunting license and helped him fill out his tag application. I did that for Carly. As luck would have it, Carly drew a map of northeastern Nevada for October 2023. The mule deer herd there is migrating, but I was hoping we’d get deer.

Carly is ready to hunt all summer long. He shot a .22 rimfire, and then got a copy of his uncle’s .243 Winchester. According to the family structure, he was a natural gun.

In mid-October, we – Carly, her father (my son-in-law) Garrett, and I – packed up my camper trailer and made the six-hour drive to the club. We planned six days for the trip, but I didn’t believe we would need that long. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men.

As the sun lit up the slope, we looked into the basin ahead and saw a group of mice with three small bills in the shade.

We arrived at camp early to do a short afternoon hunt. As we hiked up the first of many rough, rocky trails, I asked Carly if she was ready to wake up at 4:30 every morning. “Yes!” he said without hesitation.

I told him I didn’t want to do too much work, but hunting big game requires commitment. He said he was ready. I jokingly said something about not wanting him to be upset in the morning.

“You know, Papaw, I’m generally a joker,” he laughed. I tried to hold back my laughter, I remembered a step that was less than funny – because of his strong independent speed.

We spent the evening looking at glasses helplessly. It rained for most of the afternoon. As the temperature dropped, we went back to camp, ate and warmed up. The RV made it easy to keep Carly’s spirits up. We planned to be somewhere else during the day.

I never slept well the first night of the hunt, and when the alarm went off, it was as if I had just fallen asleep. I didn’t want to wake Carly, but I was surprised when she got out of bed and made her breakfast, not fancy, but as good as anyone can be at 4:30 in the morning.

We left camp early in the morning but had to wait for the sun to rise before heading up the road. It’s a good thing we did. We had not even reached the valley when a small deer and a female deer crossed the road in front of us – no chance of being shot – so we eased the way to the gate.

As the sun lit up the slope, we looked into the basin ahead and saw a group of mice with three small bills in the shade. They were a kilometer away, but we recognized their location and headed up the hill.

At the top, Garrett saw some small animals with one small buck on the bottom. They were working in a different direction and soon disappeared above. We tried to cut them off, but as we rounded the last corner, inside the draw area, we saw a run, but no money. I was about to whisper to Carly that he might still be there, when he ran, full tilt, over the barrel, no chance to fire.

We spent the whole day looking at glasses and looking at new places, ending up in the basin where the shade was at first. We saw lots of wildlife, including pronghorns, chukars and sage grouse, but the bucks didn’t change. However, the day was successful because Carly remained happy.

The next morning, we woke up early, going back to where we were the first afternoon. It was October 14, when the eclipse passed over Nevada. We hoped to see it later that morning, if the clouds broke.

When we got to where we wanted to look, a UTV next to it with three guys behind the binoculars greeted us. The valley below showed three deer – two forkhorn and three small point – moving through the brush towards the nearest slope. They weren’t good enough, so I took the opportunity to teach Carly the good ways of a hunter. Other hunters were there first. I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t cut them if we were to follow the budget. I was ready to talk to them, but they took their things and went in another direction, obviously they were not interested in money.

Those funds were exactly what we wanted. As soon as the three disappeared behind the line we followed them.

The memories I have with my grandchildren were only possible with Nevada’s amazing wildlife. The deer we hunted migrate hundreds of miles to their wintering grounds. If we as hunters want to continue to remember good things outside of our families, we must join conservation efforts.

We spent a good amount of time getting to where they were feeding, hitting the ground. We followed those tracks to the edge of the canyon, when I saw 140 millimeters on the other side, according to the prosecutor.

To end everyone’s excitement, I prepared a tripod for Carly. One deer moved up the hill between the bushes where, if he stopped, Carly would have a good shot.

But he didn’t stop, he walked almost outside the place.

I felt uncomfortable when Carly shot a walking buck. I felt it better to let him go, and I didn’t feel much pain when he fell into the thick aspens. Two more should follow soon. One was a good three points.

We waited for his friends to come. We waited and waited. But they didn’t come out.

Now, I felt bad for not letting Carly try to shoot. He may have been connected when the buck didn’t move. I was hoping for a lot of money, but that wouldn’t matter to him. In fact, one time, a small buck came out of the aspens, wide, at 400 meters. He asked if he could try to shoot. I told him no because he had never shot before. It’s better to be safe than to take a risky shot.

When I got back to the truck, I was in pain. But Carly was still happy and looking forward to the eclipse. Children are very patient.

Watching the lunar eclipse with him and his father was a very special experience. All that day and the next we continued to explore the new country as best we could. We saw deer every day, but there were no bucks out of our reach or in places we could hunt. We tried to hunt some bucks, but found another hunter filling out his ticket on them. Some gave us a coupon.

On Sunday night, we were about to return to our journey, we were disappointed. We would have four hours of hunting time that morning before breaking camp and heading home. At 4:30 in the morning we all walked slowly, calmly.

We went to the place where Carly’s dad shot his first deer in 2020. We only had a short hunt that day, but we made it happen. I was hoping for a repeat. But despite checking several honey holes, we did not see a deer. When I got back to camp, I told Carly that I was sorry she didn’t tag the deer, and that I was proud of her good attitude and thanked her for wanting to hunt.

“Okay, I can’t find it,” he said. “But I’m not happy anymore. There’s always next year. And I’ll be glad to get home, shower, and sleep.”

Then he kissed me and said, “I love you, Dad.”

I believe Carly learned a lot about hunting and the responsibility that comes with it. I believe some of my doubts about wildlife and the challenges of their management will sink in. And I know there are still good kids out there who are being given the tools to support themselves and make good decisions. I am very proud of my children and grandchildren.

The memories I have with my grandchildren were only possible with Nevada’s amazing wildlife. The deer we hunted migrate hundreds of miles to their wintering grounds. If we as hunters want to continue to remember good things outside of our families, we must join conservation efforts.

Subscribe to Game of Fur Fish HERE.

Learn more about TRCP’s work on big game migration conservation HERE.

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