First, I would like to congratulate all youth hunters - successful or not. It is always a successful time when you can spend time with friends and family.

I was pleased to read all the of "firsts" this year. It was cool to read and I understand the emotion of it all.

This youth hunt was an eye opener for me. The last several years I have taken Luke and Evan to Cedar Branch. I think Luke was 8 the first time he went. I remember Luke being so small compared to all the high school kids that were there. He is now 15 and one of the oldest kids to attend this past weekend. Time flies.

We went from this:



To this:




Cedar Branch always does a great job for the kids. Here was our group of 7 hunters and their mentors.



We had 4 of 7 hunters be successful. A couple misses, but not bad considering the hot weather. It was a hot one.

Here are some pics of the successful hunters.

AJ nailed this doe with his bow. This his 2nd bow kill in as many years. AJ needs to stop growing. He is a beast and a force on the football field. It has been fun to see him grow up and be successful in hunting and sports. Dustin has things ready to go for him every year. 2 good guys.



Here is Colt with his deer.




Evan smoked a huge doe on Sunday morning after a whiff Saturday evening. Evan and Luke both had their first kills with a muzzleloader. Evan made a statement on the way home that I thought was strong. He said, "I enjoyed getting a deer but being in the stand with Zeb is even more fun." Isn't that is what it is all about? Zeb has been his mentor for the past several seasons and has made a huge impact on Evan. Well done Zeb. Word is that Evan's girlfriend killed a nice buck Saturday morning and put the pressure on him. Also, while he was gone was she out with ..... ????



Luke got his deer Saturday evening right before dark. It ended up being a button which we both couldn't see that it was. He made a 134 yard shot with his loader and put it where it was supposed to go. Here are some stand "selfies" as we were hunting. His 2016 deer is already shown.





I also need to make a shout out to Bill. He, once again, put all the meals together and fed us well. We had biscuits and gravy, deer, squirrel, rabbit, and wild hog. Bill was in a softball tourney all weekend and traveled back/forth to help out.

We all had a great time and thanks again Cedar Branch for a great youth hunt. Good times with good people and new friends made. The time, mentoring, and resources that Joe, Zeb, Bill, and Tony have invested into my son and others is greatly appreciated.

Nice story Bean and congrats to all the youth hunters.....and to all that made this possible. h.h.

Nice report & pics Bean.

Great to see the young hunters doing well and having a good time!

Great stuff!

Congrats to all.

Congrats to all hunters and a big thank you to all the mentors for taking time to be in the woods with these kids. Also thanks to Joe for providing a place for this to happen. These are memories all will cherish forever.