Been hunting? The Dufek kids carry on the family tradition
By By Paul Dufek, Flagstaff

My four children, Jacob, 15, Jeremy, 13, Rachel, 9, and Josh, 7, are all involved in the outdoors, but Jeremy has seemed to excel with his desire to both hunt and fish.

Jeremy harvested his first big game animal during last year’s junior elk hunt in Game Management Unit 6A. His older brother Jacob had already collected a junior’s Kaibab doe and a whitetail buck the two preceding years, so Jeremy may have been feeling a little self-imposed pressure.

On opening morning, Jeremy got close to a herd of elk, but he elected not to shoot because he could not clearly identify which elk were cows and which were bulls (we knew both were in this morning herd). That evening we called in a 6×6 bull and a cow. The bull was standing approximately 20 yards from us, and the cow was about 40 yards away.

Jeremy steadied himself using the bipod on the rifle, and I sat right behind him talking him through it. Unknown to myself at the time, he aimed for the cow’s head, not wanting to waste any meat. I would not have had him aim where he did, but the shot was true, and Jeremy ended up being the only member of our family in Flagstaff who collected an elk last year (out of eight elk tags between my brother’s family and mine).

Our family is deep-rooted in the outdoors. My oldest brother Pete was one of the original Bowhunting in Arizona record book committee members and is a certified Pope & Young/Boone and Crocket measurer in Tucson. His wife Sally works in the Game and Fish Tucson office.

I still vividly recall when my dad came home from a deer hunt in the early 1960s, having harvested a nice 4×4 mule deer. Seeing him bring back the buck in the camper, I was forever hooked. With some of my own successful hunts, I’ve seen Jeremy develop a passion for wildlife and the pursuit of hunting.

My other kids are outdoors enthusiasts as well. Jacob has thoroughly enjoyed his past hunts, especially when successful. He was fortunate to draw a junior cow’s tag in Unit 6A this year. Rachel loves to fish and wants to hunt small game. She is looking forward to attending the hunter education program next year in Flagstaff (probably my brother Don’s class held the beginning of every summer) so she can hunt big game. Josh has already been dove hunting with us.

Being a parent and showing my children the proper way to appreciate outdoor activities has been, and is continuing to be, as enjoyable as being involved in the activities myself. Last year I drew my first archery bull elk tag since 1994. I passed on about seven different bulls in pursuit of a couple of truly exceptional animals. Although I wasn’t successful, the hunt itself was a thrill. But not as thrilling as watching my son fulfill his dream of harvesting his first big game animal.