2016 whitetail

Just got back from our 9 day hunting trip. Our trip started out with us setting up camp in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm in which flooded our tent during setup. Our first two days were spent looking for a elk herd i had been watching all summer. Sadly they moved out of the area and i was unable to locate them. Monday morning we found our first two bucks. The bigger buck ran out in front of me and when i looked into the timber I could see a buck looking at me. Caitlynn " my oldest daughter" couldn't see the buck so i took the shot. The buck went down and we had first deer of the year. On Tuesday we only saw two deer but the second deer was a 4x4 Whitetail. We pursued the deer and caitlynn got a 80 yard broadside shot on the deer, she shot high and the buck got away. Wednesday we moved our camp to kittitas for Leah " my youngest daughter" cow elk tag. We hunted hard for three days with out much success until Saturday. On Saturday morning at first light i spotted a 3x3 muledeer buck. I tried to get leah into position but she dropped her shooting sticks on the ground while setting up for a shot. So caitlynn took the shot before the deer got away, I thought she made a good shot by the way the deer jumped at the shot. We looked for three hours and never found a trace of blood or hair. when i finally found the deer tracks i fallowed them for about a half mile and it never bled a drop. latter that day we finally found a small herd of elk and jumped them out of an old clear cut. we tracked them for 1/4 mile. As we came out of a thicket of timber one of the cows stepped out at the same time. This time i had leah set up on her shooting sticks and pointed at the unknowing cow less than forty yards away. I told Leah "theirs your shot take it". Leah replies i cant see it ? I was like " WHAT" I knelt down to her level and there was a small mound of dirt in the trail and it totally blocked her field of view. Well that cow wasn't going to stand there all day and she just walked away. We tried to get a better shot for leah but the cow was gone. Latter that evening both my girls got a little to excited over a 24 inch wide 4x4 mule deer. I had leah on the shooting sticks but caitlynn walked in front of her trying to get a better position in which made me grab leahs gun away. By the time we got sorted out catilynn was the only one with a shot, 130 + yards. she shot low and the buck trotted away unharmed. This was by far the most exciting year of hunting I've ever had. Watching my kids shoot at animals was great. but we definitely need more practice shooting.