Editor’s Note: Justin Eakins owns Canadian River Hilton Hunting Lodge in Crawford, Oklahoma, on the Canadian River. Justin hunts on 25,000 to 30,000 acres of land and has been one of the co-hosts on Mossy Oak’s “Deer T.H.U.G.S.” TV show for 6 years.
Mossy Oak: Justin, you’ve been on a lot of hunts on your property and all over the nation. What hunt was the most fun for you and why?
Eakins: I don’t know if I can tell you about the hunt I had the most fun on, but I can tell you about the hunter with whom I’ve had the most fun. Some of the most fun hunts I’ve been on are when I’ve taken my daughter Katie with me. I enjoy hunting with children, because they’re really special. I have some hunters who bring their sons or daughters hunting. Some of our most fun hunts have been watching a youngster taking his or her first deer and seeing how excited he gets. I really cherish the opportunities I have to sit in a double tree stand and hunt with Katie.
Katie has taken five or six deer with her PSE bow and a few with her rifle. She’s 14-years old now and is a great hunter. I sort of like it when the hunting is slow, we spend time getting ready to hunt, and we start telling jokes and having fun together. I see way too many parents bringing their youngsters on a deer hunt and making the hunt way too serious for the youngsters to have any fun. Or, they’ll take the youngsters out to tree stands in bad weather when the temperatures are so cold that the youngsters have miserable days of deer hunting. Although you need to teach children to be quiet during a deer hunt, I try to make the hunting fun for the child. If you really enjoy hunting and being with your children, there’s nothing better than the time you spend hunting with your kids.
To contact Justin Eakins, call him at 580-497-7500 or email him at hunt@dobsonteleco.com.
