Candy and I had many great hunts last fall, and when we drew our Colorado deer tags, we knew it would be a very fun hunt. A couple of friends, Rick Pierce and Ed Boero, drew the neighboring unit from us, so we all got an Air B&B together, which made camping pretty nice. Rick’s wife, Makayla, also came along for the good times and camaraderie.
The hunt started the middle of November, and you never know what weather you may get in Colorado’s high country. This year, it was warm and there was no snow. We always show up a couple days before open to get the lay of things and see what the animals are doing. We had hoped the rut would be on, and we soon found that the deer were rutting fairly well. Seeing a couple decent bucks the days before opener, we had high hopes.
Opening morning, we got up early as always, had a quick breakfast, and went out the door for the hike up the mountain in the dark. We posted up on a good vantage point so we could glass across the surrounding canyons to try to find a shooter buck. Our plan was that Candy would be first and then we would try to find me one. From my vantage point, I never saw any shooter bucks. Candy called me over to look at a buck she had spotted way off, but by the time I got there, he was nowhere to be found. She was sure he was a nice buck but couldn’t turn him back up.
We had some lunch and decided to try another spot to glass until dark. As we were driving to our new location, I spotted some deer running in our direction. Candy grabbed her binos and said one of them was a big buck. She bailed out of the truck, grabbed her gear, and started to run out where she could try to cut them off for a shot. I didn’t have time to tell her yes, no, or anything. She was gone! She made a sprint up the ridge and then a sneak squatted down on her shooting sticks as she didn’t have time to lengthen them. As the buck was pushing his does up the ridge, she mewed at him. The buck stopped, turned broadside, and bang! She made a perfect shot as he ran only a few yards and tipped over. She did what needed to be done. She moved quick, made her decision, and did a great job as she harvested a beautiful buck. There were hugs, kisses, photos, and then the pack out as dark began to surround us.
A few days later, we were in the same place we were opening morning. We spotted a nice buck way off near where Candy had spotted the big buck opening day. I decided to make a play for him and see if he was as nice as we thought. Leaving Candy there to spot for me, I took off. I went back to the bottom of the mountain, across a river, and straight up the other side of the mountain to the nosebleed section. Finally, I got to the basin where we had seen the buck. One thing about Colorado, mountains are steep and the air is thin.
Slowly easing over to the edge of the basin where we last saw the buck, I spent probably an hour scanning every inch. Finally, he stepped out, pushing a doe, about 500 yards away. I was as close as I could get, the wind was calm, and I knew I could make this shot. I set up my Spartan precision bipod, settled in, and waited for him to step out from behind the dead snag. I lay there waiting, afraid to move an inch or take my eyes off him for a second. My body began to ache as the rocks beneath me stabbed holes in me. Forty-five minutes later, he stepped out. I took a deep breath, slowly breathed out, and began putting pressure on the trigger as the gun recoiled against my shoulder. I lost sight of the buck, but I was sure of my shot. As I regained my sight picture, there were a couple does standing around but no buck. Candy said she was sure he went down. Off across the basin we went, and sure enough, we had another beautiful buck down. Candy made the same descent, river crossing, and ascent so we could get more hugs, kisses, and memorable photos and to help pack out the buck.
These hunts with my wife are so amazing. She is one tough cookie! We could write so many stories about hunts, adventures, and time spent in God’s country every year. Whether for ourselves or helping others be successful, they are all cherished memories.
Candy blew two disks on an archery elk hunt last year in Wyoming helping me pack out my bull. It cost her a lot of pain and hunting time. Even hurt, she kept going all fall and had a great season.
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