New year, new hopes and dreams. As the new year starts, so does the researching and getting ready for the application period with the Huntin’ Fool magazine highlighting the upcoming application deadlines for each state. This year started out like the others with hoping this would be the one to draw a hard-to-get tag. You can’t win if you don’t play.
The year started with the spring draw for turkeys in my home state of Colorado. I had no luck on my tag, but a friend was able to draw. With permission lined up to hunt on a private ranch, the results were a classic turkey hunt that played out with my buddy able to harvest his first ever Merriam’s turkey. Sometimes you don’t need to have the tag to make it a memorable hunt.
As winter turns into spring and the draw dates arrive, it is filled with thrills and disappointments. Six of us had applied for our annual Thanksgiving Wyoming antelope hunt, but only one of us drew. It worked out because he was able to harvest his first antelope. Colorado results came out with no luck on moose, antelope, deer, or sheep. I was able to pull a Ranching for Wildlife elk tag for December, and then came the highlight of the year as I was looking at my credit card account and saw that Arizona had pulled $300. That meant I had drawn an Arizona Coues deer tag.
What a hunt this turned out to be. I decided to hire Dan Adler of Diamond Outfitters, and what an awesome choice that turned out to be. I met up with my guide, Brett, in late October and the hunt was on. We spent the next four days glassing from dawn to dusk with nothing more than a few does spotted. We decided to move camp, but on the way down, we received a tip from one of Dan’s other guides, Nate, and Paul who had spotted a good buck and wanted us to head their direction. We found the buck halfway up on the opposite side of the canyon. It was a 525-yard shot. I wasn’t comfortable with that long of a shot, but they let me use their long-range rifle. After some quick instructions and a lot of encouragement, we got set up for the shot. It was true, and I had an awesome trophy Coues deer on the opposite hillside. It took over an hour to hike down one side and up the other to get to the deer. It was so much more than I ever expected. My guides were awesome, and I can’t thank them enough. It goes to show that if you are willing to put in the time and effort good things will happen.
As December came around, it was time for my Ranching for Wildlife elk tag. My daughter also applied for a deer tag on the same ranch but was unable to draw even with 14 points. I was hoping we would be able to hunt together. My tag was for the Visintainer Ranch north of Craig, Colorado. What an incredible ranch with thousands of acres and only six total elk hunters. The property is rolling, wide-open sagebrush and wheat fields. The elk were everywhere. The hard part was trying to get close enough for an ethical shot. My guide, Cory, and I spent most of the day stalking a herd of elk, trying to get close. After one missed shot, we went with a new plan trying to get in front of the herd. On our way around, we spotted a lone bull lying in the sage. It jumped up, and we could see that it was wounded. Not wanting to see the bull suffer, we worked around to within 300 yards for a shot and put it down. It was a satisfying day on another awesome hunt.
Looking back on the year with all the ups and downs, I do not see how things could get any better. Time spent out in the field sure beats sitting at home inside watching TV.
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