2 Guys, 2 Cups, 1 Antelope

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For Kaoru’s 2009 Antelope hunt, and my initial Wyoming West-Laramie (Unit 45) antelope hunt, we left Friday afternoon (September 4th) to head up to Craig, CO. We both wanted to sight in our rifles – I was bringing my 7mm Remington Ultra-Mag, and Kaoru was bringing his 300 Winchester Magnum. I hadn’t shot my rifle since I picked it up in Wyoming with my new Huskemaw Optics Scope. Kaoru hadn’t shot his since the previous year’s elk hunt.

We decided to stop at the open-to-public range near Hot Sulfer Springs, just east of Kremmling, taking the route over Berthoud Pass. We saw the aspen changing, and, we saw a couple of herds of bighorn sheep. That’s always cool. But what wasn’t cool was the crowd at the public range. There were no open spaces – being that Saturday was the 1st weekend in the muzzle-loading season. It seemed that everyone was sighting-in at the last minute. Of course, I would never be accused of that…

So, we decided to detour to an area close to where we shot our elk last year – in unit 211. There’s an area there called Duffy Mountain that offers plenty of opportunity to pick out a rock and shoot at it. The rocks are such that they absorb the bullets – more like sandstone than granite, so we didn’t have to worry about the bullets ricochet. We arrived at 5:30 and had about an hour of sight-in time. Perfect.

We used duct-tape to secure a target on a rock and drove back about 200 yards. Kaoru nailed the target, fighting a 5-10 mph crosswind, about where he expected. Then, from that sight-in rock, I picked out a rock on a cliff-face, 350 yards away, that was about 1 minute of angle wide – or 3-4 inches. I had Kaoru both locate the rock in his binoculars, and, let me know the wind reading on my Caldwell wind wizard. The sun was shining on it perfectly. I loaded a 180-grain Berger bullet, took a prone position, held for about a 5 mph crosswind, and squeezed the trigger. A puff of dust indicated a direct hit. I then invited Kaoru to do the same. I gave him the wind readings (between 2 and 7 mph – I had him hold just inside the 1 MOA windage mark) and he squeezed the trigger. The rock was absolutely destroyed. The sun no longer had something to shine on!

We then taped a couple of cups to the rock that we had originally taped the target. 1 was a small white Styrofoam cup, the other a McDonalds large coffee cup. We then drove back 600 yards and took position. Again, I had to hold for about a 5 mph crosswind, which, at that distance, was approximately 2 MOA (Minutes of Angle). In prone position, I attached my bipod, aimed, and squeezed the trigger. The small white cup disappeared. I then called Kaoru over to do the same – and he initially said ‘no, that’s okay.’ I highly encouraged him to do it, and, he agreed to give it a shot, as it were. I adjusted the scope, and he squeezed off a round. Right over the top! I checked the range again, and, adjusted the scope accordingly. He then squeezed off another round. Sweet! He nailed the cup – we could see it dangling off the rock (only through the binoculars – we couldn’t see it otherwise). After driving up to the rock, we saw that he nailed the cup right in the middle, where the tape was holding it to the rock.

Kaoru couldn’t believe it. Even though he held the cup in his hand, he couldn’t believe it. But, there it was – a large McDonalds coffee cup with a bullet hole in the middle. I told him he ought to keep the cup as a souvenir.

After cleaning up all the trash (little pieces of Styrofoam cup, pieces of the target, etc.) we headed back into town, and, I found out why Kaoru didn’t want to shoot my rifle. He said that if he made the shot, then, he knew he would have to get a Huskemaw scope. But, being that they’re kinda pricey, and his wife is in school, he wouldn’t be able to get one right away. This, of course, was unacceptable to him. But, I told him that as long as we’re hunting together, he could always use mine if he wanted. The next day, I found out he wanted…

We checked into the hotel, went to JW Snacks for the best ribs in Craig, went through our hunting gear, and got some sleep. The next morning we drove to the Blue Gravel Ranch, for their Ranching for Wildlife program. Check-in time was 7:00 AM. With an amiable smile, the guy checked us in. At the same time, another hunter and his father were checking in for the same ranch. We exchanged pleasantries and wished each other success.

After circling the check-in place, I went back in and asked for directions to the ranch – my memory had said that it was just west of where we checked in. However, I found out we had to go down the highway a bit. So, then we were off to go find the antelope. At 7:10 (after the 6 miles down the highway to the entrance to the ranch) we saw the same guys we saw at check in. They had spotted some antelope that ran off to a hillside about a mile away. He said his son was going to go make a stalk, and, that “the antelope will probably run back this way after he shoots, so, you can just wait here for them.” Yeah, buddy, that’s not how we roll. We don’t sit and wait for something to saunter by. If we don’t see them, we’re going after them. Very rarely will you see Kaoru and I just sitting and waiting for the animals. Yes, we have sat and watched a field at sunrise or sunset, waiting for the animals to come feed, or make their way back to the bedding place… but we’re not going to sit around and wait for someone else to go shoot at a herd and wait to see if the herd comes our way.

As we rolled away from there, about a mile further down the road, we spotted a herd of prairie goats. I offered my rifle, and Kaoru didn’t say no. We left the truck, made a stalk to within 500 yards, and I attempted to range the animals. Damn… my range finder works well when reflecting off of rock faces. But, off the side of antelope, I just couldn’t get a clear signal. I was able to range a post near to where they were, but, I didn’t want to take any chances with not being able to dial in the right distance. So, we stalked to within 350 yards and set up for a shot. Kaoru picked out a nice doe antelope, I ranged it at 328, we dialed in the scope, he aimed high shoulder, and squeezed off a round. It dropped immediately to the ground. It was 7:25 AM.

Kaoru walked down to find the antelope in the tall grass – it was near where Mike Finch had shot his antelope the year before. I drove the truck closer, grabbed my gear, and walked down to join Kaoru. We quartered the antelope, placing each quarter in a plastic trash bag, cut the area below the knee off, and packed out the meat. I attempted to take some pictures, but, the batteries were dead. Oh well – at least we had pictures of the cups. All the meat was in the cooler, and we were on the road again, by 8:30. Time to head to Wyoming to get two antelope for me!

A beautiful drive through Medicine Bow National Forest, on our way to Centennial and Unit 45 was our destination. This unit is west of Laramie, however, it does not contain a lot of public land. Each tract of BLM land that we went to had already been picked over by antelope hunters that morning. There were 0 prairie goats on public land. Our intention was to spend the night in Centennial, but, given the lack of public land and lack of antelope on said land, we decided to bag it for the day and drive home. I am going back to that area in a few weeks time for two antelope north of Laramie, and, I will try my luck again in west Laramie.

It was a dark and stormy night...

(Photo by Jonathan Way)

August 18th, 2009. It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the greenbelts (for it is in Highlands Ranch that our scene lies), rattling along the trees, and fiercely agitating the dog walker that struggled against the darkness.

And lo, upon coming to the intersection of the path on the greenbelt and Highlands Ranch Parkway, the lone dog walker of two canines came upon a pack of coyotes on the prowl. The wild four-legged beasts were undetermined in number at that point, but as a separate pack of coyotes opened up with their wailing further up the greenbelt where the dog walker had just passed, the song dogs near him opened up with their ghastly howl.

Sage, the smaller, but bolder, white Husky mix dearly would have loved to get closer to the pack (which was 50 feet away at this point), and as they decreased their howls, the walker could hear them growling and 'talking' amongst themselves, as Ilse, the larger, but more intimidated White Shepherd, pulled at the leash in the opposite direction, wanting to vacate the scene as soon as she possibly could, only stopping to stand and growl at the dark shapes in the grass.

Time seemed to stand still, as the pack sized up the walker and the two dogs (for it seemed to the walker like a staring contest with a blind man) and eventually he was able to get his Husky moving towards the Parkway and away from the dark menace. Upon crossing Highlands Ranch Parkway, behind him he could hear the yelps of the pack, and, going only a quarter-mile from the intersection (where the stoplights were alternately blinking red and yellow, indicating that it was after midnight), the walker saw four dark shapes running along side him, between 50 and 75 feet from the winding twisting path.

One of the coyotes stopped where Sage had his leash fully extended out into the field, and the walker imagined that the song-dog was calculating whether it could lure Sage away from the walker to go and play, and, become the evening meal for the pack. The walker was able to get Sage moving again towards home, and after trailing for a bit, the pack of coyotes ran off, only to be heard again as the walker entered his house. The dogs stopped and gazed towards the open space across the street from his house, but, a quick tug at the leash and an open door where a dog biscuit was waiting for them was enough to get the dogs in the door, shutting out the night.

New Huskemaw Optics

See more pictures by clicking this link

I finally traveled north to get my new Huskemaw Optics scope. For those who are not in the ‘know’ – a Huskemaw Optics scope is a scope that is built to your specific rifle, for 1 specific load (bullet, brass, primer, powder). It’s main feature is a drop-compensating turret, that you can dial in to just about any range between 200 and 1000+ yards. It also has built-in windage marks for 10 – 30 mph cross wind (depending on target distance). See more about the Huskemaw scope by clicking this link

Thursday morning, June 12th, I left around 10:00 AM to Worland, Wyoming. It was a great drive, especially going through the Wind River Indian Reservation and Boysen state park just south of Thermopolis. It’s gorgeous country through there, especially the Rainbow Terraces. I arrived in Worland about 6:00 PM and checked into the hotel. I then realized I forgot my digital camera so went and purchased an additional one – always good to have a backup!

Friday morning, June 13th, I checked out at 6:00 AM to drive the hour it takes to get to Burlington, Wyoming, home of the Long Range Store. The place where they build their rifles is in a converted green metal warehouse with three garage doors. There are no signs, no advertising out front. My only description to go on was “look for the building across the street from the post office with 3 garage doors.” Being that it wasn’t a very big town, I only passed it once, and confirmed that I had left the town of Burlington after that last building.

I knocked on the door. Ernie (didn’t catch his last name) greeted me at the door. It was 7:00 AM and he was the only one in the shop. He indicated that the rest of the crew would be along shortly.

After finding my rifle amongst all the other rifles they had (I was the only one who had an aluminum case) he gave me a quick tour of the scope itself, how to make the adjustments, etc. Then Mike Davidson showed up, and shortly followed by Jeremy Winters and Aaron Davidson. We talked about hunting, what tags we had applied for in the 2009 fall season, the show itself, and other general stuff. Mike and I then headed off to the ‘range’ where I would start shooting my rifle. We headed south of Burlington to some private ranch property where they had permission to shoot, and I hopped in Mike’s Suburban to ride the rest of the way down there.

It seemed like my 7mm Remington Ultra Mag took to that Huskemaw scope and load like a fish takes to water. Mike asked me how far I’d like to shoot for my 1st shot. I said a conservative “500 yards.” He then picked out a rock with the spotting scope that had kind of a black mark about 4 inches wide on the face, in a range of hills at 525 yards away. We then agreed on the distance (I used my range finder as well for comparison). We checked the wind – there was none to be had. So, I held right on and did a dry-fire. I didn’t tell him that this was my very first time ever firing the rifle! The dry-fire went well, so I loaded one of the custom bullets, took aim, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit low and to the left. He said to give him another one – so I did. The bullet impact was less than a few inches from my original impact. So, we adjusted the scope a couple of clicks up and to the right, and squeezed off a round. I took a piece of the ‘black’ off – it turned white. I was right on target.

The second rock we selected was at about 675 yards. The wind/mirage was indicating about 3 miles per hour, so I held about one minute of angle to the left, with the windage marks in the reticle, and squeezed. A puff of dust indicated a direct hit.

One Minute of Angle is approximately 1 inch at 100 yards, or 2 inches at 200 yards, etc. An accurate rifle is a rifle that shoots “sub-MOA” or, will shoot less than 1-inch groups at 100 yards. So, at 1000 yards, you have a good rifle if you can get 3 bullets in a 10-inch circle. Each windage mark is one minute of angle, and the reticle tells you where to hold based on a 10-mph wind, when the scope is at 20-power. For example, a 10 mile-per-hour wind at 300 yards might tell you to hold at 1 minute of angle, or 3 inches, opposite the direction of the wind flow. However, at 900 yards, it might tell you to hold 3 minutes of angle for a 10 mile-per-hour wind, or 30 inches. If it’s a 20 mph wind, you can reduce the scope’s power to 10, and hold at the 3rd minute of angle mark, because now each windage mark indicates 2 minutes of angle, and the hold would be 60 inches, or 5 feet, opposite the wind direction.

The 3rd target was at 957 yards. My range finder couldn’t pick up the distance, but his did. I looked through his spotting scope and saw the rock I thought he had indicated, and dialed the distance on my drop-compensating turret. The wind/mirage was negligible, then shifting again to probably about 3 mph. He said to hold a little more than a half-minute for the wind, and also because of the rotation of the earth, at 1000 yards, the bullet is affected by about 1 inch (the spiral of the bullet with the effect of the earth’s rotation during the distance it takes to travel that distance – at least, that’s how I understood it – if we were shooting in Australia it would be about 1 inch in the other direction). So, I took aim and squeezed the trigger. It hit low. He said to try it again. The bullet hit in the same place. We then discussed which rocks we were talking about – He was indicating a rock that was about 2 feet across. I was aiming at a different rock about a half-minute wide (which was about 4-6 inches wide at that distance). He said to dial my scope in to 960, as it was farther away than the rock he had picked out. Now that we were on the same rock, I again held just inside the 1st windage mark, and squeezed off a round. You could distinctly hear the ‘crack’ of the bullet impacting the rock after about second or two.

I smiled. Mike gave me a high-five. He said it was so nice to have someone out there who could actually shoot well. He said he gets a lot of people out there who think that just because they have a fancy new scope on their rifle that they can now shoot well. However, if you’re a bad shot, a greater distance just compounds poor shooting.

I then agreed to help them shoot a stack of rifles that they had – all were 7mm or 6.5x284 rifles. Some were left-handed shooters, some were right. These were all of their $4500 and $6000 rifles that they were asking me to help them ‘break in’ (there are may different methods of breaking in barrels – the link is just one method). How could I pass up that opportunity? So we set up a sticker board 100 yards away with 100 1-inch orange dots. I would shoot the rifles – 5 rounds through each, then hand them back to Mike as he cleaned, and I shot another rifle 5 times. We kept them rotating – Mike was scrubbing the barrels with KG-12 cleaner and a nylon brush, then passing a patch through at the end of a tipped Jag. These jags are apparently better than the old loop you put a patch through. The Jags provide a more even pass through the barrel to remove copper fouling, powder, etc. He would pass the nylon brush through what seemed to be 100 times to remove all the copper fouling from the barrel (20 passes per bullet). This process is called barrel break-in, and if not done properly on new barrels, performance will be affected until enough rounds have gone through it, and enough times cleaning it, so that the barrel gets into a ‘sweet spot’ and can always be consistent. I guess when you’re paying $4000+ for a rifle, you want it to be properly broken in and ready to go when you receive it. They were also using a Bore Guide – which is a device you put into the rifle when you take the bolt out. This ensures that you don’t get a bunch of grit and oil in the action when you pass the nylon barrel brush up and down the barrel to remove the fouling. Needless to say, when I got home, I ordered some Tipton 7mm Caliber Rifle Nylon Bristle Bore Brushes and some Tipton Individual Ultra Jags, and a Hoppes Universal Bore Guide w/Three Interchangeable Tips For Bolt Action rifles. The bore brushes I already had were metal, and, with the cleaning agent, it would show fouling on the white patch even if the barrel was clean. Nylon will take care of that.

Ernie came out to join us, and he was doing the same process with a stack of rifles as well. After probably 50-75 rounds, my shoulder was saying it was time to go. Plus, I had to make my way to Rapid City for dinner with my Uncle Andy and Aunt Marcia, and the drive was about 6 hours from Burlington. Ernie asked if I had 5 rounds left in me. I said sure – I didn’t want to seem like a wimp, but there might have been a little hesitation in my voice…. So he hands me a 6.5x284 and a box of nice Berger bullets. You see, when we were breaking in the ‘stacks’ of rifles, we weren’t using the Berger bullets, we were using a cheaper bullet and all the rounds were reloads. So, I took aim, and the 1st three bullet holes were stacked one on top of the other. Mike said I was just showing off. I made an adjustment to the scope, put the other two just to the left of the first 3, and called it good.

We then went back to my vehicle as Mike explained how they liked to shoot their .50 BMG at long distances, and how he really disliked it when clients sent in the big 338 Magnums and Ultra-Magnums. He thought they should charge more due to the physical abuse they take from those rifles.

As we arrived back at the shop, Mike was telling Aaron about my ability to shoot, and about the targets and everything. He then told him about how I helped break in the guns. All the guys in the shop laughed. Apparently they’re always happy to have someone volunteer to take the pounding instead of them! I bought a few more boxes of ammo, and ordered a Caldwell Wind Wizard (electronic wind measuring device), and bade the guys at The Best of the West goodbye, thanking them for having me up and allowing me to shoot at their range, and for the marvelous work they did getting the scope on my rifle. It was great to have personal 1-on-1 coaching from Mike, and I’m now ready for some long-distance hunting.

Here are the specs on the bullets:

Bullet: Berger 180 Grain VLD
Powder: Hodgdon Retumbo 91 Grains
Primer: CCI 250
C.O.A.L 3.665” (Combined Over All Length)
Velocity 3145

The shooting conditions when they sighted in my rifle:
Sight in range: 100 yards
Far target range: 695 yards
Far target drop: 33 clicks
Altitude: 4400 feet
Temp: 70 degrees

My scope markings are set for 30 Fahrenheit at 7000 feet. For every 1000 feet in elevation difference, it will affect it by 1 click at 1000 yards. For every 20 degrees difference, it will affect it also by 1 click at 1000 yards. The best I should do is, if I can, take a practice shot when hunting and adjust from there, so that I know I will be on when I shoot my animal. Additionally, because of the length of the bullets, I checked to make sure I could load them in my magazine and feed them into the barrel. Thankfully, I could. It would be most unkind to turn my rifle into a single-shot. But then again, maybe I already did.

2nd Season Doe Deer Hunt 2008, or, Turning in Circles ‘til you See the Deer

Doe Deer Hunt - Contrary to chatter in coffee shops, shooting a doe doesn’t make you less of a hunter, Kreil said. Instead, it demonstrates that you are an informed and conscientious hunter who understands that hunting is about wildlife management and not just about trophies.

The plan was to arrive at our hunting unit Thursday evening and bag two deer, and have a leisurely drive home Friday morning. It didn’t, however, quite go as planned.

Thursday morning, at about 1:00 AM, Mike Finch left his home in Evergreen, CO, to drive up to Craig for the morning hunt. He arrived early and caught some Z’s until sun up. After seeing virtually nothing, he went through some parcels of public hunting lands trying to find the doe. However, going was difficult. Last winter, we heard reports that there was a 50 – 70% Winter Kill on the deer population in our hunting unit. This was evidenced by the clear lack of deer where we typically hunt. We’ve had it in years past where we were practically tripping over them. Not so this year.

Mike continued to be on the lookout, scouting various areas, and sure enough, I got a call on my cell phone at about 11:00 stating that he had a doe down with his 7mm Mag. When Kaoru and I heard the message, we looked forward in anticipation to the evening hunt. We drove from Denver and arrived in Craig at about 5:00. We picked Mike up from the Hotel parking lot in Craig and drove to our hunting unit near Maybell. But the signs were not good. Typically, unfortunately, we can judge the amount of deer in an area by the amount of road kill we come across. On the way to our unit, we saw none. And sure enough, on the evening hunt, neither of us saw any deer in an area where we normally see plenty. But we weren’t discouraged – we were hopeful for the next morning.

Friday morning, after spending the night in a snug motel room (3 of us crammed with all our gear into a room barely large enough to fit a queen-sized bed, and just enough room at the base to fit a cot), we drove again to our hunting area. Kaoru and I part ways and we go to designated points – he’s taking the high ground on a hillside, I am further east overlooking some coolies to the east and west, and a large expanse of sagebrush and junipers to the north. It’s the same area that I got my doe 2nd season last year. Mike stays in his truck, heater on, and keeps us updated on a herd of deer that might cross the highway and come towards our position.

Around 9:30, after waiting what seemed an eternity (we’d been out since 7:00) and not seeing anything, I have to pee. I select a large juniper which I judge needed watering, and, as I’m going, I’m looking around with my binoculars. Sure enough, I see a herd of deer (just the heads, actually), crossing in a gully about 300 yards away. Being that I’m otherwise occupied at the moment, I hurry as fast as I can, scrambling to finish and get everything put away, get my backpack on, and radio that I’m going to intercept the herd. I see the direction they’re going and see a hill in the distance that I can probably sneak up and pop up over the top.

I sneak up over the ridge of the hill and spot the herd. I drop to my knees and pick out the only antlerless deer on which I have a shot (the others were all standing with one in front, one behind, etc.). One squeeze of the trigger from my 30.06, from 150 yards, and it drops. The rest of the herd run a short distance. I radio Kaoru and tell him to hurry over so that he can get one as well. However, by the time he gets to my position, they are 800 yards away and still going.

After quartering the deer, Mike and Kaoru help me pack it back to the truck. We put it in the cooler and drive into Maybell for some ice. We then head off to where Mike got his deer the day before to see whether we can find more. No such luck. At this point (about 11:30), Mike bids us farewell, and heads back to Evergreen. Kaoru and I drive to our old camp site (near the base of what we call “the fingers”) and we sight in Kaoru’s .22. He had remounted the scope previously and wanted to make sure it was sighted in for the late-season Hasenpfeffer hunt.

Now, about 1:00, Kaoru, still suffering from Jet Lag (having just arrived from Japan a few day previous), wanted a siesta. He crashed in the truck while I scanned the valley for deer. At about 2:00, I spot the outline of a deer, at about 550 yards away. All I see are the head and neck, in the shade of a juniper tree, and I’m unsure whether I am looking at a sagebrush, log, or a profile. Sure enough, after 5 minutes, it moves. I tell Kaoru to look through his binoculars and find the spot. We then come up with a plan to make a stalk. We are going to walk along the fence line, then cut a diagonal path towards the last known spot where the deer were seen.

We get all our gear on, and take off, quickly, but not noisily. We arrive at the spot where the deer were last seen. They’re not there, but after we go over a small ridge, we spot them again. They are flitting amongst the junipers, and Kaoru cannot get a clear shot. Again, they go over the next ridge, so we follow after (we give them time to settle down and scan for any additional deer in the area). After we go over the next ridge, they are gone, nowhere to be seen. So, our plan is to go over the next ridge, then if we don’t see them, we will climb up a nearby hill. Sure enough, no deer, so we walk up the backside of the hill and take a look. There are 4 deer, downhill, less than 200 feet away from us…

But we don’t see them! They are behind a clump of junipers, and perfectly camouflaged. After scanning for a few minutes, Kaoru decides to take off his jacket. It’s 65 degrees out, and he’s getting pretty warm from all the stalking. At the sound of the zipper, the deer start running out from behind the juniper. Kaoru scrambles to get his rifle, get in a kneeling position, and wait for the deer to come into view. At 150 yards away, all the deer stop and turn to look at us. But, they are all lined up one behind the other. No shot is possible. Then, one steps forward – here’s Kaoru’s opportunity!

But, he squeezed off a round on the out-breath, and the shot went low. Then the deer scrambled and disappeared. We gave chase, but, with as thick as the juniper trees were, we did not spot them again. So, we head back to the truck and devise another game plan. We go to some different areas and hunt, but see nothing. We stop and talk with some other hunters. They had been hunting for 7 days straight before they got their deer – and they were doe hunting as well!

That evening, just before sundown, we go to an area where there is a petroleum pipeline and a dry river bed where we’ve seen deer before. As I drive, just before I enter the river bed, I spot a doe on the side of the hill. I stop the truck and grab my binoculars, and the deer has disappeared. I point the general direction where we saw the deer, and we drive down into the river channel and head that direction. Sure enough, we come across the deer. Kaoru hops out of the truck and gives chase. Typically, when the deer are spooked, they run about 20 yards, turn around, and look at what spooked them. It’s a perfect opportunity for hunters, as they turn broadside to look at you, and you can then take your shot. But, this doe was smart, and it kept running. We saw nothing else until sundown.

The next morning we go back to the same spot we were the previous morning. Kaoru goes to the spot where I shot my deer, and I go to the juniper where I had initially seen the deer. When we arrive, we spot some deer walking down a ditch, a quarter of a mile away, towards the highway, where they were sure to cross. I run the quarter mile diagonal to try to intercept them, so that they turn and head back in the direction towards Kaoru. But, I was too slow. Kaoru was watching in the binoculars, and said that if I had arrived about 10 seconds previous, I would have intercepted them. So, I then hurry back up the slope towards the juniper, and Kaoru heads off in the direction of where I was the previous day.

Again, we waited about 2 hours. I have a Garmin Rino 530 GPS, and Kaoru and I had talked the previous day about resetting the compass. To do that, you go to the compass menu and select Calibrate Compass. Then you turn in a circle twice, slowly, while the satellite signal resets your compass to your position. Being that the only deer I had seen since the initial three were two that had come up a draw between Kaoru and I, and they were too far for Kaoru to intercept, I was figuring that I could take some time to play around. I walked up the slope from the juniper, and, facing towards it, I selected Calibrate Compass and turned slowly in a circle. Once. By the time I got back around to face the juniper again, I saw two deer walking beyond it, by about 75 yards. So much for calibrating my compass!

I could see that Kaoru, too, could see the deer. They were walking towards him, and as he reached the crest of the hill, they disappeared from his sight (because of the geographic features of the land). However, they emerged, and as I was watching both him and the deer, I saw a doe jump, then heard the shot, and the deer went down. Of course, the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, so I saw the deer get hit before I heard the shot.

I walk the quarter-mile to Kaoru’s position, and he’s happy to have gotten a deer, and that it’s his 1st animal for his new rifle (300 Win Mag). I help him quarter the animal and we pack it out, put it in the cooler, and, with both tags now filled, we head back to Denver.

I spent Saturday evening and Sunday processing my deer. The meat is currently all ground up, with Cajun Jerky seasoning and cure mixed in, sitting in my refrigerator. I will be using Kaoru’s dehydrator to make jerky. I have 18 pounds of meat, so, I will probably end up with 3-4 pounds of jerky. Should be a good batch.

Late Season Doe 2008

See this link for photos (note: pictures are clean - not gory) – Click HERE – and then click View Now

We left for our 1-day Doe hunt at 2:00 AM Sunday morning, December 7th. Although it was both Deer and Elk season, and we each had licenses for a cow elk and doe deer, we had no illusions that there would actually be any elk in the hunting unit. This year, the weather has been unseasonably warm, and we didn’t think that any elk had moved into the migration/wintering grounds where we hunt them.

Matt Cosley and Kaoru Uno arrived at 2:00 AM. I had gone to bed at 11:30 and woke up at 1:00. Kaoru had about 6 hours of sleep, but Matt had about the same sleep schedule I had. But, we were off and running, with Kaoru driving, up to unit 211, between Meeker and Craig in northwest Colorado.

We arrived in the hunting unit about 6:30 after an uneventful crossing over Rabbit Ears pass. The weather was about 35 degrees, and we drove to several select areas in the unit where we had been successful before. The roads were frozen, but there wasn’t very much snow in the area. There were also almost no deer.

We continued to look around the unit, exploring every nook and cranny. Other hunters were also in the area, but not many (compared to other years). We assumed that the lack of elk in the area had most of them driving home on Saturday.

About 10:00, we were driving from one lookout to another when we spotted three deer running about 70 yards from the road. We pulled off to the side and hopped out. Matt and I ran to 50 feet away from the centerline of the road and I took aim and fired. I dropped one, but, the deer ran over a hill and onto private land before Matt could get a decent shot.

Kaoru, who was driving, found out the hard way of some features of the Ford F-150 that are not conducive to that type of hunting. When you drive the F-150, after the speed gets to about 5 mph, the doors auto-lock. You have to click the unlock button to open the other doors from outside the truck. His rifle was in the back seat. When he pulled off to the side of the road, he jumped out, closed the driver door, and tried to open the back door. It was locked. He then opened the driver door, clicked the unlock button, closed it, opened the back door, got his rifle from the case, closed the door, and ran over to where Matt and I were. By that time, the shooting was over, and the other deer were gone.

We loaded the deer onto the tailgate and drove to an area that was further away from the main road, where I quartered it (with their assistance). We then realized that we had forgotten to get ice when we filled up with gas. So we drove to Meeker and bought about 100 lbs of ice, and set the quarters to cool.

That afternoon the temperature rose to a high of 57 degrees. I’m sure there were a lot of people who enjoyed the nice weather, but we weren’t one of them. The roads melted and became slick with mud, and I slipped and slid and added more than a few pounds of mud to my undercarriage. We went to a few more lookout points, then drove back to a known evening deer area. After getting ready, we hiked up a hill that overlooked a large expansive valley, and nearby was some private land that deer often traverse. Matt was on the hill farthest north, Kaoru was on a hill about 500 yards south, and I was on a hill about 500 yards south of Kaoru. Although I had my doe tag filled, I figured that there might be a possibility of an elk crossing, regardless of how remote.

Just before sundown, Kaoru spotted a buck and two doe. However, they were on a piece of private land. The deer were about 180 yards away, but, when it comes to private land, they might as well have been a few miles away. We didn’t have permission to access, so they watched and waited until a half-hour after sundown.

From my position, I was scanning with binoculars, and spotted a snow-shoe hare (which was also in season). It was about 170 yards away on a hillside. Not wanting to disturb their doe hunt, and spook their deer, I held off on my shot. Then, with the very last visible light, I texted Kaoru with my Garmin Rino to ask if he could talk. He texted ‘no’ – so I held my shot, and the snowshoe hare lived to see another day. Granted, unless my shot was spot-on, there would be nothing left of the snow-shoe hare after I hit it…

The deer that Kaoru and Matt were watching on the private land never moved closer to the public land, and no other deer showed up. So those deer, also, lived to see another sunrise.

We drove home, arriving at about 11:00 PM. A long day, but we were happy that at least one of us was successful. I think I will turn this deer either into savory breakfast sausage, or Cajun jerky.

Pronghorn Hunt - Sept 2008

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=723161239905875455/l=672544014/g=88767098/cobrandOid=1000131/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

For our 2008 doe Pronghorn antelope hunt, we chose to do the “Ranching for Wildlife” program offered through the Colorado Division of Wildlife. In this program, private ranches offer tags to the public for hunting in exchange for extra tags for their land that they can sell in “hunt packages” etc. We chose to apply at the Blue Gravel Ranch north of Craig, CO., for the season that runs from September 6th – 10th. Matt Cosley, Mike Finch, and I were in the hunting party.

We left Friday afternoon to get to Craig. Although only a 4-hour drive, we had to go through Hot Sulphur Springs (between Winter Park and Kremling) and stop at the DOW office to pick up a reissue tag for Mike. He had put his antelope tag in a really safe place. So safe that he couldn’t find it before we left. Then, after an otherwise uneventful drive to Craig (the trees, though, in Grand County and across a large swath of land are being affected by Pine Beetle kill) we arrive at the dingy Super 8. I suspect that the owners are extracting as much money from the hotel as they can, deferring maintenance, and when the condition of the hotel impacts their ability to fill it on a regular basis, they will just turn it back over to the corporate office and go buy another hotel and do the same. However, they did have all varieties of HBO, so we sat back and watched Office Space before we went to dinner. Oh yeah, we were roughing it. It was so bad that we couldn't even shower. There was, what appeared to be, black mold on the ceiling in the bathroom above the shower. We go have dinner and fill the coolers with ice in preparation. Before we turn in, we watch 300. Nothing like that to get your blood pumping.

The next morning, we were supposed to check in at 7:00 AM at the Elkhorn outfitters (Blue Gravel) office. We decided to get there a little early so we could get a jump on the other hunters. At 6:45, they opened the doors, and Matt, Mike, and I checked in, signed the waivers (so that we wouldn't hold them accountable if I cut my leg open), etc. Then we were off - north on Highway 13 out of Craig to a left turn on County Road 103, then a right on 89. As soon as we pulled in I recognized that this was the area where Kaoru and I had gotten an elk a few years previous.

After we drove onto the property, we saw that some of the guest hunters had camped on the property, were already out, and dragging antelope back to the road. But, we weren't worried - there's always enough antelope to be had.

An interesting thing about these antelope hunts is that some hunters like to do some close-in hunting - i.e., they'll see a herd of antelope close to the road, get out and walk the legal distance from the road, and shoot one. However, if the herd requires considerable walking, they'll just continue driving until they see a closer herd. It's convenient to do it this way, but, it's more 'shooting' than 'hunting'.

What we do is more of a spot and stalk. Although an antelope hunt is typically an 'easy' hunt, we don't necessarily need to make it that easy. So, we drive along, and we spot a herd about 700 yards from the road, in plain view. There are other hunters on the road looking at that same herd. However, none of them are getting out of their trucks. Of course not - they want something within 100 yards of the road. So we get out, get our gear, and start to go after them. However, there's no approach vector to remain hidden - they can see us coming as plain as day. They are on a hillside opposite us. We walk down the hill towards them, and they start running up the hill they're on. Not surprising. Often, we can typically spot a herd, start after them, and they'll go over the next ridge, where we can sneak up the ridge and pop over the top, and usually they're in range. So, we get to the bottom of the hill, and there's a fence we need to hop to get closer to them. We lay our rifles on the wire to get a solid rest, and Mike ranges them at over 400 yards. I know that the bullet drop for a 30.06 at 400 yards with my bullets is between 20 and 26 inches. I'm not going to take an unethical shot at an antelope when I know there's going to be more opportunities later. The bullet has enough power to put it down, but I don't have built-in crosshairs at given distances in my scope. But, Mike, with his 7mm mag, doesn't have as much bullet drop at that (400 to 450 yards) distance, and takes a shot. He hits it, and the other antelope run away. It's probably about 7:10.

Matt and I decide to go after the herd, and Mike starts walking to start taking care of his downed antelope. Matt and I go down the road a little ways and get out where we think they might be. We haven't spotted them, but we take off on a brisk walk. We decide that if we don't see them right away, we'll go back and help Mike haul his antelope out.

We go about 600 yards (during which we hear the coup-de-gras shot for Mike's antelope) and we see the antelope from the herd we are chasing go up and over the hill out of the hunting property. We pause for a bit, and, just before we decide to turn back (near a pond), we spot another herd over the next ridge. We sneak up a little valley and start climbing a hill, when I spot an antelope on the far ridge. The antelope can see us, but, it's not alarmed, so we continue up to the top. We then knee-crawl to the edge and get a closer look. The antelope is still looking our direction, and, with it's ears, I'm thinking it might be a buck. It's standing in the shadow of a hill, without the sun shining directly on it, and the ears look like they might be horns at that distance. So we pause and wait while looking through binoculars. Finally, it turns its head, and we see ears, not horns. My concern was that it was standing alone, or, at least we couldn't see other antelope near it, which I've typically seen with antelope buck behavior. Again, ethically speaking, I want to be sure of my (or Matt's) shot. So, we eventually come to agreement that it's a doe, and Matt, with his 30.06 resting on some shooting sticks, takes a shot. The bullet hits high-shoulder, and the animal drops dead. We stand up and start walking towards it, when the rest of the herd runs up the same hill. We drop to our knees, I grab Matt's shooting stick, and pick out the largest doe. I gently squeeze the trigger and the animal drops. It's a shoulder/spine/lung shot, and it drops in its tracks. Matt asks me the time. It's 8:09 AM.

We then go and find my antelope, and spend about a half-hour looking for Matt's. I was sure it was on the hill opposite where mine dropped and we go looking about in some high sage. Not finding it, we start walking back towards mine to re-judge where we think it dropped, and come across his 20 feet above mine on the same hill.

So, Matt goes back to the truck and I start working on quartering the antelope. Mike radios me and asks our status. I tell him we have two antelope down. He responds that his antelope is already bagged and packed and on the road ready to be picked up. Matt gets back to the truck, picks Mike up and his antelope, and come back to where I'm quartering. In the picture, you'll see that the antelope I'm holding only has legs on that side. The other legs are already off and in plastic bags, ready to be packed out.

After they're hauled out (white 13-gallon kitchen bags) we drive into Craig, wash off the antelope quarters in the local car wash (which, in Craig Colorado, is not an uncommon sight and the locals accept it as part of the millions of dollars that hunters pour into their local economy every year), and head home.

The next day I debone my antelope and make it almost entirely into breakfast sausage. I save the backstraps / loins separately to grill up (bacon wrapped, on the grill, with a light teriyaki marinade, is the best). All said and done, I have about 22 lbs of breakfast sausage and 4 lbs of backstrap.

In this link view you can see the road, the line at the bottom of the hill where the fence is, and the field/hill to the south. This is where Mike shot his antelope.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=craig,+CO&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&ll=40.688127,-107.540655&spn=0.002681,0.004715&z=18

In this link view, you can see the pond, and from there, a valley going southwest towards a couple of hills in the center of the view. That's where Matt and I took our shots towards the east (where you start seeing the sagebrush).
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=craig,+CO&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&ll=40.684462,-107.530135&spn=0.005361,0.009431&z=17&iwloc=addr

Elk Hunt Late Season 2008: Turning Triumph into Tragedy

Originally from January 2009

Here’s the summary of our last elk hunt for 2008, taking place December 28-31st.

We (Kaoru, Matt, and I) left for our late season elk hunt at 2:00 AM on Sunday, December 28th, 2008. Kaoru had to pick Matt up on the way to my house, as Matt's truck battery had spilled acid all over his engine after he played Duke's of Hazzard trying to go hunting the previous weekend. Flying through the air after spinning off the road (due to ice) just doesn't help anything, unless you are looking for quick ways to land yourself in a farmer's field after ripping through his barbed-wire fence.

Kaoru's wife's birthday was on Saturday the 27th, thus, even as caveman-esque hunter types, we understand the importance of keeping our wives happy so that we can ensure future hunts. So when Kaoru arrived with Matt at my house, he was going to be quick to get to sleep in the back seat.

On the way up to the hunting unit, we ran into some inclement weather, but, not wanting to repeat Matt's past performance, I took it easy and a 4 1/2 hour trip turned into 6 hours. But, we arrived safely at our hunting unit around 8:30.

I'm pulling an ATV (Mike's ATV and my Dad's trailer), and we stop to drop off the trailer in an area located just off the road where a rancher has stored hay bales. There is a group of hunters in the area already, and there's a herd of elk about 800 yards away. The other hunters give chase while we unhook the trailer. Then, we pull out our binoculars to watch their stalk. While looking for the elk, they happen to pop their heads up over a ridge 100 yards away from us. We spot them at the same time they spot us, and they turn tail and run. By the time we run to the edge of the ridge, they are 900 yards away and still running. We get back to the truck and give chase, but, the roads don't go where the elk are running. We pull in on a side road and get out to see where we can intercept, and decide to put on the tire chains before we go any farther. In the mean time, the other hunters head up the main road and head in on an intercepting road. We follow, but the lead truck gets stuck. The road is snow-covered, with deep snow, and unlike us, the lead truck doesn't have chains. We back down the road, and glass the area, but the elk are gone.

We continue hunting throughout the day. Both Kaoru and Matt have deer licenses to fill, so we're looking for some doe as well. We see another herd of elk that day, but they disappear before we can get close enough, and the snow is such that any stalk cross-country will need to be when the elk aren't spooked. But the herd we saw was on a full-tilt run and there's no way we could have caught up to them.

Around 4:30, (sundown is at 5:00, last light is 5:30) we spot a herd of deer about 400 yards away. Matt and Kaoru make a stalk, but are spotted, and the deer take off. Around 5:00, we spot another herd. As Kaoru and Matt set up for a shot, another truck pulls up on the road near where Karou and Matt have safely gotten off the road, pops off a round at the herd, and takes off when the herd moves. Welcome to public-land hunting. The herd takes off and moves off to the other side of the road, into safety.

Then we saw the deer.

On our way back to pick up the trailer, Matt spots two deer. Quickly Kaoru and Matt set up for a shot, and both deer drop, one after the other, as shots fill the air. Kaoru shot his in the neck, Matt made a high-shoulder shot. It is 4 minutes to last-shooting-light. They drag the deer back towards the road, and I angle the truck's headlights so that they light up the area where Matt and Kaoru are quartering their deer. See the associated pictures in the album. In the mean time, I call my dad, who is on his way to meet us back at the Holiday Inn in Craig. We tell him we'll meet him at the bar when we get back to town. We meet up with my dad afterwards, discuss the plan for the next day, and after a quick bite at a local restaurant, we hit the hay.

The next morning, after a quick bite at McDonalds, we take both vehicles (my F-150, dad's Isuzu Trooper), and drive to the same area we dropped the trailer the day before. Again, there's elk in the area, about 1000 yards from the drop-off area. Some other hunters give chase while we're putting on chains, unhooking the trailer, etc. The day before, we put on my Auto-Trac chains, which are a light, low impact chain. But I heard nothing but complaints from someone in my party, who referred to them as something similar to 'wimpy' - but the word was more akin to how Johnny Carson might refer to a 'cat.' He was not down with OTC (Other Types of Chains). So, we put on my heavy-duty chains, and spent awhile adjusting them as we rolled in the direction of the herd.

Then we saw the elk.

After about a mile, I stopped to look over a vast expansive plateau area, and spotted a herd of elk. They were about a mile and a half away. After everyone found them in their binoculars (a herd of 22 can blend into the landscape pretty well), we decided on a plan of action to intercept them. We drove in on a snow-covered road only previously accessed by ATVs, and drove in about a quarter-mile towards them. We were then forced to get out and make a stalk. Luckily they were coming our direction - we just had to cut them off. Unfortunately, as we tried to intercept, they walked on the opposite side of a herd of cows from us, and disappeared into the hills. We got within 800 yards, but not wanting to disrupt the cows and their hay eating, we decided to turn around and try to get to them another way.

We turned back and drove up another side road until we could go no more - although the chains were performing admirably, sometimes the snow is just too deep. Such was the case as we came to a stop just before the crest of the hill. I backed up, just to make sure that I could hopefully, possibly, get out when we returned to the truck, we grabbed our rifles and headed the rest of the way up the hill.

Then we saw the elk, again.

We started making our way over towards the elk, using the topography to disguise our movements. But, sometimes it doesn't work to our advantage, and the elk must have spotted one of us and they started moving away. So, we watched them to see where they were going, and realized they were headed towards the place we call our 'lookout.' Then we heard the sounds of snowmobiles and gunshots, and a separate herd of elk, about 60 in count, started running across the valley towards the same lookout.

After racing back to the truck, and thankfully getting it back down the hill (sometimes gravity works to your advantage), we drove completely around the hunting unit to the other side to get on the access road to the lookout. I had already made the road over to the lookout - it was previously covered in 6-14 inches of snow, but I got through it the day before with my wimpy chains. Now, with the hefty chains, it was absolutely no problem.

But, as we approached (Kaoru had confirmed the elk were just below the lookout as we stopped along the way to get out and see where the elk were), we saw that someone else had beat us to the elk. A guy and two of his kids were on top of the lookout, looking down at the elk. We stopped my truck where they stopped theirs, and walked through the same gate. However, not wanting to crowd them, we cut down a gulley to their right, to see if we could get a different angle on the elk. Additionally, the elk were laying down at the base of the 'lookout hill' and there were cattle nearby. We would have to make sure that when we were shooting at the elk, there weren't any cattle behind them. We snuck our way down the gully, belly crawling so that we weren't detected. Then Matt accidently stuck the end of his rifle in the snow. He ejected the shell and Kaoru wrapped his mouth around the end of Matt's barrel, and blew hard. The white stuff came flying out by the magazine, and we were on our way. I later asked how Kaoru enjoyed having his mouth on Matt’s gun. He indicated that it was a “Number 1” experience, with his fingers, but he used his middle finger instead of his index finger to show me.

Then we shot the elk.

As we cut down the gulley, crawling through the snow, we heard the shots from the other hunters. Kaoru, Matt, and I jumped up to start running so we would be within range as the elk herd started running left to right in front of us. We got into position and took aim. In the mean time, my dad grabbed the camera and started taking pictures.

In the pictures, I underlined our position (small orange blurs), and put a line above each elk as we shot them. We knocked down an elk each. Matt fired first, and made an excellent neck shot. Kaoru hit his second, and again, like his deer, shot his in the neck. I seemed to be having a problem connecting, as Kaoru had first taken a range at the resting elk and said that we could just aim and shoot. He then said, "Leif, aim a little high, they are farther away than you think." So, I raised the rifle, squeezed off a round, and the elk dropped - another neck shot. I was classified as "expert" in the Marine Corps with a rifle, so my shot finally met with my expectations.


Then my dad came down and shot an elk that had wandered close (in a group of 4 elk). In the pictures I have noted the herd of four elk that were wandering our way after we knocked three down. We now had 4 elk down. Sweet! It was 1:30 in the afternoon - we had 4 hours before it would start to get dark. No problem. Or so we thought.



We went from elk to elk inspecting each one, and as we were walking, the guy who was on top of the lookout yelled over and asked if we had a cell phone. I went to talk to him (Scott) and he needed a cell phone with service to call his buddy that had snowmobiles. Scott’s two sons had just shot their first elk. He also needed a saw and a knife sharpener. We had everything he needed. I asked if he could hook us up with the snow mobile to help drag out the elk. I told him to tell his buddy that we had cash. Sure enough, his buddy, Mickey, could help us out. It turns out that his buddy was the one who we heard earlier on the snowmobiles that scared the herd across to the lookout. They had 3 elk down, but would be over to come help us out in about an hour and a half. Now we had work to do.

We all worked on the elk together. Or, should I say, Kaoru, Matt, and I worked on gutting the elk. They would be easier to drag that way instead of dragging a bunch of quarters. My dad supervised, and sharpened any knife that needed it. Although he 'can' gut elk, we prefer him to stay upwind - he easily pukes at the first scent of anything unpleasant. I recently found out he used to puke while changing my/my brother's diapers!









Just as we finished the last elk, Justin (Mickey's son) arrived with the snowmobile. He was dragging a line of 'mule tape' towards us from the edge of the field. Although we had permission to hunt on this land, we weren't allowed to operate motor vehicles on the land - it was a wheat field. This meant we had to drag the elk across the field with this mule tape. Also, one of the elk that the kids shot was quite a distance away - and Matt had to help drag to elk through a bog towards the other kid's downed elk. By this time, the cows had started walking back towards us, so Justin had to attach the elk to the mule tape (he had a quarter-mile of the stuff on a reel) and drag it through the cows to get it to the edge of the field. Apparently 'mule tape' is used to pull fiber optic wires through long distances of conduit. It's 2000 lb test - and didn't have any problems dragging elk. But, he couldn't drag the elk straight up the hill. Fortunately, there was a gate towards one side of the wheat field that he could drag all 6 towards, and then up to the truck.

But, with the process of going back and forth, again and again, (mule tape gets caught in sagebrush, etc.) I heard the suggestion several times that I should go get the ATV. I could assist in getting the elk off the land, and hopefully before dark. So, my dad and I drove to the ATV drop-off area, picked up the trailer, and drove back towards the downed elk. A quick call to Kaoru indicated that in the time it took to go get the ATV and drive back with it, it was no longer needed. I'm glad I could have a nice, leisurely drive while they did all the work. In the mean time, Matt sacrificed his $300 knife to the elk gods. He made sure to lose it in the field where we got the elk.

The next task came with how we were going to get 4 elk in the bed of my truck, with 3 150-quart coolers, and all of my other gear. We ended up stacking the elk like cordwood in the bed, then stacking the coolers and other gear on top. It took some maneuvering, a lot of heavy lifting, and a few swear words, but eventually everything was loaded into the back of my truck. All we had to do was pick up my dad's trooper and head into Craig for a victory dinner. So we drove to the trooper, my dad and Kaoru hopped in, and we were off.

Then the chain snapped and cut my brake lines.

My truck came to a lurching halt after we powered through the ditch full of snow, leaving the parking area. We heard on the radio "Don't slow down!" as my dad and Kaoru powered through the same ditch. But I had no choice. I couldn't go anywhere. My dad pulled behind us as I got out to see what had happened. The rear driver's-side chain was halfway across the diameter of the wheel; the other side was wrapped around my axle. And it was wrapped tight.

Kaoru immediately got to work trying to figure out how he could get the chain off, bless him. He found one loose link and I grabbed my Gerber multi-tool, and his, and he started loosening it. Then Scott happened to come by and stopped, thankfully, and he had a crowbar and a real pair of pliers. Kaoru was able to get the chain off, and we took some baling wire to try and tighten the cut brake line. But, I could still push my brake pedal all the way to the floor, with no resistance. It was time to call the wrecker.

After talking to USAA roadside assistance (I'm glad I had cell service out in the middle of nowhere) I talked to the tow truck driver. He was driving up from Silt - off of I-70. It was going to be at least an hour and a half, if not two hours, for him to get to where we were, between Meeker and Craig, CO. I told him to find "nowhere" on the map, and stick his finger right in the middle of it. I began to think that we weren't going to have our victory dinner (baby-back ribs at J.W. Snacks in Craig). So, Matt and I sent my dad and Kaoru to go get some burgers and come back.

Then they hit an elk.

Apparently all the fast food places were closed in Craig (it was after 10:00 P.M. by the time they got into town) and decided to get some sandwiches at the local Kum and Go (no, it's not a drive-through sperm-bank) gas station. On the way back towards where Matt and I were, they came around a corner on the highway and my dad had a choice of which elk he was going to hit. He couldn't slow down in time, but at least he had a little time to swerve. He chose the smallest elk, hit it, and the hood flew up. They drove blind until the car came to a halt. Kaoru and my dad got out, drug the elk to the side of the road, tied down the hood to the smashed grill and radiator, and turned around. There was a leak in the radiator and they were going to try to get back to the hotel before all the fluid completely drained. I called them just after they hit the elk, and I sat mournfully as my dreams of a juicy burger were smashed like an elk in a radiator.

The tow truck driver eventually arrived. He parked beside us with the platform tow truck, we discussed what he was going to do, then he needed to turn the tow truck around and face the same way we were facing. He headed into the parking area we previously left.

Then the tow truck driver got stuck.

The aforementioned snow-filled ditch stymied the driver in his quest to turn his truck around. He then got out of his truck and used his own "dually-chains" to get himself unstuck. He then loaded my truck on to the back of his truck and took me into Craig and dropped it off at the Ford dealership. But, as there was no other place to put the truck, we dropped it off right in front of the front door. Plus, as he tilted my truck backwards to lower it off the bed, all of the bloody melted snow, previously inside the elk cavities, drained out the back of my truck and onto the snow right by the front door. Yeah - the employees were going to get a shock arriving at work the next morning. But, being 12:30 AM, I couldn't forewarn them, and the number on the front door didn't have an associated answering machine.

The tow truck driver was able to drop us off at Holiday Inn on his way back out of town. We ate our cold sandwiches and went to bed. The next morning I called the dealership to let them know that the truck with 16 legs pointing out of the back of it was mine, and that I needed a new brake line. He told me that he could have a brake line for me first thing - the next day - unless I could find one myself. No problem, I thought - so I got on the phone and started calling all the shops I could find on the internet from the Holiday Inn. There were absolutely no brake lines for F150s on the Western Slope.

So, we extended our stay at Holiday Inn for 1 day and drove the trooper noisily down to the trooper repair shop, got a rental car, and drove to the Ford dealership. I told the service manager that we intended to quarter the elk, he just needed to let us know where we could do it. He gave me a look usually reserved for the mental ward, and told me that we could process the elk in the parking lot across the street, and use the dealership dumpster to dump the carcasses.

We unload the back of my truck and drag the elk into the parking lot, surrounded by all of the other cars and trucks waiting to be worked on. We are right on main street, Craig, CO. A few locals came by to check out what we were doing, including the employees of a drive-through Mexican restaurant.






Then the cops came.

The patrol car pulled into the lot and said he was investigating a report of 'suspicious activity.' I approached him with my bloody hands and said that we weren't participating in anything suspicious. Kaoru put his bloody knife down and said that we didn't know what he was talking about. Matt put down his new gristle-filled bone-saw and said that although were being active, there was nothing suspicious about it. My dad put down the pliers he was using to extract the 'buglers' (the ivory elk teeth) from the mouth of the elk and told the cop that we had licenses for all the elk, that we had permission from the service manager to quarter the elk in the parking lot. Satisfied with that explanation, he left to go close the police report. We finished quartering the elk and loaded them into the coolers. The parking lot where we were processing the elk looked like the floor of a meat shop - there were large swaths of red - but we figured they would get covered by the next snowstorm.





That night, we were able to finally have our victory dinner at J.W. Snacks, enjoying the tangy ribs (except Matt had to have the burger). The next day, after the truck was finished, we dropped off the rental car, picked up the truck and drove home (stopping to see where Matt went through the fence when he was playing Bo Duke - and if the Dukes of Hazzard were French, would they be Beau and Luc Duque?) We also dropped the ATV back at Mike's house. We would be home just in time to enjoy New Year's Eve with our wives.

Something that I had promised Audrey - that I would be home New Year's Eve, so we could leave New Year's Day to leave for Sedona. That left me approximately 12 hours to unpack, do laundry, process the elk quarters and backstrap/tender loins/heart, and, oh yeah, sleep. After I went to my house everyone helped me unload the truck and put all of the gear that wasn't mine into Kaoru's Rodeo (to which we also attached my dad's trailer). To give me more time, Kaoru drove my dad and Matt home before returning to his house in north Denver. But just before Kaoru left, I managed to slam my left index fingernail in the truck door. Ouch! That really helped when I was trying to grab the pieces of meat for processing and I kept putting pressure on the end of my finger! I was reminded that I slammed my finger about a dozen times per elk-quarter. Yowza!

Audrey and I ended up leaving a few hours later than expected on January 1st to go to Sedona, but, I wrote the majority of this summary from our laptop in lovely Sedona, AZ. Since the 1st, Kaoru took 3 1/2 days to process his deer and elk, and Matt currently has his deer and elk aging in his garage. My dad and mom spent about a week cutting and trimming and grinding his elk.

Happy New Year, everyone, and may your year be accident free.