Pausing before peering over the final ridge I concentrated on my breathing. If my plan had worked, I’d be in the middle of 100+ elk and I knew the hunt would go down quickly. The wind was blowing perfectly into my face, the snow provided a quiet path up the side of the mountain, and I had found enough of a drainage to conceal myself as I closed the final 800 yards.
As hunters we spend hours planning for a hunt, looking over maps, checking gear lists, and practicing with our guns and bows. Unfortunately, little thought is put into what the hunter is going to do after a kill. As a result, the game is loaded up into a back of a truck as the hunter heads into town to get breakfast. The hour after the kill is the most crucial time and will impact the deliciousness of the meat, so you better have a plan.
The first day of turkey season comes with excitement and anticipation like what a child experiences on Christmas Eve. Distance gobbles and strutting toms glistening in the sun fill a turkey hunter’s dreams as they wait for first light on opening day. Confidence is high as the memories of last year’s successful hunts are still fresh in the mind and the failures long forgotten.
“This is the spot” I said as I put my truck in park and grabbed my fishing pole. Blake and Eric had a surprised look on their face as they gathered their gear and watched me make a v-line for the creek. A small stream of water that you can step over suddenly turns into a pool of water with the help of a beaver damn. Not exactly what you would expect for a honey hole in Colorado, but I had been here before and knew it would produce.
Calling in a springtime turkey is a deceitful ploy. The hunter mimics the sounds of a hen in hopes of luring a tom into range. When the curiosity of the gobbler gets the best of him, the result can be an adrenaline filled hunt and meat on the table. There are three “types” I play in the turkey woods: The Copy Cat, The Drunk Chick, and the Shy Librarian. Deploy these tactics on your next turkey hunt to increase your chances of filling a tag.
New Year. New Decade. New You…right? The excitement of 2020 has passed and if you are like a lot of Americans you are still scratching your head trying to figure out how to make this your best year yet. I strive to become a better outdoorsman and enhance the time I spend in the wild every year. The challenge with this aspiration is it can be hard to define and measure.
As railroads expanded west during the 1800’s the term End of the Line was used to announce the last stop on a railway. However, for the passengers on the train the phrase represented where civilization stopped and the Wild West began. It meant you had better be tough, gritty, and smart because there was an outlaw, hustler, or rough individual around every corner looking for the next green horn to step off the train to swindle, steal, or kill.
It’s not the answer that enlightens, but the question – Eugene Lonesco
Staring into darkness I heard the first bugle. My watch read 2:30 am. “Would I hear another?” Moments later the bull elk let out another banshee like scream letting the world know that it was his meadow. He was getting closer, probably only a couple hundred yards from camp. I lay silently in my sleeping bag smiling. Hearing elk is a highlight of any trip to the mountains, however on this trip my prey was mule deer. One more bugle broke the silence as I drifted back to sleep pondering the question “Would opening day bring success?”
Wind gusts topped 20 mph. I settled in next to the tree that would be my backrest for the foreseeable future thinking “there is no way a turkey is going to hear my call.” I overcame my doubts by whispering “stick to the plan, this has worked before.” My watch read 3:35 p.m. and I let out a few basic yelps from my mouth diaphragm.
Gazing at a single track imprinted in the sand I tried to imagine the beast that made it. My concentration was broken by the bark of a hound that worked the mountain side. I stared past the dogs to an outcrop of rocks at the top of the mountain. My eyes strained as I searched for him, but my efforts were useless. A single thought raced through my mind “Could he see me?”
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