Westward

I'm hunting Merriam's in my home state of Colorado. This will be just my second attempt at turkey hunting. I put in for a draw tag and will buy an OTC tag, so hoping to get 2 birds this spring.

Beautiful pronghorn. That's some impressive width and mass.

I tasted a buddy's pronghorn meat last year, and it was delicious and not gamey at all. He said proper field-care and dry aging is the secret.

Couldn't agree more, jimjack. The OTC elk I found were all in the thickest, steepest, blown-down, North facing slopes I could find.

The temps are dropping here in Colorado, and I'm getting hyped up for elk season. I've got my gear sorted and packed up, even though I won't be hitting the mountains for another 10 days.





This will be my second year chasing bugles. I moved from LA to CO a few years ago, and it took me a year to gather enough courage and gear to pull off a backpack hunt. I went solo last year in an OTC unit. It was my first elk hunt, my first mountain hunt, and my first solo backpack trip of any kind. I got lucky and called a decent bull into 30 yds and got a shot at him. Unfortunately... I hit his shoulder blade and the arrow deflected, I could see my fletchings pointing almost straight forward as he turned and ran. Found half my arrow, but hardly any blood and no dead bull. Even with the disappointment, the trip far exceeded my expectations. Needless to say, I'm addicted and haven't stopped thinking about my next hunt all year. I plan on taking more pics and vids this year so I can share the trip with family, friends, and of course this board.

I've talked a friend here in Colorado into coming with me this year, so I'll have some company and help if we pack a bull out. He's experienced with mountain camping, but has very little with hunting. I've tried to get a couple interested friends from LA to come out as well, but no luck. The cost (especially for nonresidents) and the unknown of backpack hunting in the mountains scare most people off, as it did me before I moved out here. Through searching the elk threads on this board for research, I saw a lot of guys that were interested but unsure about trying elk hunting out. I want to throw myself out there as a resource for any questions y'all may have, and possibly find future hunting partners. I am still learning about all this, but have gained a ton of knowledge and experience over the past year and a half that I'd love to share.

If you're interested or just have questions, hit me up @ tdwestward@yahoo.com.

I hope to have some stories and pics of stunning scenery and a dead bull to share with y'all in a few weeks.

I think putting DIY in there just means I'm doing all the work, research, and scouting myself, sans guide.

But, I'm very new to this western hunting stuff. Only big game hunting I've done is whitetails out of box stands with corn on the ground. This has been and will be a huge learning experience for me.