I recently received a call from a friend who said he had decided to take his son on a hunt out west and wanted some advice where to go. We talked about how were not getting any younger, and I said if they dont do it now, they may never get to.
I connected them with my friend Eric Pawlak at Worldwide Trophy Adventures, who has been taking care of my hunting portfolio for 11 years. Eric is setting them up with a mule deer/elk combo hunt in Colorado.
I also received a request from a family asking if I would have a gun safety class for their family. They said they feel the importance of teaching their kids the proper use of guns. I contacted the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and they were happy to send us the information.
People, these are examples of what this column is for. As much as I enjoy telling the stories of our adventures, the true basis of Someday is to encourage you to chase your dreams, to say, Now is the time to enjoy life.
Now is the time to do the things youve been putting off for awhile. It doesnt mean you have to travel around the world or even hunt for that matter. Just find those things youre passionate about and do it.
We left off last time near the end of opening day of Taryns elk hunt. Our guide Gary had taken us all over the hills of Kentucky, even some places that I didnt think pickups could go. As the evening started to set, we checked a special spot Gary said they usually could find elk at.
All of us can relate as hunters. Based on past experience, we all have that secret hunting spot where we have had good luck. As we carefully walked down into the ravine, Gary spotted a big bull and some cows about 100 yards downhill from us. He had Taryn sit about 40 yards off of the trail and had me stationed about 50 yards behind them. He said we would use our cow calls alternatively about every two minutes to try and get the bull to come up the trail, bringing the cows with him. As we called, we could hear the bull grunt and the cows mew, but they wouldnt come.
As it started getting dark, another bull on the opposite ridge cut loose with a full bugle. Now I have watched hundreds of hunting shows with elk bugling, but it doesnt come close to the real thing. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. It gave me a chill.
Gary motioned for me to start walking back uphill, making noise, and he threw rocks, hoping they would think we were elk leaving and follow, but they wouldnt budge, so we backed out for the night.
The next morning we worked our way back down into the ravine to where they had been the previous evening and found signs they had spent the night there but had just moved, so again we separated and began cow calling.
We got the bull to bugle from across the ridge to our right, but as we said, the trees were still covered with leaves, so we couldnt see them. After awhile he bugled again but more straight out in front of us. Gary said either he was trying to circle downwind of us to get our scent, bugging out or both. A third bugle to our left and up the side of the mountain gave us our answer. So we grabbed our lunch and decided to try to stalk them after we gave them time to calm down.
More next time, and if you need help in planning your next hunt or just have a good story to share, just drop me a line at hunter.hanna@hotmail.com.
Remember that God has his sights set on you.
God bless.
