Here we go again
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- March 9, 2018
- 1479
Thanks to all of you for my un-birthday wishes. Even though I didn’t have a birthday this year (Feb. 29), my family tells me that I still get older. So I tell them that by my real birthdays, I’m 15 and a half, and they agree that’s about how old I act.
That being said, that’s about how old I felt on Feb. 22. I had put in for the Wyoming bull elk tag this year, of which I had accumulated 12 points, and also tried to draw Taryn an elk cow tag as well. The Wyoming Game Department website said the results would be posted at 10 a.m.
Like a kid on Christmas morning, at 10 a.m. I anxiously checked the website, but they were still not posted. Then I remembered that it would be 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (noon here). Returning at noon, I brought the site back up to see those words every hunter dreams about: successful.
It’s like winning the Ohio Lottery for hunters. God is good. Unfortunately Taryn was unsuccessful in her draw, but here is, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.” (Young people look it up.)
When I contacted Eric Pawlak of Worldwide Trophy Adventures, who is our trophy application guide service consultant, he told me that although there wasn’t any way to acquire an elk cow tag, there would still be a chance to draw an antelope tag or a mule deer tag, which doesn’t draw until May. These seasons open a couple weeks later and run concurrently with the elk season in Wyoming.
We found that in the area that we will be hunting in, the odds of drawing a mule deer tag for nonresidents are 100 percent. So why not turn an already dream hunt into a double? God is good.
I asked Eric what the quality was of the mule deer there, and he said they only average about a 150- to 160-inch class. I told him that was fine as long as Taryn didn’t take one bigger than my Colorado buck. She thinks otherwise.
We will hunt in Unit 016-1 near (are you ready for this) Hanna, Wyoming. Coincidence? I think not.
One of the reasons we chose to try for this area is its reputation for big bulls. Even though it took us about 10 years to draw this tag, we’re excited to finally see for ourselves the beauty and majesty of Wyoming’s Shirley Mountains, which are at about 7-9 thousand feet.
Another reason we chose this area is the home of Q Creek Outfitters, which is part of the Q Creek Land & Cattle Company. This is the largest ranch in the Rocky Mountain Region, covering 560,000 acres. It is a working cattle ranch located about 65 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming. Our hunting area covers over 890 square miles. Time to start training now.
I had a chance to talk with Tad Anderson, the hunting/fishing/lodge coordinator for the ranch, awhile back, and he asked me what kind of bull I was looking for. I responded by saying that their biggest will do. He was testing me to see if I had done my homework. He said that if I was able to wait and pass on some decent, respectable bulls, it was a good possibility to find a 350-inch bull or bigger. God is good.
We also will be guests at one of the premier hunting lodges in the country. Tad and Eric both offered their congratulations and wished us good luck. While this is still sinking in and the next few months will again be back to training and exercise, we praise God for granting us this opportunity to experience and share this adventure.
People have told us that we’re lucky. We say we are truly blessed.