Dan Reardon Owner of Rockin R Hunting in SW Colorado will host another Purple Heart Recipient on an Archery Mule Deer Hunt in late August.
Our Female, Master Sergeant’s vehicle was hit by an RPG during the Iraq War. She had schrapnel in her neck and some head injuries but is doing very well now.
She is a passionate bow hunter and is off the charts excited about this hunt.
Dan has completely donated the hunt but we need to raise some money for her tag and travel expenses. On the next post I’ll add a link to directly donate to this hunt. I will be helping host with this hunt and we’ll do a complete hunt re-cap including some video.
As always thanks for supporting these Wounded Warrior Archery hunts.
In addition to Dan providing the hunt Sitka Gear has donated a complete outfit to our Wounded Warrior, Carbon Express has provided arrows and Iron Will Broadheads has provided broadheads for her hunt. Thanks for all the support. This is truley a win/win/win for us all. THANKS!
Done. Good luck and have a great hunt! To the hunter, thank you for your service and thanks to all of those that make stuff like this possible for these special people!!!
Wowser, thanks so much to all who have donated to this young hero’s hunt. We are already over $500.
It is amazing to think that a young woman Patriot, joins the Military, goes to Iraq, is injured by a RPG hitting her vehicle, earns a Purple Heart then comes home (thankfully) to integrate back into society raising a daughter herself then gets to go on a Mule Deer Archery Hunt in SW Colorado.
After having done a few of these WW events in the past it speaks volumes to these young men and woman to know we care and support them enough to make this happen.
Charley, Please tell me that you are going to video the hunt for her, so she'll have memories of the hunt to last a lifetime....(and you could even share the video on here)…..
I was curious how many woman have been awarded a Purple Heart so I googled it and the number is approximately 500.
We are very close to our goal so if any more of you would like to donate (any amount) the direct link is attached on my second post up top! All the money donated on this link will go to this specific hunt.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to this hunt. You Bowsite guys covered all incidental expenses for this hunt. The Female Purple Heart Recipient arrives at Rockin R tomorrow to begin her hunt on Saturday. You guys are the best! Thanks also to Dan Reardon, Owner of Rockin R for hosting this and also to Sitka and Iron Will who Outfitted her! Wish us luck !!
I will now do a review of our bow hunt at Rockin R Hunting with Purple Heart Recipient, Crystal who has served our Country now for 23 years. Imagine joining the service at 18 then as a mom leaving your 3 year old daughter for 18 months to serve in Iraq. Pretty hard time for a mom to be away from her child but this is what she and many others have done. While there her vehicle was hit by a RPG and she suffered schrapnel wounds and was subsequently awarded a Purple Heart.
While we were on this hunt Crystal got word from her 17.5 year old daughter that she passed a test to enter the service to hopefully become a Combat Medic. Thanks to all that serve in our volunteer armed forces.
Here is our traditional first picture at Dan Reardon’s, Rocking R Hunting. Crystal is a very accomplished bow hunter.
Upon arrival at Dan’s we learned that this has been the dryest summer in many years. We were primarily going to hunt Mule Deer but based on trail cameras the elk were plentiful on the Ranch due to water and a great acorn crop.
The acorns were so plentiful the bears were ripping limbs from the scrub oaks and chomping acorns every where we went.
Forest Bows and his wife Kelly are also joining us on the hunt. Forest will hunt cow elk and Mule Deer.
The first day we had a hard time finding good mule deer bucks but had a great time getting to know one another adjusting to the altitude and shooting the Bows.
On day three Dan spotted some bucks feeding and with the strong wind we got in close. In this video Crystal got to full draw but we could not get the buck to stop. She displayed excellent patience.
That same afternoon Forest shot this giant cow elk and Crystal got to participate in the retrieval. Loads of fun.
While waiting for Dan to come help load the elk Forest suggested we buy Crystal an elk tag which we did. This turned out to be a very good suggestion by Forest.
The next day Dan, Crystal and I set up on a water hole the elk had been using. The afternoon before we saw about 15 elk use this water. Crystal was sitting a tri-pod, Dan was calling from the ground and I was sitting close by with the video camera.
Dan does a few cow calls, this bull runs in then goes in the bushes and Dan gives him another cow call. He turns and comes in and Crystal's shot is around 27 yards. Listen as the bow goes off then you hear the arrow hit the bull.
Crystal sees the shot but both Dan and I do not because we’re on the ground. She says it mid-body but good height. She did not see the arrow as he ran off but we could not find it so after looking for blood until dark we decided to wait until the am.
When we got back to the lodge we found out Forest had hit a nice Mule deer. We gathered up the gang and went looking that evening. Found him after a short blood trail. Great deer!
The next am at first light we took up the trail. There was very little blood and tracking was very slow and difficult. We had about half a mile tracking when Forest went out a bit ahead and jumped him. Not a good sign.
About 100 yards from there Dan found the arrow. The Iron Will and CX arrow were covered in blood. The bull had carried the arrow until he got jumped and it then pulled out.
At this point we backed out. We were hoping it was liver hit and that the run from his bed would put him down. We went back 2 hours later tracked for a while but he never stopped. Eventually we found no more blood. It is likely he’ll die but not that day. Elk are tough! Elk are really tough.
Disappointed on losing the elk, yes, but getting to hunt with this wonderful American Patriot doing what we absolutely love is such a blessing. I am very blessed to do this.
Dan and I have done three of these Wounded Warrior hunts and each one has been with a very special person we are better for knowing.
Hunting with these Heros is healing for them as they integrate back into society. We need to reach out, show our appreciation and perhaps help them adjust back into a normal life.
THANKS to all of you who followed along and supported this hunt. Crystal is very thankful and impressed by how you guys showed you cared by covering all incidental expenses. Peace!!
I am certain that Crystal is disappointed with the outcome. Glad to have been able to contribute to the cause and happy that she was able to have such a great experience with a great bunch of people.
I am sure that she will be back for another go after deer and elk in the near future!
Thanks to Wounded Warriors, Rocking R Ranch, and all the people behind the scenes that keep providing such awesome experiences for those who have given so much to allow us to enjoy the freedoms of this great country!
Sorry everyone, been busy with hunting so haven't been able to visit Bowsite much.
This was an absolute honor to host Crystal. I can't remember a hunt where we had this much fun. Crystal is an amazing person and represents the best of what our country has to offer. Thank you to all of you who helped make this hunt happen. Even though the ending was not what we hoped for, the hunt was packed with action and we had an incredible experience together.
Good luck to everyone the rest of the fall. Thanks.
Beautiful Aspen trees. We had a small bear prancing towards us as we got to this particular stand. Was the closest I'd ever been to a bear so that was pretty cool for me!
Beautiful Aspen trees. We had a small bear prancing towards us as we got to this particular stand. Was the closest I'd ever been to a bear so that was pretty cool for me!
This is all of us trying to get the 'big girl' onto the truck!
This is all of us trying to get the 'big girl' onto the truck!
Hi Guys! It's Crystal, who was accomidated on this hunt. I am finally registered on here. This is an amazing site, so much useful information :o)
Anyhow, I just want to put out there I am not disappointed in the slightest. This was an incredible adventure and I believe I am now addicted to this style of hunting. Stalking is soooo much fun! Being at Rocking R' and getting to hunt side-by-side with 3 avid archery hunters was an amazing opportunity. I learned so much. This was real hunting guys...not like we tied em up then went after them. We had to find out their patterns, watch, scout, and go after them wherever they might be. I love the challenge of archery hunting, I know if I ever harvest an elk or a mulie with my bow I will feel a great sense of accomplishment.
I am not new to archery hunting in general, I have harvested turkey and whitetail in my home state of Missouri. Out of a tree stand of course :o). And there are many times I come home empty handed, either because my freezer is already full or I just haven't found something bigger yet. Bottom line is I greatly enjoy the outdoors. I need it. It is where I go to reset, pause and look around me to enjoy my surroundings that God has placed in front of me.
Dan has so much to see at Rocking R ranch! We ran into Bear, Mulies, and Elk. The wildlife is plentiful. Along the way I learned about each of these creatures and their habits. The lodging and cooking was A+. We didn't have to worry about any of that only enjoy our hunt...which we did! Left everyday around 0530, and we were out to at least 2000 every evening. Then some nights we stayed up later for an adventure in retrieving and gutting animals. We worked as a team and it was awesome. I think Dan needs to put his old Chevy truck on a commercial, I had no idea they had those capabilities! You should have seen the mountains we climbed!
Forest was a gem. Quite the American archer. Then there was Charlie who was most accomidating and supporting communicating with me before during and after the event. This couldn't have been any better. I am so grateful. It was hard not to tear up as I would look around my surroundings in pure bliss. Thank you to everyone who donated equipment, clothing, money and time. You have really made my 2018 complete. You couldn't have set me up with better people either as everyone I encountered on this trip had a heart of gold.
I went Monday morning and had one spotted fawn below my stand. Got loaded with seed ticks, still recovering from that they ate the heck out of my ankles.