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2017, What a year!

What a year 2017 has turned out to be. I feel blessed, fortunate and lucky! I would like to share with fellow bowsiters who might appreciate what I’ve been able to be a part of this year.. 2017 started out as any year, contemplating what tags I was going to put in for and where to hunt, etc. (I put the blessings below in order in which they happened not of importance).. Blessing #1 .. Feb 2017 -My dad and I applied for a Wyoming elk tags and by the grace of god we were drawn, we had a 4% chance and I couldn’t believe it when it happened. We went during rifle season and knowing that this would probably be his last elk hunt ever, I was so looking forward to spending the time in the mountains with him. It was time I missed when I was younger; when I was old enough to hunt elk, we had moved from Colorado and then I was involved in sports in high school and college. So we just never got that time together. When I moved back to Colorado as an adult, it was just not in the cards for him health wise, but after two knee replacements and losing a bunch of weight, he decided he wanted to give it one last go.. Long story short, we got to spend 6 memorable days together in the mountains of Wyoming.. I could tell that mountain hunting and cold mornings were rough on his old bones, but he is a true warrior and embraced the suck every day to give it his all.. The outcome was that I was fortunate enough to harvest a cow.. And the smile on his face that I filled that tag and put that animal down was more than I can put into words.. we had two-way radios and had decided on specific times to check in with each other, the day I shot my elk, he radioed me at our first check in time and said “How ya doin?” I said, “well, I got a cow down” and he replied “really!! Where are you”? I could hear the smile in his voice.. I told him where I was and said I’d probably be down with the first load in a couple of hours.. He pretty much was done hunting at that point and was so excited.. He couldn’t help me with the pack out, but he was waiting for me at the bottom of the mountain after each trip out with water and Gatorade….. A memory I will never forget and always cherish.. Blessing #2.. June 2017..I put in for the unit I’ve wanted to hunt for years in Colorado and yet again, was conquered by point creep… I had pretty much decided that I was hunting OTC archery and planning exactly where I was going.. But one morning a buddy called me and said, “check out the re-issue list” … Low and behold, there were 3 tags for the unit I wanted.. I decided “what the hell.. might as well give it a shot”… So I camped out overnight at the DOW office to be first in line and not only got the tag I wanted but also a re-issue archery deer tag for the same unit! I was beside myself, I’m never this lucky… Well, it was a rush scouting job.. I inquired online for some helpful pointers and did a quick scouting trip that weekend and lots of hours looking a maps along with some local intel… Opening weekend, I shot a doe, which was fine by me, I just wanted to fill that deer tag and put meat in the freezer and focus on elk, I had never killed and elk before.. I went back for the last two weeks of archery season and was in elk just about every day.. One of my buddies spotted these particular elk that were in the oddest place, I would have never thought of looking where they were.. Anyhow, we spent the next two days/night trying to come up with a plan to go after this bull.. The wind was kinda hinky where he was so we had to be strategic.. We went in one evening and were talking back and forth then it got too dark.. The next morning, I went back in to the same spot alone and it couldn’t have played out any better.. I called, he answered, we did that for about 3 or 4 volleys and then I just went for it.. Bugle and attack.. I went straight up hill at him and bugled one last time and all of a sudden he was coming right down hill at me.. Double lunged him at 40 yards.. It was my first elk and let alone a bull, I didn’t know it was a 6x6 until after I came up on him laying where he died.. My first thought was “what now”?? lol… Blessing #3 … Aug 2017- Now, this is not a hunting blessing but a personal blessing… I am going to be a father for the first time in Feb 2018!! It is a little girl and cannot put into words how excited I am that this happening.. I am nervous, excited, scared and every other emotion possible… This year has been a whirlwind of excitement, emotions, adventures and memories.. I found out I’m going to be a father, I went on a few outstanding hunts and I put one deer and two elk in the freezer! I have come to appreciate so much more about the importance of family, friends and good memories.. Many times we rush through life and fail to stop and really understand how lucky we have it as Americans and Outdoorsman! As we approach this holiday season I am certain I will make sure to embrace the important moments! God bless you all!

Congratulations! Great story!

As a father of two daughters, girls are awesome. Congrats on all accounts. memories this year, and more to come for sure...

Thanks for sharing and congratulation.

Congrats for sure! Memories like that are truly what hunting is all about. I have 2 daughters myself and it's much more rewarding watching them hunt and harvest animals than it is for me to do so anymore. Great story.

Awesome story! Congrats on your success!

Congrats! And it only gets better!!

Congrats! Killing elk is a fun adventure. Raising kids is an epic adventure. You can imagine it now, but the first time your child is in your arms is a feeling thats hard to describe and just has to be experienced. You are a different person from that day on. Its amazing.

Sounds like a great year, thanks for sharing.

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