Define Success

Colorado applications are due in a couple days and the windows for Utah, New Mexico, and Wyoming are closed, we are forced to sit back and wait. Something I have found is not high on the list for which things I excel. For the last several months I have compiled statistics, built spreadsheets, and looked for any luck left in that horseshoe. Now we wait. This is a new concept for me every year; I enjoy daydreaming of the possibilities for the coming fall, yet the engineer me does not like leaving anything to chance. This coupled with waiting for turkey season still around the corner and five inches of snow on the ground today, I have an opportunity to reminisce to a hunt last year and hopefully provide a few tips for when the results begin to publish.

 

2014 brought a bit more excitement than previous years. Why? Well if you remember that horseshoe I mentioned earlier, it turned upside down on me last year. In May, I was rigorously checking the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website, waiting and hoping for my one preference point to be wiped for deer. In addition to archery deer, I had applied for a limited bear tag, a long shot in the hybrid drawing for unit 2 archery elk, and points across the board for the remainder of the Colorado species. Sitting in my office early one morning I pulled down the favorites tab on my browser and went to check if anything had changed in the last twelve hours. Where previously the web page had read “pending” it now read zero. Zero not only on deer and bear but also subsequent to elk. I had pulled my limited draw for elk in Colorado, beating the <.01% odds. Initially, I was elated; I shook with adrenaline truly having no clue to the experience that would follow.

The Draw

How to be successful in the draw? Contrary to popular belief, no I am not intertwined with some DOW corruption ring in which I paid off the guy pulling my name out of the hat. I PUT IN. Probability is defined by Webster as - the relative possibility that an event will occur, as expressed by the ratio of the number of actual occurrences to the total number of possible occurrences -. The key here is number of actual occurrences. Increase your odds by giving yourself the chance and always have a back-up plan. Although the number of hunters has increased exponentially in the last few years, there are still multiple states where OTC tags are available; some states giving you the opportunity to purchase multiple tags for the same species (male and female). Do your research and get outside; every second in the woods gives you one more piece of knowledge to put away for when the odds stack in your favor for a tag of a lifetime.

Preparation

In some way, I was thankful to see no other tags come through except for Colorado. The date was four months before opening day to the archery season and there was a lot to learn. As I mentioned above, most have years to prepare for the tag of a lifetime. I was fortunate enough not to have this luxury; however, this was going to make for a busy summer.

Step 1

Make a plan. Evaluate how much time you have available for pre-season boot leather and how much of that vacation time you want to spend on the hunt itself. Although I was to stay inside the boarders of my home state, the far east edge of the unit was a nearly six hours away. With the exception of dirt biking the sand hills on the north end of the unit in high school, I had not spent a second with my feet on the ground. Hopefully when you anticipate drawing a tag of a lifetime, you have the opportunity to spend a couple years prior to explore and learn the roadways and key pockets inside the boundaries. If not, fortunately in this day and age, technology can play a huge part into scouting. With the version of Google Earth available to the public, you nearly can pick out individual fence posts. This in combination with a land ownership overlay can be your best friend and potentially the crux to your productivity at work.

Google Earth Screen Shot with Ownership Overlay

Late Afternoon View

Step 2

Learn the ins and outs. When you move to a new city for the first time, it takes a few weeks to learn a new routine, right? What is the fasted route to work, where do you buy groceries, how long does it take to do these activities? Learning a foreign unit is very similar. When opening day rolls around, I didn’t want to have any questions surrounding how early I needed to wake up or which route was the most efficient around the canyons and drainages. Initially, I learned the roadways and lay of the land through hours of studying Google Earth. In addition, I ordered portable paper maps to stick in my pack and saved coordinates on my GPS. When the time came in early June to make my first trip to the foreign land, it was almost as if I had driven the roads before. From here, I spent my first days walking the high points and glassing the drainages to hopefully identify travel corridors, old rubs, or any other clues to give me an idea where the elk may be come August. In the beginning, it is important to not bog yourself down with spending days hiking one area. Efficiently cover as much ground as possible and identify key areas to which you want to devote further time. NOTE: Do not worry about finding the elk…yet. You’re learning the terrain.

Last Years Rub

Step 3

Begin to hone in. Following my first trip to the unit, I began to focus in on key areas I wanted to further explore and begin to identify the nuances I could use to ensure my success. What does this mean? Well seeing my time was limited to long weekends, I scoured the imagery, picking out hiking routes, glassing points, and water holes – all to visit individually my next trip out. Don’t use the excuse you don’t have enough time to scout. I reiterate, scouting is much more than boot leather. I was now close to a month into my scouting season and out of fifty or so hours I had devoted to the hunt, only twenty or so had been breathing the fresh air. I used this knowledge to make the most out of my second trip later in June. Although it was late into the darkness by the time I was pulling into my camp spot, I had an agenda for Saturday morning. The focus of this trip was different. I had a familiarity with the area, now I needed to begin diving deeper into the details. I set trail cameras on the tanks that held water and put my eyes on some great bulls; I began to understand how they used the terrain. The next three trips through July were similar in that my goal was the same; gain a better understanding for how these animals lived in the desert climate.

Afternoon Glassing

Step 4

Find the elk. In my head, this was the least critical step that contributed to punching my tag. It was more for pure enjoyment that I continued to spend time camping every weekend possible under the stars. When you glass the elk in the middle of July and early August, likely they still are sporting their velvet and are grouped into larger bachelor herds. Any hunter that has been out during the rut knows this activity is not typical in mid September. They will move and they will be unpredictable; it is your duty to adapt, utilizing the knowledge base you have built throughout the summer. From years of tag soup, I can say that regardless of the hours spent scouting, sometimes the stars don’t align like you would hope. Yet, all the hot summer days allow you to change your strategy to acclimate to the conditions during the hunt.

The second prong of this step is potentially the most critical for me; the time I spend outside in the woods is essential to my wellbeing. I live for every sunrise and sunset I have the opportunity to watch from the anywhere but behind my windshield. It is important we remember how we define our success. Every day during the summer months that I spent on the ground or planning the details from my desk contribute to the memory of this hunt. When opening day came in late August, I had spent over 20 days hiking around the unit. In my mind this hunt was already a success and I had yet to pull back my bowstring.

Late June Growth

The Hunt

Opening day came and with it, my planning had paid off. By mid-morning, I found myself just 50 yards above a bedded bull that would exceed all expectations of a trophy. I will skip the painful details but in summary, another twenty minutes found me inside 30 yards to the bull facing up the hill staring holes through chest. At full draw I felt the string pass by my cheek and watched as all my months of practice seemed to fly out the door; my arrow anchored into a cedar tree several inches above the bulls back.

2014 Archery Bull

Why do I mention this? Well for the next twelve days, I went without another shot. I was challenged to adapt and change locations to stay on the ever more rutting bulls. Without the planning and dedication throughout the summer, I would have been forced to hike aimlessly only hoping for a stroke of luck. Instead I was able to efficiently move throughout the unit and indentify yet another trophy.

Day 13 and I had found this trophy. I located him with a long growly bugle at the bottom of a familiar drainage. Within several minutes I found myself working him within twenty yards, only stopping to bugle one last time at a mere 10 yards. He moved beyond the edge of my cover at 2 yards where I yet again felt the string pass by my cheek.

At the end of the day you are only as successful as you define it. For me, it was the journey. 13 days hunting, 25 days scouting, and countless hours planning all contribute to the memory. Keep this in mind as the draw results begin to play out; no you may not draw the tag of a lifetime, but remember the experience is all what you make it. Get out and enjoy HIS work.

What is all for...