QuazyQuinton
Well-known member
After spending (wasting?) a lot of hours watching the Colorado reissue list while doing homeschool dad duties, we eventually picked up a 3rd season rifle buck tag and decided to make it a family trip. Between COVID, homeschooling, and other responsibilities, it was just time to get away. Youth tags are much cheaper, so we ended up with a buck tag, an OTC bull tag, and two cow tags between the three kids. We camped in a tent in an RV park, so we could run a space heater to help keep us warm. November conditions are definitely more challenging than earlier in the year, but we survived.
My daughter was convinced that after driving 1000 miles she wanted to hold out for something bigger than a forked horn on her buck tag, so she passed on the forked horn that ran by at 75 yards as we were getting out of the rig for our very first hike. The second day she passed on another forked horn, and then a bigger buck appeared with the same herd. She would eventually get a 250 yard shot that she missed on that buck. Then the next day we found this buck. For all the people that think you need to go steep and deep, we were walking an old rutted two track less than half a mile from a highway. We ended up hung up in the open at just over 400 yards, so she borrowed her brother's 300 Win Mag on the spot, laid out with the bipod, and put 200 grains of ELD-X through both shoulders. And now I have another taxidermy bill....
I picked up another reissue tag later that day, and my son had a couple of days in another unit to try for a second deer. He had one shot at a forked horn at 230 yards that we were sure was more meat in the freezer, but when there's no blood and no dead deer, it's hard to put it in the freezer. Anyway, a fun family adventure. We only filled one tag, but I enjoyed watching my kids participate in the hunting and not just follow me around. My daughter bounced back from one miss to make a good shot on the second buck. My older son, who has begun wearing glasses since last season, was the one who spotted the only elk we saw in daylight hours at a distance of nearly a mile. My youngest, who didn't even have a deer tag, still spotted deer at extended distances on more than one occasion. It's back to normal life today, but memories that will last a long time.
QQ
My daughter was convinced that after driving 1000 miles she wanted to hold out for something bigger than a forked horn on her buck tag, so she passed on the forked horn that ran by at 75 yards as we were getting out of the rig for our very first hike. The second day she passed on another forked horn, and then a bigger buck appeared with the same herd. She would eventually get a 250 yard shot that she missed on that buck. Then the next day we found this buck. For all the people that think you need to go steep and deep, we were walking an old rutted two track less than half a mile from a highway. We ended up hung up in the open at just over 400 yards, so she borrowed her brother's 300 Win Mag on the spot, laid out with the bipod, and put 200 grains of ELD-X through both shoulders. And now I have another taxidermy bill....
I picked up another reissue tag later that day, and my son had a couple of days in another unit to try for a second deer. He had one shot at a forked horn at 230 yards that we were sure was more meat in the freezer, but when there's no blood and no dead deer, it's hard to put it in the freezer. Anyway, a fun family adventure. We only filled one tag, but I enjoyed watching my kids participate in the hunting and not just follow me around. My daughter bounced back from one miss to make a good shot on the second buck. My older son, who has begun wearing glasses since last season, was the one who spotted the only elk we saw in daylight hours at a distance of nearly a mile. My youngest, who didn't even have a deer tag, still spotted deer at extended distances on more than one occasion. It's back to normal life today, but memories that will last a long time.
