Successful deer hunt!!

I shot my deer at 7am on November 22nd up by Fort Collins.  It was about 75 yards away and he dropped from one shot without any additional shots.  He was a 4x4 - or 8 point - buck with a broken tine, likely from a fight with another buck.

First step was to gut the deer.  I started just below its sternum by cutting just into the skin being careful not to cut the stomach or intestines.  I cut down to the anus opening the deers cavity so I could remove its organs.  I reached up to the heart and lungs and cut above them to release them.  I removed the rest of deer's organs making sure not to rupture anything.

I hung the deer by it's hind legs to skin.  I started with the legs and continued being careful not to cut the meat down to its head.  If I was going to do a shoulder mount I would stop at the neck leaving more skin.  I removed the antler with a saws-all just at the forehead.  I will let the deer hang for 2-4 weeks before taking it to a processor.  I will have a lot of deer sticks and jerky made and keep a few of the nicer cuts.  I plan on continuing to hunt deer/elk and will start duck and geese soon.  Next month's hobbies will be infusions and homemade gifts so stay tuned!

The elk hunt

There are many different ways to hunt; from sitting and waiting for it to come to you, to looking for tracks and tracking it down.  On this trip we did both; we drove a UTV (Utility task vehicle) to look for tracks and hiked to positions and waited for visuals.  My elk hunt happened in sections 7 and 8 near Walden, CO.  I experienced some pretty cold weather along with some heavy snow.  This hurt my chances for getting and even seeing an elk; however the amount of information I learned during this 2-day hunt was immense.

I learned that there are differences between the sections.  For instance, section 17 which was roughly 10 miles away happens to be located next to the elk reserve.  I did talk to a pair of guys at the bar that had a cow (female elk) and bull (male elk) in the back of their truck.  They had bought “over-the-counter” tags and chosen sections 17 where they were able to drive up to a herd of elk.  They proceeded to shoot and chase the now wounded elk in their vehicle; this was very different than my hunt and, frankly, I want to work harder to get my elk.  

One of the most important things I learned was to select the right section based on research and have a detailed map or GPS.  If I would have known that I could pick a section that was located next to a reserve, I would have.  One of the ways to do this is by buying an over the counter tag right before you go hunting so you can choose based on where people are seeing/killing elk.

Another thing to consider and think about is when to go hunting.  My tag was for the last rifle season which resulted in more snow and colder temperatures.  In addition, the rut (males competing for females and acting goofy/dumb) was over during my hunt.  So by hunting an earlier season I can avoid colder temperatures/snow and hunt during the rut.

I am deer hunting this Friday and Saturday in Fort Collins so I will update again about how that goes.  Next year Mr. Bull Elk!!

Buying a gun to hunt.

My hunting experience began when I was 12, with a BB-gun and then moved to a borrowed .22 caliber rifle, then a 4-10 shotgun in high school.  The game I have hunted until now includes rabbit, squirrel, pheasant and quail.  Should I be nervous about shooting bigger game?  I think that it will be different but I don't think deer and elk are more difficult than other animals, other than shooting longer distances I should be OK! 

After some research and advice from many different sources I decided to go with a 30-06 rifle.  The reason was cost of gun, ammo and versatility of game I can shoot with it.  I looked online (Gunbroker.com) and at stores like Bass Pro and Cabelas but ended up buying it at our local Tanner Gun show.  I decided on a Mossberg 30-06 with a scope for around $500 and added a bi-pod, sling and cleaning kit from Amazon.  At the gun show I had to pay for a background check ($10) that took only 20 minutes, and which I think is very important!

The next step was to “sight-in” the scope by shooting the gun.  I did this at my friend’s house (Terry) on several acres near Fort Collins.  Terry has a shooting area set up behind his house that is 100 yards.  We stapled six targets; three on top and three on bottom.  We also marked any bullet holes with a marker so even if I didn't hit any targets we would be able to see it on the boards.  It took 11 shots with adjustments to the scope in between shots to “sight it” in.  I am going to try and shoot it one more time before I hunt. Both of my tags are for November.

All done with Crossfit!

One month of Cross Fit in the books!

My takeaway is that Cross Fit is an interesting and hard workout.  The team aspect that I mentioned in my previous post is good/motivating and I can imagine that is gets better with more time.  The exercises in the workouts tend to be bigger type of movements like dead-lifts, power-cleans and box-jumps and, while I plan on adding a few to my workout, they don't focus on individual muscles like gym machines tend to do.  Also the big movements combined with running,jump roping and other cardio present a good possibility that someone can injure themselves.  While this can happen when doing many exercises and increasing the weight, competing against other people and being cheered on can make for a dangerous environment.

The price of Cross Fit ranges from place to place. However, it does run on the high side for a month of workouts but the price includes instruction.  At Cross Fit Lodo (Denver, CO), where I went, it cost $20 for a drop-in and $169 for unlimited classes each month.  To compare it to my $30 gym membership at 24-Hour Fitness, it is hard for me to justify continuing with Cross Fit since I don't really need instruction.  The classes are also at times that don't always work out for me.  I have been noticing more people at my 24-Hour Fitness doing Cross Fit-type exercises lately and others will be seeing me do some as well.  Feel free to reach out and ask any questions you may have about Cross Fit that I did not cover.

November's hobby is going to be hunting.  This will range from buying a gun, (hopefully) shooting a deer and/or an elk, cleaning and butchering, and cooking with it.