Colorado Hunting Articles
Setting Goals for Hunters
It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 is long gone ...we're well into 2012. And with a new year comes hopes of better days ahead. It is a time when the slate is wiped clean, and we have the opportunity to make the new year better than the last. Many of us began 2012 with resolutions. For some, those included plans to eat healthier, exercise more, and hopefully to weigh less. For others, it may have included a promotion, a career change, or maybe the beginning of a new business venture. Very rarely, though, do you hear any of us diehard hunters talking about our hunting resolutions for the new year.
Winter Scouting
For the deer hunter, winter is a long period of nothing but waiting. The fall hunt is over and there is little activity related to hunting deer, plus it seems like the new season is such a long way off. Around here, winters are tough, so even the fun stuff like getting out and shooting the bow or going to the rifle range is out of reach. There is one thing winter is great for, and it is a way to stay connected to your favorite hobby. Winter is the best time to get out and scout to see what the deer have been doing at your hunting spots.
Triple Sixes: Do-It-Yourself Colorado Hunt
Six bulls, six bucks in six days, a successful Colorado do-it-yourself hunt on a budget! New York State residents, Dan and Janet Wescott, had been hunting together almost as long as they had been married. They had been on both guided hunts and do-it-yourself hunts and the results from the guided hunts were impressive and are mounted in their living room. The do-it-yourself hunts on public land turned out to be unimpressive and more times than not they returned home tired and empty handed. It wasn't from a lack of hunting skill.
Lessons Moose Have Taught Me
In the first light of day and the last grayness of evening, there are imagined sounds which seem real and real sounds which might be imagined. And between the two is the muffled silence of the northwoods in autumn, sodden still from the pre-dawn drizzle and musty already with the change of the season. Somewhere in the distance drifted the faint song of high flying geese headed south. But my mind had registered another sound, the sharp snap of a twig behind the screen of alders that crowded the edge of the marsh.
Colorado Mule Deer Hunt: You Must See Them First!
Rifle, Colorado, has always produced big bucks from backcountry pockets; the tough part is getting them out of that pocket. When hunters come to town, the first question they ask locals is, "Where did Rifle get its name?" Although no one knows for sure, the consensus is the name originated with an old cowboy that had left his rifle leaning against a tree near a local creek. Once he realized the gun was missing he always referred to the area as "Rifle" and the name stuck.
Elk Hunting: Patience, Patience, Patience...
After ten years of being patient my quest for an elk began to require more persistence than patience but with any luck persistence, patience and preparation would finally come together this fall. Those are the positive thoughts that an archery elk hunter's dreams are made of. Luckily for the dreaming elk hunter, the Colorado Archery season is positioned on the calendar to coincide with the time that a bull elk's hormones change from 'hanging out with the boys' to solo aggression.
Finding Coyotes
I live far enough north that when mid-winter rolls around the amount of daylight available to hunt coyotes can be less than eight hours. That means I need to be spending my daylight hours hunting, not scouting for someplace to hunt. But any coyote hunter worth his skinning knife will tell you that to be successful, you have to hunt where the coyotes are. The more coyotes, the greater your success will be. The key then is to have a scouting method that finds concentrated amounts of coyotes - fast.
The Adrenal Gland
Lots of big elk owe their continued existence to a small piece of human tissue, the adrenal gland.  Our guide takes us through a week of archery hunting where adrenalin overload causes a number of misadventures for his hunter. Although the elk are plentiful and respond without hesitation to cow calls, our hunter's reaction to the big bulls that come way too close, ranges from pure, muscle locking paralysis to a black out caused when a fire breathing bull comes storming into close range.  Hunting experience and shooting skills are left far behind as our hunter falls victim to his own adrenalin.
4 Tips for Hunting Late Season Moose
We don't often hear about hunting moose in the late season. An undeniable romance focuses on calling and attracting bulls during the peak of the rut; but what about when all that hormone-driven activity subsides? Where do the moose go and what do they do? More to the point, how do we hunt them in the late season? Allow me to share the events of a late season moose hunt and offer four tips that helped me close a tag last fall. Whether we're talking about Shiras, Canada, or Alaska/Yukon moose, for much of the year bulls are reclusive by nature.
Hunting the Mule Deer Rut
After a four-year wait, my wife Heather and I finally drew coveted deer tags. Not just any tags mind you; these permits would allow us to hunt on a military base from November 26 through 28 of 2009. So what's the big deal you ask? This annual event is a management hunt designed to cull deer, but more importantly it would allow us to hunt the early stages of the mule deer rut. Each hunter is given three tags, all of which may be used for either mule deer or whitetailed deer, and only one has be used on an antlerless deer. Now, where else can a person harvest two mule deer bucks?
For the Traveling Sportsman
Every year thousands of hunters across the continent book outfitted hunts. Some are booked in their home state or province; others require considerable travel by air. For those with the means, exotic trips abroad are a unique privilege. But regardless of where a hunter goes, the research, booking and travel aspects are imminent. Simple or complex, logistics are a part of the game. I've seen it more than once with first time traveling sportsmen.
Rut Hunting for Pronghorn Antelope
We watched for several minutes as the buck raked his horns against the bush. He snorted and thrashed and was obviously in full rut mode. He would occasionally step back for a break then walk stiff legged toward the bush again, waving his head back and forth before launching his renewed assault.
Campfire Chef
Like many kids, I spent most of my warm weather weekends as a youth at a campground with my family. It wasn't exactly "roughing it" but it always seemed like an adventure, except for the food. Apparently there is some secret camper's code that says the only forms of sustenance allowed at a campground are hot dogs, potato chips and fire-blackened marshmallows, because that is what we had just about every time that we went. When I was a kid, I never gave it a second thought.
Elk Hunting: The Sounds of September
Anyone who has ever listened to an elk bugle rise from the bowels of dark timber and ascend toward the painful blue of a Rocky Mountain sky knows that there is no call on this earth more captivating than that of a bull elk. So captivating is the bugle that inexperienced elk hunters can, and do, forget that the bugle is but one piece in the puzzle of hunting elk during the rut. Successfully calling elk requires a genuine understanding of the elk rut, knowledge of all the vocalizations made by elk during the rut and a comprehension of the "other sounds" that elk produce during the rut as a result of preparing to court and breed.
Field Judging Deer
Some might call it buck fever. In my opinion it was just plain misjudgment. Sure, my heart races the same as the next guy when I get a big buck in my crosshairs, but I've usually got it well under control. No, this particular instance was a result of poor judgment and a split decision. Too many variables and too little time, that's what this one was all about. Had I been afforded another 30 seconds to evaluate the buck's antlers, I'm certain my decision to hit the switch would have been stifled.
When Women Hunt
Sophisticates call them the fairer sex. In so many ways this is truer than most of us guys care to admit. Pride aside, I must concede. Historically dominated by men, hunting is an activity now seeing more women entering the ranks than ever before. Few men will say it, but I've witnessed it firsthand. Many women are more patient, less excitable, and yes, sometimes they even shoot better!
Planning a Late Season Cow Elk Hunt
Long after most hunters have left the woods and are sitting home watching football bowl games or worrying about paying post-Christmas bills, some lucky hunters are still chasing elk. Several Western states offer late season hunts for antlerless elk that extend into mid-February. Most people's mental image of elk hunting includes sweeping vistas, fall colors and high-pitched bugles. But for hunters who want to extend their season, a different type of elk hunting adventure awaits.
Nonresident's Guide to Western Hunting
A not-so concise look at the opportunities available to those who have decided to come out West for an elk, deer or antelope hunt and don't know where to start. This won't address bighorn sheep, mountain goats, or moose as those are typically once-in-a-lifetime hunts. This is also designed for DIY hunters, not for those looking for private land or outfitted hunts, as there are various other aspects regarding transferable tags that could also be addressed.
5 Must-Have Tools for Today's Coyote Hunter
Predator hunting is all the rage these days. When most big game seasons cool down, coyote season heats up. Even though these wild dogs are open for the taking year round in many jurisdictions, hardcore predator hunters acknowledge January and February as prime time. Even still, only the most skilled, savvy, and well-equipped hunters learn to score consistently on these small and cagey fur-bearing targets. With today's advancements, predator fanatics learn to equip themselves with five must-have tools: decoys, calls, camouflage, firearms, and good optics.
Capture Your Memories: Tips for Photographing Your Hunts
Every now and then I find a quiet place, plunk myself down, and leaf through my photo albums. Each holds a library of cherished memories. These sacred books are treasured diaries of my most personal hunting experiences and accomplishments. With today's digital technology, it's easier now than ever before, to capture and file those memories in perpetuity.