Hunting

In my 50 plus years of duck hunting, I have learned one simple rule about blinds and that is: You will never get it in the right place the first time.

I was recently on a public land antelope hunt in Colorado. Like most Colorado tags, I had waited several years to draw this tag; five to be exact. I was very excited and enthusiastic about getting out and chasing around some speed goats.

Whether you’re day-tripping or bivy hunting, here’s a list of the essentials to pack.

While I gathered information and advice from different people throughout the last several months, from lifelong Alaskan residents to gun writers, I tried to follow the old adage: Get the best you can afford.

The does turned and resumed their march in our direction. The buck stopped broadside at 223 yards and the rifle thundered. The wallop of the bullet exploding the heart was clear, and after taking a few steps the giant tumbled to the ground.

Once I had picked up the rifle from a local sporting goods store, it was time to add a scope and the various accouterments to turn it into a legitimate all-weather hunting rifle, capable of holding its own no matter what Mother Nature throws at it.

Hunting in the West is full of unique challenges that need to be prepared for. Here are a few lessons I had to learn the hard way.

I have processed many different types of game and fish from bluegill to bull elk and everything in between. I will say that cleaning frogs is by far one of the most challenging for me to this day.

Frog gigging is a great way to spend some hot summer nights. Although they task delicate and refined, the act of gathering them is just about as far from that as possible.