The guys could hardly wait to tell everyone about their hunting season this past fall.

So let me get started.

It all started last January when all the big game draw’s came out and we put in our applications in 8 different states for elk, deer, sheep. It is like the old saying goes, if you don’t play, you can’t win. If you don’t apply, you don’t draw. So we apply for as many tags as possible in order to at least draw one or two premium tags! If you read more, you will see what we drew as for tags and how we did on those hunts.

As the fishing season progressed, we got all of our results back from the draws. We were successful in Wyoming for elk and deer. In Montana we drew tags for elk , deer, and antelope. In South Dakota we drew for deer and in Colorado we drew for elk and deer. We we had to get into shape for the following hunts and juggle around time to make use of all the tags drawn.

The first hunt to Wyoming was next to Yellowstone Park with Double R Ranch. Shane harvested a great 6x6 full elk and a fine 5x5 mule deer. And I was able to harvest a good 5x5 elk and a nice 5x4 mule deer. It doesn’t happen too often that we are both successful and fill all of our tags.

Now we were off to Montana in the Southwest corner where Shane harvested a nice 5x5 bull elk and I passed up a great 5x5 mule deer with about 28” wide deep forks. I was after a 330 class bull that day. As hunting can go, I left with my tag unfilled.

From there we headed back to eastern Montana where I scored on a good 5x6 bull elk in the Missouri Breaks. The problem was LOTS of rain and we had to backpack out all of the meat, 2 1/2 miles one way on our backs. Shane and I were able to get it done in less than a day. Then we concentrated on mule deer . Shane found a dandy 4 miles off the road and connected on him after a short stalk. I was able to set up and harvest a good mule deer, just at day light, as they were feeding in a field, just before moving into their bedding area.

Now...it was Mary’s turn. I will take a minute to fill you in.

Mary used to hunt with me for years, many years ago. She had not hunted for nearly 20 years and had not shot a rifle for that many years. To make this long story short, she had decided to hunt with us this fall, because she had never hunted with Shane before. And she had gone one hunts with Travis and Lucas during the years she was hunting before.

We found a good 5x5 mule deer feeding in a hay field at the break of day. After a very short stalk, she a perfect one shot kill at 325 measured yards. What can I say?? I won’t shoot against her anytime soon. I think that she could do if she had practiced target shooting.

We only had 2 days left then to hunt to fill our tags. I was able to get an antelope, but shane wasn’t so lucky. They would never stand still for him to get a shot less than 500 yards.

By time we left to hunt in South Dakota, we only had a couple of days to hunt there. We arrived late one afternoon and scouted the ranch. the first morning, Shane found a nice 5x4 mule deer feeding on a hay stack. He made the perfect shot. I was able to connect on a heavy 4x4 on the last day, by accident. We were stalking another deer and came upon this one. I made a quick shot. That ended that hunt with both being successful.

Our last stop was Colorado where we hunted with Dick Dodds of Elkhorn Outfitters for the 5th consecutive year. You can check them out www.elkhornoutfitters.com This is normally a slam-dunk. We hunt early in December. It is always cold and lots of snow...and LOTS of elk. There weren’t quite so many this year as there wasn’t nearly as much snow. Lots of cow elk, but few bulls. Lucas made a great 400 year shot on a 5x5 bull. Shane and I had seen a 300+ class bull, but he kept giving us the slip. I finally got a shot at a good 6x5 bull, going through the trees...and I connected. Shane held out until the last day, the last hour, when he made a running shot on a very nice 4x4 bull. We left western Colorado for eastern Colorado finish up our season. We looked for a big mule deer on the plains. The weather was way too HOT for hunting. 60 degrees by the middle of the day. The deer were only out for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Shane spotted a wide 4x4 the 2nd morning. We both watched him bed down that evening. We set up where we had last seen him. Just 10 minute before dark, Shane got the shot and made another good hit. But the deer ran and jumped a fence on to private property.

We got permission to go after him, so the next morning we tried. We found a blood trail and tracked him about 700 yards to where he fell. But to our surprise, 3/4 of the deer had been eaten by coyote the night before.

I, myself, was able to shoot a quality deer on the 3rd morning. I passed on a 400 yard shot. So I hunted for that deer without success for another day and half. We spotted him again the last day of the season, just 30 minutes before dark. We made a hurried stalk and got busted by a doe and now I had my last chance. A 400 yard running shot. It was now or never. So I elected to try and I made a connecting shot...on the run to the disbelief of my sons and myself.

Travis had just started a new job this past May, and was not able to get any time off to go on a hunt this year. But he will be applying for tags with us for the 2007 season for sure. He did go to North Dakota to do some pheasant hunting with a friend of his. We all know how well they do bird hunting in North Dakota.

This ended our 2006 hunting season. I couldn’t have asked for me to have had anything better than to spend this time with my family. I give thanks to God for the experiences we have while we are enjoying the beauty of nature when we are on these hunts. I am already looking forward to being able to take our grandson, Hunter, (or even the granddaughters if they will) on these hunts with me. My family has made many wonderful memories and have had great experiences. And one of the best parts, is we are making these memories with our family.

Now it is time to dream and plan for our hunts next season. And we are ready to apply, apply, apply.

WE hope that all of you appreciate what God and this great earth has given to us.

We all look forward to seeing you each this next season and finding out about your year.

Sincerely,