By Dale Shrull The raw emotions still hit Cory Burns hard when he talks about his son Justin. He doesn’t like to talk about the tragic day of Sept. 13, 2015, when his son was killed in a senseless act of irresponsible hunting. But Cory wants to keep his son’s memory alive and he wants […]
Shoot Straight
By Dave Buchanan You can picture it now. Your hunting partner finally has the only shot of the day, takes care aim and Bang! “Damn. I missed.” I’m not saying it’s ever happened to you, but there are times when that “sure thing” turned into a miss or, even worse, a wounded animal that got […]
Know your GMU
By Dave Buchanan Late last fall, as I walked out of the woods on the final evening of my elk hunt, I had but one consolation: I knew my hunting unit better than I had on Day One. After eight years of hunting a unit in the Gunnison Basin, I I shifted last year a […]
High-Tech Hunting: Definition of “fair chase” at issue
By Dave Buchanan Smart rifles that never miss? Night-vision cameras to help find and track game? Cell phone apps that turn your riflescope into a heat-sensing targeting system? The list of high-tech hunting gear grows every year. And so, it seems, do the advantages enjoyed by a well-wired and tech-savvy population that each year seems […]
Hunting Outlook for 2017
By Dave Buchanan Country singer Kenny Rogers once cautioned us that a wise gambler “knows when to hold ’em” and “knows when to fold ’em.” Far be it from me to suggest big-game wildlife biologists are gamblers, but there must be time they feel the deck has been stacked against them. The winter of 2016-2017 […]
Abetting Vets: Base Camp 40 Warriors in the Wild program
By Dave Buchanan On a recent frosty fall morning somewhere on Glade Park southwest of Grand Junction, Kenny Crowley lifted his head from the task at hand and looked around him. “This is my first buck and I’m very humble” for the opportunity, Crowley, a former U.S. Army captain, told his guide, Chance Graham of […]
Top Gun Archer Dougo Wentzel
By Melinda Mawdsley All was quiet in the early morning hours of the annual Western Colorado elk rut. Dougo Wentzel and a group of archery hunters moved into the middle of an opening when Wentzel started cow calling to see what animals were around. Within 45 minutes, he saw his opportunity and the calm morning […]
The Inside Skinny on Shed Antlers
By Dave Buchanan As spring comes to western Colorado, the signs of winter linger. Snowbanks hang on high mountain ridges, rivers fill to overflowing, and scattered across the high country, recently dropped deer and elk antlers tell of an annual process of loss and renewal. For many people, it’s these antlers, commonly called shed antlers […]
Shaping up for the season
By Dale Shrull Dan Meade and Ryan Wharton were breathing hard as they reached the final target. A quick look through his range-finder and Meade barked “24 yards!” He pulled the string on his bow, his right-side shoulder muscles and biceps rippling. Taking careful aim, his left eye shut tight, he released the string with […]
New Shooting Range Sighted In For Cameo
By Dale Shrull (With Rachel Sauer) It won’t be long before the Western Slope has a fabulous new shooting range. Back in May, Gov. John Hickenlooper visited the area where the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex will soon open. The site is located off Interstate 70, a short distance from the Cameo exit (mile marker […]