Colorado 2014 We Came, We Hiked, Then We Hiked Some More. Part 1

We loaded up the truck Friday September 19 2014, with alarms set and all the gear loaded it was time for my last man soda and off to bed. 5:00am came quick. I showered and said my goodby's to my family, I left my house at 5:38. I told Al I would be over around 5:45am I was right on time. We hit the road, with 2 stops for gas and 10.5 hours later we pulled into Cortez. We got our room at Super 8 and headed to Walmart. We picked up our over the counter tags along with a few other items for the trip. We had a good dinner at Jimmer's BBQ and headed back to the room to get a good nights rest for the hike in in the morning. About 12:30 am I caught a flash out of my eye and then heard some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. It proceeded to rain the rest of the night and into the morning. At that point we decided to to sleep in and get a bankers start.

Once we rolled out of bed we hit up the free breakfast downstairs. As we ate, the Weather Channel was on and calling for a massive thunder storm to come through Sunday afternoon till mid Monday Morning. We left for the trail head around 8 am. We were trying to find a few spots we had previously located on Google Earth to set our camp and just get used to the area we will be hunting in. Once we got to the trail head the Rinehart came out and we both shot a few arrows. We were slapping arrows at 20 yards. Time to beat feet.

 We headed in to the high country, crossed a river and started climbing a trail out of the valley. We found fresh elk tracks in the mud covered trail. At that point things were starting to look up. We climbed the trail for 40-45 minutes or so, the trail just kept switch backing away from the areas we were wanted to hunt. We headed back down the trail to a few ponds we saw on the way in. There was recent sign of elk and beaver all around the ponds, even a huge beaver dam. As the clouds started to billow up from the other side of the mountain. We hiked back down to check one last spot past the first trail we took. The surroundings where beautiful. There were small streams everywhere and one raging river. This is high country elk hunting, I was hooked. We called it a day and headed back to the truck.

At the truck we took our packs off, as we were getting ready to leave as two guys from Alabama pulled in to the trail head. Now known as "The Bama Boys". We all introduced ourselves and explained both our plans as to were we would be hunting. None of us wanted to impede on each others hunting grounds. "The Bama Boys" were going to the right and we were going left, perfect. "The Bama Boys" were great guys and very helpful. They filled us in on a cut off trail that lead deeper into the mountains and that there were a few good water sources higher up. The trail turned out to be the one we were looking for all along. Hunters helping hunters out is not something I am used to being from California. Now that I think of it everyone we met was very nice and helpful. We hit Main St Brewery in Cortez for dinner, I had a great burger and a few man sodas. At dinner time flew by as we set a game plan for the morning. When we got back to the room the sky broke loose and for the rest of the night we had thunder, lightening and rain.I know one of us was up every hour looking out the window hoping the storm would blow through quicker than predicted. It did not.

Burning Boot Rubber On The Holiday Weekend

With Colorado being just around the corner for my hunting partner and I and all the packing and planning to be done, this is the only weekend we could make it out to check our cams. So we set the plan to hit it early and beat the holiday traffic and the Southern California heat. We have had them set in this new location for a little over month. We found some good sign and decided to give it  shot. It could be a bust or we could find exactly what we are looking for, Big Bucks.

The game cams have helped us huge this year. With a 1 year old, work, house work and planning for Colorado, I have been very busy to say the least. I know Al has been in the same position with the family, work and planning for Colorado. It has been tough for us to get out and glass the hills as much as we want. With the use of game cams we have been able to look at new areas this year that last year would of taken lots of time to glass. We have had a few spots that were a bust and a few that have deer just not exactly what we are looking for. So we moved the cams and let them do most of the work. I know this is not a new practice but for us it has helped out more than I could have thought. Instead of spending 12-14 hours in the field we are able to get in and out rather quickly. It helps out with being able to get home and not use a whole day in the field. That time can be saved for hunting.

So who else is going to make it out in the field this weekend? Are you going hunting, fishing, camping or just a day hike with the family. I will also be hitting Gum Grove Park Monday morning if anyone want to get 2.5-4 miles. For most people Labor Day is the end of summer. For us in California it always seems to be summer. If you do make it out this weekend post a comment on what you did. Even if you just stayed at the house and had BBQ.

I know I will be hiking at least 2 days, getting all my gear ready for Colorado and fletching up some new Deer Crossing Archery Hunter arrows for the trip. I bet I will also have some house work to toss in the mix as the 3 day weekend plays out. It seems to never end. In a few days it will be off to Colorado to relax and chase elk. I know those two don't come hand in hand, to me it's a vacation. That will hopefully be filled with bugles and bulls to chase all over the high country.

The Final Countdown Has Began.

Today marks the final count down till Al and I leave to Colorado. To say I'm not excited would be a lie. The front room has turned from my son's play area to Elk Head Quarters. I have began laying out my gear, checking my lists, and making sure my bow is 100%. I will be shooting as much as I can in the upcoming weeks and pushing myself just a little harder.

When Al and I planned this trip it was almost 2 years ago, it seem so far away. Now with limited days left I feel like time is running out and I must recheck everything once or twice more. With the mix of emotions from excited, to knowing I am going to miss being home, to a little scared. I have never been backpacking this long.  I still cant wait. The texts and emails fly back and forth between Al and I, and it never seems to end.

My gear has been slowly coming together. I have my menu laid out which Mainly consists of Probar for Breakfast, Trail mix, Jerky, and summer sausage for lunch, Mountain House for dinner and Snickers or a Pats Back Country Brew. My pack will be between 40-50 pounds plus my bow. I can not wait to get camp set, and have the first afternoon and evening to familiarize ourselves with the area. Plus who know we might just get lucky and be on the Elk that afternoon. This will be a trip of a life time that I will never forget. I have one more trip to Bass Pro to get the remaining pieces and just to walk and site see with the family. As the time ticks down to D-Day I will keep you posted.

My 2014 hunting bow is.....

Hunting season 2014 just got a little better for myself. I will be shooting the 2014 Prime Defy at 70 pounds of pure knock down power. I shot a variety of bows at the beginning of the season and I finally decided on the Defy. After shooting my Centroid for 3 years I was happy with how the Prime shot and felt in my grubby little paws. Since I loved shooting my Centriod, I decided to stick with Prime. Prime makes a great bow and I am a strong believer that you get what you pay for. That being said, I shot a few Strothers this year, My hunting partner has 2 and they were great bows at a great price. If you have not shot a Strother check them out. The Prime just felt right. If you are in the market for a new bow, shoot every bow, from as many manufactures as you can.

I was finally able to pick up my bow last Wednesday from Archery Outpost. I had Conner install my Peep, D-loop, rest, and sight. Once he got everything dialed in I was ready to take my bow home.

2014 Bow Setup.
Bow: 2014 Prime Defy 70# in Real Tree
Rest: AAE DOA Full Capture Fall Away Real Tree
Sight: Montana Black Gold Custom Vengeance or Ambush Single Pin
Stabilizer: B Stinger Pro Hunter Maxx 8"
Arrows: Deer Crossing Archery, Hunters and SD Hunters 300 spine
Fletchings: Blazer Vanes
Broadheads: G5 Montec 100 grain
Release: Scott Little Bitty Goose
Quiver: Tight Spot 

2014 Prime Defy

2014 Prime defy

The first day at the range with my new bow was a success. I was shooting really close to where my old sight was sighted in. I was off by about 6-9 yards. I will be changing out my Vengeance to my Ambush sight. I have grow more accustomed to the single pin Since I have shot one for 2 seasons. My first end at 40 yards was a little low but the grouping was not bad. This bow shoots extremely flat and fast. I am always impressed with the products from Prime.

First End at 40 yards off by a few yards

At the end of the night I was very pleased with my new bow. I will swapping sights today and getting my quiver mounted. After that 3-5 days will be spent at the range or behind my office shooting. I want to be dialed in for Colorado. With only 58 days left till we leave, I have my work cut out for me. I am confident I will be able to get everything tuned perfectly on my new bow. I have been shooting a good amount this year so I am confident in my form. I just need to get the new bow sighted in. I just have to get over to Archery Outpost, chronograph my bow to get my feet per second, then slap on the right sight tape and I am dialed in to 100 yards. I should have all that done by the end of this week. I have a great feeling for this upcoming season.

Hiking and Checking Game Cams.

It's been a little over a month since Al and I set our trail cams in a spot we wanted to scout, we finally have a weekend that we can check the cams. Al will be at my house at 4am tomorrow so we can make the drive to the trail head (about 45 minutes). Then we will hike the 4 miles to our cam location. The area we set them looked promising and we a hoping to find some big deer. Depending what is on the cams, they will either stay up or we will pull them and get to a new spot. Once that decision has been made it's a 5 mile hike back to where we had our cams set last year. We are going to hang a new one up in this spot to see if anything is left over from last season. We saw 3-4 sets of fawns during hunting season, hopefully they have grown into a few nice bucks. After that, it's back out the last 3-4 miles to the truck where cold water, a protein shake, Pat's Back country and my bow will be waiting. We should have a little time to shoot so we will set up a few targets and let some carbon fly. Then it is back to the house to enjoy the rest of my Saturday. If all goes to plan we should be home by 1 or 1:30pm. It is going to be in the low 90s by mid morning so we want to get in an out. All in all we will hike about 12 miles for the day while most of my buddies are recovering from the night before.

Product Review: Bandlands Zip-No Bino Case

When I first started hunting I carried my binoculars in my pack. After a few trips I was tired of every time I wanted to glass I had to stop, get my bino's out, glass, and then put them back. It got old really quick. On the way home from one of our first scouting trips Tyler and I stopped by Turners, I thought I had found the solution in the binocular straps. I purchased those and was off for some turkey hunting in the next couple of days. After hiking 6-8 miles that day chasing wild turkey, my binoculars where bouncing all over my chest, I had a new problem. I would rather pull them out of my pack then have my chest beat for hours. I knew that would not work as I would need them to glass spots quickly and on the move. I would need my bino's at any given moment. I have seen a lot of guys on the hunting boards looking for a great binocular case. With the Badlands Zip-No Bino Case you get just that.

After some research and chatting with Al, who at the time we were just starting to hunt together. He recommended the Badlands Bino Case. The more I looked into their bino system the more I started leaning to Badlands. Now there are 3 different Bino Systems, The Bino X, The Zip-no, and a zippered one.

From Badlands Website

Revolutionary new way to carry your expensive binos. The new Badlands Bino Case features a new water tight and dust proof closure called the Zip-no? system which makes accessing and protecting your binos easier than ever. The shoulder harness also accommodates your hydration needs with a rollout bladder.

Specs

Weight: 1 lbs 8 oz

Capacity: 200 ci

 

 Dimensions: 10" X 6.5" X 3"

Photo: Al Quackenbush 2013

 The Bino Case also comes with a mesh netting that holds a water bladder, the netting can be rolled up and zipped away when wearing a pack and rolled out if your just going for a quick hike. All you need is your water bladder and hydration hose. I have been using this system now for 2 full seasons and unless something better comes out I'm sticking with my No-Zip Bino Case. There are two straps that go over your shoulders then two more that wrap around just above your waste so the pack will not bounce around as you hike and break brush. On the inside of the pack it has the main pocket for your binos and 4 smaller pouches on the flap that opens, one has a zipper. I keep my hunting license, deer tag, trespassing laws and one of those high tech space pens in there. I also keep a water proof pad in the big section behind my binos for taking notes on the trail. On either side of the pack it has 2 small straps, I use one for my walkie talkie and I hang my sunglasses from the other side when I am glassing. I have everything I need right in front of me. This case also has a hook on the bottom side to hook your D loop onto so you don't have to set your bow down when you want to glass a hillside real fast.

The one down side to this Binocular system is the cost. At $129.99 MSRP it is not cheap. I was able to find one a little cheaper off Ebay. It also comes with Badlands unconditional warranty. If anything happens no matter what they will fix or replace anything new or used. They have one of the best warranties in the industry. If you buy it brand new, on Ebay or at garage sale it dose not matter they will still warranty it. Check out Badlandspacks.com for all of the great Badlands products. Little did I know I would have a Bino case and 3 packs in less 2 years.

CA Draw Results Have Been Posted

On my way to work this morning I got a text from my hunting partner Al, he informed me that the CA Draw Results had been posted this morning. When I got to work the DFG website was backed up due to everyone checking on what they drew. Hopefully you all got what applied for. Once the madness slowed down I was finally able to check my tags. Al and I both drew A-31, Los Angeles National Forest either sex archery only tag. It give us from September 27, 2014 to December 31, 2014. That is a lot of time to hunt, giving us lots of chances to get out in the field. Our trail cams are set in a great looking area. Now only time will tell.

For 2014 in CA I also have Archery Only Deer, a bear, wild pig, and bobcat tags. I will also be chasing wild turkey in the fall. In September we will be going to Colorado for over the counter elk and hopefully I will be able to get a left over bear tag too. There is a chance I might be going to Missouri for whitetail, that might be along shot with Colorado and a 1.5 year old. We will just have to see. Now its time to get the boots dirty and do some glassing.