50th B'day Bonanza....Elk hunting Benchmark

[Lee Viv]

Terry,

Congrats on your 50th!  Mine will be next May( 2008) and my wife is supporting my decision to buy myself a new bow for that occasion.  An elk hunt would be great, too!  That's my one wish is that someday I'll be able to get out west for a mulie/elk hunt.

Pics and stories, please!

Lee  

[Chad Sivertsen]

Terry, don't know what unit yet just that my card was charged for an elk tag. Should be 7W, 6B or 8. I know 7W some but not much experience in the other units. Should be a good hunt regardless of unit but I am concerned about getting away from ATVs and other hunters. Tried to pick units with better draw odds and remote areas to hopefully allow secluded hunting.

I'm another guy that is very fortunate to spend my life with a wonderful wife, best friend and companion. Last year I was busy as usual with work as hunting season was approaching too fast. I planned to park my camping trailer in the mountains to use as a base camp for a few weeks but it needed some work. Kyle fixed the plumbing, cleaned it, stocked it with food and had it ready to go so all I had to do was get my hunting stuff together and go.

As we age and mature I guess it is normal to philosophize about life. Like many of you I feel very fortunate as I reflect on the past. Kyle and I lived and worked in 20 states, built and rode custom harleys, hiked hunted and fished in most of the Western states and a few others. We learned many skills together and assisted each other in expanding our horizons. We still have a lot of memories to make and every day here in the mountains is a blessing. She is just as happy as I am for the AZ elk tag.

At 60 with the tough AZ draw this could be my only opportunity to hunt elk in AZ. Which bow to use will be a tough decision. I love hunting in AZ, it is one of my favorite places.

Y'all take note of Mark's quote from Ted Trueblood. Mark, I guess you don't have to worry about which side of the border you are on with both tags. I was going to do that this year as the ID border is just a few miles away but the AZ tag will postpone that.

Terry, what type of hunt is the CO deal? Lodge, horse pack or ?

One of my favorite quotes about aging was from Malcolm Forbes "As you get older you should speed up not slow down...there is less time"

[OH at work]

Terry,  congrats on hitting the 50.  I'm 56 and still love to hunt elk.  I do have to work harder to get in shape for the mountains of Idaho (where I love to hunt elk) but have found that I now see more game since I have slowed down.  The last time I went out we had a young pup of 34 with us.  We were hunting together one day (he was usually about 10 yards ahead of me   ) when I spy 3 cow elk about 25 yards away from him just watching as he walked by.  Pssst, I said.  He looked back and said "What's the matter you can't keep up   "  I pointed to the elk and he just turned around and kept going.  I had a great shot but turned it down hoping for a bull later on.  Should have taken the cow because I never did get a shot at a bull.  Told him about the cows as we were eating that night and he said he never saw them.   It is sometimes good to be slow!!!!!!


Joe