My First Elk Hunt in a Nutshell

Thursday night
Drive to Steamboat Springs; find a motel room; curse the weather

Friday
Pull out the camp that was set up on Thursday; find a motel room; curse the weather

Saturday (opening day for 2nd rifle season)
Hike in 2 miles, dragging an empty cart; sit in the cold; curse the weather; hike out; drive to a different hunting area (California Park) for some recon; dinner at the Condo; curse the weather; sleep at the motel

Sunday
Drive to California Park; hike 5+ miles through knee deep snow; kick-up some Does (no Doe tag); a hot sunny day without a cloud in the sky; curse the weather; sleep at the motel

Monday
Wake up at 0-dark-thirty; drive to the trailhead; hike in 2 miles in the dark; sit in the cold; watch a spike meander up the hill and disappear into the woods; hike around a bit; sit in the cold; listen to a cow bark an alarm; watch the cow walk down the hill, turn around, and walk back up the hill and into the trees; hike out to the trailhead in the dark; drive back to Steamboat; drive to the Condo; eat dinner; drive back to the Motel; set the alarm for 0-dark-thirty; pack-up the truck; curse the weather; sleep

Tuesday
Up at 0-dark-thirty; blah blah blah; hike out mid-morning; wait for Cody to hike out; drive up the valley, seeing tracks all along the way; return to the trailhead; confirm that Cody is almost back to the truck; leave for home

Wednesday
Recover

Thursday
Curse the weather! 2'+ feet of new snow!! Plow the driveway; sledding with the kids; "Burton" lives up to his name

Friday
Curse the weather; prepare for Saturday

Saturday
Up at 0-dark-thirty; breakfast at Crooks; drive to the trailhead with Kirk and Lance; hike into the valley...
Someone else (reportedly) "smacks" a 4x5 so close to the road that it takes very little effort to drag it to the tailgate and throw it in the back with a little help from two other fellas passing by...

Sunday (daylight savings time ends; fall back one hour)
Up at 0-dark-thirty; breakfast at Crooks; meet Mark; park; hike; sit; curse; leave
Home; nap
Into the woods; sit and wait
Listen to a cow calling the other girls
Creep up; they're gone
Pack up; curse; season over...

P.S.
356 days until the 2007 2nd rifle season! Fewer days if I buy a bow!!

OH S**T!

That was my reaction when I picked up my rifle a couple of days ago, looked through the scope, and noticed that the reticle was rotated to the right by about 5-10 degrees. The bizarre thing is that the very same thing happened to another buddy of mine and at the time I thought "good thing MY scope is locked down...". I guess it wasn't.

So this morning I took my rifle, some tools, and a bottle of Loctite Threadlocker Blue to the Boulder Rifle Club. Fortunately the club opens their range to the public every weekend in September and October so that hunters can sight-in their rifles. The place was packed to the gills. I has to wait about half-an-hour for a bench.

Once I sat down, I lined-up the reticle using the barrel of the rifle and the posts holding up the target board for reference. I assumed that who ever installed the target board used a level to set the post plumb. Next time I'll bring a level and my own blank target to set a level line. This approach seemed to work, as I was able to drop three shots an inch high on the bull's eye within about a 1/2" group. Next I loosened the bolts one at a time, poured on some Loctite, and tightened everything down. After everything dried I put a few more shots on a new target= 2 1/2" high, dead center. Perfect. Just what I had before I said "oh s**t" and just what I wanted. I leave for Unit 14 Thursday night. Wish me luck. Hunt on!

Why Hunt? - Continued

I lose sleep the night before a fishing trip. I kid you not. Each fishing trip, especially when I visit a river or lake I've never seen before, is an adventure. I love an adventure.

Hunting is an adventure on an even grander scale. I doubt I'll sleep for a week before opening day.