A lot of us while away the summertime hours looking forward to our next hunting adventure, I know I have been. Aside from my recent scouting adventures about the local WMA’s, I’ve been planning a fall trip to Colorado for black bear hunting. I have to appear for a book signing in Denver in late August for a soon-to-be-released book titled, “Finding Colorado.” Well, hunting season opens there on September 1st, so as long as I’m there, I might as well stay over and hunt for a week.
I got onto the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website looking over opportunities and have decided that black bear hunting with my recurve bow is the way to go for me. I put a message out on social media for some of my avid bowhunting friends for tips on where to go. My buddy Dave Watson, who is an amazingly accomplished archer and former lead guitarist of the rock band Loverboy, gave me the tip.
Turns out, my dear friend and co-author of the book “Finding Colorado” is intimately familiar with the area and will be joining me. Who else is planning an out-of-state adventure? If you need any help planning a hunt, let me know; I might be able to help you find opportunities to make your dream hunt a reality. There are a lot of places that do not require guides, and their thousands of dollars of guide fees. I’m a poor boy myself and am full of money-saving tips. Such as shipping your gear and clothing in advance via UPS, it’ll save you a ton with the airline.
If driving there is your preference, then skip the motels and camp out along the route. I promise I’ve spent many nights in a sleeping bag along the edge of some random wheat field. When packing for your trips, only take the most essential items, or ship ahead. All the little stuff that you need can be purchased locally as opposed to having it shipped or carried onboard the flight. But a big part of it is how you get your meat and trophy parts home.
If you’re deer hunting, the meat has to be bones-out and packaged, and the skull or skull cap must be boiled and free of any organic matter other than bone to legally enter Florida from another state due to ongoing concerns of the CWD epidemic plaguing other states. If you’re flying, pack the meat according to your airline’s regulations into a sealed cooler with dry ice and fly it home in lieu of luggage. Your gear, etc., again can be shipped home separately via UPS.
For bear or other non-deer species, there is no threat of CWD, but I recommend having the meat processed and frozen before transportation. I’ll be driving on my trip, and a small electric chest freezer will be going with me. I can keep it running on a 12-volt battery with a small solar panel while in camp, but an extension cord run from the hotel will keep everything frozen solid each night at a motel otherwise.
I’ve been shooting my recurve bow on my indoor shooting range daily and have begun dieting and exercising to be ready to make the most of my opportunity. Who wants to join me?
As always, it’s a pleasure to get to visit with you here each week. Any questions or comments, reach out to me at [email protected]. God Bless and good hunting!
