Wrong season....
 

Applications are in.......excitement fills the air!
And yet my reloading guru and I shot elk rifles yesterday and for some reason, the 101 degree Texasheatsucked all the air out of our Elk hunting balloon!!!
Barrels were hot before we even fired a shot!
Luckily, we had some cold beverages handy that provided relief and allowed us to dream of a cold, brisk, Rocky Mountain sunrise!!!

RE: Wrong season....
 

Red- I have also been excited about my application being in. But you're right- this heat in TX kills any idea that there may be a hunting season ahead. Sweating=no hunting. Freezing your balls off=hunting.

RE: Wrong season....
 

heres a little something to cheer you up. just keep those images of the rockys going because we have a lot of moisture and i think the vegetation is gonna come in good this summer and should make for some good antler growth.

RE: Wrong season....
 

Really, there was an all out blizzard here for about two hours yesterday, then it snowed on and off the rest of the day. High of 40 something without the windchill. Weather.com said it felt like 18 degrees when I checked this afternoon. Sucks to be you guys.:D

RE: Wrong season....
 

RedRiverHntr,

Just reframe the context of your hot weather....

Look at it as an opportunity topractice for Cape Buffalo in Africa.... hunting in 100+ is not uncommon as I understand it.
Set up a "charge" simulator with a target coming down a cable to you.
Our other summertime amusement is rabbit hunting with Big Bores, sharpens up quickness and accuracy and free hand shooting.

Gotta plan ahead.

RE: Wrong season....
 

We were thinking of having one of the guys get on a 4wheeler, strap a set of elk antlers to his head, and then wait for us to "bugle him in"! We have some silhouettes that we could put in a trailer for him to drag behind on a short chain (so he could easily score the shots for us). I know you are thinking we must be crazy. Let me assure you that if we were to conduct such an exercise, we would make sure he was wearing a helmet!!!!
Thought better of it once we realized that we are in Texas....RURAL Texas....not sure about where you boys are from, but around here he probably would have been "poached" before we could have gotten a shot at him!

I am sitting in the air conditioned comforts dreaming of the sun peeking over the sangre de cristos!!!

RE: Wrong season....
 

I used to live down there. We had 2 seasons... almost summer and summer...
It was 80 here yesterday and its trying to snow today. Up here we have 4 seasons... sometimes in the same day...

RE: Wrong season....
 

I envy you! I have often wondered if I would love Colorado as much if I lived up there?
I have been going to the mountains for since I was 7. No place else I would rather be. Summer or Winter.
Sure would like to test that theory some day!

For now, getting ready for a week in July......do some maintenance on the old cabin, catch a few trout, take some pictures and generally by on a week long high!

RE: Wrong season....
 

I guess it depends on how cold you like it? When I think of freezing my nuts off, ;) I think of a hunt with my family and friends15 years ago. I was 17 at the time and we were hunting in late december for bothelk and deerin our home state of Idaho. I had punched my own elk tagearlier in the year andI didn't draw a late seaon deer tagso I was just along for the ride and the only one who wasn't actually hunting.Tosay it was cold is a understatement! During the week hunt the high for theweek was at best -8to -5degreesandthe worst day the high was a bitter cold -18. Thiswas according to theforest ranger who came by camp to check on us.The temps at night was down to the high -30's to low -40's and each morning ourfriends truckwouldnt start until we put a smallcoleman stoveunder the engine to warm it up.My dads truck did start but not without a bit of help from some starting fulid. It was intersting thatthe two honda 4wheelers in camp did start up without any help and ran just fine.But it was too cold to even think about going for a ride on them unless it was just to gocut somemore firewood with the chainsaw. We were suppose to sleep at night in a trail house but we couldn't get it warm enought and believe it or not the dang wall tent (that we always set up to use as a cook/kitchen tent) with its big fire burning wood stove was much warmer. So that is where we slept at night, well kind of slept, we made dang sure the fire was stoked and between the6 of us we just took turns through the night putting more and more wood on the fire. The 3/16" steel of that custom stove was almost always glowing red.;)We didn't get any elk or deeron that hunt, and not trying to brag but its one of the very few hunts that as a campwe ate tag soup. I have been on a few other late seaon cold weather hunts and yes they are fun, but only because it's hunting!My personal choice andfavorite time of yearto hunt and bein the mountains is september. Crisp clear mornings to warming up mid day, sometimes a bitTo hot, sometimes rain and even snow. The colors of the rockies are just beautiful that time of year and best of all the bulls are screaming! Just thinking about it gets my blood pumping. Ah crap now I am sure a wishing for it to come sooner.