flags

Hello to all,

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself since I just joined this site. My name is Tom and my online name is Flags. I’m a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy and am getting ready to retire. In Apr 2014 I’ll have 25 years of active duty under my belt and I’m to the point where I need to turn the reins over to a younger generation.

I’m originally from Golden, Colorado but haven’t spent much time in the state since the Navy has insisted on keeping me elsewhere. I’m still officially a Colorado resident but seriously doubt I’ll retire there. Every time I return there I end up longing for the Colorado of my youth and it saddens me to see what the state has turned into with the massive influx of liberal transplants from other states. My wife and I are sort of leaning towards either Alabama or Tennessee but haven’t made firm decisions yet.

I'm sitting on 20 elk preference points, 13 deer preference points, 3+10 weighted moose points, 3+12 weighted sheep points, 13 bear points and 9 pronghorn points, all for Colorado. Want to guess where I'll be next fall after I retire? I've also got 5 preference points for pronghorn in WY and 8 preference points for moose in NH.

I am an avid hunter and fisherman and have been blessed to hunt many species in many states. So far I have held tags for Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, California, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. I have also hunted British Columbia a couple of times and have made 5 safaris to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Cameroon. Places I’d like to hunt include Scotland, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Alaska.

I’ve successfully hunted Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Blacktail Deer, Black Bear, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Pronghorn, Bison, Wild Boar, Alligator and some exotics in Texas. I’ve taken about 20 species of plains game in Africa including Roan, Eland, Kudu, Gemsbok, Wildebeest, Impala, Warthog and Zebra. Of all the game I’ve hunted I have always had a real special place in my heart for elk which is understandable since I come from a family of elk fanatics in Colorado. If my count is correct, I have personally taken about 25 elk and have been in on the talking of around 100 others. I also go after rabbits, squirrels, upland game and waterfowl every chance I get and just started turkey hunting last spring.

I’m not much of a bow hunter because I have never been able to devote the time to get good enough with a bow to shoot at a living animal. The chance of wounding is just too high with my minimal skill level. But I have done a lot of hunting with black powder for Mule Deer, Elk and Whitetail. I use a variety of firearms with a 7mm Rem Mag being my go to gun. I also use a 6.5x55 Swedish, a 6.5x54 MS, a 9.3x62 Mauser, 375 H&H Mag and a T/C Contender in 7mm TCU. One thing I find as I get older is that I use the 7mm Mag less and less and the 9.3x62 more and more. If you haven’t played with a 9.3 I highly recommend it.

I look forward to exchanging ideas, opinions and experiences with all of you.

Cheers

Flags

eddie0341

Is this the same flags from NAHC?

flags

Yep. I tried to make the new site at NAHC work but I finally gave it up. It simply wasn't worth the aggravation.

eddie0341

ya, i was new to NAHC, so im not giving up just yet, but i figured i would at least find one with a little more participation. im not really trackin the whole preference points you are talking about, could you explain?

flags

I've been a life member of NAHC for over 20 years. Their forum used to be really good. But they have really messed it up. Most of the long time life members have left it.

Here's the scoop on preference points. In my native Colorado a lot of the tags are limited tags and you have to apply for them. If you don't draw the tag the state gives you a preference point. The system is weighted so that those with the most points will draw the tags first since they have been trying the longest. Some of the really premium areas can require a lot of points. Right now I have 20 points for elk which means I have applied for a special elk tag for 2 decades.

But that doesn't mean I haven't hunted a lot of elk in that time frame. When you apply for a tag you can put down up to 4 choices and only the first choice generates a point. The unit I've been holding out for elk generally has a bunch of cow tags available. So I put in for a bull tag in that unit for my first choice and a cow for my second choice. If you draw the first choice your points drop to zero but choices 2-4 don't impact the points. By drawing the cow tags I hunt the area a lot and do scouting for big bulls nearly every year. If I don't draw any of my choices I can still hunt by getting a leftover tag or a general season over the counter bull elk tag.

Since I've ben in the Navy, I've been stockpiling points for when I retire. The only species I don't have a lot of points for is Mountain Goat. I drew that tag in 2001 and got a really good billy. In Colorado if you take a sheep or a goat you have to wait 5 years before you can apply again to give others a chance at the tag. Since I really don't care if I ever shoot another goat I haven't been too concerned about building up points.

bigtim6656

Welcome and thanks for your service from the bottom of my heart. My dad was a navy man when he met my mom

Iv just moved to Colorado and cant wait for the 2014 season. Iv deer hunted but am going to focus on elk up here in the rockies. If u need a buddy id be honored to lean from ya

flags

bigtim6656 where in CO are you? I may be able to give you some pointers if I know your location.