Hunter: Fika Otalora
This is my first buck ever! I just received my Hunter Education in March. I shot him with a Browning A-Bolt 243 in Unit 29 by the Peak to Peak Highway. It was a two-mile hike in.
Hunter: Hagen Creek Justus
This is my son Hagen Creek Justus and his Unit 61 bear. This was his very first bear hunt and he had only been hunting a couple of days. Hagen, his sister Allison and I were covered up with elk and were considering calling it a day when out of the aspens came this huge sow. She was alone and walked within 40 yards of us, and Hagen was able to harvest her with his 270.
Hunter: Modesto Pacheco
This moose was taken by Modesto Pacheco, age 77, in unit 79. It was his hunt of a lifetime and one he’d been dreaming about since he started hunting as a young boy.
Hunter: Aubrey Perry
I hunted with my husband Randy Perry for three seasons. And this year is extra special because I was 5 months pregnant with our first child and I tagged out with my first 4×4 buck and first 5×5 bull!
Hunter: Mandy Arnold
Between Hunter Safety and accumulating preference points, it seems like it took forever to get my first antlered deer license for the area around Maybell. I was super nervous as I went with my dad to our hunting area because it was late in the season. My dad assured me that it would be OK; we would find one, but it may just be a fork-horn. One buck got away early in the day, but towards evening we stalked up on this one and I got him with one clean shot from my new .270 Winchester at 125 yards. It was a lot of work dragging him out through the brush and cactus, but worth it. We ate fresh tenderloins later and they were delicious! I love hunting and learning about conservation. I can’t wait for more deer hunting, and elk hunting also!
Hunter: Dillon Wynn
This 6×6 bull elk was my son Dillon Wynn’s first ever big game harvest on September 14, 2017. Dillon is 16 year’s old. Also pictured is his cousin, Cooper Wynn (age 25) who helped him call the bull in.
Hunter: Brian Friedmansky
Ram harvested during D.I.Y. hunt in Unit 67. It was 2:30 p.m. on opening day about 320 yards on the flat tops.
Hunter: Tim Barton
On opening day, October 1, 2016, I spotted several of the herds I had seen earlier in the year. But at the moment, ready with my rifle and tag, the pronghorn seemed so much farther away. In the afternoon, I spotted a herd of seven does with two nice bucks toward the middle of the largest section of our land. I prepared myself for the stalk and began to crawl forward to a small berm in the field. I spotted the two bucks through my binoculars, but they still seemed out of range. I carefully crept forward to the next small mound in the field and the bucks were now within range. I eased my Remington 700 .308 onto my shooting sticks. Through my scope, I selected the larger of the two bucks and patiently waited for him to turn broadside and stop. Adjusting for hold-over, taking the safety off, I slowly eased back on the trigger until the shot broke. During recoil, there was a moment of absolute deafness through my earmuffs, then a pause, and finally the solid smack of my Nosler bullet striking the buck behind the shoulder. I set the rifle down and quickly pulled up my binoculars to see the buck lumber off well behind the rest of the herd. I waited for a while and then I successfully tracked, recovered, and field dressed the buck.
Share your story by sending an e-mail to hunter.testimonials@state.co.us. We are now accepting testimonials about successful small game and waterfowl hunts as well as big game hunts around the state. Please include your name, a general hunt location and the story behind your outing (up to 250 words). Also please include a high-resolution, digital photo (.jpg) with the name of the photographer and any people in the photo.
