D. Bay 2010

There is no sweeter sound of Fall than that of a bull elk’s bugle northwest Colorado. It makes a smile creep across your face and the hair on your stand to attention. As guides, we have the best jobs around. As I like to compare it, it’s like being professional ball player getting paid for doing what you love. There’s a catch, we don’t get paid like the ball players.

This post finds us in the middle of our elk season and already we are dreading the end. Keep looking for the updates with the photos, there are some good bulls. Until next week – Happy Hunting!

The VO Crew

The bull’s bugle is music to my ears.  The leaves are changing colors and the taste of Fall can be felt on my breath.  Hunting season in Northwest Colorado!

Check out the bulls in the photo gallery.  We’re no Ansel Adams, but you will get the point.  Happy hunting!

The VO Team

VO @ Wolf Mtn Ranch, 2009

I’m sorry about the delay in getting updates out to you.  As mentioned in a previous post, we are not techy nerds.  We are “rednecks’ that like to hunt, and have only enough computer savvy to be dangerous.  I just happen to be the “redneck” with the most computer knowledge out of all of us.  Heck, I may get us on Facepage or a Tweet account.  You never know.

I picked the title of this entry for a couple of reasons.  First, many of you know that I have been in a battle with brain cancer.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  THEY WORKED!  As of Wednesday, the report from the doctor is that the cancer (what’s left) is dying or dead.  I’ve got a lot rehab ahead of me, but am heading to camp today!   Wahoo!!!

The second reason is – It’s the start of new year hunting!  Gentelmen start your guns, all right that’s the good ole boys but you get the point.  I will be giving weekly updates, with pictures, to keep you abreast of the season.  If you happen to flipping through the tube and land on the VS network, keep an eye out for Lonny, Dirk or myself. 

Gotta go!  I’m late for showing up at camp.  I’ll provide updates when get back to town.

Happy Hunting!

Brad  

Our goal here at VO is to bring you the best hunting experiences as possible and share our experience and knowledge along the way.  We are constantly getting emails regarding hunts, experiences and updates from around the country.  I’ve felt compelled to share some links with everyone below because I think they are relative to our industry and way of life.  I’ve tried to do the research to ensure their accuracy as not to provide false information.

So take a look at the links and they may open your eyes, as with mine, to some interesting information regarding our gun rights and the future thereof. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMeDmV0ufU

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/blairholt.asp

www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/text

If you feel passionate about your freedom and rights, we encourage becoming a member of hunting organizations or gun clubs (such as SCI or the NRA).  We hope this is informative and helps.  Feel free to give us some feedback.

Brad and the VO Crew

So from here in NW Colorado backwoods, you would probably believe about anything from Vanatta Outfitters and this story is no exception.

Wednesday morning finds my phones ringing off the hook starting at 6:45am.  The phones being downstairs, I took my time having to stop by head and I had to get some clothes on.  I started checking the caller ID’s to find out that it was a flurry of calls made both Dirk and Lonny.  Then it dawned on me – Dirk was at the ranch looking for lion tracks.  With his digits fresh on my phone and a quick redial it was confirmed — Game On!

Lonny was already in the process of getting ready to head over and pick me up, so I scrambled to get my gear together.  Before you knew, coffee in hand, Lonny and I were heading west to who knows what excitement.  In the opposite direction and a little ahead of our schedule was Rod with his dogs in tow.

We arrived on the scene with fresh lion tracks crossing the road and up a steep hill to a cliff band of rocks a few hundred yards away.  Immediately we see the two skinny’s (Rod and Dirk) up among the rocks.  As time passed, Rod made his way down and let Dirk sort out the tracks.  In true fashion of a good hound, Dirk was barking down from the cliff band his discovery.

Upon his return to the truck, it was decided to circle the area with snowmobiles to ensure our feline was in the containment area.  As luck would have it, it was determined by a quick loop that it was time to let the dogs go to work.  Now I have to say that “hill” I mentioned earlier is more like a mountain and not only was it steep but also deep with snow.  Being in the middle of a round of chemo (makes me lazy), I found myself scratching my head thinking how am I going to pull this off.

Well now for the rest of the story.  Rod and Dirk volunteered to take the dogs up to freshest set of tracks and turn them loose.  Upon releasing the hounds, it was no time before they jumped our quarry.  It just so happened that the cat had been in the rocks not 125 yards away from where Dirk had been yelling orders down to us an hour ago.

Now I must say that Rod has some of the finest hunting dogs in the country.  Not only can they track but we soon found out that they could herd as well.  I think that Rod must have had a chat with them because as soon as they busted the cat it headed right for us spectators.  And yes, I said spectators.  By this time, it was not only Lonny and I waiting on the action but neighbors and county employees as well.

Well by now it’s starting to get a little exciting and just to fire us up some more, Rod shouts on the radio “Get ready, he’s coming your way!”  At this time we’re hearing the dogs and are trying to anticipate where this lion is going to pull off a meet and greet with us.  I’m running down the road with a pistol in my hand, Lonny is screaming by me on a snowmachine, the county workers go flying by in their truck and the neighbor is running right behind me.

Somehow we all convene in the spot where the savage beast decided to make her stand.  She chose a pine tree only about 50 yards off the road (I was thinking that someone was thinking about me above).  That was a long 50 yards in thigh deep snow uphill.  The rest is in the pictures.  I owe it all to the support (I mean that in more than one way) crew.  They really look out for me and I thank them for it! 

By the time we got to town a crowd had gathered at the taxidermist office to see the feline and hear the story.  I think I overheard Chad mention that we could have used some bleachers to accommodate everyone.  Enjoy the pictures and I hope they were worth the story.

Have a great weekend!

As we greatly welcome in 2010, I’ve discovered the answer to the question of my last entry.  The answer wasn’t necessarily an answer we came up with individually or as a team here at VO.  The decision or decisions were made by the “boss” (you all know whom I’m referring).  I will offer this much, we’re “allowed” to go hunting for a good portion of the year and we don’t complain too much of the trade off.

First off, “the bosses” had us all decorate our homes with the typical holiday decorations.  Lonny was surprised by his “boss” by the intrduction of a smaller tree.  Larry’s “boss” once again had picked the exact location for the lawn decor for everyone to thoroughly enjoy as you pass by their lovely home.  My “boss” gets really excited by Christmas and tends to make every branch strain for the strength to hold up all of the ornaments.  However it was mentioned that our tree looked like an advertisement for the Cabelas ornament store thanks to “mother-n-law-boss”.

That just got things started.  Then comes the Xmas parties.  Now having us gone for a few months in the fall comes with the necessary price that we have to be seen in public with the “boss” once we return.  What better part of the year to take advantage of this than the Feliz Navidad season when everyone has an excuse to host a party.  I think that is important to the “bosses” to show that we really exist or survived.  We resist, but it’s a futal effort and thoughts of next hunting season keeps our strength up.

Now the big week comes between Christmas and New Years.  By now, we’re getting used to the fact that we are no where near being in charge but we see the football game in passing to take the trash out, or out to shovel the walkway of snow once more, or take out recycling, or run to the grocery store again or pick up the dog toys once again so nobody gets hurt.  You come to appreciate the chores that the “boss” sends you on like snowblowing where you can’t hear anyone or speak to anyone and your mind can wonder back to the last hunt of the season.  Then you run out of gas and it’s back to reality.

After the smoke clears, you reflect back on the past several weeks and realize that it was a clean shot and you came away with a successful hunt.  I know that had family in town from both sides and it was one of the best holiday season that I’ve experienced.  Maybe having acquired my medical condition a year ago put it in perspective for me and my “boss” but we try not to take the important things for granted like our family and extended Steamboat family.  We here at the VO family hope that you had as equally as good as holiday season that we experienced.  May you have a healthy and prosperous 2010!

The VO Team

We finally have made it to town and we’re trying to figure out how to melt back into society here in Northwest Colorado.  We’ve made the reintroductions to our wives and significant others.  This happens every year and it usually takes a week or two to get reacclimated.  We apologize to those that we need to catch up with and want to say “Thanks” to all of you who shared a piece of your Fall elk hunting with us.

I’ll share the full story in another update, but I have to give a big thanks to Bo Finley with All Things Outdoors, Triple Cross Ranch and guess you would call him my guide Jay Presti and my sister, Leigh Ann, for an awesome trip to Texas for a Whitetail hunt of a lifetime a couple weeks ago.  The hospitality and the opportunity was greatly appreciated to take the biggest Whitetail I’ve ever harvested. 

Stay tuned for more news and updates.  I’ll be making the attempt to put together a “Best Of” album from VO this Fall.  I hope that everyone continues to have a good Fall/Winter of hunting.

Happy Holidays from everyone here at VO!

All good things must come to an end?  I say “No!”  OK, maybe it’s the end of our first season at Wolf Mountain Ranch, but it’s just the start of the next generation of hunting for us here at Vanatta Outfitters.  Sure, we as hunters are sad to see the season come to a close, but the stories created this fall on the ranch will be etched in our memories like the Peruvian sheephearder carvings of pretty naked girls from their home country (don’t know if I need visit Peru if those guys are accurate artist).

We ended the season hunting with friends (same way we started).  Our dearest campanions were there all the way – the elk.  I have to say that after 10 years of guiding with VO on several ranches, I’m almost left speechless when it comes to describing WMR and the experiences that we shared here in the Fall, 2009. 

One hunt does stand out and I want to share it with you in a brief fashion.  We had on the schedule to film a hunt this past week with Blue Collar Adventures with my sister being the featured hunter guided by the best – no not Dirk, I wouldn’t let him out alone with my sister.  After a long year with my battle with the “Melon Cancer” (I’m doing good by the way), this was a fitting close to a great season.

With only a short window of opportunity to hunt, we rolled right into the woods as quickly as they could unload, do make up, wardrobe – actually they were ready and I had to wake up from a nap.  We headed out to my “Honeyhole” and as I turned off the buggy a bull bugled below us.  The hunt was on!  After several hours of rain, clouds, belly crawling to 100 yards of the bull only to be eyeballed by a cow who alerted the herd, success was finally had due to an awesome shot from Leigh Ann.  Thank goodness, Jay, who was the star of the show last year and the cameraman this year, had gotten himself in shape enough to keep up without too much whining and captured the unbelievable hunt.

Keep an eye out in the picture and videos for the clips of the hunt.  Sister, thank you for making the last hunt of this season for me the best and most memorable hunt that a brother could ask for – great shot! 

Thanks to all of you that continue to come back to the VO website!  If all of the action above wasn’t enough, Jay and Leigh Ann hooked me up to film a Texas whitetail hunt in two weeks.  Wow, the pressure turns on the guide to being guided.  Stay tuned!

Happy Hunting!

Brad and the VO Crew

I wanted to give everyone a head’s up that we’ve posted the television edited version of the Blue Collar Adventures elk hunt.  We are filming again this fall and hope to have more video available shortly after the season.  Give us another week or two and we’ll have more pictures from this season – it’s not over yet and we’re not ready for it to be!

Happy hunting from VO!

It’s that time of the season that we as guides start to dread that empty feeling of the hunts coming to an end.  For those of you whom have hunted with us, you know that we live for this.  The snow is starting to gather a little depth in the higher elevations and showing signs of pushing even more onto the ranch.  The cows have began to congregate into bigger herds, the bulls still sing out with random bugles and the smell of fall is definitely in the air.

With one week left of hunting and 5 days until we begin our next hunt, we can’t wait to see what new bulls will have arrived on the ranch come Monday.  I’ve updated some of the pictures to help catch us up to speed in the photo gallery, however we’re still missing a few from the Marabou Wrangler.  In a few weeks, I’ll get a “Best Of The Season” for everyone.

Thanks for visiting us on the website and we’ll post more as we have more computer time.

Happy Hunting!

Brad & The VO Crew