Nothing! Not even aa damn stick of jerkey---and only two days left on our tags! I'm so sick of the rich-rich--mine-mine attitude that seems to have bought up so much private land here in southern Colorado...
I'm originally from Montana, but the old-timers I've met here say it wasn't much different not too long ago than where I came from...
"Have a private land tag? Sure---got my herd tucked up into that draw over there--but we see plenty of game crossing over in this direction. Take whatever you can tag, it keeps 'em out of the hay stacks."
But now?? "We only have guided hunts--it's gonna cost you X-dollars each for the morning to take you out to a spot to sit" -OR- "Oh, we don't
hunt our land--we bought it so we can come up here on the weekends and watch all the pretty animals..."
Guess what--I'm not interested in supporting some twit's 10,000 sq. foot weekend "hunting lodge" so all his buddies can fly in from who-knows-where, or sympathyzing with some other moron with Disney-delusions. But I wouldn't mind putting a little meat on the freaking table. Man, I'm sick of people who think they just "need to get a piece of the country", experience nature, whatever twisted little story they like to tell themselves, but will stop at nothing to take
the country way out of the country they want a part of so badly, and think cash earns the right to. All hail the all-mighty dollar...
/Rant (maybe...)
Had no choice but to take 4th season draw this year (private land only tag) because my wife was due with our little girl somewhere right in between 2nd and 3rd general season---wasn't about to be out stomping around the mountains during that time (right on time, too--Oct 13). And wasn't too worried--I figured there HAD to be some decent land owners here somewhere that would atleast let my son fill his tag--first time going after his own elk. Nope--I was wrong. All the decent folk here have been bought out and sent packing. If you don't have plenty of green bills hanging out of your pockets when you pull up, you don't even get to look over their fence. Out of four districts our tag covers, a month worth and hundreds of miles driven trying to contact people, make arrangements, and try to possibly work out someplace that might let us walk a ridgeline, and we're still SOL. Out-of-state trophy-hunters coupled with plenty of financial backing have effectively ruined and taken a near-monopoly on one whole section of what was great hunting and the last opportunity for some of us average working-class types to put some winter meat in the freezer. So unless something truly amazing happens in the next 36 hours, looks like its just gonna be.... beef....
/RANT (for real... for now anyway...)