For several years, I’ve forgotten to apply for big game licenses. I usually buy a general deer and a general elk license over the counter, and in the past, I’ve been able to pick up an antelope tag for the area around my house from the leftovers.
But for the last few years, all the antelope licenses in that area have been scarfed up in the draw. That leaves me out of luck for antelope, unless I want to drive to some far-flung area with very little public access.
This year, I finally remembered, and it’s a good thing I did. This is the first year my oldest son is able to hunt big game, and he wants to go after an antelope. When I mentioned to my wife that I was going to enter Colby in the draw, she asked me to apply for her, too. So now we have three license applications in the hopper.
We only applied for the area where our house is, but I think we’re pretty likely to get it. Even though the licenses have been sold out the last few years, there still haven’t been enough other people who put in for it as a first choice to fill the quota. Since we applied as a first choice, we’re all but guaranteed to draw.
So between now and September 1, all three of us are going to have to get out to the shooting range to practice. Colby has never shot the .243 I plan to let him use, and Amy hasn’t fired it for about a decade. I’m more than a little rusty with my .270, too. So that gives us plenty to do over the summer.
I’d love to let Colby hunt a goat with his bow, but he’s still a few pounds short of the minimum draw weight. He might be able to get there by hunting season, but hunting antelope with a bow is tough work. It might be better to ease him into big game with a rifle hunt first.
So we’ll practice with the rifles while we’re waiting for the license draw.
Man, I can’t wait for fall.
