At the most recent board meeting, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the in-person annual banquet in 2021 due to ongoing concerns related to COVID-19. Although we are hopeful and optimistic that conditions will improve in the next five months, we are required to make many decisions related to the banquet far in advance, and therefore must make our decision on the banquet early based on the information currently available.

We will continue to host as many of our events and programs as possible, in keeping with local guidelines and keeping our members and volunteers safe. Thank you for your understanding; we regret having to make this decision and look forward to simpler times ahead.

Please be aware that Outdoor Buddies will be following all state and local guidelines for our events, including the mandated use of masks and social distancing. If you have a fever or other flu-like symptoms, have traveled out of state in the past 2 weeks, or have been in close contact with anyone testing positive for COVID-19, please do not attend these events. Furthermore, if you are in a high-risk category, carefully consider your risk before attending. Participants will be required to sign a waiver prior to attending events until further notice.

We will be continuing to update our events and precautions as the situation develops. Thank you for your patience, optimism, and understanding. Hope all is well with you and yours!

October 3, 2020

I had a great time on my first antelope hunt with Outdoor Buddies!

The hunt was on a ranch north of Fort Collins. I was worried that the hunt might be cancelled due to all the fires that were going on near the hunt location, but the morning of the hunt was clear and beautiful.

My husband loves to hunt, so I asked him to come along with me for moral support.

He and I met my guide, Shayne Heckman and her husband around 7am at the “base camp." My husband and I piled into the back seat of Shayne’s truck and set out on our hunt.

Shayne is very knowledgeable of the area and it didn’t take long for us to find a small herd, consisting of one buck and several does, hanging out on top of a hill. They were too far for me to get a good shot, so we decided to move in a little closer. I watched as they spotted us and started walking away.

Due to my physical impairments, I have to shoot from the vehicle. I have an accommodations permit issued by Colorado Parks and Wildlife authorizing me to shoot from the vehicle.

Shayne angled the truck so that I could get a good shot. I was keeping my fingers crossed hoping that the animals did not take off running. Luckily the pronghorns decided we were not going to be a threat to them and decided to stop and eat.

This gave me ample time to get my gun set up and get them sighted in my scope. My husband used a range finder to see how far away they were. He told me they were 167 yards away. Knowing that, I found the one I wanted to shoot. It was standing broadside presenting me an opportunity for a good shot.

I got my gun into position found the kill zone in my scope, took a couple of deep breaths, and with my last exhale I gently squeezed the trigger. When I looked up from my scope to see if I had hit her, I saw her drop right where she had been standing!

I couldn’t believe I had killed my first big game animal and with the first shot!

Everyone in the truck celebrated with high-fives!

After taking a few pictures with a beautiful skyline as our backdrop, we took the pronghorn back to base camp where Shayne, her husband, and my husband field dressed, skinned and quartered her for us to take home.

What a day! What an amazing experience thanks to Outdoor Buddies! They made a dream come true. You guys are the best!

We want to thank the Durango Herald for their kind words and coverage of the Outdoor Buddies hunts near Bayfield, Colorado. We appreciate you reaching your local community to let people know about the Outdoor Buddies program, our mission, and our continuing gratitude for volunteers who make it all possible. If you haven't gotten the chance to read Shannon's article, click the link below to check it out!

I would like to thank Jim Piper and Outdoor Buddies for helping me go on my first cow elk hunt. My dad, brother and I travelled to Fairplay, Colorado. Jim and his friend got us on a large herd of elk. We waited and watched them for several hours as the herd worked their way to us. I made a good shot on a mature cow.

My brother Hunter quartered the elk up for me. We planned on leaving the next morning. We woke up the next morning to a little bit of snow, as soon as we left we were in a lot of snow. My dad was real nervous driving those mountain roads since we are from Missouri. Somehow we made it down the mountain. I love coming to Colorado, it is always an adventure and beautiful. I am also excited about eating my elk, and feeding my family. We have never had elk meat.

Again, thank you Outdoor Buddies.

Year-end is almost here and many of us are considering making tax-deductible donations to our favorite charitable organizations. Please consider making a donation to Outdoor Buddies to help offset expenses for our programs. Your contribution will help allow us to continue and expand services to those in need of assistance in order to enjoy the great Colorado outdoors.

A good way to make a tax-deductible donation to Outdoor Buddies is through the Wet Mountain Valley Community Foundation’s (WMVCF) annual Spirit Campaign. That way, the Foundation will match a portion of your donation.

The Wet Mountain Valley Community Foundation Spirit Campaign, which runs through December 31, has become one of the most important and widely recognized activities of the Wet Mountain Valley Community Foundation. Individual contributions are enhanced by matching funds to provide critical financial support for our community’s nonprofits.

The rate of the match gift from the Matching Fund varies each year and is based on Matching Fund income and total donations. The match percentage is determined in January, after all donations have been collected. Once determined, we apply that rate to the first $2,020 per donation, per family. If you donate more than $2,020 to one or more nonprofits, the match amount will be equally shared among the nonprofits you have designated.

You can also donate to the Spirit Campaign online by visiting: https://www.wmvcf.org/

If you choose to mail in your donation please clip the coupon on the dotted lines, fill out the form, and send it along with your check to the address shown below.

If you’ve never heard of Italian beef sandwiches, I genuinely feel sorry for your soul. You need to fix that by making this recipe. They are staple around Chicago and New York and they are the epitome of satisfaction. I developed this recipe originally for wild turkey legs as they are a tougher, dark cut of meat. However it works very well for those tougher unloved front quarter roasts or even bottom round roasts off the hind quarter of elk, deer, or antelope. This recipe is very simple and achievable for all levels of home cooking; it involves putting meat and premixed spice seasoning packets (available cheap at most grocery stores) in a crock pot and then going about your day until you are ready for dinner. This is a great weeknight dinner as it can be prepped quickly in the morning and ready when you get home.

Ingredients:

Alternate spice mix if you have spices at home and don’t want to run to the store for pre-mixed Italian Dressing seasoning:

*You are looking for around 2 oz total of seasoning mix here*

Lay meat in large slow cooker, top with chopped onions. Add all ingredients except lard. When adding broth, do not submerge meat completely. Depending on the size of your slow cooker/crock pot, you may need less broth than called for above. If needed, add enough water to nearly cover meat (2-4 cups max without adding more beef broth). This would only be needed with a very large slow cooker.

Set slow cooker on high and cook until meat can be easily shredded/pulled apart (6-8 hrs). You will know the meat is ready when you can easily pull meat apart using two forks pulling in opposite directions. Turn slow cooker on low or "keep warm" setting if available. Remove meat with tongs and, using two forks, pull meat apart to shred into small - medium sized chunks. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker and stir in lard (or butter) to coat meat.

Toast hoagie rolls in oven, melt provolone cheese in split rolls. Crust should be crispy, inside should be steaming hot. Remove from oven and add meat to roll, top with desired pepper mix. To serve "wet", ladle “au jus” (juice) from the slow cooker over sandwich or serve with au jus on the side for dipping.

Serves: +/- 6

Raffle to be rescheduled to a later date.

Meetings are held from 6:30pm-8:30pm at the locations and dates below.