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!

I would like to thank Larry Sanford for allowing me to volunteer at this year’s antelope hunt. I had a great time working with Dan Brown again and some of the other volunteers! It was fun to fellowship with old friends and make a few new ones too. It was also great to look at the excitement in people’s faces as they returned to the check-in station with their harvest, and of course listen to the stories of how they got their antelope! I saw a great video of a young lady shooting her antelope and then jumping up and down with joy! I hope that video will be shown at the next banquet. It was a time filled with fun and laughter. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless all the volunteers, members, and their families! I hope to see you all again at another Outdoor Buddies event!

-Sincerely, Todd Bacon

At 75 years old I decided I wanted to hunt because my husband Rob spends a lot of time with Outdoor Buddies as an able-bodied guide. He works with Dwaine Robey and Patrick Nichols to coordinate and guide big game hunts for mobility impaired hunters in the Westcliffe area. This demands a lot of his personal time and expenses related to using his personal vehicle for the hunts. However, Rob finds it very rewarding to assist those who need some help to be able to enjoy outdoor experiences and make everlasting memories.

I have been a member of Outdoor Buddies for many years and have helped with meals and functions but never hunted. I applied for elk and deer licenses for the first time this year and was awarded both, YEAH!!!

That meant that Rob had to buy me a rifle that would handle both and we decided on the 6.5 Creedmoor. Then we had to go buy all the other stuff; bullet, boots, vest, jacket and backpack. Right before we left the house, Rob took the picture of me with my colors

Now that I have my rifle it was time to sight it in. I have never shot a rifle with a scope before and it was a learning experience. I couldn’t find anything in the scope, it just kept jumping around. Practice makes perfect, after 20 shots I was within a softball size target at 100 yards and that was enough for that day. I went home with a bruise the size of a softball on my upper arms because I wasn’t holding the butt of the rifle tight to my arm.

Had to wait for my arm to heal, about 3 or 4 weeks, then we went back to shoot some more. By this time, I had to shoot holding the rifle standing up instead of sitting at the bench. This is when Rob told me “It’s different putting the cross hairs on an animal than a target and the recoil would disappear.”

Now it was time for my first hunt and we left to go to the ranch.

Just my luck, right before we got to the gate there were 4 nice does and when we got into the ranch there wasn’t any to be found, now you know why it’s called hunting! We found a place to sit and watch for the deer and the owner of the ranch stopped by to introduce himself. He told us that the deer had been showing up a little later in the day and it was probably because we had a full moon.

We decide to go for breakfast and stall for a few hours and arrived back at the ranch about 1:30. We drove around the ranch opening gates and closing gates and I realized how much work hunting is, I never gave Rob credit for all the work it takes to hunt. We still have not seen any deer so we stopped by and talked with the owner, he said “about a half an hour after we left, the deer showed up for about an hour.” We told him we would wait till later the next morning.

We got to sleep in the next morning and showed up at the ranch about 9:30 and right there at the entrance were 5 deer at 137 yards. Rob told me to go and get ready to shoot, but wait until it gets out from behind the tree. I was still having a little problem finding it in the scope. I was told “look at the deer and bring the rifle up to it”, and there it was just walking out from behind the tree. My fear was that I might wound her and she would run away, so I said a prayer that it would be an instant kill. I was feeling like I would miss my chance if I waited any longer, so I took my shot and I didn’t feel the recoil and down she went. Rob was right, it was very different shooting at an animal rather than a target. I was exhilarated; I had never felt like this before!

Come on Elk, I am ready for you!

Thank you, Outdoor Buddies, for all you do for our Wounded Warriors and other disabled hunters!

-LeeAnn Adams

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.

Ah the good ol’ fashioned pot roast. Loved by anyone who wants a home cooked meal at the end of a busy day with having to really cook a home cooked meal. Mississippi pot roast is a twist on your classic mid-west style pot roast that adds pepperoncini peppers and is usually served over mashed potatoes or rice and the leftovers are great simply served on a piece of toast for a quick lunch. As this is meant to be a quick and easy meal, the ingredients reflect that…pre-mixed spice packets, canned peppers, and I add a little stock for wild game applications. Perfect for any level of home cooking skills.

Place the meat in a slow cooker/crock pot. Add stock to the pot. Top meat with seasonings and peppers. Turn your slow cooker on low heat for 8 hrs. The roast will be ready when the meat is easy to pull apart with two forks, some roasts or cuts will require more time so just check it at 8 hrs and then every half hour after that if it needs more time. And that’s it! Simple as it gets.

Serves: 6-8

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