Please be aware that Outdoor Buddies will be following all state and local guidelines for our events. 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.

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!

Outdoor Buddies has limited hunting opportunities. To request a deer, elk or pronghorn hunt slot please click on one or more of the links below and fill out the requested information.

Requests received by 2/28/22 will have priority over those received after that date.

Participants in Outdoor Buddies sponsored big game hunts must be registered members of Outdoor Buddies. Registration must have been completed prior to being considered for a big game hunt.

Participants are expected to provide their own transportation to/from and during the hunt, unless other arrangements are made in advance, and pay personal expenses including required licenses. Outdoor Buddies will provide a location to hunt and an able-bodied helper/guide.

If you are selected for a hunt with Outdoor Buddies on private property, returning to this property for a future hunt without our approval is strictly prohibited. This action may disqualify you from any future hunts with Outdoor Buddies.

All Outdoor Buddies sponsored big game hunts are “No Smoking” activities.

The Outdoor Buddies Big Game Hunt Committee will review all requests received and you will be notified if you were selected or not via email.

If you are selected for a hunt slot, we will let you know what hunt unit to apply for. If you draw a license from the state we will work with you to schedule the details of the hunt. Please do not apply for a license for your requested hunt until your hunt is confirmed.

If you are selected for, and accept a hunt with Outdoor Buddies and then cancel, you will not be eligible to hunt with Outdoor Buddies the following year. Please note – we will review all cases and will not apply this rule to valid medical or health related issues.

Applicants may designate an area where he/she would prefer to hunt, however it may not be possible to schedule that location due to the limited number of opportunities at each hunt location. Please note - by selecting "no preference" on your hunt location, you will increase your odds of being selected for a hunt.

I loved going on this trip. It was fast paced and most importantly fun. We started on a chilly morning and got all geared up. From there our guide Nick told us a bit of safety we should follow and started hunting. We covered quite a bit of ground and glassed looking for some. We saw a couple antelope and started stalking them. We used a fake doe prop to try and get within range but it didn’t work out. Although the stalk did not work out, it was really fun to walk and see so many of them. We saw a couple more larger groups but again had no luck getting close enough for a good shot.

After a while we finally managed to get in position for a shot at a doe and got ready to shoot. The very last one stopped and I took a 230 yard shot. Went a little low due to bullet drop but was still effective. A second shot at 71 yards and the hunt was over. We spent some time taking pictures and then proceeded to skin and quarter the doe. When we got home, my dad finished taking care of the meat. We ate some that night and it was fabulous. Overall, this was a great experience and I would love to go again.

After drawing a tag for deer in the Durango, Colorado area I was given the name of my hunt guide by Dan Brown. I made contact with Brad Harper and we discussed the details of my hunt. Brad had scheduled me to hunt on November 6th & 7th. On November 5th, I departed my home in Aurora, CO for Durango. I have been a Colorado resident since 1971 and have never hunted farther south in that part of the state than Monarch Pass. The route that Brad recommended took me over Poncha Pass and Wolf Creek Pass. As I traveled, I saw some beautiful country that I had never seen before. Also, I recognized that this was prime mule deer territory.

After arriving in Durango, I found my motel and contacted Brad for further details. He had scheduled a get together with his hunting crew and another Outdoor Buddies hunter, Jim Piper, who I knew very well. Since I was not familiar with the Durango area, Brad sent one of his hunt team, Cole Davis, to my motel to lead me to the party. We all met at a local pizza house and enjoyed pizza and refreshments. I will say that going back to my motel was an adventure in itself. I set my alarm for 0430 and loaded my truck and prepared to go to Bayfield, CO, which is 20 miles east of Durango, where we would meet and head out to our respective areas for our hunts.

Unfortunately my truck decided not to co-operate THAT morning. I called Brad and advised him of my situation. He told me to stand by, he was on his way. Because we were late getting started and I missed the rendezvous in Bayfield, Brad took us directly to the area I would be starting in. We arrived at that location and were met by one of his team, Cody Robertson and we began, what was for me, a very, very interesting morning.

We set up on a small field. As dawn approached, I looked across that field to a stand of trees and saw, to me, the epitome of a mature mule deer buck, standing just inside those trees. No, I didn’t have a buck tag. Only does for me this year. No does showed at that location, so, we moved to another nearby. As we watched this small field, 3 does appeared in the early morning light. I put my scope on them and Brad suggested that we wait and see what they were going to do. They started moving toward us at a leisurely pace as more light appeared. They finally stopped about 200 yards from our position.

I again sighted in on the group and picked the one I would go for. When I was ready, Brad said go ahead and shoot. This is where the FUN began. As I took off the safety and slowly squeezed the trigger, the only thing that happened was a CLICK. A misfire. I recycled another round, and I got the same reaction, CLICK. Another misfire. This happened 2 more times. Needless to say, I was very disappointed, and surprised. In all my years as a hunter this had never happened to me. Four misfires back to back. At this point I should preface my problem. The ammo I was using came from an independent ammo supplier. Due to the shortage of ammo in the stores, I had to go to this ammo supplier. I will say, in their defense, that they did send me a new full box of ammo after I called them.

So, on to another area. As we were driving around, one of Brads’ team, who was following us, spotted some deer in the trees to our left. We stopped, and Brad went back and talked with him. At this point I should say that Josh Robertson, another of Brad’s lads, and riding with us was busy scoping out the terrain for deer. I saw one lone deer feeding below us. Something I forgot earlier--in my rush to get one the road for the hunt, we forgot to include my gun bag in the truck. So, I now had extra ammo with me for the next chance. Again, fortunately, Brad also shoots the same caliber that I was using for this hunt, and he spotted me 4 more rounds for me to use.

I put the scope on this deer and Brand ranged her at 223 yds. I set up and fired. Down she went. Brad told me to put another round in her. As I was cycling for another shot, she got up and started into the high brush immediately behind her. We watched for her to exit the high stuff, but we did not see her again at that point. So, we drove down to where she had fallen to look for blood. Brad and Cole started tracking. We could not find the deer. I could not assist them due to my mobility issues. To show you how diligent my guides were, Brad ask me if it was okay for him to shoot my deer, if they found her still alive, and I said yes because I have a Track and Dispatch permit on my deer.

Shortly we had 4 people trying to find my animal. Since they couldn’t find her in the immediate area where we were, Brad called the landowner of the property that my deer may have gotten to. As an aside, when I fired at the deer I was trying to harvest, the woods immediately behind our area exploded with departing animals. More than a dozen deer were bedded in that timber. Since I stayed in the truck, I took a little snooze. An hour and a half later, I was awakened by Brad. He had a smile on his face and said “We got her.”

They had field dressed the deer and I asked if they could skin it for me. Brad said yes and he and Cole proceeded to do that. What happened next is something I have never thought of in regard to prepping game. We went to a car wash in Bayfield and Brad hosed down the carcass. We picked up some ice and packed it around the deer and returned to my motel and put her in the back of my truck for my return to Denver the next morning.

But the story doesn’t end there.  I got up early to make the return trip and my truck was DEAD again. It’s 5 a.m.. SO, because I didn’t want to, I called Brad, the only phone number I had for there. I told him my problem and he was kind enough to say he would come over and help me. I knew that I needed a new battery, and I didn’t know where the parts stores were in Durango. Brad informed me that the stores didn’t open until 8. He arrived shortly, and, as we had done before, jumped my truck and finally got it started. I followed him to the nearest store and purchased a new battery that they kindly installed and I was good to go.

I cannot say enough good things about Brad and his team of guides (Josh Kitchen, Cole Davis, and last but not least Cody Robertson). Without these guys I would never have had, probably, the best deer hunt I’ve had since I was a young fellow. If you get the chance to hunt the Durango area on a mobility impaired hunt with Outdoor Buddies, do it. You will be glad you did, because of Outdoor Buddies hunt guides like Brad Harper and his merry warriors. Again, thanks to Outdoor Buddies and their hunt coordinators for allowing me this opportunity, and God Bless.

I would first like to thank Outdoor Buddies, Mary Murphy Ranch for donating the hunt and Sam Barnes (Guide Outfitter at Mary Murphy Ranch) for my first guided hunt and what a hunt it turned out to be!

I met up with my guide Sam at 6:00 a.m. and we took off from the camp. We were going down a gravel road in Sam’s four wheeler when we stopped for a number of elk crossing the road right in front of us. We started on our way again and came across a half dozen elk. We walked a quarter mile and made it to our sitting spot. I looked off to the West, following Sam’s gaze. It was quite a sight to behold when I saw approximately 1,000 elk stretching from the spot in the road where we stopped for the elk, to the top of the mountain. The elk were one in back of the other and the bulls were bugling up and down the line. It was the first time I ever witnessed bulls bugling in the wild. We called it a morning a few hours later with no cows in range.

We met back at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon. It was 35 degrees and the skies were clear. Sam took me to a different spot on the four wheeler. We took a ten minute walk then through a bunch of shrubbery. This is when you really appreciate your guide leading you through. We ended up on the side of the mountain at a clearing with a small rock outcropping that opened up to a small valley and creek below us with higher mountains to our north. I sat on a rock that was perfect to sit on, well without a cushion! Sam laid in a spot to the right of me to conceal himself.

It was pretty slow going until about 4:15 when seven cows showed up. They were coming over the mountains to the north of us. The elk were pretty slow coming down and we were afraid it was going to get dark before they would be in shooting range. Sam decided to give his call a try. One of the elk was young and came trotting down and through the creek to our side. It veered off to the right of us. A minute or two later the other cows came through the creek. They were making their way to us. Sam checked the yardage. He told me to hold on 330 yards. The shadows were growing as the cows kept coming toward us. Sam finally gave me the ‘go ahead’ at 300 yards.

I was shooting off the shooting stick that Sam had given me. This was also a first for me but, surely not the last! I put my shot just behind the shoulder with my 270. The cow dropped. It was a good elk. I was glad to get my elk and with a good shot! We walked to the four-wheeler as it was getting dark, field dressed and loaded my elk for the conclusion of a fantastic hunt!

Venison heart is an often overlooked and undervalued cut of meat. Many hunters consider it offal and leave it in the field along with the gut pile. If you’ve eaten venison heart before, then you are already “in the know”. Use this marinade and thank me later. If you’ve been leaving your hearts in the field, I forgive you. Now stop it and make this recipe. The marinade comes from my mom. She used to use it to marinate sirloin steaks for us when we were young and it is truly a marinade that any Midwest matriarch would approve of.

There are different schools of thought here but personally I like to make my wild game hearts into flat slabs of meat before I even put them up in the freezer. To do this, cut the top off the heart to remove the arteries and veins and expose the ventricles and atriums inside (the hollow chambers within the heart). Pick a spot and cut down one side of the heart, top to bottom. Normally I make two cuts on opposing sides to get the heart to lay flat. I prefer to remove all the connective tissue and essentially “skin” the top layer off all sides of the heart (inside and out). It can be a little unsightly, but once you make the necessary cuts to lay it flat and remove the outer layers, it will look like most any other cut of meat you’ve ever had.

• 1 ½ cups water

• ¾ cup soy sauce

• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

• 1 medium onion (white or yellow), chopped

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tsp dried parsley flakes

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1 tsp black pepper

Place all ingredients in a shallow dish or Ziploc bag, mix well. Add trimmed venison heart and refrigerate overnight.

Remove heart from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels, set out for 10 minutes prior to cooking. This can be done over a hot grill or a very hot cast iron pan (with a high smoke point oil). I like using the cast iron because the marinade can be used to deglaze the pan and then be reduced down to a wonderful sauce. That’s what we’ll cover here.

Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a pan (I use avocado oil because of it’s high smoke point but peanut oil or vegetable oil would be great too). Bring the oil up to a medium high heat and then add the heart. Heart needs to be cooked hot and fast so once you lay it in the pan, don’t move it around. For 1” thick cuts, cook for around 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare. It’s critical that the pan and oil are very hot here so you can develop some caramelization on the meat.

Remove the meat from the pan, place in loosely tented foil to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a slow/controlled pour, add the marinade to the pan. It should start an immediate boil. Reduce heat to medium and use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the bottom of the pan to release the stuck on bits of meat. Hold a gentle boil on the sauce, stirring occasionally until it has reduced by about 1/3. During this time, I like to add some fresh sage and/or thyme. Add a few tablespoons of butter and reduce heat again to medium low (you’ll want a simmer, but not a boil). Once the butter has melted and mixed well, strain the sauce to remove the solids.

Slice the heart into strips, plate, add the sauce, and enjoy!

We are continuing to work on wild game cookbooks and recipes to share with our members. As we look forward to 2022, we are interested in gathering more recipes to compile into a brand new cookbook in the new year. Nate Lucht has worked hard to put together this year's cookbook, and he would like to hear from you to gather your family's favorite wild game recipes to share with Outdoor Buddies members.

We are looking for interesting, tried-and-true recipes that can be shared in the 2022 cookbook and each month with the digital newsletter. Please give credit where credit is due if it's a recipe from a published source. We will select the best and most unique recipes to include in upcoming cookbooks and newsletters.

If your family has a recipe that you would like to share, please email to:

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