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The people who I
admire the most are the ones who are not afraid to chase a dream. I
guess part of the affection I have for those who throw caution to
the wind can be traced back to my days of competing in roping and
rodeo events. Cowboys just are that way, independent, headstrong and
willing to go out on their own when working for the "other" guy
would be a sure way to put food on the table. We have a way of
spotting each other in a crowd, will trust one another with our
lives and tend to end up more like friends than competitors even if
we are chasing the same dream.
My
first big game hunt of the 2003 season will be outfitted by
Kyle and LeVonne Bell of Folsom Outfitters. If you've ever met
Kyle you know that he is the epitome of a cowboy. Though small in
stature, he has a big heart. The first time I met him was at a large
hunting show in Ft. Worth, Texas. Kyle had just left a steady job
with another outfitter to give the business a try on his own,
fulfilling a dream he had been wishing on since leaving his home
state of Texas several years before. I'm a pretty good judge of
character and instantly found his wit and knowledge of hunting a
desirable trait. (A guy just can't have enough friends who hunt
private land in New Mexico and have a sense of humor, can he?) He
had just started his outfitter business that same year and money was
short. I wanted to design a web site to help get his outfit off the
ground, he wanted to make sure there were groceries on the table
before spending the money. It wasn't our year so we agreed to stay
in touch until the time was right. Though our business dealings were
to be put off for a year, I felt like I'd made a friend. I knew that
I hadn't heard the last of Kyle Bell.
Enter
another year later. Kyle called every once in a while to let me know
how things were going for him and his outfit. He had a great first
year and we came to an agreement on some advertising and web site
work. Once we had discussed the details, I asked him about the hunts
he had finished recently. His antelope hunts were a huge success and
perked my interest. Kyle hunts on over 20,000 acres of some of the
best antelope habitat in New Mexico. He had taken a couple of goats
that would easily qualify for the record books of Boone & Crockett.
I asked him if he would have any bow hunters for 2003 and found he
had none booked. He told me if I put in for the archery draw hunt
and drew a tag I had a real good chance of taking a good antelope
before the rifles started going off some two weeks later. I
immediately booked a hunt for 2003 with him. After putting in for
the New Mexico Archery Antelope limited tag draw, I was successful
in obtaining a permit. My hunt will begin on August 9th and run
through the 13th. I'll be leaving town for the 10 hour drive to
Folsom, New Mexico on the 8th.
Kyle
has been doing some scouting and has pinpointed where several trophy
class bucks are watering. The hot, dry weather has kept them coming
to the waterholes we will be hunting on a regular basis and should
make for some interesting video and still pictures. I'm excited
about this opportunity and look forward to spending some time with
Kyle, LeVonne and my newest hunting buddy, Ben, their newborn son.
My anticipation for this hunt has been so intense I gave it a name,
Folsom Fever. Symptoms associated with Folsom Fever include many
hours of sleepless nights going over harvest records, reading up on
antelope hunting tactics, visiting discussion forums reading
opinions of experienced speed goat hunters and the ever present
feeling that you're three hours into the drive West before you
realize you forgot to load your bow. I think a week in New Mexico
will be just the cure. Hunting in a good area that produces record
book game year after year is always fun and therapeutic. Having the
company of good friends at the same time just makes it even better.
One
aspect of this hunt that will be new to this author is the way it
will be covered. I'll have access to a phone line every night which
will give me a chance to make this hunt TexasOutdoorsman.com's first
"LIVE" hunt. "LIVE" hunts on the Internet are nothing new. I think
my friend Robert
Hogue of Bowhunting.net fame may have been the first to do it,
but many others have followed. Several hunting related web sites
have covered hunts in this fashion. Most are not truly "LIVE",
rather the hunter updates the day's events each evening. On this
hunt, I will be documenting my hunt and posting an update to this
article each evening. It's about as "LIVE" as I'm capable of
handling at the moment! Visitors to the site can check back at the
end of each day and see how the hunt unfolds. I have the laptop down
on my gear list for the first time in my career. This is new ground
and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I'm going to. The only
difference is that you will be enjoying it in the comfort of your
home or office and I'll be sweating away several pounds in New
Mexico!
At full draw,
Tyge Floyd, Editor |
