Bringin' down the big ones
By Christy Wulf
Staff writer
Bob Herzet of Hillsboro has been waiting for nine years to go antelope hunting. He finally got a permit this year and on Sept. 25, he shot an antelope in less than an hour.
The Colorado Department of Hunting and Fishing gave Herzet some numbers of property owners in south central Colorado who were having problems with antelope. "The drought had an effect on the animals," he said. He found a property in south central Colorado, near Monte Vista.
According to Herzet, only about 40 percent of the tags available for the Colorado Department of Hunting and Fishing go to non-residents.
The antelope he shot was about 130 pounds live weight. "That's pretty big for an antelope," said Herzet. "The horns weren't long, but they had a real heavy mass. I can't even reach around them."
Herzet processes the game himself, making most of it into steaks and roasts, and what's left into burger. They have two freezers for the meat.
"My wife likes antelope the best," he said.
Herzet, his 15-year-old son Brett, and six others went elk hunting Oct. 9.
Brett said that this was his third elk hunt. "It was fun," he said, "but it takes a lot of physical effort."
One of the elk they brought down was a six-by-six, according to Herzet.
"We don't really know the weight of it, but one of the guys with us raises cattle, and he said it was about 900 pounds," said Herzet.
Two of the men couldn't hunt that day, and it took the remaining six to get the elk into the truck. "It was all we could do to load him up once he was field dressed," said Herzet.
Herzet has been hunting or tagging along for about 42 years. His first big game hunt was in 1975 for deer. In 1986, Herzet went on his first elk hunt, and has been 10 times in the past 18 years. "This was my first bull, though," he said.
