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Hoov's 2008 Season Line-Up

The draws for the 2008 season did not treat me well, but I still have a few solid hunts lined up.

• Alaska Sheep and Grizzly.

  This year I should finally be able to take the Dall Sheep and Grizzly hunt I have had booked since 2005. It was originally scheduled for August, 2007, but I happily postponed it to welcome our new daughter. I leave for the hunt, with John Peterson's Bristol Bay Outfitters, on August 6, the day after Molly's 1st birthday.
  
  Hopefully 8 months of 7-day-per-week workouts and 4am wake-up times will have gotten me close to being ready. The 20 pounds I lost in the process won't be missed while I'm dragging myself up and down the hills.
  
  My .300 WinMag will join me for this trip.

• Colorado mule deer.

  Still trying to figure this one out. I drew a 3rd-season private-land only tag on my 2nd choice. If I can finalize access, I should have a great hunt, but it's still up in the air. This could be a great inaugural trip for my Remington 700 LSS in .257 Weatherby.

• Colorado elk.

  I drew a 4th season tag this year, a season I've never hunted. In theory, snow will have concentrated the elk and pushed them down in to more accessible areas, offering a good hunt. The .300 will again get the call on this hunt.

• Nebraska whitetails.

  I usually do a Mid-November whitetail hunt for rutting bucks. But since my Colorado elk season conflicts with the Nebraska firearms season, I may try to buy an over-the-counter muzzleloader tag for the month-long December black powder season.

The sheep and grizzly hunt will be huge, and the Colorado hunts offers some great potential as well, but it still feels like kind of a light season. I may also add a Wyoming mule deer hunt in a non-trophy area where leftover tags are easy to come by. This would help fill the slow September - October timeframe for me.