Simple and delicious wild game recipes including elk, venison, antelope, chukar and more.

What an absolute memorable hunting adventure we had being able to spend 17 days off the grid and truly living and breathing every moment. With two tags filled we were off and running to fill three more elk tags. Andy had a Cow Elk tag and I had a Cow Elk and Bull Elk tag which were all for early Muzzleloader.

This was the first year I had ever put in for Muzzleloader and the first year I had ever shot a Muzzleloader. I practiced and practiced prior to heading out. I had it dialed in and felt comfortable at a 100-150 yards. I was ready.

With months of preparation and logistics all dialed in, we were off and headed out of town to begin our adventure.

Opening day for us was September 17 but we left September 10 to head up to northern Nevada and meet up with a friend of ours who had a Muzzleloader Deer tag. By the time we reached camp he had already been successful in his harvest. We spent three days at deer camp and three days traveling a new area we had never been to. We saw herds of elk, sage hen, blue grouse and more mule deer.

We were truly living off the land. Field to Plate.

By September 14 we decided to pack up camp and head to elk camp which would be our new home while we filled our tags. Now granted we never really thought we would be lucky enough to harvest three more elk. I mean really that’s a TON of meat and fitting all that meat into the coolers was already pushing the limit, but I was optimistic.

It took us four hours to get all of our gear, vehicles and quads up to our camp. It was another four hours to setup camp but we did it with time to spare to get out and do some scouting.

For the next few days we heard elk bugling all morning and all evening long. It was on. Things were heating up. We saw more elk than I had ever seen in the past. Bulls and Cows. Large and Small.

We had a plan. It was Opening Day!

An hour in of cow calling, this Bull was getting HOT!

He screamed and screamed at that cow call. He was moving fast from the canyon and almost close to us. I still dream about how loud he was every night.

I had him dialed in to come through this perfect draw down low. I admit I was nervous. I couldn’t get my sticks right. I was fidgeting. But I knew once he busted through those trees, I had him at 120yards or less.

Well in a perfect situation a plan should come together, right?.

Instead of coming out down low where I was focused and ready to shoot, I hear the loudest scream busting through the trees coming direct from my right side. I’ll never forget it. This was the largest Bull I’ve ever seen at 30 yards direct from my right shoulder.

By the time I turn my muzzleloader to the right, he’s already busted me. HE’S GONE!

I beat myself up all the way back to camp, that night and the entire next day. All I could think about was that I wanted another opportunity to find that Bull.

I had a 340 class Bull at 20yards the next day but I was hilled out for the shot. By the time he saw me, he was headed to a different zip code. I was frustrated. All I could think about is how close I was to filling my tag on opening day. What I should have done differently. How I should have been setup with a wider spread. How I should have been faster. How I screwed up.

Three days later, we went back to where we found him. We started hunting the trees and cow calling that morning. We heard other Bulls responding to the call but it wasn’t him and then… we heard him. We spent hours inching closer and closer. The screaming was getting louder and louder. At this point there was no way he was going to fall for our cow call again and give me a second chance at 30yards. We had to chase him down.

We began that morning at 5:30am working our way up the canyon. Now it was 3:30pm. We had worked and worked to get to this point. Its peaceful in the trees. Quiet. You can hear a lot but so can everything else, and when you hear the sound of a herd breaking branches and running for their lives through what was once soundless, you know you’ve been busted.

Eleven cows filtered out through the trees, down the canyon and up the ridge. Three bulls also followed, but that wasn’t the Bull I wanted.

I hear “quick Kristy, here he comes”. He’s at 180yards and moving fast.

I couldn’t see anything but Cows and the other Bulls. And then I saw him. He was 190yards, 195yards, 200yards and then he stopped looked back at us broadside.

Did I shoot him? No. Why? I couldn’t do it. I should have taken a shot but at that moment I couldn’t. We worked all day on that Bull and I couldn’t do it. He turned and followed his Cows and then they were gone.

Hunting is tough. Killing an animal is tough. Taking a shot that I wasn’t sure of and wounding an animal is harder. I couldn’t do it. That moment, those experiences, that thrill is something that I will never forget.

It was the next day Andy shot his Cow. The day following, our friend shot his Cow. The next few days we didn’t see or hear any bugling.

I still had two tags to fill and I was bummed.

After eight days of 4:00am mornings and hiking hills, mountains and the trees I was getting burned out. I decided to go setup in a different area and glass. It was windy and hard to hear anything. I was discouraged, frustrated and short tempered. We parked for an hour and glassed. We saw nothing. We moved down lower and couldn’t hear anything. I told Any I wanted to head back to camp and work another area down low. He agreed.

As I started moving up the road, I saw something come over the ridge to my left. It was a Cow Elk. I thought for sure she saw me but she was focused on Andy who was less than 1/4 of a mile behind me. I quickly stopped my quad, grabbed my muzzleloader out of the gun bag got on my knee and took the shot.

BOOM. WHAP!

I watched her stand there. I reloaded my gun as best as I could. I was shaking bad. Telling myself to calm down, reload your gun Kristy. You’ve got this. You can do it on your own.

By the time I was done reloading and ready to go again she was down. One shot. I was thrilled. We said our prayers, offered thanks and began to get to work.

Heavy rains were forecasted for the weekend and were supposed to last up until September 30. I spent two more days looking for a Bull and two more days not seeing or hearing anything so I called it. I called the end of our amazing, wonderful, memorable adventure.

We were blessed to have so much meat and I was truly blessed to have an opportunity that a lot of people don’t have. I still wake up at night to the sound of that Bull crashing through the trees and screaming at me. That’ll be something that I never ever forget!

Up at 4:00 am on opening morning with barely any sleep. My mind was in overdrive all night long. Tossing and turning. My stomach making noises I never knew it could make. I have my coffee which is probably not a good idea. I check my tag, my license, my gun and double verify I have bullets. All good. In the truck by 4:55 am and we’re off. Took us twenty minutes to get to the spot where we’ve seen antelope.

This is it.

Today is the day that I get to experience the joy of hunting antelope in Nevada for the first time.

I never thought it would play out like it did. I’ve been on Andy’s antelope hunts where we’ve spent 13 days spotting, stalking and chasing.

That wouldn’t be happening on this trip.

What an absolute beauty of an antelope. I am so thrilled, thankful and ultimately grateful for this experience. It will never be forgotten.

All though our trip was short, I was able to experience and photograph some of Nevada’s wild horses, antelope and beautiful landscapes.

Now we plan for trip number two! ~Kristy

The Best Antelope Backstrap Recipe

• Sliced Antelope Backstrap
• 3 Garlic Cloves (diced)
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• and a Hot Cast Iron Skillet

Heat cast iron skillet on medium-high. Add butter and garlic. Saute garlic for a few minutes. Add Antelope Backstrap to skillet (30/45 seconds on each side). Remove meat from skillet and enjoy.

We also added mushrooms with the butter and garlic and then served the backstrap on a toasted bagel with with a little horseradish. Delicious!

Who wouldn’t be. Right?

Andy and I have been planning this for what seems to be months and months now. We’ve been stock piling all of our gear on the dining room table, sighting in the muzzleloaders and rifles on the weekends and asking ourselves just how the heck are we going to fill so many tags in so little time.

I even created a picture collage and taped all the photos to the front of the refrigerator for inspiration.

I’m focused. I’m ready. Sure I am. (HAHAHA!)

Well the time has come to put all of this planning and strategy into play. We will just have to see how things work out. I’m sure you already know it probably won’t happen the way we’ve been planning but we can always work hard, hope for the best and enjoy the adventures that we’re going to have.

I think this may be the best way to celebrate my 40th Birthday… 4am mornings, miles and miles of hiking, days without showering and waking up to see the sunrise and the sun set! I wouldn’t trade that for anything!

Happy Hunting! NOW LETS FILL THE FREEZER! ~Kristy

Antelope black bean and white corn tacos

Here are just a few photos of the landscape we’ll be enjoying in the next few weeks!  ~Kristy

This year is a little special since I’ll be celebrating my 40th Birthday scouring Nevada’s landscape in search of three big game animals I’ve been lucky enough to have drawn. I drew an Antelope (rifle) and a Cow Elk and Bull Elk (muzzleloader) tag. Talk about an absolute shock to the system having pulled one of the hardest tags and having drawn it in one of the most sacred and beautiful places in Nevada.

I have to say, I just learned to shoot a muzzleloader this year and am a little nervous to have such an amazing opportunity for a harvest. I’ve been around a lot of folks who head hunt and only look for the ‘Big Guys’, but I’m thinking I may just be in it for the opportunity to see how close we can get and the opportunity to fill the freezer again. I’m just not sure yet. I’ll have to let you know after we get back.

Andy, on the other hand, also drew an Antelope tag and a Cow Elk tag in the same areas as me. I can only hope that I can follow in his footsteps to help provide and add to the freezer this year. I’m sure that with 15 years of total enjoyment of the experiences I have had hunting Nevada, that this year will be one that will TOP THEM ALL!

~Kristy

We packed for weeks before this cow elk and mule deer hunt. Making sure that we had everything we needed. Gun, ammo, food, ice, warm gear, wet weather gear, gas and of course enough boxed wine for those late nights getting back to camp.

It took us nearly 9 hours to get near the spot we wanted to camp. The road had been washed out by early rains leaving rocks and deep spaces in the road. It’s a calculated process having to tow a double axle trailer with two heavy quads in these conditions. We parked the truck and unloaded the quads to get a better look at the roads ahead.

Sure enough, the excitement factor takes over and our plan to look at the campsite quickly turned into an hour of scouting. Gone from the truck and a few miles in, we felt a few rain drops. Thinking nothing of it in our tshirt, jeans and tennis shoes, we kept going a little further. Not less than five minutes it began to rain and rain hard. Back to the truck we went – soaked.

This was only our first day. We’d have to start over the next day.

It took us 8 days to harvest the cow elk. Which we packed out in less than three hours. We were quick because it was 4:30 pm and I had forgotten the gun back at camp. Andy was out of ammo for the muzzleloader and we had heard about wolves in the country earlier from a few cowboys rounding up cattle. That was enough to get us motivated to tag team the meat back to the quads ASAP.

to be continued…