What’s your story? First-year elk hunter bags nice bull

Dean Burdyshaw hunts every year in Northwest Colorado for elk, and this year he invited his best hunting buddy Eric Byrnes to come out along with Dean’s brother Rick and cousin Big Rick.

“Dean does not have a son, only five daughters, but if he did, it would be Eric,” said Julie Burdyshaw, Dean’s wife. “They are so much alike you would think they were connected at the brain.”

Dean and Eric were very excited about this hunt becuase it would be Eric’s first elk hunt. He has always heard the stories of Dean and his brother Rick, and cousins Big Rick and Dave, Glenn and Tony in Colorado hunting for elk.   

Eric is an avid hunter, and we all joked that Eric would surely get one, even though he was with seasoned elk hunters.

As the picture shows, Eric’s hunt was very successful. He was the only one of their group to bag one, let alone a bull. The normally-shy Eric had never smiled so big in his life as far as I know! If you look closely at the picture, the bull seems to be smiling, too (teeth showing). I guess that means the hunting gods are even happy for him. 

The hunt began for them the second week of bow season around Steamboat Springs, Colo.