Tag Archives: Rick Wood

Feb 1 2011

Congrats To George Dvorchak on Winning 2011 Antelope Hunt!

Georgette Wood, 2010 Antelope Hunt Winner; George Dvorchak, 2011 Antelope Hunt Winner; Annie Wood, Wyoming Business Council (Photo taken by Rick Wood)

I won the hunt last year from the Wyoming Business Council Meeting.  Annie Wood announced my name as the winner, and  I was so shocked.  It was my first time going to the meeting to represent Women’s Outdoor News.  I was very impressed that so many people came over and congratulated me on winning. Rose Marie Dvorchak was one of the women to come over to congratulate me on winning the antelope hunt.  She was happy that a girl won this hunt, and informed me that I was the  first girl to win it.

Georgette Wood with winner George and Rose Marie Dvorchak-Congrats to you for winning the Antelope Hunt for 2011! (Photo taken by Rick Wood)

I sat there in the front row of the round table and was just amazed on how beautiful Wyoming really is.  I watched the video of Wyoming and thought WOW!  I would love to go there sometime.  I have never been to Wyoming or to Colorado at this point in my life. I had no clue that I would be the next winner to go see beautiful Wyoming and Colorado so soon.

The Wyoming Business Council Meeting was held on Thursday the week of Shot Show.   It was my turn to speak about how my hunt went with my husband Rick. I was so nervous about speaking in front of a large crowd that I was almost in tears and my voice was all nervously speaking.   I don’t get the opportunity to speak in front of big crowds of people; if I did I may not have been so nervous. My wonderful husband Rick, bailed me out. We together told our hunting story and had the crowd laughing.  By the time we ended our story, I was so relaxed and thought that wasn’t so bad.  I could probably do that again!

I tell you this story, because I get to pull the winning name out of the basket and guess who wins the 2011 Antelope Hunt from the Wyoming Business Council.  George Dvorchak is the name I pulled out; He is the writer for The Varmint Hunter Magazine.  His wife Rose Marie came over last year to congratulate me on my winning the Antelope Hunt for 2010.  He sat in the same seat as I did last year when I won the hunt, and just one more common denominator they are from Pennsylvania close to wear my husband and I grew up. How Bizarre? His name is George too!

I’m so happy for George and Rose Marie for winning the Antelope Hunt. I know they will have a great time just like Rick and I did. We had so much fun with Kelly Glause and Casey Miller with Cold Creek Outfitter.  We had a fantastic vacation shooting our trophy antelope, and touring Wyoming.  We even made time to meet up with our WOMA member Stacey Huston with Focus on the Wild in Cody, Wyoming. We tasted some delicious Buffalo Steak and my husband Rick kept saying this is like a second honeymoon. So I’m so glad that they both hunt and can enjoy their special time together just like Rick and I did. I wish them good luck on their Antelope Hunt in 2011!

Annie Wood, Wyoming Business Council with George Dvorchak (winner of the 2011 Antelope Hunt) with his wife Rose Marie (Photo taken by Rick Wood)

Dec 13 2010

First Day Luck

It was just luck! I took a nap to wake up to this Buck!

My first day of deer hunting in West Virginia, was a very good day. I was so excited about going out and seeing all the wild life up close.   My husband Rick and I got up at 5:00a.m. to get ready for an exciting day. We loaded up our truck and headed to our friends farm. We stopped at Sheetz to get gas, coffee, and a snack like everyone else in their hunting clothes were doing the same thing.

The weather man was calling for it to be in the high 50’s, it was foggy out as we were driving to our friend’s farm.  There was also a full moon, which means the deer were up feeding all night long. The deer will be off their normal schedule. I was wondering what kind of hunting adventure we would have today.

My husband and I arrived at our destination.   We started loading up our gear and heading out to our stand.  We couldn’t see anything in front of us, because the fog was so thick. So we walked slowly and quietly out.  I was so excited to be out hunting with my husband. We have such a wonderful time together.  I am thankful for him for giving me this opportunity to spend time with him and showing me about what the outdoors is all about. It’s not about killing an animal; it’s about being thankful for what all God has provided for us. It’s about enjoying the outdoors and taking in the fresh air. 

It’s now around 6:00 a.m. and were in our blind settled in sitting quietly.  It wasn’t really cold out, and it wasn’t raining or snowing just foggy so you couldn’t see more than 30 yards.  So I’m sitting here, listening and decided to fall asleep a little. I didn’t have to stay awake I knew my husband would wake me up if something came my way. He was hunting on the right side and I was hunting on the left side. So I dozed off, and woke up to the sound people shooting around us.  When I woke up it was still foggy outside, and I was wondering why people were shooting. It was so thick and you couldn’t see anything even though it was 7:00 o’clock and it was the beginning of hunting season.   We kept hearing something making noises around us, but we couldn’t see anything. We kept listening and before you know it we saw the largest Raccoon I ever seen coming out of the wood pile next to us. We sat there and watch it as it disappeared into a corn field.  We sat there all morning long and didn’t see anything except for the Raccoon so by 11:30 a.m. we decided to leave, and go get lunch.

We met up with a couple other hunters who also hunt on the same land as we do, and they didn’t see anything either. So we hung out and visited with them before we went to get lunch. We had a nice visit and decided to be back around 2:00o’clock. So we headed to the house and I made us an egg sandwich and coffee. Then we were on the road again, the sun was shining, and it was warmer than we liked it to be when we are hunting. I was a really nervous, because if one of us would get something we couldn’t let it lay until the other one got something.

We made it back to the farm and met up with the other hunters and we discussed where we were setting up for the evening hunt. I wanted to hunt toward the front of the property in a small patch of woods. I didn’t like being in the back of the property, because there was just too many people hunting on the adjacent properties around us.   The one hunter was hunting on the other side of us in a tree stand and the other was hunting in another pasture. So we decided to go up front where no one was hunting except us. My husband and I usually hunt side by side, but this afternoon I wanted to hunt away from him a little.  I was hunting below the tree line on our chair and he was hunting to the right of me facing his back toward me. I was dozing off and when I woke up this buck was walking right toward me. I was so nervous my heart was pounding and I couldn’t tell my husband or I would scare the deer away.  So I waited and watched it eat as he walked closer toward me.   I picked up my Remington 700- 308 model Atac and chambered a round in the gun and put him in my sites when he turned broadside I pulled the trigger.  When I shot him and he jumped around and went down. My shot startled my husband. He stood up and asked did I get him?  I said yes I did. He congratulated me! He said I scared him because he didn’t know I was about to shoot. When he stood up and was walking toward me my deer got up and started running away; but it didn’t go very far before going back down for good. I was so happy and excited! I had a great shot on him and I guess he wasn’t quite down and the movement from my husband scared him. I shot my first six point buck without any assistance from my husband and I was so proud of myself.

Dec 13 2010

Hers “N” His First Antelope Hunt

Our Trophy Antelope

Our First Antelope Hunt

I was so excited about going out West to hunt Antelope.  I have never been to Wyoming or on an antelope hunt. The chance was such a great opportunity for me and my husband.  I won an antelope hunt for two offered as a door prize at the Wyoming Business Council meeting at the Shot Show  back in January 2010.   I was the first girl to ever win this hunt, and knowing that I was representing The Women Outdoors Media Association (the WOMA) makes it even more special.

The outfitter that put the hunt up was Kelly Glause of Cold Creek Outfitter in Evansville Wyoming.

Georgette Wood with her first Antelope, Casey Miller and Kelly Glause of Cold Creek Outfitter

We were having breakfast when Kelly and Casey met up with us in the lobby at the Super 8 Motel in Casper, Wyoming.    We grabbed our gear and started our day off by sighting in our rifles. We then started our hunt in area 25 around 9:30a.m.  By this time it was a beautiful clear sunny day, but a little bit breezy. 

Our guides Kelly and Casey made our trip out to the field fun and exciting.  It was interesting talking with them and hearing what they had to say about how they got into being Outfitters.  Kelly is the game manager for a farm with about 80,000 acres available to hunt on in central Wyoming.  

We arrived at our first hunting location; we could see the antelope on the range.  We started to stalk them down hoping they wouldn’t spot us. We did some walking, kneeling, and crawling to try to get in position. Antelope have excellent eyesight, it is said that it is equivalent to 8 X binoculars. If they see something that is out of the norm they will raise the white hair on their rump as an alert to the other antelope and run off. They can run up to 60 miles an hour. So that’s why they are such a challenge to hunt.  Unfortunately on our first stop the antelope saw us first and took off running.  I had an encounter with a cactus out there; I had put my hand on the ground and right on top of one then sat on another.  So my first hunting adventure was pulling the cactus thorns out of my hand and my leg. We had to stop hunting momentarily to get them out of my leg.  My guide warned us of the cactus and I was so excited about seeing the antelope that I forgot about them. Those are some wicked things and you definitely want to stay away from them.  TRUST ME!! We had a great time tracking the antelope down and observing how fast they can run, but getting stuck by the cactus is not what I had in mind.  We put on a few more unsuccessful stocks. The antelope either were too small or just didn’t do what we hoped that they would do.

By this time it was almost lunch time and we were all getting hungry. We have been hunting now for three hours walking and crawling over knolls and trying to avoid the cactus. So we started heading towards the archery camp to meet up with Kelly’s son and another group of hunters for lunch. On the way we saw a group of antelope with a nice sized buck. We stopped and stared the stalk, Kelly and I were coming around a knoll from the left to sneak up on the group not knowing that they would come out right in front of us. We ducked down in the high grass hoping we didn’t get spotted. I loaded my gun very quietly trying not to disturb them. I tried to get comfortable enough to take a shot. I was in my shooting position, bipod adjusted, trying to spot them through my scope, my finger was on the trigger, and I was trying to slow my breathing down. I shot once and it was too low, I shot again and it was too high. Then off they run! I was so upset with myself; I guess I was not set right on the terrain and too excited. I was trying my best though. I didn’t realize they were so hard to shoot. I missed my first one he had a really nice rack and was only 60 yards from us. It should have been an easy shot. As he ran off we decided to name him Lucky.

Then we came across the next group of antelope, my guide Casey and I got out of the truck on the right very slowly. We used the truck as cover as we positioned ourselves to a spot where we could take a shot. I had my eyes on the big antelope; I used Casey’s knee as additional support. My breathing was so relaxed this time I could have heard a pin drop it was so quiet. I slowly pulled back on the trigger and shot. My shot hit him in a little far back towards the stomach. He arched his back and just stood there. Casey said shoot him again. This time I shot him in the intersecting lines of the white and brown right in the shoulder. I was so happy when he went down. We ranged him at 164 yards, I was so proud of myself for shooting my first antelope. Everyone was thrilled, and I proved to myself that I can shoot long distances.

Rick giving me my congrats kiss for getting my first Antelope down

After taking photos and loading him up in the truck. We were traveling around back to go to the archery camp to eat lunch; we saw another heard of antelope off to our right. I stayed in the truck with Kelly and this time my husband Rick and Casey walked quietly to the top of the knoll. They crawled the last 50 yards on their bellies to get in position to shoot his antelope.  We heard a shot go off and I could see them all excited. He shot his antelope at 1:30p.m exactly one hour after I shot mine. His shot was at 265 yards. I was so thrilled and excited for him knowing that we had two trophy class antelope down within one hour. It was such a wonderful experience for us both.

As we were driving out we once again came across Lucky and his harem of lady friends. This time we shot at him with the camera. He was such a beautiful antelope his horns make a heart shape and he’s still out there waiting for someone else.

Kelly Glause and Casey of Cold Creek Outfitter were very pleasant and professional.  I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a fantastic time hunting in the wonderful outdoors of Wyoming. We met them as strangers and walked away as friends.  They really know their business when it comes down to tracking and hunting antelope. We had so much fun with them and they made the hunt fun and exciting. 

You can reach Kelly at:

Cole Creek Outfitter

P.O. Box 797

Evansville, WY 82636

(307) 234-8940.

Feb 14 2010

My First Bow Hunting Experience

Did you ever want to experience something new?  I do all the time.  I told my husband that I wanted to learn how to shoot a bow and go Archery Hunting this past fall.  I was so excited about this event, because I never did anything like this before.  I shot my first deer with my Remington model 700 the year before and really fell in love with hunting.  I mentioned to him about bow hunting and before I knew it.  We were both shopping around for a bow for me.  We looked on the internet, read articles in the bow magazine to help me find a nice bow.   I came across the Parkers Bow Sidekick XP Extreme Pink package set.  I was so excited it was in our price range and everything came with it and it’s ready to shoot.   I wanted a pink bow; but not a bright pink bow.  I wanted something a little girly for me.  I also wanted something that stood out from my husbands’ bow.  I saw it and read about it and I e-mailed my husband the information on it.  He saw that Bass Pro Shop has it in stock so before I knew it my bow was ordered.  Yeah!!!  

My husband says honey “Happy Anniversary!” my bow was my Anniversary present.  I was all excited about it, I just had to learn and practice shooting it.  I worked out every day and practice shooting my bow every weekend.  I was desperate to learn how to shoot my bow and do it effectively.  I will admit the first time I tried pulling my bow I couldn’t get it to full draw I tried and tried and tried.  I was taught not to give up, and to try until you succeed.  My husband helped me and we laughed about me trying to pull my bow.  So he stated “If you’re really interested in learning how to shoot this fall?  We need to get you in shape.”  So he gave me an exercise routine and equipment to help me called a Bow Fit.  (www.bowfit.com)  Bow Fit is unique exercise equipment for archers to help strengthen your arms and upper body.  I loved it!  I could take it with me where ever I went, and didn’t take up  any space at all in my suitcase.  I worked out at every opportunity I could.  (I’m still working out even after the season is over just to stay in shape.)  I started my practice shooting at 20 yards, then to 30 yards, then to 40 yards.  Then he had me shoot at 10 yards.  I was so excited about how well I was learning how to shoot my bow.  I couldn’t wait for Archery Season to come in.  I knew I could hit a deer with my skills I was learning.  (Thanks to my wonderful husband and trainer)

 Archery Hunting is in and I’m ready! I have my Safety Harness on, which he taught me how to use it.  I have my gear and I’m ready to go and get in my tree-stand.  Yippee!  I was all excited about this day. I never really thought of what I would expect out in the field.  Our first day out in the morning, we saw a skunk that was walking around scavenging for food.  My husband shined his flashlight on him to confirm that it was a skunk and we avoided him for sure. 

 He helped me get in my tree-stand, before he went across the field to get into his stand.  I was ready I had my radio, cell-phone, munchies, chap-stick, tissues, gloves, and my journal.  I was all ready to go and I just couldn’t wait for daybreak to see all the wildlife.  I didn’t see anything at first, except I saw a red squirrel in my tree with me.  I had two different ones at different times in it. Later, I told my husband about the squirrels he said “you need to watch out for them they are mean and will give away your position by barking at you.”  Now he tells me after the fact.  It was all good no problems here. Then the deer started coming out I didn’t see anything in the morning; but I did see a lot in the evening time.

 I’m ready now to pull my bow, at first I had a little trouble with it.  As soon as I made it over the hump of pulling my bow, it was very easy and I aimed for the deer.   I was trying to remember what all he informed me to do.  I was aiming my sites on the deer, but every time I shot at the deer they just stood there and looked at my direction.  They didn’t even see me or even know I was there.  So I shot again and again and again. Well I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t hitting the deer and they just stared up at my direction.  I called my husband on the radio and said this “Honey I’m all out of Arrows what do I do?” I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong.  I did everything I thought I was doing right.  I never did this before and so I didn’t know how to fix my errors.  I sat in my tree-stand pondering on my aim, my shots, and trying to figure out how to fix it for next time.  I was really desperate on learning this new sport.   I thought this is probably something I could fix; but how do I fix it.  I laughed about how the deer just stood there and didn’t move.  I wish I would’ve had my camera with me, I saw some really good photo opportunities.  It was dark when my husband caught up to me after the day of hunting.    He shined his flashlight down on my arrows and they were almost in a row.  He couldn’t figure out how I could manage something like this.  The next day we went out and he climbed up in my tree-stand and took the same shots I did with my bow.  The arrows landed right where they were suppose to so my bow wasn’t off.  Then he asked me “Honey! Where were you aiming?” I said “at the heart Why?”  Honey you are shooting from a tree stand and your elevation changes the aiming point you aim on the side of the deer. I was shooting too low and the arrows went just under the deer. He told me I need to aim a little higher so when the arrow gets there it will be right where you want to hit it. Think about where the arrow will exit the deer on the other side.   Awe gees! I said I forgot about that, I was so used to shooting my rifle and being on target.  I forgot that I needed to aim higher on the side of the deer when shooting from a tree-stand.  Well I learned my first lesson about bow hunting.  Honestly, I think he told me that, but I was so nervous about everything, and trying to remember everything he told me.

 I forgot the most important things he taught me aim at the right point on the deer and to Aim Small and Miss Small. (If you aim for a small point and miss you will still be close. If you aim at a big area and miss you missed big).  Oh yes! I remember now, but I will remember that for next time for sure.  This little mistake has taught me a vital lesson about bow hunting.  I never did get a deer with my bow; but next fall will be different for sure.  I will be ready for Archery Season.