A Hunter's Legacy

50: The Hardest Lesson In Hunting: Finishing A Wounded Animal With Sam Westfall (Colorado)

Mitchell Fox Episode 50

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0:00 | 1:06:53

His first shot on big game is something he still thinks about today.

Growing up east of Boulder, Colorado, he started shooting prairie dogs at eight years old and was already helping local farmers by ten. By twelve he had his hunter education card and headed into northwest Colorado near Craig for his first real big game hunt. A pronghorn doe stepped into range, but the shot was farther than it should have been and the animal was moving.

What happened next forced a 12-year-old kid to confront the hardest part of hunting.

The shot wounded the antelope badly, and his dad made him finish the job up close. That moment became a defining turning point that shaped how he approaches hunting, responsibility, and respect for animals today.

Years later those early lessons still guide how he hunts Colorado public land and western terrain, from careful shot selection to how he prepares for elk and mule deer seasons in rugged mountain country.

We dive into:

First big game mistake
A 12-year-old hunter learns the reality of a bad shot on a Colorado pronghorn hunt.

Growing up hunting prairie dogs
How shooting thousands of prairie dogs built early marksmanship skills.

Lessons about responsibility
Why finishing a wounded animal changed his mindset forever.

Western hunting discipline
How those early experiences shaped his approach to mountain hunting today.

This episode of A Hunter’s Legacy explores the moment that formed a hunter. It is a raw story about responsibility, learning the hard way, and what it means to pursue deer hunting and whitetail hunting with respect in western terrain. If you care about ethical hunting, shot discipline, and real hunting stories from Colorado public land and mountain country, this conversation stays with you.

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