Hanging up the antlers

For 49 hunting seasons, Merrill Meat Company north of Encampment has accepted wild game from out-of-state and local hunters. This season, what would have been its 50th, that will no longer be the case.

No elk, no deer, no antelope.

A difficult decision, according to second generation owner Cade Merrill, because his parents, Bob and Judy Merrill, started the processing business during the hunting season of 1971. In fact, it was wild game processing that helped establish and grow the family business.

“My parents built this business based on hunting season and started to do domestic (processing)...