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Jackson Hole Outfitters
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December 1998 Newsletter
Warren was tramping through
the snow following tracks of the small band of elk. He had left Jonesy
back around the hill with a hunter who was plumb played out. Richard was
one tough old bird. He had a bad knee, but in spite of the pain he wanted
an elk bad, so he gritted his teeth, rode his horse as far as he could
and then started climbing, literally crawling at times, up a super steep
hill in 6 inches of new snow. The guides couldn't stand up either, so it
wasn't just because Richard was a flatlander. Warren had gone on ahead
to see if the elk were a hopeless cause or if he could spot them where
we could get Richard to them. The tracks disappeared into a steep dark
canyon, so Warren gave up on them, but decided to swing over the top of
the ridge, just in case he could spot some others. When he got on top he
suddenly bumped into some bedded elk. Two bulls, a four point and a six
point, moved down the hill. Warren took off down through the timber on
a dead run to try and head them off and turn them back toward Richard and
Jonesy. As he rounded the trunk of a big spruce he ran headlong into a
cow elk who had just risen from her bed. Warren barely had time to duck
his shoulder into her before the collision. As he hit her they both went
sprawling down the steep slope, she, no doubt, wondering who the crazy
fool was that was trying to tackle a full grown elk, and Warren wondering
what a crazy fool he was to tackle a full grown elk. He and the elk both
had bruises and a story to tell their children and grandchildren. Unfortunately,
in spite of Warren's foolhardy efforts, the bulls went the wrong way and
Richard didn't get one, but it was an exciting hunt.
Overview of the Hunt:
We had a great hunt this
year. Some days were tough, some hunts were even tough, but we killed some
tremendous trophy bucks and some good bulls. The deer season was one of
the warmest and driest on record. Fall colors didn't arrive until mid-October,
a full month late. Most of the bucks were killed on drives, as they would
bed down as soon as the sun touched the peaks.
Hunter object lesson:
Guys, when you hunt please
take enough shells with you! Jim and I went to the bottom of a big deep
canyon. We jumped a herd of elk and they came streaming across the open
hillside above us. Jim had a rest and started shooting at a nice bull.
My laser rangefinder read 380 yards. We figured out later that Jim thought
I said 280 yards, thus the problem. Jim hit the bull a couple of times
but he wouldn't go down. The other 50 elk with this bull were walking by
him and he was trying to keep up. Finally Jim said he only had a couple
of shells left (he had brought only 10 or so) but he had a 'finishing shot'
in his jacket. The bull finally went into the trees following the herd
and Jim started fishing in his pockets for the final cartridge. Empty.
So we sat there for an hour to let the bull die, then climbed the hill.
The bull was under a pine tree with low hanging limbs and wasn't dead yet.
When he tried to get up, his 7X5 antlers got tangled in the low branches
and in the struggle he finally just ran out of steam and rolled down the
hill, dead at last. We quartered him up and hiked out to the horses. The
next day we came back with a chain saw and it took us 7 hours to cut our
way to him. When we got there a bear had helped himself to one of the front
quarters, politely saving the backstraps and hind quarters for Jim.
Fabulous Four Find Fame
The Ingram boys, Brad, Brett,
Brian, and young Justin finally drew Wyoming permits. They had one fantastic
hunt! Guides Tom and Cole busted their buns to help them get some whoppers.
On the first day Tom spotted a monster buck, they set up a drive, and Brian
made a long shot as the buck tried to sneak out the back way. They had
to follow up on the wounded buck and it was a group effort to finish him
off. This nontypical buck was a 7X7 and 31 1/2 inches wide. The full velvet
rack was heavy and high. The second day 16 year old Justin killed a nice
typical buck, not real wide but in full velvet and perfectly symmetrical.
Then late in the evening, as they were headed back to camp, Cole sent Brad
and Brett to climb up over a knoll on foot while he took the horses around
to meet them on the other side. They spotted a big buck bedded way down
the canyon, 460 yards away. Brett watched it while Brad took off running
down the mountain to get closer. Brad bumped into a whopper mulie, quickly
sat down and shot the running buck in the neck. This buck was typical,
32 1/2 inches wide. When Brad shot, Brett thought he had shot at the bedded
buck and missed, so Brett shot and killed the bedded buck, which turned
out to be real heavy and high, 26 inches wide, dark gnarly horns. A truly
tremendous typical buck, probably the best of the three whoppers as far
as mass and score. Needless to say the Ingrams were ecstatic about their
hunt and are booked again for '99.
Dream Bull
Guide Grant Gertsch and
hunter Dave Jensen spotted a monster bull way across a canyon, bedded on
a hillside. Grant stayed back to direct him while Dave made a two hour
stalk, being very careful to not spook the other elk who were also bedded
and feeding in the vicinity. He got within 50 yards of the bull, when it
got up, stared in Dave's direction, and then walked away. Dave didn't see
him leave, but Grant figured he must have winded Dave. Dave described it
as his "dream bull", massive six pointer, ivory tips, very long main beams,
really dark antlers. Monster bucks and bulls bear a charmed life.
The Perfect Drive on the
Ultimate Buck
Weather was hot and dry.
Nothing was moving, so the guides and I decided we had to make a big drive.
We strategically placed three hunters, Corky, Ken, and Ward, on one end
of a sparsely-timbered hillside, while guide Tom drove the top route, hunter
Sean took the middle, and I (Jonesy) took the bottom. I'm always the toughest
and in the best shape of anyone, so I always take the toughest route, except
when Warren thinks the longest way is the easiest and talks me out of it.
Warren's attitude was caused when we once made a drive and I sent him across
the top which was a lot less distance. He thought I was being so nice.
My longer and steeper route had a nice game trail, which I knew about,
and Warren's top shorter route had lots of blowdowns, brush, cliffs, and
generally impassable terrain. He accuses me of doing it deliberately. Of
course I did. He needs to build some character. But I digress. Anyway,
a little ways into the drive Tom bumped into the most incredible buck he
has ever seen. "38-40 inches, big drop tine sticking out and down on one
side, extra points and garbage hanging all over the rack, massive beams,
33 inches on the mainframe. The ultimate mule deer buck." Tom was only
60 yards from the buck and the buck just moseyed away at a walk and a slow
trot, heading right for two of our hunters. Tom could have killed him a
dozen times. That lucky buck went exactly between them up a very sparse
line of aspen, almost no cover. Ward had a clump of sagebrush blocking
his view and Corky was concentrating on the hillside in front of him instead
of to the side. When the buck got directly between them Tom realized they
didn't see him, so he yelled "Shoot that buck!" Ward stood up and looked
at Tom, Tom pointed and yelled again, "Shoot that buck!." Ward turned and
looked and the buck must have been behind a bush because he didn't see
him. Tom was just sick, and when the rest of us heard the story we were
just sick. What a heartbreaker. We put hunters in that area every day for
the rest of the hunt and never saw him again. The last day of the season
we made three drives in that area. On the last drive Ken shot at a 28 inch
buck, Larry killed a 28 inch buck, and Corky killed a beautiful 11X6 nontypical.
A Mountainside Alive with
Elk.
Bob Mills finally drew a
permit again. It was great to see him and hunt with him again, even if
his shooting eye was a bit rusty. On the first day he missed some long
shots at a tremendous 6 point bull. No problem, it was really too far but
the only chance we had. Then late in the day, just before dark, we stalked
a herd of elk, he passed up a spike, then missed a four point bull at 300
yards. Bob is usually a good shot, and I strongly suspect the miss was
caused by an earth tremor, as we were in Skull Creek which was the epicenter
of a 4.9 quake a few years ago. Anyway, a couple of days later we, along
with Dave Jensen, went up into a basin that I suspected was harboring elk.
As we went up a steep trail we saw four cow elk on the edge of the timbered
bench above us, one of which was almost white, a really light gray. Dave
opted to stay down below where the elk might go if pushed, so Bob and I
went up on the bench and started sneaking through the timber. We jumped
the elk and they went over the lip of a steep hillside toward the basin
below. We went to the edge and the hillside was alive with elk, over a
hundred of them including about 20 bulls. Bob shot at a 5 point bull, steep
downhill shot, and we thought he missed it. Then we heard Dave shoot as
the elk charged down the hill. We saw a bull stop in a gap between two
trees and he looked hit, so I had Bob shoot at him, thinking it was the
one Dave had shot at. The elk lined out in a big herd, heading down the
canyon and we started after them. I spotted a 5 point bull lying down,
obviously hit, and Bob finished it off from about 50 yards, shooting it
in the neck. I urged Bob to hurry down the hill and intercept the herd
of elk, still thinking that we had finished off Dave's bull. I found Dave
searching the ground in a draw down below the bench I was on. I said, "Your
bull is up here." He replied, "No, it ran down here." He came up and said,
"That's not the bull I shot at. Mine ran down that way and he was going
so fast I'm sure I missed." The sky cut loose about that time and we got
to dress Bob's bull in a big wet snow storm. Fortunately Bob hadn't caught
up with the elk and killed another one or we might have had a problem.
Predators Purloin Public
Property
We saw several mountain
lion tracks this season and Warren saw three lions. We also saw a lot of
coyotes and found some animals killed by predators. Unless we, the hunting
public, start putting pressure on our Game Departments and start educating
the public about the predator problem we will have some tough hunting in
years to come. Look at the November Field and Stream Magazine, great article
on the predator problem in the West.
Outfitters Still Trying
for Permits
Our lawsuit is still winding
its way through the courts. We are still anticipating a victory and a revamping
of our permit system so we will have more stability in our industry.
Big Bull Skedaddles at Shot
When the first shots are
fired the big bucks and bulls seem to disappear. We actually saw it happen.
Opening day of elk season I took Jim Windham and Phil Kerr to the top of
a mountain. I sent Jim along a trail to a lookout point while I took Phil
up to a saddle where elk frequently cross. A 6X5 bull showed up and Phil
shot it at about 200 yards. Meanwhile Jim was carefully watching a huge
6 point herd bull feeding in some short aspens. All he could see was his
rack and the bull just had to take three steps in order to present a shot.
When Phil's shot rang out 400 yards away, the first shot on opening day,
the big bull immediately turned and bolted down toward the heavy timber
below, not giving Jim any opportunity for a shot. Jim said he never even
looked up, just bolted! That's why they are hard to find.
Scumbags Waste Elk
Grant and I were on the
backside of a monster mountain, in a very, very difficult canyon, trying
to get around a herd of elk and drive them back to the hunters, Ken and
Kitt. While climbing a nasty ravine we came upon a dead six-point bull,
score about 300, lying stiff and frozen, and 100 yards further up the ravine
was a quartered elk, with three quarters lying there and only the backstraps
and antlers missing. It was in such an incredibly difficult place and so
far from a trail that it was obvious that someone had gone on foot into
that hell-hole, killed a couple of bulls, and then looked around and said,
"How do we get it out?" They barely made a feeble attempt at it. It made
us so mad, I still get upset when I think about it. A person has no business
hunting in any place that you can't get the game out if you kill it! I
have seen elk hunters on top of a mountain on foot in hot weather a good
three hours from the road. I've asked them, "How are you going to get an
elk out if you kill one?" "On our backs." Excuse me, but it takes 5 trips
to get an elk out, and physically, there is not one man in a hundred who
can pack a quarter of an elk very far, let alone go back for several more
trips. You guys think about it before you go into some of those places.
We've killed animals in places where we had to adjourn camp and reconvene
at the kill site with knife and fork and salt and pepper, but we always
got the meat out.
Warren's "Raining Bucks"
Drive
Last year Warren made a
drive that ran so many bucks over the top of one hunter that he said it
was "raining bucks". That was the first time Warren had made that drive.
Since then he has made that drive several times and this year we killed
three or four bucks on that drive, including Don's big whopper. At the
beginning of this newsletter Warren is posing with Don Bloch's 31 inch
massive buck, killed at 20 yards. This is a prime example of how big bucks
congregate year after year in the same area, and the same methods will
produce the same results. Incidentally when Warren walked up and saw Don
standing over this incredible buck, Don's first words were, "I really wanted
a big non-typical." Warren tackled him and thumped on his chest for a while
until Don admitted it was a great buck.
Minnesota Man Scores Again
A few years ago Gary Krueth
killed a big six point bull, with Aaron Johnson guiding him. This year
Gary again scored on a big bull, pictured left to right, Aaron, Carl Hanson,
Jonesy, Dennis Herboldt, Gary.
Hang on to that Rifle!
Every year we get a chance
at a buck or bull and the hunter's rifle is still in the scabbard or leaning
against a tree 20 yards away. It should be glued to your hand! But the
one this year was rather unusual. After an hour long climb out of the bottom
of a huge canyon, Joe Hunter asked the guide, "Do you have my rifle?" "No,
of course not." "Hell, I must have left it where we had lunch in the bottom
of the canyon."
Extra, Extra, Read All About
It!
Our complete success report
tells stories of many of the other bucks and bulls we killed. Be sure you
get a copy of it. We are now taking bookings for the '99 season. We go
by deposit dates as far as who gets to hunt with us. We turned down at
least 15 hunters this past year, just no room at camp. So get your $100
deposit in ASAP. Remember, you must apply for elk in January, drawing is
late February. Apply for deer by March 15, drawing is in late June.
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