Success Report 2005

Jackson Hole Outfitters  email

In keeping with my policy of providing a complete reference list of all hunters who hunt with me each year, listed in these pages is every hunter, along with a brief report on his/her success or lack thereof. This will enable you to get a feel for how the hunt went and you can call unsuccessful hunters as well as the ones that scored.   If you call please be brief to respect their privacy.  Names listed are in order of arrival at camp to show that one week is no better than another.  Hunter success depends more on weather than anything else.  We do much better when weather is clear and cool.  Beginning in 2002 I included pictures as links in this Report rather than having a separate page for pictures.

Deer Hunt 2005:  We killed a 30 1/2 inch old heavy buck, a 29 inch old and heavy, another young 29 incher that scored 180, a 26 inch with a 6 inch drop tine and another cheater point, an average 26 incher, a nice 24 incher, and some smaller bucks.  We missed some pretty good bucks, too.  Hunting was generally tougher than most years, much of which can be blamed on the weather as when the weather broke we started seeing some good bucks.  For some reason we had a lot of hunters who did not hunt the full five days because of health reasons, family and business pressures, sore muscles, lousy weather, etc.  I'm sure we would have done better if some of them had stayed clear through their hunt.

First Hunt:  Sep 14-20  Some bad weather, tough hunting.

Jack Morris, CA 925-229-3211 and John Fagundes, CA 925-228-0317  Jack killed a huge heavy-horned 29 inch 5x4 buck at 4 pm on the 5th day of his hunt.  Old buck, probably 8 1/2 years old.  John killed a 26 inch buck on a running 300 yard shot.  The buck's rack is mostly in velvet except tattered on the ends.  Nice looking buck.  pic  pic  They saw about 50 bucks during their hunt. 

Phil Garner, CA 707-998-3024  He hunted with us before and killed a 30 inch buck.  This time he just saw small bucks.  guide Grant

Jason Garner, CA 707-552-1169  Jason hunted with us two years ago and killed a 28 inch buck.  This year he didn't find the buck he wanted, but was so grateful to be in Wyoming again enjoying the beautiful scenery.  Jason had a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball removed last year.  He's lucky to be alive and enjoying it to the fullest.  guide Grant

Brett Ingram, CA 707-485-7403  Passed up several bucks, including a 25 incher.  Just didn't find the big ones.  guide Sparky

Brian Ingram, CA 707-485-7403  Killed a really nice 24 inch buck, score about 170.  But the size of this buck isn't the story, as a 170 buck here is fairly average.  This buck was a real trophy as measured by the experience.  Brian spotted him at the base of a cliff surrounded by shale slides way up on Maniac Mountain (you gotta be crazy to hunt there). pic of Brian glassing where we spotted him.  pic of cliff and shale slide.  The buck is at the base of the cliff right in the center, to the right of the cleft in the cliff and near the tiny pine tree at the cliff base.  We were 630 yards away and watched him for some time before deciding that it was the fourth day of the hunt and, as Brian said, "I really like to kill bucks.  Let's go get him."  pic of the buck at 630 yards through Swarovski 60 power spotting scope (holding my digital camera up to the spotting scope lens).  pic of the buck against the cliff through the 60 power scope plus my digital camera on zoom to 4x.  Pretty incredible picture, we think.  We made a long stalk through a meadow, then tall timber, then cliffs, then shale.  Brian finally set up about 100 yards from where the buck had been, but no buck.  We thought he might have left during the stalk, but I (Jonesy) sneaked up the mountain further to look behind the one small bushy pine tree at the base of the cliff.  Sure enough, the buck was there.  I motioned Brian up and he came and shot the buck at 75 yards in his bed. pic of the shooting position.  The buck was behind the small pine bush at the base of the cliff over the curved white log. The buck then tumbled for 400 yards down the shale slide and only broke off one brow tine.  pic of shale slide.  buck is the small whitish-brown object just in front of the pines, to the left of the heavy-trunked stunted pine tree.  pic of buck where he came to rest after tumble.  Fantastic place to kill a buck!! It doesn't get any better than this!  kill pic The first day of the hunt Brian had passed on a heavy-horned trophy 25 inch buck at 30 feet.  It was a better antlered buck, but not as good a trophy because of the spot, the stalk, the kill, and the fantastic scenery.  He saw a total of 18 bucks in the 4 days.  guide Sparky & Jonesy

Daniel Bauder, CA 559-642-6953  He missed shots at two 25 inch bucks at about 400 yards.  One of them had two cheater points, the other had one cheater point.  guide Tom

Bill Wiemann, WY 307-654-6161  Bill only hunted one day.  Business pressures.  Didn't find a good buck. guide Tom

Greg Pfister, CA 707-974-4747   Saw several small bucks, no big ones.  The first day he saw 32 does and 6 small bucks and a huge 6x6 bull elk, score about 340-350.  Hunted only four days.  pic  pic   guide Jonesy & Tom

Christian Mannsfeld, VA 757-784-7829  Hunted hard and saw some small bucks, but didn't find a good one.  guide Brian

Jason Grubbs, LA 225-324-5802  Jason and guide Brian had a 27 inch buck run right up to them, 15 feet away.  Jason's rifle was on his shoulder and by the time he pulled it off and swung it around the buck decided he had some business elsewhere.  Saw some other small and average bucks.

Second hunt: Sept. 20-26 hampered by rain and snow and fog.

Bob Cordes, AZ  602-258-6951 On the first day of his hunt he killed a great 29 inch 6x5 buck, score 180+.  Long 497 yard one-shot kill. Great shooting.   pic  pic   pic  guide Sparky

Mike Moulton, AZ 602-625-4225  Helped hunting partner, Bob Cordes, kill and pack out his big buck.  Had business and family pressures at home, so left after the first day of hunting.  guide Sparky

Richard Beall, ND  701-338-2821  Took a couple of long shots at a good buck. Hunted hard.  Saw a lot of does and small bucks.  Saw a couple of good bucks way across the canyon with a spotting scope, but too far away.  Bad weather was a problem.  Only hunted four days.  guide Grant

Boyd Anderson, ND 701-852-0196  Saw a lot of deer, but didn't find a good buck.  Saw a couple of decent bucks through the spotting scope a long ways away.  Poor weather hurt the hunting.  Only hunted four days.  guide Grant

Chris Joest, NJ  908-496-8100  Hunted hard, didn't find a good buck.  Bad weather was a problem.  Only hunted 3 days.  guide Brian

George Joest, NJ 908-496-8100  Didn't find the buck he was looking for, although he hunted hard.  Poor weather hampered the effort.  Lots of rain, snow, and fog.  Only hunted three days.  guide Brian

Winston and Margaret Lessley, WA 425-379-2844  They saw some small bucks the first morning, then Winston's back had spasms from the horse ride.  They went into the doctor, and on his recommendations had to leave camp, so only hunted a half day.  guide Tom

Third Hunt;  Sep 26-Oct 2  Lots of rain, mud, snow and cruddy weather.

Pete Jensen, CA 916-771-2510  Got a couple of 400 yard shots at a big 27 inch buck but no luck. Only hunted four days.  guide Grant

Fred Jensen Sr.  CA, 916-624-1233  Saw a lot of does and one small buck.  Lousy weather and kind of stove-up from the rough country.  Only hunted two days.  guide Jonesy & Tom

Tracy Rushing IL 309-227-2166.  Killed a nice buck on the second day. pic of spot where he shot from.  pic of buck    Great write-up of the hunt by Tracy. guide Sparky

Jeff Sanders, OR 541-884-6399  Killed a 5x5 buck on the second day. guide Sparky

Mike Prisk, CA 916-652-5054  Had a quick snap shot at a big 29 inch buck in the timber but no luck.  Saw a number of bucks.  Only hunted four days.  guide Grant

Fred Jensen, Jr.  CA 916-652-5054  Saw several bucks.  Passed up a big buck with an antler that stuck out "five inches past his ear".  Unfortunately the buck was missing the other antler.  Would have been a huge buck otherwise.  Only hunted four days.

Larry Jost, SD 605-539-9639  Lousy weather hampered his hunt.  Saw some small bucks but didn't find the big one.

Craig Holworthy, CA 559-562-1211  Lousy weather had them pinned down quite a bit.  Snow, fog, rain.  Didn't find a good buck.

Fourth Hunt;  Heavy snow the first two days, then partly cloudy the third day and sunny the fourth day.  You will see the corresponding success when the weather finally broke.

Kevon Wendler, WI 262-677-4781  Heavy snow and fog the first two days.  He hunted hard, hiking the timber in the snow, with no luck.  Then only partly cloudy the third day, saw several bucks and killed a really great 26 incher with a 6 inch drop tine and another cheater point.  Beautiful buck!!  Tremendous front forks on this buck.  pic  pic  pic  pic  Kevon and Tim with guides Tom  and Grant  pic  guide Tom with the buck pic    A note from Kevon;  "Maury,
I am still trying to soak in the great and successful trip Tim and I  made to your camp last week. Having done some hunting on our own, we know how good we had it in your care. We both think very  highly of you and each and every guide working there.  We could go on for pages about the big and little things that make your outfit a resounding success.  The "success report" looks great too, thanks.  Hope we were not to much trouble.
Thanks so Very Much
Kevon Wendler"

Tim Bartley, WI 262-483-5714  Lousy weather with snow and fog the first two days.  Tim worked hard, sneaking the timber and climbing mountains.  The weather finally broke the third day.  Saw several bucks.  The fourth day was sunny with snow on the ground.  Tim shot a big buck 30 1/2 inch spread, 6x6, very old buck with worn-out teeth.  Probably 9 1/2 years old.  Tim says, "Day four broke clear. Saw buck at 8:30. Deer slid over a half mile after the kill and took four men five hours to bone the meat and pack back up to the horses. Once the weather cleared we saw so much game it was exciting!  I had been hunting on my own in Wyoming on public hunting land for 15 years being selective and coming home empty, because I always have a great experience hunting in the mountains...however that was getting a little discouraging.  Not only did Tom & Grant put me on a shooter but probably what will amount to a once in a lifetime buck.  It still seems a little surreal to me that I was able to  have that kind of success.  Thanks again for an awesome experience." "  pic  pic pic pic  pic

Moose Hunt;

Roy Roeser, WY  (307) 745-4148 Roy must have been rubbing his lucky rabbits foot all night prior to the start of his hunt.  He arrived the afternoon of Oct 11 and he and I drove around a bit in the pickup just to look around and glass a bit. No moose.  The next morning, Oct 12, we went about three miles from camp to a trailhead and left the pickup at shooting light.  I told Roy we had spotted a pretty good bull twenty minutes up that canyon and I didn't want to ride past him in the dark so I wasn't in a hurry that morning.  We rode the horses for 200 yards from the truck, that's less than 2 minutes, and spotted an average bull moose skylighted up on a ridge.  Range 310 yards, but straight uphill without any rest and he was facing away from us.  An impossible shot.  So we tied the horses and started climbing the hill.  Big steep hill, almost a mountain.  The hill is now named Roy's Hill.  Anyway, after almost an hour of hard labor, taking our time so as not to get Roy so winded he couldn't shoot or maybe have a heart attack, we got to the top.  Shortly we spotted three moose about 75 yards, a cow, a very small "paddle" bull, and this other bull.  Had a good spread with rather average palms.  Roy was somewhat winded and they had caught our scent so they headed out in a hurry.  Roy took a hurried shot.  No luck.  It took us a few minutes to get over to where they had gone over the edge (steep, remember?) and we saw them way down the hill near the horse trail.  Roy was lying down, using my pack as a rest, and was just about to touch off when I stopped him and pointed out a larger bull coming down the hill toward the others, range 375 yards.  Roy got his scope on the bigger bull just as he went into the timber.  We watched for quite a while, hoping they wouldn't just meander up through the timber and never give us a look at them.  Finally the cow came out into an opening with sparse aspens.  She kept looking behind her.  Range was 444 yards. I told Roy that if the big boy came out to hold on his backbone with the .300 mag.  Finally the big bull came into an opening with just his chest showing between two bushy pine trees.  Roy fired and at the shot I kind of jumped (I must be "gun shy".) and my sight picture with my binoculars on 20 power kind of jumped off the bull.  I immediately got back on the spot and the bull was gone.  Had he dropped like a rock and gone under the bushy pine?  We watched for quite a while, the cow moose still standing and looking back at where the bull had been.  Was he dead? or dying?  A few more minutes and the bull re-appeared a few yards above the cow, seemingly unhurt.  He was kind of facing toward us and finally turned a bit to offer a shot.  Roy shot, the bull lurched, and I saw a front leg dangle as he went into the trees.  We waited a while and he never reappeared.  The smaller bull walked out into an opening and stood staring into the trees where the big boy had gone.  Was the big one dying?  We made our way across the hillside, watching carefully across the canyon looking into the trees trying to spot him.  No luck.  We finally reached the bottom, crossed the trail and the creek, and climbed the other side, going above where I thought the bull was.  We sneaked along, glassing all the timber, somewhat thick.  I finally spotted him as I stepped around a tree.  I immediately backed off and told Roy he was 50 yards, around the tree, standing there with a lot of small bare aspen branches around him.  Roy eased around and shot.  At the shot the bull took off running.  Roy and I raced ahead to try and see where he was going.  Then saw him lying, dieing.  Roy had made a good finishing shot, just in front of the left shoulder, low in the heart.  The first shot had gone clear through the bull high in the chest, below the backbone but above the lungs.  The second shot had broken his right front knee.  We took some great pictures, then the real work started.  We skinned him, quartered him, bagged 3 of the quarters and the backstraps (next time I'll take six bags for the quarters, hide, and the backstraps), and worked him down the mountain one piece at a time.  We spotted him at 7:15 AM, shot him the first time at 8:30 AM, and the kill at 9:30.  It took us until 3:30 pm to get back to the truck.  nice moose pic  We shot him from the hill 450 yards behind pic   Nice front fork  pic  Roy rides Hazel and leads Shadow, the moose hauler  pic   The mountain behind Roy is now officially Roy's Hill  pic  Proof that Jonesy was there!  pic

Peter Spear, NH 603-228-4600  Moose and bear.  Moose hunter Peter Spears and guide Cole spotted a big black bear lying right on top of the carcass of a 6 point bull Gary Soens had killed a week before. When we field dress an elk we take the quarters and backstraps off, leaving the ribs, guts, and backbone intact. This bear was actually sleeping on the carcass keeping the ravens away and periodically laying back his head and groaning, "I can‘t believe I ate the whole thing." Quite comical, says Cole and Peter. So that evening they went into Alpine and bought Peter a bear tag. The next morning they put a long stalk on the bear and killed it. Great bear!  pic  pic  pic  pic   The third day they sat by a pond when two small moose decided to have a good sparring match right in front of them, 50 yards. They watched for an hour when this bigger bull came swaggering up (I guess the correct term is "posturing"-showing off his headgear) to show them who is boss. At 27 yards Peter shot him in the neck, dropping him instantly. While they skinned and quartered the bull, the other two kept sparring, feeding, and watered as close as 10 yards, and bedded within 50 yards. Terrific encounter!  pic  pic

Elk Hunt:  Saw a lot of elk and had some good success.  Some tough days, some excellent days.  Sounds like hunting?

Roy Roeser, WY 307-745-4148  Roy is one of the nicest guys we've had in camp.  On the second day of his hunt Roy and guide Brian saw a huge 6x6 bull, 370 class.  Roy missed him three times at 320 yards.  "No excuses, I just missed."  They were riding down the trail in the evening and Brian cow-called.  The bull stepped out of the scrub pines to take a look.  This was probably the same bull I (Jonesy) saw during deer season and I guessed him at 350 SCI (SCI score is the same as B&C gross.  We use SCI scoring almost exclusively now because it doesn't deduct for non-symmetry.  It gives an animal credit for what he grew.)  When I compared notes with Brian he said, "He was definitely bigger than 350, probably 370."

Arnie Motta, CA 805-928-1986  Arnie killed a nice 4x4 bull on the first morning of his hunt.  He hung around the rest of the week to enjoy the fishing, horseback riding, hiking, and camp atmosphere.  Had a great time.  pic  guide Brian 

Bill Sprague, WI 715-345-6771  Bill killed a big 6x5 bull on the first day.  The bull went down in a heap.  Guide Tom and hunting partner Mike congratulated him with high-fives all around, then went down to the bull.  It got up and took off.  Bill says, "I chased him 800 yards before putting him down.  What a hunt!"   pic

Mike Pertulla, WI 715-572-3021  Mike killed a spike bull on the third day, just at daylight.  I accompanied Mike, Bill, and guide Tom into a big canyon, then up the side of the mountain, then tied the horses and sneaked through the trees to where they had seen a herd of elk the evening before.  Sure enough, there was a spike feeding and Mike knocked him down at 150 yards.  We had a great day packing him out in beautiful weather and beautiful surroundings.  pic

Paul Bayne, WY  Paul hauls my hunters to camp from the airport in exchange for a day of hunting (all he can physically do at this time).  Paul and I had a great day, seeing a number of elk and almost getting a shot at a couple of them, but not quite.  We also saw a huge bull moose and we helped Bob Lynum pack out his elk.

Bob Lynum, MN  952-368-9806 Bob is getting a bit long in the tooth, so sat on a stand in a prime spot on opening morning while his son and guide Sparky hunted further up the mountain.  He saw a few elk, then a couple of them came by him and he made an excellent moving shot on it.  As it came across the mountain Paul was drawing a bead on it when it fell and rolled down the hill.  Bob enjoyed the camp atmosphere for the next few days while his son kept hunting.  pic

Mark Lynum, MN 952-443-2893 Mark saw a number of elk including a really big 6 pointer a long way off.  Bob and I and guide Sparky made a long stalk to where the elk were supposed to be bedded but they had continued down the hill into some heavy timber.  We couldn't find them.  Sometimes elk do some strange things.  They came out of a high mountain basin where there was no hunting pressure at all and hadn't been in the three days of the season. They came across a bare open hillside to a flat point with a lot of good beds, with 4 escape routes.  Perfect place to lie up for the day.  I would have bet $100 that they would be bedded there.  They didn't, but instead continued down the hill to where there had been a lot of hunting pressure.  Stupid elk!  We spotted some other elk in the snow in a big basin and Sparky and I made a drive, with Mark posted in a strategic spot.  We followed lion and bear tracks across the steep snowy hillside and pushed the elk out, but the stupid critters climbed a very steep timbered hillside, with no escape routes.  The tracks showed two cows and two calves, so we spared Mark the climb up there to murder them, but they deserved it.  "We were both really happy with our hunts and would give very good recommendations!  Even though I did not get an Elk it was without question one of the most enjoyable times I have ever had while Elk hunting and Dad was very pleased with everything as well.  He is truly an experienced “Camp Rat”."

Gary Soens, MN 320-384-6727  Killed a heavy dark-horned 6x5 on the first morning.  Guide Grant said that bull died in the worst spot he has ever seen to try and quarter an elk.  It was wedged under a log.  Really tough, but a great bull.  pic

Steve Tendrup, MN  320-384-7845  Steve just seemed to be in the right place at the wrong time or the other way around.  He worked hard, but Lady-Luck just wasn't a Lady to him.  guide Grant

John Boerschig, TX  281-391-9252  John killed a spike on the first day.  "I had my boys with me so they just had to have that experience of seeing an elk killed and helping pack it out."  The game warden just happened to kick it out to John as he rode out of the timber.  John enjoyed a couple of days hunting bear while his boys were still hunting elk.  guide Darin  pic

Clay Lemmons, TX  281-391-9252  Clay and his brother, Lance, had a great time on their first elk hunt, with Clay getting his first elk.  Lance didn't have a permit, but tagged along as help.  Clay and guide Darin were sneaking some timber while  I, Jonesy, and Lance and John were glassing a big drainage looking for elk (and looking for a bear for John).  Lance and I spotted some elk on a timbered hillside and watched them.  When Clay and Darin showed up the elk were coming across a saddle 100 yards in front of us and Clay started shooting.  He was somewhat winded from running down the ridge, so he missed the easy shots and then killed the elk with his .30-06 with a long 270 yard shot, twice as far as he had ever shot game before.  Darin and Lance and Clay climbed down the very steep ridge while I went back for John and the horses.  We had a rough time getting the horses down the super-steep ridge, through some blow-downs, and back up to where the elk was.  It was a beautiful day and a great experience for the two young fellers.  Clay is 18 and Lance is 15.  Clay also saw a huge bull moose and they almost stepped on a big bull elk but didn't get a shot at it as he blew out through the timber.  pic   pic

Brent Gronley, CA  925-200-5543 and Bob Mills, CA 209-481-6415  The first morning of the hunt, before daylight, we paused with the horses and I (Jonesy) bugled.  pic of Brent, Bob, and Jonesy, taken by guide Brian.  A faint bugle answered far up the mountain.  So we waited, then bugled again.  The answer was closer.  Brian and I took Bob and Brent up the mountain and just at shooting light the big six point bull was at 200 yards.  Brent had a stump to shoot from, but from that point a small branch was somewhat in the way, halfway to the bull.  Brent shot anyway and the bull took off.  Brian grabbed Bob and ran down the trail about a hundred yards, then Bob got an offhand shot at the bull at about 150 yards, but Bob was somewhat out of breath.  We chased the bull a ways further, but no luck.  Over the next four days the guys hunted hard without success.  Then the last morning we sneaked into this meadow at daylight, crossed it, then glassed a draw.  Right on cue some elk came across and this time Brent didn't miss; one shot at 310 yards put the spike bull down.  Some other elk in the herd ran back the way they had come but although Bob and Brian chased them they didn't see any horns.  So Brian and Brent took care of the elk while Bob and I spent the morning sneaking timber trying to find the missing herd of elk, which is still missing and will remain missing until next year.  Brent with his bull  pic  pic  

Ed Tibbals, CA 323-228-1158  This was Ed Tibbals’ fourth elk hunt, the first with me. No shots previously and almost no elk seen. Grant and I took Ed and Greg into a canyon and then we split up. I kind of followed my nose and ended up over a ridge into another canyon. We almost immediately spotted a bull across the canyon a mile away. We rode our horses in "hot pursuit", stopping about 600 yards away. The bull happened to bed down where we could see him and I thought we might be able to get a shot. We crossed a deep ravine and then across a timbered ridge. We did the "Hiawatha" sneak, being very very careful to not make noise. By great luck we found a hole in the timber where we could see the bull lying facing away from us and slightly downhill. Range was 185 yards. I told Ed to put it between his ears and if the bullet dropped it would get into his spine. At the shot the bull lurched out of his bed, obviously hit. Ed shot twice more and the bull disappeared into the brush, but I saw a tree waving from what I thought was his death throes. It took 15 minutes to work our way over there across the steep and frozen ravine. The bull was lying there, dead. I gave Ed a big congratulatory handshake, whereupon the "dead" bull jumped to his feet and headed down the hill through the jackpines, aspens, and alders. 75 yards and three more shots later we finally downed the bull for good. Great trophy bull!  pic   pic   pic  Guide Grant & Jonesy

Brian Guttshall, CA  818-244-6571  Brian killed a spike bull the first morning of his hunt. As soon as he shot a big five point bull ran out that they hadn't seen.  pic  pic   guide Sparky

Kevin Michal, CA 310-660-0090  On the third day of his hunt Kevin knocked down a big bull elk.  It got up and ran off.  They chased it without success.  Couldn't find any blood.  Guide Sparky

Tom Roland, CA  757-466-8800  Tom passed up a spike, saw some other elk, but didn't find the one he wanted.  He hunted hard, but no luck.

Greg Evans, CA 310-660-0090  Greg never saw an elk in 4 1/2 days of hunting.  Just consistently in the right places at the wrong times.  This is the first time a guy has hunted that long with me and not seen an elk (a couple of hunters have only hunted one day, or two, and not seen elk).  I feel real bad about it, as the other hunters in camp were seeing elk, but Greg just didn't.  Sorry Greg.

Dennis Shaw, WI 608-843-2261  Dennis passed up a spike on the first day.  He "almost" got a shot at a big bull, 5 or 6 point, but as he went to flip his safety off the bull stepped into the timber.