2021 LRH Group Hunt For Elk With Non-Typical Outfitters

Looking forward to hearing how it all went, check in fellas when you get caught up on sleep and cleaned up:)
 
I hunted Oct.15-19 with Rob and the crew. This is my 5th hunt with Nontypical. 3 elk, 1 bear, and an antelope. I am now 4 for 5 on hunts with Nontypical Outfitters and the only reason I'm not 5 for 5 is that I made the mistake of passing on too many elk on this last hunt mixed with a bit of bad luck, not being in the right spot about 10 minutes earlier, plus also some sub par shooting on my part. It was definitely not for lack of Elk or lack of effort from the guides.
So to break down this hunt from the start you have to understand the conditions. It was snowing like mad and about 13 degrees when we arrived in camp. The weather could not have been better, the kind of conditions elk guides dream about for an opening day hunt. The problem I ran into was this; have you ever been duck hunting and had a huge flock drop in and you just can't concentrate on one bird? This was the elk hunting version of that!
I hunted all 5 days and legitimately passed on respectable bulls everyday, sometimes several on some days. Maybe I'll shoot this one, no let's wait and see, man they saw a huge one over there today, lets let that one go we might see the big one later. We had a giant on the 3rd day and he just plain beat us. He was moving and we kept trying to get ahead of him and get set up and we couldn't. I can not stress enough how much being as physically fit as possible will benefit your hunt. I did not do my part on this, this time, and it cost me. This terrain is tough and you may very well find yourself in some very challenging situations.
All in all as usual the hunt was epic, the scenery was epic, and if you are lucky enough to have Mrs. Courtney in camp as the cook along with Jacob and camp dog Fancy you are sure to be in for a great time. I'm looking forward to booking my next hunt with them. I assure you that you will never hunt with an outfit that puts more effort into putting you on the game that you came to hunt. These guys are as good as it gets.
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Been a few days since the trips been over anyone going to give us a report as to how it went?

Hopefully all is well!
 
The 2021 elk season was a tremendous success at NTO. I just want to thank the guys and gals who made it all possible. We had the honor of spending some magical time on the mountain with many folks who found us through this awesome website. We shared the mountain with longtime returning friends and with new friends too. We helped some first time elk hunters connect on their first bull, and seasoned veterans that came looking for a giant. Thanks to all! We appreciate you ALL greatly!!

Because of the point creep for 2021 we did not draw enough LRH group hunters to have a traditional group hunt. The LRH hunters who drew ended up scattered out in different hunts. The year started with perfect elk hunting weather, cold and snowy. We had great numbers of elk to chase. We ended up with a high harvest rate for the season with an even higher opportunity rate. We also killed one of the biggest bulls of our career, a true giant for our area.

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We had been chasing the giant bull for 3 years. The first year (2019) that we hunted this tremendous bull we had him at 530 yards with a hunter shooting a 6.5 creedmoor. Due to the distance and the caliber we did not want to take a shot and I felt confident we could get to 400 yards. During the stalk to 400 yards we bumped some cows and the game was over. The next season we had a hunter with us who had originally booked an archery hunt. Before his scheduled archery hunt he broke his thumb making pulling the bow back with his release impossible, this left us to a rifle hunt. During this 2020 rifle hunt our client had two opportunities at the amazing bull at 430 yards. Although shooting a 338, our 2020 hunter decided to only shoot at the bull if he and the guide could close the distance to 300 yards. I have since talked with the 2020 elk client. He mentioned how badly he would have liked to have those 2020 days over again after taking our shooting class.

2020 pictures
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The man who decided to jump on the challenge of bringing this bull we named "Brutus" to camp in 2021 went all in. He booked a 7 day trophy rifle hunt to maximize the days for getting this tremendous bull, he also came to archery hunt this amazing animal. He also booked his 4th NTO shooting class with us in 2021 to make sure that no matter what the bull and the mountain threw at us we were prepared for it. Whenever you narrow your sights to one animal, you want to have time and preperation on your side. I am planning to publish the entire crazy amazing story of hunting this bull on our NTO website (under the blog) this December, come check it out. I promise a story with plenty of challenges, tons of adventure that came with a purpose. Supper hard choices of keeping our priorities in their proper alignment. At one point we even gave up, check out the story as to why we went back. This Bull would never have been killed without a tremendous team effort!!! Check it all out in December!

Also if you have interest in hunting some of the bulls that got away this year, we would love to talk with you!
Please be warned, hunting giants on public land is one of the pinnacles of challenge in the hunting world today! They don't get really big by being easy to kill. You must come ready for challenge, mentally as well as physically. You must come ready to shoot quickly in rough mountainous terrain! This hunt is not for everyone... Call us to talk about the bulls that got away...
 
What a sight!!! Then to chase that brute for three years!!!?? :) WOW!!!! And a Good On Ya for getting that bull and a Good On Ya to the Hunter who took him!! WOW!!! Very nice!:)
 
Curious on the point creep comment. I've been preparing to participate in this hunt. I just applied for my second point...when I started this process the guidance was you needed 2 points plus pay for the more expensive tag (forget the technicalities here) so I thought I'd be good to go in 2022.

Has that changed?
 
Let me see if I can explain. In 2021 there was a sizable jump in the point creep for Wyoming general elk. The general elk special with 2 points drew at 22% success, with 1000's of additional applicants over 2020 numbers. Not sure if this is the new normal or a spike in activity because of covid cabin fever. Another factor could have been all the international hunts with closed borders. Lot's of things in play, we are going to have to wait and see for 2022.
 
Thx for the pics Rob, gorgeous bull! Pics are tough to decipher at times, what's this bugger score B&C or SCI?

What's your best guess as to how many points a fella needs to draw G for deer and elk?
 
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Just bought my second point and since I drew nm this year I'm happy to wait a couple of years.

Not sure how good it would look for the long term if I drew next year and went on another guided hunt... 😉
I need to figure out how to buy points still 😂
 
Thx for the pics Rob, gorgeous bull! Pics are tough to decipher at times, what's this bugger score B&C or SCI?

What's your best guess as to how many points a fella needs to draw G for deer and elk?
Yes, he truly is a gorgeous bull! We never scored him in camp, we were so ate up with appreciation for the whole experience, we just hardly even talked about score. I wouldn't want to guess. If we get him scored I would be happy to pass it on.

Best guess; G (8 plus points), Elk (2 points). I am hopeful 2021 general elk was an anomaly for point creep.

Respectfully!
 

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