NWPA0311
Well-Known Member
I know it is a general tag however does anyone know what elk unit NTO hunts. I couldnt find anything on their website.
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2020 LRH group hunt for elk with non-typical outfitters in western wyoming
- Thread starter Andy Backus
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They try not to broadcast it. Give them a call.
NWPA0311
Well-Known Member
Will do
remingtonman_25_06
Well-Known Member
What unit or location is this hunt? Western Wyoming is a pretty big area and quite vague.
- Joined
- May 2, 2001
- Messages
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They try not to broadcast it. Give them a call.
Tree Farmer
Well-Known Member
One bull for ten hunters.
gillettehunter
Well-Known Member
1 for 10 SUCKS. Any idea why?
Bruce
Bruce
Robb Wiley
Official LRH Sponsor
I am writing a full hunt report that will be posted up very soon. I am also going to include a video of a bull that was shot at 730 yards with a 300 Norma that appeared to be a lethal hit with a 230 grain bullet. We ended up tracking this bull for three days and many miles until we lost his tracks on frozen bare ground. Looking forward to sharing,
just waiting on the video...
Robb Wiley
Non Typical Outfitters
just waiting on the video...
Robb Wiley
Non Typical Outfitters
M T Roberts
Well-Known Member
Thanks Rob,
We are all looking forward to the details of the hunt.
Travis Roberts
We are all looking forward to the details of the hunt.
Travis Roberts
Robb Wiley
Official LRH Sponsor
2020 Elk Hunting Report.
Here is a report of the 2020 LRH group hunt. We had 9 elk hunters and 1 antelope hunter in camp for a total of 10 hunters. The week started off with the weather that we all dream of, and often need for success, snow and cold. Most of our 2020 fall had been hot and smokey in western Wyoming, so the snow and cold clear skies were a great relief. I tried to paint an accurate picture for our hunters of what to expect the night before the hunt. We were going to start off with perfect elk hunting weather, day 1 and 2, and by the end of the hunt it was going to be tougher hunting with daytime temps in the upper 60's and a full moon. The full moon can, and almost always does, create elk hunting challenges if the weather is hot. Often the last week of October snow balances any full moon challenges that we might face.
First off, here are some words from a couple of NTO's guides that speak of the week's experiences;
My name is Jacob Williams. I am the camp manager and head guide for NTO. I guided Ken and JD on the LRH hunt. Two days prior to the hunt I had filmed a 300 class bull feeding with a group of cows. That was our target bull and we spent most of our time in that area during the hunt. We were coming out of a cold snap and having looked at the weather report we knew that the hunting was going to get tougher as the week went on. The forecast was projecting the day time highs rising to the mid 60's, possibly upper 60's, by the end of the week. Knowing this, we chose to be aggressive on the 1st day. We were in a shooting position when the sun came up. 15 minutes after daylight we had an opportunity at a good 5 point at 200 yards and unfortunately the shooter missed. The gunfire spooked the rest of the elk in that area. On day 2 we hunted the same area from a different direction and saw 70 head of elk including several smaller bulls. Knowing there was a bigger bull in the area, we chose to keep hunting. Day 3 we returned to the same spot and saw another 70-75 head of elk. We located a nice 5x5 and on the stalk some cows that were with the bull winded us. Because of the day time temperatures, we were seeing good elk movement early in the morning but the elk were usually hitting the timber by 9am. We were seeing very little movement in the afternoon because of the heat. On day 4 we moved to a new area and saw another 40 head of elk along with a bull that we would have shot, however, after he entered the timber in the morning he never came back out. On day 5 we had an opportunity at a small bull at 525 yards, but while setting up for the shot there was a safety malfunction and the gun discharged before he was on target. We did get another shot off at the bull but he was on the move by that point and it was a miss. We spent the rest of the day riding hard and looking for a bull. We got into another big group of elk before dark, 100+ head, but were unable to find a bull within shooting distance. We did, however, spot a big 6x6 across the canyon at 1200 yards. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time before dark to close the distance.
My name is Wes Cummins. I am a return guide for Non-Typical Outfitters.
I got the privilege the last week of rifle elk to share the high country with two special weapons and tactics team mates from PA, Josh and Don! Both men were on their first ever guided hunt of any kind. These two came in with high hopes of harvesting a mature bull elk like the rest of the gents in camp, but most of all they were looking for a memorable experience. The first morning of the hunt, after saddling up horses over a quick breakfast, I explained to both that I had been seeing a large 6x6 bull that had been holding up on a very large, steep, and tough mountain along with several other smaller bulls and lots of cows! I also explained that for the previous two weeks I've tried to get hunters in range of the bull, but due to the steepness of the mountain and the inability to get horses right to the bull, jump off, and start slinging lead, we missed two opportunities! Granted it's a bitch of a mountain! On that note, I kinda saw Josh's eyes light up and he responded, "Dude that's exactly what I signed up for, something that's going to test us! We are in!" So that first morning we set out with goals to locate the bull from a good viewing point, and come up with a game plan to get in range. After riding up onto a heard of 50+elk with several rag horn bulls piping off bugles in the twilight, we set up and spent most of the morning glassing cows and rag horn bulls, as well as some great mule deer! We had a pretty exciting first morning, but just couldn't turn up the bull we were looking for. On day two we set out to a different glassing point with a little different look at the hill we were hunting. Stopping shy of the ridge I wanted to glass from with the horses, I explained that we had a short hill to pull on foot. "Grab any gear you can't be without and be prepared. There's a good possibility that there are elk within range." As we crept the ridge, I spotted a small group of cows and a spike bull at 200 yards. They were unaware of our presence and we tucked in some trees and started searching for a good bull. After looking through a heard of 20+ elk scattered throughout some young fir trees, we were unable to turn up any significant headgear. Turning my glass to the big hill where the 6 point and other bulls had been hiding, I spotted a group of about 15 cows with a small 5x5 over 3000 yards away grazing away from us and up hill, straight up hill, and through a giant game of pick-em-up sticks. After bringing them to Josh and Don's attention, Josh quickly said that that was a bull that he would be happy to go home with. Knowing time was of the essence, and horses were out of the question to get us in range due to downed timber, and the chance of blowing up the herd right below us and the rest of the mountain, I quickly devised a stalk from where we were. I explained to Josh that this wasn't going to be easy as we had to go over and though all the dead falls and the three bald, tree-tangled ridges to get within range were steep as steep gets. I explained that we needed to move quickly to make up for the ground the elk were making up hill, away, and into an area where getting close enough for a shot was going to be limited. Don quickly opted to stay back and glass. "Don't blame ya brother." I think I said. I looked at Josh, and as amped up and cowboy-ready to nod his head outta the bucking chutes, Josh said, "Let's do this! I've been preparing mentally and physically for this hunt, and this is exactly what I signed up for!" With that, and a quick wind check, we bombed of the first ridge into a snowy tangled mess of young pines and dead falls as well as past a pretty impressive bull moose. Pulling the first ridge with Josh impressively right on my heals, we stopped to relocate our bull. The bull was still quickly grazing the wrong direction. I pointed across two ridges to the ridge we were headed for. We needed to get there quickly to stay within 4-600 yards. Josh took a deep breath and on we went, down, up, down and straight up (pretty sure there was one more down, up in there). Approaching the ridge crest I told Josh, "This is going to be it man, you are killing it! Catch your breath for a second but we gotta get into position." As we crept the hill, steam was rolling off both Josh and I making it almost hard to see through any glass. We spotted the bull. He was still 600 yards away. Josh said, "Can we get 500?" After a quick scan of our terrain we dropped slightly behind the ridge we were on and made a quick 100 yard dash up hill and bumped back into shooting position. Through the steam I ranged the bull at 480. Josh was on it. He grabbed my pack, set his gun up in a prone position, and even asked for my leather mittens as a back rest to steady his gun. "This dude has done his homework on making a successful shot," I thought to myself. Josh ended up taking 4 shots on the bull with all but one being vital hits! With the bull down, Josh and I began to celebrate the beginning of his victory. After multiple high fives, hugs and some big old smiles we got a good mark on where the bull had expired, and began our hike back to the horses. The hard work was about to begin. We took most of the rest of the day leading horses through, over, and under, some of the steepest, rocky, tree-riddled terrain, to get as close to the kill site as we could. We defiantly pushed the physical and emotional comfort zones of Josh and Don! Through all this, they never said a negative word. Instead, they pushed themselves and commented on how incredible the horses were and how awesome the country was. Reminiscing back on this hunt, my hand goes out to Josh and Don. These were two men who knew what they wanted and had signed up for. It was clear they had put in their time and efforts to prepare the best they could physically, emotionally, and mentally for this hunt. Because of that, they went home with a filled tag on a tough week of hunting. Josh's ability to move quickly when needed, push through the temporary discomfort of pounding lungs and legs, and then shut it off to make a 3 second shot when it counted, is what allowed us to be successful. Josh, Don and I hunted another three days together sharing life stories, jokes and just having an awesome time enjoying Gods creation around us, all in search of a bull for Don. Unfortunately, we were unable to come up with one worthy of a bullet before their departure back to PA. Josh and Don, we appreciate your service and what you do, and look forward to more time on the mountain together!
Now I will give you a brief idea of what the other hunters in camp experienced throughout the week.
On day one, Bob, one of our three-time return LRH clients, shot a bull at 730-760 yards. I don't remember the yardage exactly. The bull was a super respectable 5x6. Bob was shooting a 300 Norma. You can view a video of the shot at. The hit appeared to be lethal. Everyone expected the bull to be dead within a couple hundred yards as it looked like a heart shot. This ultimately turned into three days in pursuit of a wounded bull. The bull bedded dozens of times with coagulated blood chunks in the beds several times. The shot seemed to be a pass through shot because of blood on both sides of the body. The bull was jumped and seen one more time, with no shot opportunity. We tracked him for miles over three days until we ran out of snow and lost him on frozen ground.
Bjorn and David were also into elk almost everyday. David and guide Talon had a herd of elk they were after when the wind switched. The herd spooked, producing a quick 300 yard standing shot opportunity. Unfortunately David's glasses fogged up and no shot was fired. Later that day Bjorn and Talon made a stalk on a different bull at last light. They had an elk herd in range, but the bull never showed up on the edge of the timber. Later in the week, Bjorn missed a spike 3 times. Both David and Bjorn were in elk every day.
Zac did not make it to camp in time to hunt until day 2. Zac and his guide, Nick, made a stalk on day 3 on a respectable 5x5. They waited him out, but the bull never fed out of the timber for a shot that night. Evening elk movement was supper slow. They saw several rag horn bulls over the course of the week's hunting.
On day five Zac and Nick hunted one canyon to the top, David, Bjorn with Talon hunted in a paralleling canyon and the two groups met at the top on the same knob. The guide team located a herd with a 5x6 that would have approached 300 inches. The herd was bedded on the top of a 9000 foot high point that did not present an easy approach physically. Several attack plans where talked about. One involved high physical output and another offered a shot at a distance estimated around 600 yards. All the hunters were given the opportunity to make a stalk. All declined due to the difficulty of the terrain or the shot distance. I respect and encourage the decision to not take shots out of one's comfort range. On a 5 day hunt, on day 5, I feel the best choice would have been to try a stalk with the goal of getting into a comfortable shooting distance, regardless of the physical outlay. Often it looks harder than it ends up being.
One hunter for the week had a 1on1 hunt booked. He and his guide located a giant on day 1, a 340 plus bull. We had chased that bull for 2 years. The closest shot they could get was 430 yards. The hunter could not get comfortable with the shot so chose not to take it. They had one more opportunity at the bull at the same distance the next day. I respect this guide and hunter team for knowing their personal limitations and sticking to it. That bull is a giant for us, with crowned points. He's a true dream come true for any western Wyoming elk hunter. This experience was a supper successful hunt regardless of the kill. On a side note, I had a hunter on that same bull bulging at 540 yards last year with about 80 cows. The hunter with me was shooting a 6.5 Creedmore and we decided to get to 400 yards. The cows winded us before a shot could be fired.
All the hunters had different levels of opportunities, everyone saw elk almost every day. It is undeniable that we all wanted to pack out more bulls for this group of hunters. Our staff worked very hard to try and help these guys achieve their personal goals. Several hunters in this group had never killed elk before. We love the opportunity to help everyone achieve their personal goals, first time elk hunter or veteran hunter alike. I personally struggled not being able to help more on this hunt. I had shoulder surgery on Sept 1, so all I had clearance from my doctor to do was guide Antelope and support this hunt with ideas. The weather certainly played a roll in the success of this hunt. If we would have killed the bulls that we had legitimate shot opportunities at, and stalked all the bulls regardless of challenge, we would have been very close to our normal 75 percent kill average. Overall, our kill average for the 2020 was below normal. We had two hunts that were close to 100 percent earlier in the season. We had another hunt that was also difficult with some wounded bulls that got away after being down on the ground for 10-20 minutes after the shot. We killed some tremendous bulls too. Several bulls were some of our very best bulls to date. To clearly put this hunt in perspective, western Wyoming is incredible general elk hunting, there are so few places left in the west that offers opportunities like this every year. Even on a tough hunt, Wyoming is still better than most of the other western general elk hunts.
We enjoy tremendously the opportunity to host this group of first class hunters. There are challenges in taking a group of hunters who often have never met each other, blending physical abilities and desires on 2on1 hunts, but in the end it's worth it. It's always fun to help guys meet and share world class experiences together and develop life long friendships. We had a returning LRH hunter who joined our team on the other side of the contract in 2020. Joe first took our shooting class and then hunted elk in 2016. Now Joe is about to retire from the marine corps (thank you, Joe, for your service) and is planning to join our guide staff. This year he joined us for guide training. He and Bob shared a successful hunt in 2016 together and were able to share this 2020 hunt experience together again with the same guide, Nick.
Our goal in hosting this hunt is to bring guys together to create life long memories. To share some of the most spectacular country on the planet on horseback, while hunting one of the last strongholds of public land (general tag) elk hunting left in the west. To have a group of hunters start as strangers and leave as friends is an amazing feat. It's an honorable challenge taking this group hunters into rough mountainous terrain looking for the elusive Elk, safely and successfully. We test them mentally and physically, often taking them completely out of their comfort zones. We end up testing their gear, shooting skills and preparation while teaching them new skills along the way. We do our best to download our recipe of success that we have seen prevail on many successful NTO hunts; Patience, Persistence and Believing in the dream long enough that it happens, not allowing challenges to overcome us. I believe the challenges we face on these hunts and/or in life add great value to the overall experience in the end. Sometimes goals take several years to accomplish. One of the hunters who came on this hunt expressed he never felt like he got a solid opportunity at a mature bull, he only had a shot at a spike. We invited him to return on another hunt to fulfill this dream of a mature bull. He has already been on two elk hunts and has never killed a bull. We are committed to the achievement of his goals, and the goals of the rest of our clients. Guys who have believed in us long enough that success happens have seen the commitment we make to our hunters and their dreams first hand. These hunts are challenging, especially when the weather doesn't cooperate. On a 5-day 2on1 hunt we are basically giving each hunter 2 1/2 days to fulfill a dream. So, although the kill numbers sucked on this hunt, the numbers don't accurately reflect the opportunities given. I am super proud of my crew and the extreme hard work they put in for this group of hunters and the opportunities given in spite of the weather. The things we had control of I think we did very well. Several of these clients are scheduled for return hunts and we look forward to doing our best for them again.
Here is a report of the 2020 LRH group hunt. We had 9 elk hunters and 1 antelope hunter in camp for a total of 10 hunters. The week started off with the weather that we all dream of, and often need for success, snow and cold. Most of our 2020 fall had been hot and smokey in western Wyoming, so the snow and cold clear skies were a great relief. I tried to paint an accurate picture for our hunters of what to expect the night before the hunt. We were going to start off with perfect elk hunting weather, day 1 and 2, and by the end of the hunt it was going to be tougher hunting with daytime temps in the upper 60's and a full moon. The full moon can, and almost always does, create elk hunting challenges if the weather is hot. Often the last week of October snow balances any full moon challenges that we might face.
First off, here are some words from a couple of NTO's guides that speak of the week's experiences;
My name is Jacob Williams. I am the camp manager and head guide for NTO. I guided Ken and JD on the LRH hunt. Two days prior to the hunt I had filmed a 300 class bull feeding with a group of cows. That was our target bull and we spent most of our time in that area during the hunt. We were coming out of a cold snap and having looked at the weather report we knew that the hunting was going to get tougher as the week went on. The forecast was projecting the day time highs rising to the mid 60's, possibly upper 60's, by the end of the week. Knowing this, we chose to be aggressive on the 1st day. We were in a shooting position when the sun came up. 15 minutes after daylight we had an opportunity at a good 5 point at 200 yards and unfortunately the shooter missed. The gunfire spooked the rest of the elk in that area. On day 2 we hunted the same area from a different direction and saw 70 head of elk including several smaller bulls. Knowing there was a bigger bull in the area, we chose to keep hunting. Day 3 we returned to the same spot and saw another 70-75 head of elk. We located a nice 5x5 and on the stalk some cows that were with the bull winded us. Because of the day time temperatures, we were seeing good elk movement early in the morning but the elk were usually hitting the timber by 9am. We were seeing very little movement in the afternoon because of the heat. On day 4 we moved to a new area and saw another 40 head of elk along with a bull that we would have shot, however, after he entered the timber in the morning he never came back out. On day 5 we had an opportunity at a small bull at 525 yards, but while setting up for the shot there was a safety malfunction and the gun discharged before he was on target. We did get another shot off at the bull but he was on the move by that point and it was a miss. We spent the rest of the day riding hard and looking for a bull. We got into another big group of elk before dark, 100+ head, but were unable to find a bull within shooting distance. We did, however, spot a big 6x6 across the canyon at 1200 yards. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time before dark to close the distance.
My name is Wes Cummins. I am a return guide for Non-Typical Outfitters.
I got the privilege the last week of rifle elk to share the high country with two special weapons and tactics team mates from PA, Josh and Don! Both men were on their first ever guided hunt of any kind. These two came in with high hopes of harvesting a mature bull elk like the rest of the gents in camp, but most of all they were looking for a memorable experience. The first morning of the hunt, after saddling up horses over a quick breakfast, I explained to both that I had been seeing a large 6x6 bull that had been holding up on a very large, steep, and tough mountain along with several other smaller bulls and lots of cows! I also explained that for the previous two weeks I've tried to get hunters in range of the bull, but due to the steepness of the mountain and the inability to get horses right to the bull, jump off, and start slinging lead, we missed two opportunities! Granted it's a bitch of a mountain! On that note, I kinda saw Josh's eyes light up and he responded, "Dude that's exactly what I signed up for, something that's going to test us! We are in!" So that first morning we set out with goals to locate the bull from a good viewing point, and come up with a game plan to get in range. After riding up onto a heard of 50+elk with several rag horn bulls piping off bugles in the twilight, we set up and spent most of the morning glassing cows and rag horn bulls, as well as some great mule deer! We had a pretty exciting first morning, but just couldn't turn up the bull we were looking for. On day two we set out to a different glassing point with a little different look at the hill we were hunting. Stopping shy of the ridge I wanted to glass from with the horses, I explained that we had a short hill to pull on foot. "Grab any gear you can't be without and be prepared. There's a good possibility that there are elk within range." As we crept the ridge, I spotted a small group of cows and a spike bull at 200 yards. They were unaware of our presence and we tucked in some trees and started searching for a good bull. After looking through a heard of 20+ elk scattered throughout some young fir trees, we were unable to turn up any significant headgear. Turning my glass to the big hill where the 6 point and other bulls had been hiding, I spotted a group of about 15 cows with a small 5x5 over 3000 yards away grazing away from us and up hill, straight up hill, and through a giant game of pick-em-up sticks. After bringing them to Josh and Don's attention, Josh quickly said that that was a bull that he would be happy to go home with. Knowing time was of the essence, and horses were out of the question to get us in range due to downed timber, and the chance of blowing up the herd right below us and the rest of the mountain, I quickly devised a stalk from where we were. I explained to Josh that this wasn't going to be easy as we had to go over and though all the dead falls and the three bald, tree-tangled ridges to get within range were steep as steep gets. I explained that we needed to move quickly to make up for the ground the elk were making up hill, away, and into an area where getting close enough for a shot was going to be limited. Don quickly opted to stay back and glass. "Don't blame ya brother." I think I said. I looked at Josh, and as amped up and cowboy-ready to nod his head outta the bucking chutes, Josh said, "Let's do this! I've been preparing mentally and physically for this hunt, and this is exactly what I signed up for!" With that, and a quick wind check, we bombed of the first ridge into a snowy tangled mess of young pines and dead falls as well as past a pretty impressive bull moose. Pulling the first ridge with Josh impressively right on my heals, we stopped to relocate our bull. The bull was still quickly grazing the wrong direction. I pointed across two ridges to the ridge we were headed for. We needed to get there quickly to stay within 4-600 yards. Josh took a deep breath and on we went, down, up, down and straight up (pretty sure there was one more down, up in there). Approaching the ridge crest I told Josh, "This is going to be it man, you are killing it! Catch your breath for a second but we gotta get into position." As we crept the hill, steam was rolling off both Josh and I making it almost hard to see through any glass. We spotted the bull. He was still 600 yards away. Josh said, "Can we get 500?" After a quick scan of our terrain we dropped slightly behind the ridge we were on and made a quick 100 yard dash up hill and bumped back into shooting position. Through the steam I ranged the bull at 480. Josh was on it. He grabbed my pack, set his gun up in a prone position, and even asked for my leather mittens as a back rest to steady his gun. "This dude has done his homework on making a successful shot," I thought to myself. Josh ended up taking 4 shots on the bull with all but one being vital hits! With the bull down, Josh and I began to celebrate the beginning of his victory. After multiple high fives, hugs and some big old smiles we got a good mark on where the bull had expired, and began our hike back to the horses. The hard work was about to begin. We took most of the rest of the day leading horses through, over, and under, some of the steepest, rocky, tree-riddled terrain, to get as close to the kill site as we could. We defiantly pushed the physical and emotional comfort zones of Josh and Don! Through all this, they never said a negative word. Instead, they pushed themselves and commented on how incredible the horses were and how awesome the country was. Reminiscing back on this hunt, my hand goes out to Josh and Don. These were two men who knew what they wanted and had signed up for. It was clear they had put in their time and efforts to prepare the best they could physically, emotionally, and mentally for this hunt. Because of that, they went home with a filled tag on a tough week of hunting. Josh's ability to move quickly when needed, push through the temporary discomfort of pounding lungs and legs, and then shut it off to make a 3 second shot when it counted, is what allowed us to be successful. Josh, Don and I hunted another three days together sharing life stories, jokes and just having an awesome time enjoying Gods creation around us, all in search of a bull for Don. Unfortunately, we were unable to come up with one worthy of a bullet before their departure back to PA. Josh and Don, we appreciate your service and what you do, and look forward to more time on the mountain together!
Now I will give you a brief idea of what the other hunters in camp experienced throughout the week.
On day one, Bob, one of our three-time return LRH clients, shot a bull at 730-760 yards. I don't remember the yardage exactly. The bull was a super respectable 5x6. Bob was shooting a 300 Norma. You can view a video of the shot at. The hit appeared to be lethal. Everyone expected the bull to be dead within a couple hundred yards as it looked like a heart shot. This ultimately turned into three days in pursuit of a wounded bull. The bull bedded dozens of times with coagulated blood chunks in the beds several times. The shot seemed to be a pass through shot because of blood on both sides of the body. The bull was jumped and seen one more time, with no shot opportunity. We tracked him for miles over three days until we ran out of snow and lost him on frozen ground.
Bjorn and David were also into elk almost everyday. David and guide Talon had a herd of elk they were after when the wind switched. The herd spooked, producing a quick 300 yard standing shot opportunity. Unfortunately David's glasses fogged up and no shot was fired. Later that day Bjorn and Talon made a stalk on a different bull at last light. They had an elk herd in range, but the bull never showed up on the edge of the timber. Later in the week, Bjorn missed a spike 3 times. Both David and Bjorn were in elk every day.
Zac did not make it to camp in time to hunt until day 2. Zac and his guide, Nick, made a stalk on day 3 on a respectable 5x5. They waited him out, but the bull never fed out of the timber for a shot that night. Evening elk movement was supper slow. They saw several rag horn bulls over the course of the week's hunting.
On day five Zac and Nick hunted one canyon to the top, David, Bjorn with Talon hunted in a paralleling canyon and the two groups met at the top on the same knob. The guide team located a herd with a 5x6 that would have approached 300 inches. The herd was bedded on the top of a 9000 foot high point that did not present an easy approach physically. Several attack plans where talked about. One involved high physical output and another offered a shot at a distance estimated around 600 yards. All the hunters were given the opportunity to make a stalk. All declined due to the difficulty of the terrain or the shot distance. I respect and encourage the decision to not take shots out of one's comfort range. On a 5 day hunt, on day 5, I feel the best choice would have been to try a stalk with the goal of getting into a comfortable shooting distance, regardless of the physical outlay. Often it looks harder than it ends up being.
One hunter for the week had a 1on1 hunt booked. He and his guide located a giant on day 1, a 340 plus bull. We had chased that bull for 2 years. The closest shot they could get was 430 yards. The hunter could not get comfortable with the shot so chose not to take it. They had one more opportunity at the bull at the same distance the next day. I respect this guide and hunter team for knowing their personal limitations and sticking to it. That bull is a giant for us, with crowned points. He's a true dream come true for any western Wyoming elk hunter. This experience was a supper successful hunt regardless of the kill. On a side note, I had a hunter on that same bull bulging at 540 yards last year with about 80 cows. The hunter with me was shooting a 6.5 Creedmore and we decided to get to 400 yards. The cows winded us before a shot could be fired.
All the hunters had different levels of opportunities, everyone saw elk almost every day. It is undeniable that we all wanted to pack out more bulls for this group of hunters. Our staff worked very hard to try and help these guys achieve their personal goals. Several hunters in this group had never killed elk before. We love the opportunity to help everyone achieve their personal goals, first time elk hunter or veteran hunter alike. I personally struggled not being able to help more on this hunt. I had shoulder surgery on Sept 1, so all I had clearance from my doctor to do was guide Antelope and support this hunt with ideas. The weather certainly played a roll in the success of this hunt. If we would have killed the bulls that we had legitimate shot opportunities at, and stalked all the bulls regardless of challenge, we would have been very close to our normal 75 percent kill average. Overall, our kill average for the 2020 was below normal. We had two hunts that were close to 100 percent earlier in the season. We had another hunt that was also difficult with some wounded bulls that got away after being down on the ground for 10-20 minutes after the shot. We killed some tremendous bulls too. Several bulls were some of our very best bulls to date. To clearly put this hunt in perspective, western Wyoming is incredible general elk hunting, there are so few places left in the west that offers opportunities like this every year. Even on a tough hunt, Wyoming is still better than most of the other western general elk hunts.
We enjoy tremendously the opportunity to host this group of first class hunters. There are challenges in taking a group of hunters who often have never met each other, blending physical abilities and desires on 2on1 hunts, but in the end it's worth it. It's always fun to help guys meet and share world class experiences together and develop life long friendships. We had a returning LRH hunter who joined our team on the other side of the contract in 2020. Joe first took our shooting class and then hunted elk in 2016. Now Joe is about to retire from the marine corps (thank you, Joe, for your service) and is planning to join our guide staff. This year he joined us for guide training. He and Bob shared a successful hunt in 2016 together and were able to share this 2020 hunt experience together again with the same guide, Nick.
Our goal in hosting this hunt is to bring guys together to create life long memories. To share some of the most spectacular country on the planet on horseback, while hunting one of the last strongholds of public land (general tag) elk hunting left in the west. To have a group of hunters start as strangers and leave as friends is an amazing feat. It's an honorable challenge taking this group hunters into rough mountainous terrain looking for the elusive Elk, safely and successfully. We test them mentally and physically, often taking them completely out of their comfort zones. We end up testing their gear, shooting skills and preparation while teaching them new skills along the way. We do our best to download our recipe of success that we have seen prevail on many successful NTO hunts; Patience, Persistence and Believing in the dream long enough that it happens, not allowing challenges to overcome us. I believe the challenges we face on these hunts and/or in life add great value to the overall experience in the end. Sometimes goals take several years to accomplish. One of the hunters who came on this hunt expressed he never felt like he got a solid opportunity at a mature bull, he only had a shot at a spike. We invited him to return on another hunt to fulfill this dream of a mature bull. He has already been on two elk hunts and has never killed a bull. We are committed to the achievement of his goals, and the goals of the rest of our clients. Guys who have believed in us long enough that success happens have seen the commitment we make to our hunters and their dreams first hand. These hunts are challenging, especially when the weather doesn't cooperate. On a 5-day 2on1 hunt we are basically giving each hunter 2 1/2 days to fulfill a dream. So, although the kill numbers sucked on this hunt, the numbers don't accurately reflect the opportunities given. I am super proud of my crew and the extreme hard work they put in for this group of hunters and the opportunities given in spite of the weather. The things we had control of I think we did very well. Several of these clients are scheduled for return hunts and we look forward to doing our best for them again.
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M T Roberts
Well-Known Member
Sounds like the boys went hunting! Hunting is not killing and is full of great memories! God blessed them by giving us the elk, the beautiful country and awesome fellowship with the guides and other hunters. Wish I was there! Congratulations everyone in a great hunt.
lilharcher
Well-Known Member
Rob - how was your deer season? I heard deer season was also tougher than years past. Fully understand you are offering a great hunting experience, and NOT a high fence 'kill' type hunt. Any color on how your deer season shook out?
Robb Wiley
Official LRH Sponsor
Mule deer season turned out well because our crew and hunters hunted their guts out. Heat, smoke and tons of pressure made deer season super challenging! Wish we could have connected on more bucks for the huge effort from guides and hunters! Western Wyoming is still the best mule deer herd in Wyoming, just wish we could do more to protect it for all hunters, resident and nonresident alike. Here are a few pictures.
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