Chama NM

[Topgun 30-06]

Yep! A clean camp with good equipment and knowledegable staff that will try their best under all circumstances is all you can expect. Guides need to not only know how to set up for ideal conditions, which is fairly simple when the weather is right and the animals are there and moving/feeding during legal hunting hours. It's the bad weather days when the animals hunker down that require a lot more expertise to know where to look and how to go about the hunt under poor conditions such as hot weather, full moon, etc. The one other thing is that they should know exactly what the client expects to shoot and if it's only a top end type animal not be pushing the hunter to fill a tag with any old animal just so they end the hunt early and/or keep their percentage of animals taken high.

 

[jakebrake]

Man that story really scared the crap out of me.Like most people I am not a rich man.This will probaly be a once in a life time thing.I couldnt even think of having to deal with such a poor outfit.I am glad you spoke the truth.I hope others will do the same.Weather they score or not.I myself if I found in such a mess.I wouldve ended up in trouble.Beacuse I wouldve wanted my money back.ASAP.Stayin home just sounded a whole lot better.

 

[jakebrake]

I forgot the area they said.I was planning on this year.But a 2nd shoulder op messed those plans up.They seem like the best I found so far.So places want way to much money.I aint basing it on money alone.But I aint going top shelf either.

 

[whit]

Jakebrake,
I will be hunting with Fishtail from Oct. 10-14, 2nd week rifle. I never hunted with them but Lee Weiss, the owner, seems very knowledgable. PM me after I get back and I will let you know what I think.

Chris

 

[82ndreddevil]

I never understood why people use outfitters, half the fun is figuring it all out on your own. The first time I hunted in Colorado I enjoyed just doing it on my own. All the outfitters in Chama are good, they will find you a nice bull. In fact they will do everything except pull the trigger for you.

 

[whit]

I just returned from my hunt with Fishtail Ranch. I shot a 5 x 6 bull on Wed. morning. I have nothing but postive comments about my experience. when we arrived Sunday there was nearly 24" of snow on the mountain which was unusual. By Monday the temps. were climbing back up to the 60's. This through the elk off their normal patterns. Monday morning we hunted one of the leased properties in the valley but only found a couple of bulls that jumped the fence back onto the Indian Reservation. That night we went up the mountain behind the Lodge and I saw 12 cows and 2 spike bulls. Other hunters saw bulls but couldn't shoot. One hunter did kill a nice bull on a different property Monday night.
On Tuesday morning, I went to that property with my guide Scott. After leaving the truck and walking to a meadow we heard some bugling. We saw 5 bulls and a lot of cows. I missed a nice 5 x 5 at 162 yds. Even after I missed, Scott had me seeing bulls again within minutes but I didn't get any shots. That night found us back in the same area but the elk didn't come out until after dark. I had a nice bull bugling about 25 yards from me but it was too dark.
Wednesday morning we were in the same meadow at sun up and by 7:00 am we heard 5 different bulls. At 7:30 we were able to sneak in on the one I killed while it stood in some oak brush and when it cleared the brush I shot it at 40 yards.
The guides are very knowledgable and work very hard to find the elk. 4 out of 8 hunters killed bulls. Two others passed on bulls hoping for bigger ones. Of the last two, one hunter saw bulls but never had a shot and the other, my father in law, only saw spikes.
The accomadations are great and the food was also great. We ate 4 times a day: light breakfast before the morning hunt, a cooked brunch when we returned from that hunt, a light lunch around 3:00pm before heading out for the evening hunt, and then a very filling dinner after the evening hunt. A selection of non alcoholic drinks were available whenever we wanted and there is fridge space for your alcoholic drinks if you choose to bring your own. No alcohol is allowed until the hunt is over for the day.

If you are looking for a Trophy bull (over 340) I recommend going somewhere else but if you just want a decent bull I think Fishtail Ranch is the place to go.

 

[GonzoK34]

Whit,
Nice feedback on your hunt. I hunted out of Missoula, Montana 5 years ago on my first guided elk hunt. The entire crew was professional, knowledgeable and made every effort to accomodate the clients. The Outfitter made sure to greet each of us in a group setting and explained the hunting conditions, terrain, weather, and clearly stated that if we had prepared for our hunt as outlined in his intructions upon booking our hunt. We would have opportunities to see elk and it would be up to us to make clean killing shots. As it turned out some clients didn't get physically, mentally or psychologicially prepared. After long days in the saddle, intense cross country hikes at high elevation, steep terrain, deep timber, rain, sleet, snow and ice managed to break down a few clients who didn't take the recommendations seriously.
Several clients didn't take the time to ensure their firearms were clean and functioned properly. They didn't spent time shooting under hunting conditions other than sighting in at 100yds before leaving for the hunt. One individual failed to kill an elk lying down 60yds away in a snow drift because he didn't rack the bolt all the way back in order to load a live round in the chamber. Later he claimed that the bolt was stuck. He asked if someone could check his rifle to see what was wrong. I volunteered and upon working the bolt it functioned as designed. But it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. I removed the bolt and took it apart, cleaned the frozen grease off of the firing pin and spring, and applied a light film of kroil on the parts andreassembled the bolt. I removed the action from the stock and used brake parts cleaner spray the gunt out of the trigger housing and lube it with kroil, reassembling the the stock and action, then torqued the action screws down tight. I bore sighted it on a rock 50yd out. Fired 2 rds within inches and moved out to 100 yards fired 2rds made adjustments and moved to a large boulder at 200yards fired 2rds and set the zero. A couple of days later He shot his elk at 600 yds with some hands on coaching and dialing his scope up.

No matter whether you hire an outfitter or do it yourself. Do your part and adapt to the situation. If your outfitter and his staff don't measure up, tell them up front that you paid good money for their knowledge and expertise. The least they can do is make every effort possible to uphold their part.

"Adapt, Improvise, Overcome"

SEMPER FIDELIS
Gonzo