LOCATION:
Fort St. John’s, BC

WEATHER:
Real hard frost in the morning, full moon, frigid, days warmed up to 65 degrees

OUTFITTER:
Greg Williams Outfitting
Greg Williams
P.O Box 60, 60 Charlie Lake
British Columbia, V0H1H0 Canada
250-827-3648
BigSheep@hughes.net

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
It seemed I had been snake bit on trying to get the Stone Sheep. 3 years ago I had a trip booked but the outfitter and I didn’t see eye to eye so I cancelled. Then I was referred to another outfitter in 2005 on a 14 day trip that rained everyday. I blew the only shot I had by hitting a stone near the end of my gun barrel I didn’t see when I lined up for the shot.

American Exposition trip booked through Gary Tuohy convinced me Greg and Faye williams 250.827.3648 would put on a great hunt.

We flew into a camp onto Greg’s claim and met up with Dustin Peacock my guide. If I were blessed enough to be successful on this hunt, I would be Dustin’s 55th client to bag a Stone Sheep. We hit it off and throughout the hunt went from hunter and guide to just plain ‘ol friends.

The very first day we spotted sheep from camp. 8 hours later we finally caught up with the sheep and discovered they weren’t legal size. 4 hours after that we managed to get down the mountain. That 12 hour day took it out of me!

The second day we scouted another 8 hours on the mountain. Again we found sheep but they too weren’t legal. We figured it was time for a change of location so we climbed down the mountain and back to camp. We used our satellite phone and called Greg who flew in to get us and fly us all to another location.

We had a nice meal and a shower at the main lodge and called it a night. We flew out the next morning to another better location and found some legal sheep but were unable to physically traverse to where we found them.

Day three we took quite some time to find them again. We peeked over the ridge and there were 7 legal rams. It took almost 2 hours for the one ram to move out of the way of the one I wanted to shoot. It was a challenging shot of 230 yards almost straight down.

The shot yielded a nice 155-158 ram not quite a book animal at 170 but it did allow me to become a Sheep Slammer which is Dall Sheep, Desert Sheep, Bighorn and Stone Sheep.

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Stone Sheep

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-Bolt, 300 WSM

LOCATION:
Santa Rosa Island, CA

WEATHER:
Extremely nice! 75-80 degrees with ocean surrounding the whole island with Elephant Seals just off the coast

OUTFITTER:
Multiple Use Managers
Wayne Long
Gordon Long
P.O. Box 669
Los Molinos, CA 96055 USA
800-557-7087
530-527-3588
http://mumwildlife.com

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
MUMwildlife.com When I first saw this website address I couldn’t figure it out. The MUM in the outfitter’s name and website address stands for “multiple use management” Father and son outfitter team of Wayne and Gordon Long make up this team and what a team they are!

Wayne Long has always focused his attention on complete management of multiple resources on the land, including wildlife, range, timber, livestock grazing, etc.—hence the “multiple use management” concept.

We stayed right on Santa Rosa Island at a ranch house maintained by the Long family. Very comfortable and relaxing accomodations. There’s quite a waiting list but don’t be afraid to get your name on the list because there’s always cancellations. It took me three years to finally get there and hunt!

There’s literally nothing on Santa Rosa Island but Roosevelt Elk and Mule Deer! This is basically a spot and stalk affair. This is a two-on-one hunt and my hunting partner on this trip was James Barogan.

You always wonder on this type of hunt whether or not you’ll get along with someone you’ve never met until you’re in camp. Sometimes it goes well and you end up with great memories and another friend but other times it doesn’t go so well, egos get in the way and the hunt ends badly.

James and I got along great and had a good time laughing. This, I’m sure, was a relief for us both.

The way Wayne and Gordon Long work this two-on-one hunt is one guy hunts in the morning, the other hunts the evening.

Right off the bat James shot a 220 inch Mule Deer!

Now it was my turn. We were finding the elk but not the kind we were looking for.

On the afternoon of 9.17 while we were glassing we ran into a pair of 6X6’s. We were too far away and needed to get in much closer if I was to have any kind of decent shot. By the time we got over to this pair of 6X6’s from about 150 yards away we could see the elk were starting to push each other around. We waited patiently for the jostling to calm down and then finally a shot presented itself.

I won’t say it was a chip shot but pretty close. At 150 yards my Browning A-bolt is so dialed in sometimes I think I could hit a dime at that distance. I set up a good solid rest with my pack, got my breathing under control and took aim. After I squeezed off the round that big ‘ol 6X6 dropped straight to the ground. I was certain he was dead before he actually hit the ground.

I finally had my Roosevelt Elk on the ground to complete my sweep of the Elk for my Obsession Quest. What a relief!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Roosevelt Elk
Just take a look at this beauty!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browing A-Bolt 300 WSM

LOCATION:
Baker Lake, NWT
WEATHER:
Weather was mild and decent. We wore our Gore Tex rain gear alot not so much because of rain but there was alot of mist from the river. Warmed up to maybe 55 during the day.

OUTFITTER:
Jerome and Halina Knapp
P.O. Box 340
Almonte, Ontario Canada
613-256-4057

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
We flew into Baker Lake, NWT which is the absolute central part of Canada. The hunting was slow. There was a lot of mining activity in the area and the chopper activity didn’t help matters either. All this action pushed the Barren Ground Caribou several miles inland.

It was time to hit the water and get back into the wilderness a bit further. The water travel was very rough because of stiff winds. We were bouncing around these boats like rag dolls. All you can do is hang on real tight and pray (hard)!

On the evening of 9.8 we spotted a decent Caribou on the skyline. I set up the shot and went through my normal routine. Just when I had the animal in the crosshairs with my finger lightly resting on the trigger and the safety off he laid down.

We moved closer and shouted at him to see if he’d stand up. He did. I dropped him where he stood which was about 3 hours from town.

This hunt was not as fast and furious as I prefer but we managed to get a pretty nice Central Barren Ground Caribou for the OQ.

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Central Barren Ground Caribou
Central Barren Ground Caribou are like all caribou. You spot them, score them and decide if it’s something you want to shoot. This one was just fine with me.

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-Bolt 300 WSM

WEATHER:
Weather is like turning the temp 10 degree down at night (55 degrees) and turn it back up 10 degrees during the day. Consistent and predictable

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
I flew from Elmira,NY then to Baltimore, MD and then to Seattle,WA and then on to Sidney,Australia. Wow. What a plane hopping ordeal this was but you have to go where the animals are so it’s all part of the deal.

Prior to the hunt while I was in Sydney we did a bridge climb which rivaled any mountain hunt I’ve ever been on. Absolutely a physical challenge with a stunning view of Sydney from the summit! We also had a chance to vist the oldest brewery in Sidney.

The plan was to fly out of Sydney to Darwin, Austraila which is on the opposite end of the land mass. We would meet up with Chris Nash and then our team of guides and hunters would spend a dusty and bumpy ride 12 hours back into the bush.

We arrived at our tent camp which was clearly a professionally run operation set up and real nice! It was a pleasure to have a comfortable place to lay your head for the night and get some good food.

We started hunting the next morning. The jungle was dry so we hopped in the Land Rovers and scouted for sign and quality animals.

We spotted one Water Buffalo straight out of the gate with really long horns that turned out a little bit at the ends.

I had a feeling if we continued on we might find a different animal that would score better but I learned long ago that when an opportunity presents itself, you take it or live with the regret.

I had a 90 yard shot which I decided to take so I shouldered my Browning A-Bolt chambered in 375 H&H 7.4, 7.5

Once this fine animal was on the ground and properly taken care of we went back out to get more footage and to possibly kill another one.

2 days later we did manage to find another Water Buffalo at about 25 yards and he spotted one of us. These critters tip their head back like their looking down their noses at you when you’ve been busted. There was no time to waste. This guy was fixin to boogie. I hit him in the shoulder and expected him to come at us but he didn’t, he quartered away and I hit him again. Down he went without much fuss after the second shot.

I had such a good time and enjoyed the fellowship so much I’m heading to New Zealand in June of ‘07 to hunt Red Stag and Tarh

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Water Buffalo
Awesome book animal!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-Bolt 375 H&H

LOCATION:
Campeche

WEATHER:
Hot! 80-85 during the day and DRY!

OUTFITTER:
La Montana
Carlos Moreno
Campeche #116, Col. Petrolera
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, 96500 Mexico
(011 52) 921-265-0449
(011 52) 921-115-9913
(011 52) 982-822-8180 Preserver # March-May
cmorenol242@hotmail.com
http://lamontana.com.mx/

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
For those of you in search of the world slam you’ll inevitably end up in the Yucatan Peninsula to hunt this sporty bird known as “Pavo Ocellata”, otherwise known as the Ocellated Turkey.

Carlos Moreno, of La Montana is located in Campeche, Mexico near near the Calakmul Biosphere Preserver. I have hunted with Carlos before. He is the owner of the camp and was my guide for this hunt.

I’m told the traditional way to kill these particular turkeys is to shoot them out of the tree because supposedly the Oscellated Turkey doesn’t gobble much. Normally, I don’t rock the boat too much with local hunting customs. I like to experience the hunt like the locals would but I was determined to figure a way to kill the Oscellated on the ground.

When the Oscellated turkey gobbles they don’t crane the neck out at an angle like other turkey species. These birds crane their neck straight up. The toms also don’t pursue the hens like other turkey species. The males just sit there and purr trying to coax the hens to them.

So … we built a ground blind out of natural thatch, made a couple of holes, got in them and got the turkeys to feed by us where I was able to shoot one a really nice tom and two days later I shot another one.

This is one tough bird to get but I needed this one to get the World Slam under my belt and it happened!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Oscellated Turkey
Excellent spurs! I killed a male and a female but both were nice! Quite happy!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning Gold 12 Gauge Citori Shotgun

LOCATION:
Montrose, Colorado

WEATHER:
Wind was blowing about 20-30 mph made it hard to hear them.


OUTFITTER:
Coffee Pot Outfitters
Kelley Sanburg
Monte Sanburg
15328 6800 Rd.
Montrose, CO 81401 USA
970-240-4075
970-240-4075 (Fax)
info@coffeepotoutfitters.com
http://www.coffeepotoutfitters.com

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
Coffee Pot Outfitters, the husband and wife team of Kelly & Monti Sandburg were a great group of people to hunt turkeys with. Coffee Pot also run Elk, Mule Deer and Black Bear hunts. I can easily see myself going back to hunt Elk with them again.

I’ve been hunting turkeys pretty much all my life. You get used to certain behavior and you do your best to figure out what’s going on and react to this behavior. Things were very different on this hunt.

Right out of the box on this OQ Merriam Turkey hunt things definitely didn’t start out “normal”. They didn’t play the game like I’m used to.

The first day they gobbled, hit the ground and then hit the bush looking for cover.

Once we learned the game they were playing we decided to watch where the escape hatch seemed to be and make mental notes.

We saw them escape into a long narrow wood patch so it was clear this would be an excellent ambush point. We decided to set up an ambush with some decoys and some sweet calling and then things finally came together.

The OQ Merriam I finally shot is definitely something I’m proud of but I’m never satisfied and might give this hunt another try. As you might expect my Browning Citori (fine gun BTW) did what it was supposed to do!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Merriam Turkey
Not a giant bird and if I have time I’ll go back and try again.

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning Citori 12 gauge Over and Under w/ Winchester ammo

LOCATION:
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WEATHER:
The natives said it was cold. I said it was “cool” which to me is 40 degrees.

OUTFITTER:
Loiusiana Private Guy
Kyle Hicks, Louisiana USA
225.892.8293

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
My cameraman Kyle Hicks arranged this hunt for me and as such, I was heading somewhat into an unknown. Kyle and I had been talking about this hunt for nearly a year so we were pretty confident we’d be successful.

The first morning we find ourselves in a swamp. We reasoned the hunting pressure that probably had been put on the animals made hunting the food plots a bad idea. If there were still feeding in the plots it would probably been under the relative safety of nightfall so we headed for the Louisiana swamps and yes it’s everything you see in the movies and hunting shows with Spanish moss hanging from the trees and water everywhere!

When the fog lifted at 10 o’clock in the morning we saw a very nice 18″ wide mature 8-point in the 130-135 range dogging a doe but Kyle felt we could do better so we passed. The cool part of this deer observation was this buck was literally wading through water deep enough to touch his belly. The duck weed laying on top of the water parted as he walked through the water. We got some excellent footage but as I said, we decided to pass.

We hunted a couple more days and Dee Horton thought we’d do well in a different area which normally would have been underwater but was now being used as a travel corridor. There were rubs and scrapes and licking branches everywhere! I didn’t need to see anything else. We decided to hang our API climbing tree stand in combination with “step sticks”. Just as an aside to my fellow hunters, you should try this particular treestand technique. Using a climbe as a hang on works quite well, especially with odd shaped trees.

Fighting a full moon from past experiences told me we needed to be in that stand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m By the time we were in the stand and the squirrels settled back in it was 11 a.m. At 11:30 we saw our first deer. Right on schedule!

At 4:30 p.m. we saw five different bucks and a half dozen does. Then our 10-point,heavy beamed, long tined buck worked his way into our set up. Just when I was ready to squeeze off a round a squirrel caused the alarm bells to go off and the buck bolted off far enough so I could just barely see him but couldn’t get a shot. It didn’t take long for this buck to settle down (maybe 3-4 minutes) and he returned into our setup to browse again. This was his last and fatal mistake.

I turned the Swarovski scope down. I had to! He was that close! To be truthful I was in more of a bowhunting set up than gun but of course you make the most of it.

I had a 50 yard chip shot. I shoot. This buck does a half moon circle and he actually runs towards our stand and then drops 25 yards behind our stand! Doesn’t get any better than this! Awesome!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Obsession Quest Southeast Whitetail
Very nice 10-point with an 18″ spread

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-bolt 300 WSM, 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip on a Winchester cartridge, Swarovski scope

LOCATION:
Iowa

WEATHER:
30’s during the day and sometimes dipping into the 20’s

OUTFITTER:
J & S Trophy Hunts
Steve Shoop
P.O. Box 312
Memphis, MO 63555 USA
660-945-3736
jstrophy@aol.com
www.jstrophyhunts.com

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
I headed out from my mountain retreat in PA and was excited to hunt with my very good friend Steve Shoop. We would be hunting the second shotgun season in Iowa which most people don’t realize has no rifle season.

Early on we had several encounters with mature deer. A nearly identical 150″ bruiser to the one I shot in Kansas appeared coming to the food plot when he winded us and bolted. This was a good sign of things to come.

Hunting food plots and wood lines. We had set a stand early in the morning which gave me a great opportunity to watch the deer movement which was just out of our shotgun range. They were bedding on top of one of the plateaus and it was obvious they were using the sunny side of the hill to stay warm. I marked a waypoint on my Lowrance GPS. After the morning hunt and a great observation under our belts and with Steve’s blessing we decided to move the stand closer to the bedding area.

On 12.17.2005 it all came together! We were in the stand we had moved closer to bedding area and we had deer moving all around us. We spotted the monster we had seen the previous day come in at around 120 yards. There were a few times the safety was clicked off but I heard a little voice in my head pleading for patience. The buck decided to bed down.

Having a Browning shotgun in my hands instead of my trusty Browning A-bolt I went back and forth between sitting tight and waiting for this buck to come towards us or trying something else. I could see him bedded down behind a briar patch and stump and all I could see was the tips of his antlers. Steve was talking about trying another area.

I decided to climb down from the treestand and move towards the buck but the ground was crunchy and noisey. Steve was waiting at the bottom of the hill. I had to make a decision. I decided to stalk this animal. One advantage we had was a flurry of ground squirrel activity to mask the sound of our movement (cameraman and I). We got to within 75 yards of this bedded buck and that smile came across our faces. We knew we could take this animal if we could only get him to stand.

I took a stick and swept it over the ground. We could see his head moving left and right trying to locate the sound. He stood up and looked back over his shoulder. In my mind I kept saying “Please, don’t bolt!” He didn’t. The next noise he heard was my shotgun going off and another magnificent animal was down.

The good news is I fulfilled another Obsession Quest animal and knew I could do better than the 130 ” animal which would eventually be life sized and on display at Bass Pro Shops. Steve Shoop invited us back in 2006 to try for something better!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Obession Quest Northeast Whitetail
130″ 8-pointer

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning Gold 12 gauge w/ Winchester Supreme Slugs

LOCATION:
Ashland, KS

WEATHER:
Mild and frosty for this time of year , first morning was cold and in the 20’s

OUTFITTER:
Tamarack Outfitters
Larry Konrade
Galen Krier
P.O. Box 192
Ashland, KS 67831 USA
620-635-2360
larrykonrade@tamarackoutfitters.com
galenkrier@tamarackoutfitters.com
www.tamarackoutfitters.com

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
I have hunted with Galen Krier and Larry Konrade many times in the past. These guys know their whitetail deer and nobody in the business puts more time in the field to make their hunters successful. I take great pride in the fact that over a number of years I’m able to transcend the client/guide relationship and become friends. I’m positive this happens through mutual respect.

The wind was wrong the first morning we hunted so we had to map out a different strategy than just hunting the stands we’d planned on. We decided to stay up high so as not to bump the deer or pressure them in any way.

We’re figured it’d be better to try and spot the deer from above and figure out where to hunt them in the evening but the deer didn’t cooperate. The first evening hunt took place near a food plot and while we did see deer, there were no shooters we felt were good enough for the Obsession Quest so we held off.

For those of you trying to imagine a typical Kansas hunt you’ll find CRP fields and rolling hills and mildly deep ravines with an occasional river bed (sometimes dry) meandering throughout. CRP stands for conservation resource planning which is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides agricultural producers with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance for establishing protective cover on suitable farm property to protect and improve air, water, soil quality, and wildlife habitat. “Suitable” property is usually defined as being marginal for agricultural crops, and/or erodible.

Anyway…

On Saturday, December 3rd, 2005 we were hunting a river bed where we felt the deer just had to be bedded. We settled in for what stood to be a long afternoon sit. We weren’t glassing for more than 30 minutes when we spotted a shooter buck trailing a doe. We only caught a brief glimpse but it was enough to convince Galen and I this was THE deer we were looking for. We watched the buck bed down 225 yards away. When he bedded down he literally disappeared in the tall grass! We could see the doe he must have been following and she too decided to take a break and bed down but we couldn’t actually make out the buck but we know he was there. Let’s just say he definitely had our attention.

Patience grasshopper! We continued to glass the surrounding area but naturally our binoculars kept tracking back to the spot where we knew the buck was bedded. 2 hours later he finally stands up! 2 hours!

I’m a good and loyal friend of my 15 power Swarovski binoculars and instantly I knew this was the deer we were looking for.

Up comes the Browning A-bolt and at 225 yards I place the crosshairs behind the front shoulder and gently squeeze off a round. I’m not to macho to admit that tears streamed down my face because a 156 inch 8-point went straight down! Man! Was I happy and emotional!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Obsession Quest Texas Whitetail
An awesome 156″ , 8-point ! A big deer in anyone’s book, including mine!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-bolt 300WSM w/ 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip & Winchester cartridge, Swarovski scope

LOCATION:
Anacosta Island, Quebec

WEATHER:
Cool sometimes in the 30′ and then 40’s, it should have been in the 0 degree F

OUTFITTER:
Pioneer Outfitters
Terry Overly
P.O. Box CZN
Tok, AK 99780 USA
907-734-0007

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
This was an unusual hunt in that the Canadian government and I worked together to bring some attention to the hunting opportunities in Quebec, specifically Anacosta Island. In essence, we were able to hunt areas of the island on change over days when the various hunting camps had their hunters existing. W got to see a whole lot more of the island this way and basically worked around people and at all costs making sure we didn’t disrupt normal operations.

We fly directly into Quebec City. Pierre (”Pete”) Larose picked us up at the airport and we spent the night in Quebec City. The next morning we drove 6 hours and then boarded a prop plane and our luggage follows on a separate flight.

There are several camps on Anacosta which we were trying to utilize without disturbing any of the other hunters booked into these camps. The island is a jungle of vegetation of blown down spruce trees and the basic strategy is to look for clearings which are few and far between. When it begins to get really cold, the deer, which are huge to begin with ( 170-180 lb deer with short noses) basically travel to and from the coastline where they feed on seaweed.

You either walk the cut ways, or sit on a clearing or spot and stalk. On the first day we found ourselves with our backs to the ocean glassing an opening out in front of us. We had the romance of the ocean waves lapping the shore behind us looking for deer. In a hedgerow next to the ocean a deer pops out 30 yards away and begins to head straight at us! I had to dial my Swarovski scope down instead of up and the deer continues to walk. At 15 yards it was time to shoot. He offered a quartering towards us shot and I aimed for the shoulder.

My first Anacosta rifle kill was in the bag. I had hunted with Peter before with bow and it was nice to get together with this old friend.

We weren’t done though. You’re allowed to kill two deer of any sex. We decided to hunt a totally different part of the island. We had lunch and Pete decided to drop me off on one end of one of the cutovers and when I didn’t show up where I was supposed to, Pete came looking for me and I wasn’t far from where he had originally dropped me off. Why you ask? I had killed a nice buck and figured Pete would find me which he did.

This buck thought he was all stealthy as he was chasing does. He winded me and decided to take off but at 150 yards he stopped for an instant to check me out over his left shoulder. The bullet went in just forward of the hind quarter and exited his opposite shoulder. I used a tried and true bowhunting technique of always aiming for the opposite shoulder.

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Obsession Quest Anacosta Whitetail
8 point, 12 inch wide which for some would be an immature deer but we aged this deer to be 4.5 years old!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-bolt 300 WSM, 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip bullet on a Winchester cartridge