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2007 SUCCESS RATES
From December 2006 to March 2007 we had seven hunters and killed five cats. The conditions this past winter were very tough but we did fairly well considering. We harvested four females and one tom that will make Boone and Crocket. We just bought a new area so this should help out for the 2007/2008 lion season.
Spring bear hunts we had five hunters and killed three bears. They were chocolate, cinnamon and a black. All were between 5.5 and 6 foot squared.
Our first fall hunt was a California Bighorn Sheep hunt in southern Idaho. We missed a nice ram on opening day. I fell down in the rocks and got infection in my knee. We went back a week later and shot a nice ram.
Our cast and blast hunts did very well also.
The first hunt we had 6 bear hunters and harvested 6 bears. Two of the bears were old mature boars.
The second hunt we had 4 hunters and shot 2 bears. We also lost two hound dogs to wolves on this hunt. I was heart broke and can not wait until we get a season on them.
The bow hunts for elk and deer in our new area started off slow. We had 3 hunters in one camp and they did not shoot at anything and left early. The other camp had 2 hunters and they saw several bulls and shot at one small bull, hit a shoulder blade but did not find it. They did shoot a nice bear with a bow and made a good shot and stalk on it. I believe we ran the hunts a little early this year so next year we will run the hunts later and it should be fine.
The wilderness combo hunts did well again this year also.
The first hunt we had 5 hunters and they shot 5 bulls, two bears and a buck. The bulls were two 6 points, two 5 points and a four point. The buck was a 3 point. We also had a group of 6 drop campers and they shot a 5 point bull and passed up several bears.
The second hunt we had 8 hunters, killed 4 bulls( three 6 points and a 4 point), missed 3 or 4 bulls, passed up a nice 6 point bull at 440 yards because the terrain was to steep and the hunter did not want to walk in closer, killed a buck and sent one hunter to the hospital for lots of stitches in his face because his bull got the better of him while he and the guide were skinning it on a steep hill. It was an eventful hunt even if we did not kill 100%. All hunters had opportunities and most are booked back for next year.
The third hunt we had 7 hunters, killed 2 bulls (4 point and a 5 point) , 1 cow, 1 buck and 1 old boar bear. We missed some deer and elk and stalked several other groups of elk that got away.
The fourth hunt we had 4 hunters. We killed a nice 6 point, a 5 point, a cow and missed a 6 point. The hunters also passed up several elk and deer.
The fifth hunt we had 5 hunters in the wilderness and 4 hunters in the front range. One of the wilderness hunters cancelled out at the last minute. The wilderness hunters shot a 5 point bull, a 4 point bull, two 4 point bucks, missed two or three bulls and saw lots of game. One of the hunters left disappointed. The front range hunters saw a spike bull and a 5 point bull and several deer but only connected with one 3 point buck. Two of the front range hunters were policemen and had some of the best stories I have ever heard. When I grow up, I want to be a cop!
The sixth hunt we had 5 hunters in the wilderness and 4 hunters in the front range. The wilderness hunters shot two 5 point bulls, a cow and four good bucks. The front range hunters shot a good buck, passed up a few good bucks because the shots were not right and passed up a 5 point bull and some spikes.
The seventh hunt we had 7 hunters, killed three bulls( two 5 points and a 6 point) and 6 good bucks( one old buck scored 120 but the others scored between 150 and 170). The hunter who did not harvest a buck missed a nice one and saw a huge bull but he and his guide could not find it later.
The eighth hunt we had 10 hunters. We harvested 4 bulls ( 6x7 that scored 320, a 5 point, a 4 point and a spike), 6 good, mature bucks, missed some bulls and missed and passed up several bucks.
The ninth hunt we had 8 hunters. We killed one 6 point bull, killed 3 bucks, missed three bucks that would have scored in the mid 180’s and almost shot a bear on the last day of the season.
Overall, the season was good but had some ups and downs. We had a hard time early in the season with smoke from the neighboring forest fires. As you can see from the success rates, we did very well on both the cast and blast hunts and early season elk hunts. Our airplanes had a hard time flying in the smoky weather but we did not lose any meat or capes from this. Some hunters did lose some hunting days and others stayed longer than planned because the planes could not fly. Most hunters’ attitudes were wonderful even with the bad flying conditions. The late season hunts also were off a little because of stormy weather. We had very little snow late in the season so did not harvest the big deer like normal. On the last few days of the season, the weather was stormy and foggy and we did not have much visibility. Overall, we harvested 28 elk, 25 bucks, 11 bears and 1 ram for a total of 65 animals for our fall hunts. Once again, the biggest reason for hunters not harvesting game was their shooting ability and physical condition. Of the 71 elk and deer guided, drop camp, wilderness and front range hunters that we took hunting in 2007, 51 were either return clients or friends and relatives that came with return clients. Once again, I am sure that I did not remember all of the misses or close opportunities that every hunter had but we had a lot of fun and we are looking forward to a good season next year. Trav