Jim made an excellent shot on a nice, wide 6x5 bull at 23 yards that came to a cow call on Yellow Pine Ridge. Early Friday morning Rick filled his elk tag with a hard earned 7x6 bull. The bull came up to within 30 steps to a cow call in lower Indian.

During the last archery hunt of the season, October 2-7, John and Ben Vinych of ND, and Dan Maksimik of PA joined us for the week. Ben accompanied John as an observer. This was John's second hunt with us.

Early in the week daytime highs reached 80 degrees with nights dropping to 40 degrees. We had rain, fog, and cooler temperatures for the last 3 days of the hunt.
The first morning Dan passed on a broken horned 6 point bull in Jug Gulch. Later in the morning he was very close to a 5 point bull but the bull did not present a clean shot. John had a close encounter with a large bull in Long Park but the bull didn't offer a shot.

That evening Dan collected a heavy, broken horned 6x5 bull at 20 paces out of a tree stand on Freemon. On the second evening John had an opportunity on a very large bull near the Pole Patch but was unable to fill his tag. His bad luck continued on another nice 6 point that came within range later in the evening. The third evening John made an excellent 20 yard shot on a magnificent, long tined 6x5 bull in lower Calamity.

We glassed and hunted a lot of great bulls again this year. Everyone hunted hard, looked at a lot of beautiful elk country, and had a great time.

Terry Hansen of WA joined us for an antelope hunt on October 18-19. He harvested a heavy horned 15" antelope at 180 steps on the Fort Logan Ranch. This was Terry's seventeenth hunt on the ranches.

Guides for the rifle season were Sid McMillin, Dustin Schell, Garrett Jobe and myself. Sandy Grigsby covered the cooking and camp duties.

On Sunday morning Mike connected on a nice 6 point bull at 143 yards in upper Long Park. Monday morning Mike finished his hunt with a heavy beamed 5 point whitetail buck at 85 steps in Middle Creek. Patrick made a nice shot on a heavy, long tined 7x6 bull at 180 paces on Freemon. Mark also collected a large bodied 6 point bull at 185 yards out of the same bunch of elk. That evening Robert had an opportunity on a large 6 point in Long Park, but the bull prevailed.

On Wednesday morning Pat missed a nice bull in the Ramsey. That evening he connected on a dark horned, symmetrical 6 point bull at 150 steps in the Ramsey. On Thursday evening Robert was within 250 paces of 3 bulls in the Dry Range, but the bulls never offered a good shot and eventually fed into the timber.

During the second rifle hunt, October 30 through November 4, hunters were Pete and Krista Perry of ME, Lance Barber of FL, Adam Kibel of NY, and Tom Nault of MA. This was Pete's second hunt with us.

Richard and Shane Lutz of PA, Jerome Link of IA, Buck Steenwyk of CA, and Eric Hutton of MI were our guests for the third rifle hunt, November 6-11. This was Richard's 3rd hunt and Jerome and Buck's 4th hunt on the ranches.

This week brought mild, windy weather with daytime highs in the 50's and night time lows in the 30's. We had no snow cover or precipitation during this hunt.

On Sunday morning Buck made a long stalk and harvested a wide, thick framed 4 point mulie buck at 200 yards in Middle Creek. That evening Buck finished his hunt with a large, broken beamed 6 point bull at 60 steps in Middle Creek. Shane had some bad luck on a very large 6 point bull in upper Long Park. On Monday morning Jerome collected a beautiful deep forked 5 point mule deer at 150 paces on Leo's Place. After a long, exciting stalk Eric connected on a nice 5x4 bull at 80 yards in Long Park. On Tuesday morning Eric had a couple of opportunities on nice antelope bucks in the Clear Range but the bucks prevailed. He made an excellent shot that evening on a dark faced 13" antelope buck at 200 steps on the Fort Logan Ranch.

Wednesday morning Jerome finished his hunt with a nice 5x4 bull at 80 paces in the upper Dry Range. Thursday morning Richard connected on a hard earned 5 point bull at 50 yards in the Dry Range. Eric harvested a high horned 5 point whitetail buck at 180 steps out of a tree stand on Camas Creek. On Friday evening Shane had a close encounter with a cow elk in the Black Forest but was unable to fill his elk tag.

On the fourth rifle hunt of the season, November 13-18, guests were Skip Slavin and Chris Langer of WA, Gerry, Bob, and Larry Tadina of CA, and Danny Beasley of NC. This was Bob and Gerry's 5th hunt and Danny's 2nd hunt with us.

On Sunday morning after a long stalk Tom Jr. harvested a nice 5 point bull at 280 yards in the top of Middle Creek. Cory filled his deer tag with a nice 5x4 whitetail at 75 steps on Rock Creek. That afternoon Lee passed on a 4 point mulie buck at Leo's. Terry passed on a group of 5 bulls that fed by him on the rim above the Ramsey. On Monday morning Tom Jr. finished his hunt with a beautiful, heavy horned 5 point mule deer in the Ramsey. Lee collected a very nice, heavy beamed 6 point bull at 300 yards in the Clear Range. That evening Mark made an excellent shot on a 5 point bull at 80 steps in lower Indian. Lee finished his hunt with a long tined 4 point whitetail shot at 220 paces at Soldiers Lake.

On Tuesday evening Terry connected on a beautiful, dark horned 6 point bull at 60 yards in the Dry Range. Cory finished his hunt with a hard earned 5x4 bull at 50 steps east of the Black Forest. On Wednesday morning Mark harvested a symmetrical 4 point whitetail at 90 paces on Camas Creek. On Thursday evening Tom Sr. had a bull at 250 yards in the Clear Range. The bull never presented a clean shot and ended up winding them. On Friday morning Tom Sr. collected a hard earned 4 point whitetail at 150 steps on the Low Bar. Terry missed a difficult shot on a large whitetail on the High Bar of Camas Creek. Saturday morning Terry made an excellent shot on a long beamed, high tined 4 point whitetail behind the Fort Logan Ranch.

I would like to thank everyone who hunted with us this season. Your business, friendship, and loyalty are most appreciated. Weather conditions were ideal for most of the season. Everyone put in a hard effort, made the best of conditions at hand, and was a pleasure to hunt with.

A special thanks to Zita Caltrider, Joby Mathias, Mark Williams, Sandy Grigsby, Larry and Donna Sheeder, Sid McMillin, Dustin Schell, and Garrett Jobe. Their experience, dedication and hard work are very much appreciated.