Avalanche Basin Outfitters 2003 Email Newsletter

We had six archery hunters this fall. Zita did the cooking and camp chores. Shane Andes and I did all of the guiding. The fall colors were magnificent throughout the archery season.

The first archery hunt was September 15-20. Bill Horner of SD, and Doug and Janet Rehak of PA, were our guests for the week. Janet joined Doug as an observer. This was Bill's third hunt with us and Doug's eighth hunt. We had cool, cloudy weather with snow and rain early in the week. Daytime highs reached 60 degrees, with nights cooling off to 30 degrees.

Monday afternoon Doug collected a nice, long beamed 7 x 6 bull above the Hole in the Wall. The bull was shot at 16 yards out of a tree stand. Bill had an exciting evening in Indian Creek, passing shots on 3 bulls within 25 yards of his tree stand. Tuesday morning, Bill had some hard luck on a large bull called in to 27 paces in Lower Indian.

During the second archery hunt, September 22-27, Mitch and Chad Brumlow joined us. This was Mitch's fourth hunt with us, and Chad's third. Their father Tommy and Mitch's son Weston accompanied as non-hunters. The weather was warmer with no precipitation. Highs were in the 70's, with lows down to 40 degrees.

We were in camp early on September 21, and hunted that evening. Chad passed up a five point bull in Indian Creek. The second evening Mitch passed on 2 five point bulls out of a tree stand in Indian. Chad made a stalk on 7 Mulie bucks in Middle Creek, but was unable to get a shot. The third morning Mitch had a large bull wind him at 10 steps in Calamity. The fourth morning Mitch had a nice bull spook at 27 yards as he drew his bow. That evening Mitch passed up a five point bull in Indian. Later in the evening, Mitch harvested a dark horned 6 x 5 bull bugled in to 26 paces. The fifth morning Chad stalked to within 18 steps of a wide, symmetrical 6 x 6 bull. He made an excellent shot and filled his elk tag.

Rick Ellingsen of Spokane, WA 10-2-03

Dave Haven of Salem, OR 11-6-03

Rick and Don Ellingsen were our guests for the final archery hunt, September 29-October 4. Their dad, Don, accompanied them as an observer. We had warm days and lots of sunshine. Daytime temperatures averaged 70 degrees, with nights dropping to the high 30's.

On Tuesday morning, Don drew on a very large six point at 24 yards in upper Long Park. The bull saw him draw, and would not present a shot. That evening Don collected a nice, dark horned 6 x 6 bull at 16 steps in the head of Indian Creek. On Wednesday morning, Rick drew on a bull in Long Park at 17 yards, but was unable to shoot due to limbs. On Thursday morning, Rick harvested a long tined 6 x 5 bull in lower Indian at 32 paces. Don stalked to within 10 yards of 7 Mulie bucks, but could not get lined up on the largest buck. That evening, Rick made a great 24 yards shot on a long tined, heavy horned 9 x 7 whitetail on Camas Creek. The buck was shot out of a tree stand, and green scored 164.5 points.

Guides for the rifle season were Shane Andes, Chad Evans, John Reardon, and myself. Sandy Grigsby covered the cooking and camp duties.

The first rifle hunt was October 26-31. Guests for the week were Randall Fox, Chuck Burnette and Ronald Chastain from GA, and Gary Brinsfield and Bill Barney from OH. This was Randall's eighth, Ronald's second, and Gary's and Bill's fifth hunt with us. The first half of the week was cool and cloudy, with highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's. We had a severe snow storm the last half of the week. Highs reached the teens, and lows dipped to -10 degrees, with 20 inches of new snow.

On Sunday morning, Bill and Gary passed shots at 3 bulls on Squaw Teat. That evening Bill collected a heavy horned 7 x 6 bull at 100 yards on Squaw Teat. On Monday morning Gary stalked to within 80 paces of 3 bulls, but they winded him and did not present a shot.

Cole Cushman of Middleburg, VA 11-9-03

Bill Mazur of Murrysville, PA 11-18-03

Mark Smieja of Brainerd, MN 11-21-03

That evening Chuck harvested a dark horned, long tined 6 point bull at 75 steps above the Hole in the Wall. Ron had an exciting evening, seeing some elk, a lion, and passing a shot on a large mule deer in Calamity. Tuesday morning Bill passed on a good mulie buck. Ron missed a very large bull off of the Rock in Horn Hollow.

Gary Brinsfield of Waynesville, OH
and Bill Barney of Troy, OH 10-26-03

Rick Ellingsen of Spokane, WA 10-2-03

Don Ellingsen of Spokane, WA 9-30-03

That evening Ron made an excellent shot on a long tined 6 point bull at 171 yards above the Upper Manuel homestead. On a cold, wintry Thursday afternoon Randall filled his elk tag with a hard earned five point bull in lower Long Park at 300 paces. Bill passed a shot on 5 mule deer bucks on Freemon. Chuck missed a whitetail buck on Camas Creek. Friday evening Gary missed a bull in lower Long Park.

During the second rifle hunt, November 2-7, hunters were Dave and Tory Haven of OR, Steve Kaufman of MI, and Terry Hansen of WA. This was Steve's third and Terry's twelfth hunt with us. The weather was cold and snowy the first three days of the hunt. The second half of the week was sunny and clear. Daytime highs were in the 20's, with nights dropping to -10 degrees.

The first afternoon Terry connected on a dark horned, heavy 6 point bull in Middle Creek at 178 steps. The second morning Tory collected a wide, heavy 6 point bull in lower Indian Creek at 158 yards. Steve filled his elk tag with a large bodied, symmetrical 5 point bull at 200 paces in the Ramsey.

He also harvested a beautiful 4 point Mulie buck at 80 steps within minutes of shooting his elk. The third evening Terry filled his tags with a high, long tined 5 x 4 Whitetail buck on the Fort Logan Ranch at 170 steps. On the fourth afternoon, Tory harvested a long tined 5 x 4 Whitetail after sneaking up to within 225 yards. After a long afternoon hike, Dave made an excellent shot on a tall, good tined 6 point bull at 358 yards in the Ramsey. On Thursday Dave finished his hunt with a beautiful, long tined 5 point Whitetail at 196 yards in Camas Creek.

Larry Cushman of Middleburg, VA 11-11-03

Steve Kaufman of Gaylord, MI 11-3-03

Randall Fox of Calhoun, GA 10-30-03

Mitch and Weston Brumlow of Calhoun,
GA 9-24-03

Mike Burger, John Liberty, and Larry and Cole Cushman, all from VA, were our guests for the third hunt, November 9-14. This was Mike and Larry's second hunt with us. The ranch had 10" of snow cover at lower elevations, and 20"of snow in the high parks. Daytime temperatures reached 40 degrees, with nights cooling off to 20 degrees.

On Sunday afternoon, John missed a bull in the Ramsey. Cole collected a nice, symmetrical 5 point bull in The Hole above the bridge at 75 yards. Monday afternoon Mike missed a bull in the Ramsey.

Todd Caltrider of White Sulphur Springs, MT 10-12-03

Chad Brumlow of Calhoun, GA 9-26-03

We re-sighted the gun in and found that the scope was off about 10" at 100 yards. On a cold, snowy Tuesday evening Larry harvested a dark horned 6 x 5 bull at 140 paces on Freemon. Wednesday afternoon after a long stalk and wait, John made an excellent shot on an elusive 6 point bull in lower Long Park at 191 steps. Thursday afternoon Cole finished his hunt with a wide 4 point whitetail taken at 30 yards on the Low Bar of Camas Creek. Larry filled his deer tag with a large, heavy horned Mule Deer buck at 230 yards on the Fort Logan Ranch. Mike stalked to within 100 steps of a nice bull in Horn Hollow, but was unable to shoot due to limbs.

On the fourth hunt, November 16-21, clients were Mark Smieja of MN, Norm Hill of CA, and Bill Mazur from PA. This was Norm's third hunt with us. It was warm and extremely windy the first half of the week. Daytime highs reached 50 degrees, nighttime lows dropped to 30 degrees. Wind gusts exceeded 60 miles per hour. Mid-week temperatures dropped with highs reaching 10 degrees and lows of -10 degrees.

Dave Haven of Salem, OR 11-5-03

Tory Haven of Salem, OR 11-3-03

Steve Kaufman of Gaylord, MI 11-3-03

Ronald Chastain of Dalton, GA 10-28-03

On the third afternoon, Norm passed a shot on a bull in Long Park. He missed a difficult shot later in the afternoon on a bull in lower Long Park. Late in the evening Norm made an excellent shot on a dark horned 6 x 5 bull at 250 yards in upper Long Park. After a long crawl, Bill collected a large, wide, five point Whitetail buck at 300 yards on the High Bar of Camas Creek. On the sixth morning Norm missed a very large Whitetail buck in lower Camas Creek. His hard luck continued on another Whitetail buck at the Low Bar. Mark connected on a high, wide 5 point Mulie buck at 257 steps on Freemon. Norm harvested a nice, high tined 4 point Whitetail at the Annex at 230 yards that evening.

The elk hunting was tougher on this hunt, and bulls were hard to find. We saw seven more bulls including 2 large bulls with Bill and Mark, but were unable to make a successful stalk on any of them. The deer rut was in full swing.

I would like to thank all guests who hunted with us this season. We had good snow cover most of the season. Unstable weather and poor visibility made conditions tougher on several of the hunts. Everyone hunted hard and was a pleasure to be with everyday.

A special thanks to Zita Caltrider (archery cook), Sandy Grigsby (rifle cook), Shane Andes, Chad Evans, and John Reardon (archery and rifle guides). Their experience, dedication, and hard work are much appreciated.

I would like to express a sincere thanks to every client that we've had the pleasure of hunting with over the last 21 years. Without your business and friendship, the hunting season would not be possible. Thanks also to Galt Ranches, Fort Logan Ranch and Camas Creek Cattle and Sheep Company for their continued support, understanding, and cooperation with our hunting operation.

2007 Prices

In Montana, outfitter-sponsored non-resident hunting licenses are sold on a market driven system. Everyone that applies for the outfitter-sponsored license properly and on time is guaranteed a license. (No drawing)

2007 Big Game Combination Elk/Deer License $1195.00 - (March 15th deadline)

2007 Combination
Elk/Deer Hunts

ARCHERY
(6 days actual hunting)

1 guide for 1 hunter - $6800 per person

Hunt 1 • September 8 - September 13
Hunt 2 • September 15 - September 20
Hunt 3 • September 22 - September 27
Hunt 4 • September 29 - October 4
Hunt 5 • October 6 - October 11

RIFLE
(6 days actual hunting)

1 guide for 2 hunters - $6200 per person
1 guide for 1 hunter - $7100

Hunt 1 • October 21 - October 26
Hunt 2 • October 28 - November 2
Hunt 3 • November 4 - November 9
Hunt 4 • November 11 - November 16
Hunt 5 • November 18 - November 23

Terry Hansen of Moses Lake, WA 11-2-03

Larry Cushman of Middleburg, VA 11-13-03

Norm Hill of Oakhurst, CA 11-21-03

*ALL HUNTS REQUIRE A 50% DEPOSIT TO HOLD RESERVATIONS

I would like to express a sincere thanks to every client that we’ve had the pleasure of hunting with during the last 23 years. Without your business and friendship, the hunting season would not be possible. Also thanks to Galt Ranch, Fort Logan Ranch, and Camas Creek Cattle and Sheep Company for their continued support, understanding, and cooperation with our hunting operation.

Sincerely,

Doug & Zita Caltrider

For full details visit our web site:

www.avalancheoutfitters.com

Doug and Janet Rehak of Freeport, PA 9-15-03

Chuck Burnette of Lafayette, GA 10-27-03

John Liberty of South Riding, VA 11-12-03