Avalanche Basin Outfitters 2004 Email Newsletter

We had 10 archery hunters this fall. Zita did the cooking and camp chores. Shane Andes and I did all of the guiding. It was a great bow season with a lot of opportunities and excitement.

The first archery hunt was September 8-13. Mike Meadows and Chip Sloan of GA were our guests for the week. This was Mike’s fifth hunt with us and Chip’s second hunt. We had warm, sunny weather early in the week. Daytime highs reached 80 degrees, with nights cooling off to 40 degrees. Cloudy weather and rain showers brought temperatures down later in the week.

The 1st evening Mike collected a beautiful, long tined 6x6 bull at 30 yards out of the lower tree stand in Calamity. Chip had an exciting 2nd afternoon and evening on Freemon with three different bulls coming in to the call, but was unable to connect.

Bob Jeans of Glade Hill, VA 10-25-04

Kraig Carver of Gig Harbor, WA 11-16-04

The 3rd evening Chip had some hard luck on a bull that came to the Hole in the Wall tree stand. The 5th morning Chip was unsuccessful on a bull called up in upper Long Park. He also passed up a bull that morning. That evening Chip missed a bull in Long Park due to limbs. The 6th evening Chip’s hard luck continued on a bull called up in Calamity. Mike hunted Camas Creek for whitetails and fished for the rest of the week. Saw a lot of bucks but no large ones.

During the second archery hunt, September 15-20, Cory and Kirby Sensenig of PA joined us. This was Cory’s sixth hunt and Kirby’s fourth hunt with us.

The weather was warm the first half of the week with highs in the 70’s. The last half of the week cooled off with rain and snow. Highs were in the 50’s, with lows down into the 20’s.

On Wednesday morning Kirby had a large 6 point bull at 6 steps but could not draw. Later that day Kirby also passed up a small bull in lower Long Park. That evening Cory had a tremendous bull at 3 paces but could not draw. On Thursday evening Kirby passed up a bull out of the Hole in the Wall tree stand. On Friday evening Kirby passed on a bull called in on Calamity. Cory harvested a large, symmetrical 6x6 bull at 22 yards out of the Hole in the Wall tree stand. On Sunday afternoon Kirby was unsuccessful on a bull called up in Calamity. Cory hunted whitetails on Camas Creek and saw quite a lot of bucks. With cooler weather some of the larger bucks starting showing up.

Rick and Travis Plecker from VA, Jeff Baumgartner from MN, and Keith Ogden of ND were our guests for the third hunt, September 22-27. Travis and Keith accompanied as observers. This was Rick’s fourth hunt with us.

The first few days of the hunt were cool and windy. Daytime temperatures reached the 50’s, with nights dropping to the 20’s. By mid week temperatures were in the 70’s during midday.

The first 2 days we were within range of several good bulls, but had no shot opportunity. After an exciting 3rd morning Rick filled his elk tag with a majestic, drop beamed 6x6 bull. The bull was called in to 11 yards in upper Long Park. The 4th morning Jeff missed an opportunity at a bull bugled in on Indian Creek. Later in the day Jeff was unsuccessful on a bull bugled up in Long Park.

Danielle Lupton of Augusta, WV 11-27-04

Steve Kaufmann of Gaylord, MI 11-4-04

Tillman Riddle of Glade Hill, VA 10-29-04

On the 5th evening Jeff’s bad luck continued on a bull that came to the Hole in the Wall tree stand. Rick hunted deer on Freemon and Camas Creek for the rest of the week. He saw one very large whitetail, but was unable to get a shot. In Rick’s words, it was the “Big Daddy War Buck”.

We combined our fourth and fifth archery hunts in 2004. Don, Rick, Don Sr., and Bruce Ellingsen of WA joined us for the final archery hunt of the season. They requested to combine the last 2 hunts and hunt 2 hunters per 1 guide. This was Don’s and Rick’s second hunt on the ranch.

Kraig Carver of Gig Harbor, WA 11-14-04

Tom Gumprecht of Redmond, WA 11-11-04

Keith Carver of Spokane, WA 11-16-04

We had warm, windy weather with highs in the 70’s and lows in the 30’s. Wind conditions were poor during this hunt, with a lot of swirling, changing air currents. We set up and called in quite a few bulls only to have them wind us.

On Wednesday afternoon, Bruce was unsuccessful on a bull called in on upper Indian Creek. Saturday evening Rick also had some hard luck on a bull called up in Long Park. On Monday afternoon Don Sr. passed shots at 3 different bulls out of the Hole in the Wall tree stand. During Tuesday morning’s hunt, Bruce missed a bull called up in Long Park . On Wednesday evening Don Sr. was unable to fill his elk tag on a bull that came in to the Hole in the Wall tree stand. Rick and Bruce had an exciting Thursday morning with 2 bulls at 10 steps and 24 steps from them in Long Park. The bulls never presented a good, clean shot opportunity and eventually walked off.

Rick Plecker of Millboro, VA 9-24-04

Don sat in the Hole in the Wall tree stand that evening, and had several magnificent bulls close to the stand. He passed a smaller bull in hopes one of the large bulls would cooperate, but that wasn’t the case.

Kraig Carver came over for an early antelope hunt on October 12.

John Doro of Green Bay, WI 11-11-04

Norm Hill of Oakhurst, CA 11-2-04

His dad, Ken, accompanied him as an observer. On the first afternoon of the hunt he harvested a beautiful 13 1/2” antelope at 200 yards on Ayers Creek.

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

Richard Burger of Herndon, VA 10-26-04

The first rifle hunt was October 24-29. Guests for the week were Bob Jeans, Tillman Riddle, Donnie Smith, and Richard Burger from VA. This was Bob’s 4th hunt, Tillman’s 3rd hunt, and Richard’s 2nd hunt with us.

The weather was beautiful the entire hunt with warm, sunny days. Highs were in the 50 degree range, with lows in the teens. There was no snow cover on the ranch, and we received no precipitation during the week.

Norm Hill of Oakhurst, CA 10-31-04

Matt Caltrider of White Sulphur Springs, MT 10-10-04

On Monday morning, Donnie missed a bull in Long Park due to limbs. That afternoon Bob collected a very large, long tined 7x6 bull in upper Long Park at 269 yards. It was a tremendous bull and grossed 377 BC points. Tuesday morning Tillman made an excellent shot on a beautiful 5x5 mule deer at 202 paces in Middle Creek. That evening Richard harvested a nice, symmetrical 5x5 bull with a 212 yard shot in Water Tank. On Wednesday afternoon Tillman missed an antelope in the top of Calamity.

Thursday morning Tillman filled his elk tag on a nice 5x5 bull at 190 steps in Long Park. There was plenty of excitement Thursday evening, starting with Bob connecting on a 15 1/2” antelope at 312 yards on the Fort Logan Ranch. Richard missed a shot at a whitetail buck on Camas Creek. Donnie filled his elk tag with a good 5x4 bull at 100 paces in Spring Basin. On Friday afternoon, Tillman used his last tag on a 12 1/2” antelope taken on the Fort Logan Ranch at 153 steps. Bob finished his hunt with a nice, symmetrical 4x4 whitetail buck shot at 190 yards on Elk Creek.

Tillman Riddle of Glade Hill, VA 10-28-04

Donald Smith of Glade Hill, VA 10-28-04

During the second rifle hunt, October 31 through November 5, hunters were Norm Hill of CA, Steve Kaufmann of MI, Kevin Netterville and Richard Fox of LA. This was both Norm’s and Steve’s 4th hunt with us.

The weather for the first half of the week was cool and windy with some snow squalls. Daytime highs were in the 40’s, with nights dropping to the teens. Temperatures reached the 50’s later in the week.

The first evening Norm connected on a good, dark horned 6x6 bull at 244 yards in Spring Basin. The second day Norm passed up several antelope bucks and a good whitetail buck at Camas Creek. The third morning Norm missed an antelope buck on Ayers Creek. That evening he harvested a beautiful 6x5 whitetail at 245 paces on the High Bar. On the fifth evening Steve made an excellent shot on a nice 5x4 bull in Long Park at 160 steps.

Mike Meadows of Calhoun, GA 9-8-04

Bob Jeans of Glade Hill, VA 10-29-04

On the final morning of the hunt Norm collected a nice 13” antelope in Buffalo Canyon at 193 yards. That evening Rick filled his deer tag with a good 5x4 whitetail at 150 paces on Elk Creek.

Wind conditions were poor during this hunt, and we made quite a few unsuccessful stalks on bulls. A large bunch of elk left the ranch at the beginning of this hunt, but there were still quite a few bulls to work with.

Richard Fox of Shreveport, LA 11-5-04

Tillman Riddle of Glade Hill, VA 10-26-04

Kraig and Ken Carver of WA 10-12-04

Roger Hamm of PA, John Fann and Tom Gumprecht of WA and John Doro of WI were our guests for the third hunt, November 7-12. This was John Fann’s 3rd hunt with us.

We had bluebird weather the entire week, with highs in the 60’s and lows reaching 20 degrees. There was no snow cover on the ranch.

John Fann arrived with a serious cold and fever, but hunted antelope on Saturday afternoon, missing a buck at Doggett’s. He hunted elk on Sunday, but was unable to hunt the rest of the week. On Tuesday morning Roger made an excellent shot on a very nice 6x5 bull at 80 yards in Spring Basin. Wednesday evening Tom stalked to within 150 paces of some bulls on the Rim, but was unable to get a clear shot. Thursday morning Roger missed a large whitetail on the High Bar. John Doro connected on a high, dark horned 5x4 mule deer buck at 200 steps on Freemon. That afternoon Roger filled his deer tag with a beautiful, long tined 6x6 whitetail at Soldier’s Lake. (The buck grossed 169 BC points) Tom collected an odd horned 5x4 bull on Lockwood at 140 paces. John Doro had a large bull at close range in Water Tank, but was unable to get a shot.

The elk hunting picked up during this hunt. There were more elk on the ranch with quite a few more bulls. The deer rut started and there were a lot of bucks traveling around.

On the fourth and final elk hunt of the season, November 14-19, clients were Ken, Kraig, and Keith Carver of WA. Nick Smieja, of MN was also scheduled to hunt this week. The day before he was to start hunting, he ended up having emergency surgery and was unable to hunt. John Doro extended his hunt and took Nick’s place.

We had beautiful weather the entire week, with daytime temperatures in the 60’s and the nights cooling off to 30 degrees.

On the first evening John missed an exceptional bull in Butte Creek. Later in the evening his hard luck continued on another bull in Butte Creek. Kraig collected a nice, wide 5x5 bull in Indian Creek at 150 yards. On the third afternoon Kraig connected on a beautiful high, dark horned mulie buck at 20 paces in Middle Creek. That evening Keith filled his elk tag with a good, symmetrical 6x6 bull at 100 steps in the Ramsey. After an exciting stalk, Ken harvested a nice, odd horned 5x2 bull at 78 yards in lower Long Park. On the fifth morning Ken filled his deer tag with a 14 yard shot on a 4x3 mule deer at Leo’s Place. There was a good number of elk on the ranch throughout the week, and the deer rut was going strong.

Dennis, JR, and Danielle Lupton were our guests for the Thanksgiving whitetail hunt, November 23-28. This was Dennis’s 6th hunt with us.

The early part of the week was cool and windy, with scattered snow showers. Highs were in the 30’s with night time temperatures dipping to the single digits. Mid week brought warmer, sunny days and no precipitation.

Dennis Lupton of Augusta, WV 11-24-04

Roger Hamm of Shartelsville, PA 11-9-04

On Tuesday morning, Dennis missed a difficult shot on a buck in Camas Creek. JR passed up some smaller bucks and worked on one large buck with no shot opportunity. Danielle stalked to within 180 yards of a large whitetail buck, but was unable to get a clean shot through the brush. Wednesday morning Dennis made an excellent shot on a dark horned 4x4 whitetail at 300 yards in Camas Creek. JR stalked to within 150 yards of a whitetail buck chasing a doe, but passed him up. Later that morning JR connected on a nice, symmetrical 4x4 buck at 200 yards on Camas Creek. Around noon on Thursday, Danielle stalked a large whitetail lying in an irrigation ditch on the Low Bar. She was able to get in good range, but the buck was chasing a doe and never stood long enough for a good shot. That evening she missed a buck on Camas Creek. Friday morning Danielle missed a large buck at the Annex. During midday she stalked to within 20 yards of a group of whitetails and passed up a small buck. That evening she passed on another small buck as a very large buck stayed just out of range. On Saturday morning Danielle made an excellent shot on a good 4x4 whitetail at 100 steps in Camas Creek.

I would like to thank everyone who hunted with us this season. We are very appreciative of your business, friendship, and loyalty. We had warm, dry conditions during the elk hunts. It was beautiful weather to be out in, but not ideal conditions for hunting. 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 and John Reardon (archery and rifle guides). Their experience, dedication, and hard work are much appreciated.

Norm Hill of Oakhurst, CA 11-5-04

Bob Jeans of Glade Hill, VA 10-28-04

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

Cory Sensenig of Denver, PA 9-17-04

Roger Hamm of Shartelsville, PA 11-11-04

Todd Caltrider of White Sulphur Springs, MT 10-16-04

*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

Ken Carver of Prosser, WA 11-16-04

Ken Carver of Prosser, WA 11-18-04

J R Lupton of Augusta, WV 11-24-04