Shane,
Thanks for hooking us up with all the right resources for us to enjoy a successful elk hunt.
The unique combination of skills/assets that Austin, Don, Robbie, and Corey corporately added to the package proved to be enjoyable and effective.
Austin did a great job as host while he was there and the accommodations he provided where top notch.
Robbie was very aggressive and energetic, pushing 125% toward the goal of getting everyone on a bull. He filled in the gaps in camp wherever they appeared and covered more bases than just his own.
Corey was a little more laid back and unrefined but gave 100%. He brought his friend Roy along who really proved to be a huge asset. Corey's dad, Bill, also contributed a lot of useful information about the area. They made a great team.
Don had an approach that I was a little uncomfortable with at first [me being a whitetail hunter]. It didn't seem like he had an intimate knowledge of the area like Corey and Robbie and hadn't been very successful finding a big bull with his scouting. So we mainly stayed on the roads the first 2 days, glassing, listening and getting familiar with the area. As the hunt went on I slowly warmed up to his spot and stalk philosophy on elk hunting.
Bill had introduced us to a spot on the second day that Don and I returned to on the third morning. We spotted a bull that looked worth pursuing but he was moving fast toward some dark timber for the daylight hours. I got him in my scope as Don ranged him at 501 yards. It was a hard quartering away shot and I wasn't as steady as I needed to be so I passed on the shot. We ran up the road to get a better vantage but he slipped into the pines and disappeared before we could set up.
This was the point where Don impressed me as a determined guide. We trimmed a few saplings and he got me set up inside a burned out stump to use as a shooting bench. Then he went across the canyon, got on the back side of the bedded elk and began to put light pressure on them in hopes that the bull would back out the same way he entered the timber. It turned out that there were other elk bedded in there too. Some went one way, some another, but a bull did come out right where we hoped. When he ran back out on the hillside that I was watching, I panicked and forgot all about assessing him or ranging before the shot. I guessed the distance at 600 yards, fired 3 times and missed. Then to my amazement, Don stopped the fleeing bull, turned him around with cow calls and lured him into a small opening high on the ridge.
By this time I was getting my emotions under control and got my head back in the game. I laid the empty gun down, grabbed my pack and fished out the rangefinder, ranged the bull at 492 yards, put a single shell in, anchored against the stump, put the 500 yard circle on his vitals, pulled the trigger, and put a hole through both lungs. It ran down hill a little and stopped behind a bush. I ranged again and found the distance to be 445, I opened the bolt, pulled a round out of my belt container and slide it into the chamber.
Through the scope, on 20 power I could see his head, neck and the front edge of his shoulder. His head was hanging low and my impression was that he was hit, but I wasn't sure. I centered his neck between the 400 and 500 yard circles in my Nikon Monarch BDC reticles and slowly squeezed the trigger until the explosion surprised me. The 338 Win Mag 225 grain Barnes bullet busted his neck and dropped him. My first Elk!
He ended up being a 5x6, not as good as I wished for but plenty good enough to leave me satisfied with no regrets. He may or may not have been the bull we had seen earlier, but I'm ok either way.
Back to my commentary on Don. Whatever doubts I had about Don were discarded when he crossed the canyon and manipulated my bull into a killing position. He really went above and beyond to help me close the deal on that bull. He's pretty cunning with people too. He cut himself with the knife a little while skinning and acted like it was real bad so I would pack out some of the meat and the bulls head for him. I love to learn little tricks like that from guides, I may try it sometime myself:).
Another great thing about Don was the quality of his equipment. From his glasses, to his camper, to his ATV's, it was all first class stuff, he cuts no corners on equipment. But his biggest asset is that he is just fun to be with, he made each outing enjoyable and showed me a lot of beautiful country. Sometimes he even acted like he was out of breath just to make me feel good about not being in tip top shape myself :), a nice touch! I forgive him for cussing at me once, I deserved it - I'll let him tell you that story.😉
Both Jon and Rick have expressed multiple times that they were also greatly pleased with with their guides and the entire package.
I believe any one of us would be good additions to your reference list.
Mark Miller, South Carolina
#sso #shanescottoutfitting #teamsso #utah #bullelk #wapiti
