Mule Deer Hunting in Colorado (Client Report by Michael Fuge)
Rich and I just returned from our hunt in Colorado with one of Outdoor Connection’s outfitters there. To say the least this was the BEST hunt that I have ever been on. We arrived at the lodge just after noon on our first day. The camp cook, Susan, greeted us and immediately she made us feel at home. She explained that Dave (owner) and the guide would be there shortly and we would get the paperwork and things started. We checked out the accommodations and asked a few questions and found out that we were the only hunters in camp for the week. Finding this out was really nice; having the camp exclusively to us was really nice.
When Dave arrived we sat down and completed the paperwork. Then we met our guide, Seth Musgrave, who made a great impression from the start. He is a very knowledgeable guide and also a very nice person. After completing the paperwork, Seth took us down to get our tags. Then we went and shot our rifles. It was nice to have that opportunity to make sure that our rifles were still on. Then we went back to the lodge and Seth explained how we were going to hunt the mule deer and the terrain that we were going to hunt.
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It is a lot different than we are used to in Wisconsin. I would have to say that we saw over 100 deer every day of the hunt and at least 10 bucks every day that were big enough to shoot. We also saw a lot of antelope and some elk. We had snow, rain, sleet and sun everyday of the hunt, which should have made things challenging, but Seth knew where the deer were going to be and put us on them everyday.
The food was fantastic; we ate homemade meals and they were delicious. You will not lose weight when hunting with this outfitter.
Rich harvested a real nice 4x5 mule deer on the second day of the hunt at about 5:30pm and Seth had it back in camp and caped out by 8:00pm that evening. I harvested a nice 4x5 mule deer on the third day of the hunt about 8:30am and it was back in camp and skinned out by 10:00am. Seth did a wonderful job of skinning and removing the antlers from the deer. Dave provided us with nice facilities to butcher the animals and get the meat ready for the trip home. |
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Dave, Joan, Eric, Susan and Seth made the trip what it really was. Everyone made you feel like you were good friends. After dinner on the third night everyone said their goodbyes and hugs were exchanged. You really knew that you had made friends for life.
I am looking forward to the day when I can get back out there again and hunt. Thanks to our agent for planning such a great hunt for Rich and I!
Sincerely,
Michael Fuge
COH2
First Time Mountain Lion Hunter (Client Report by Todd Null)
I wanted to start out saying that hunting with Craig was special. There was good food, good company and a nice stay. I felt like I was at home. The hunt will always be on my mind. Coming from Missouri, not seeing much snow, never riding a snowmobile, or wearing snow shoes, let alone walking straight up a mountain; what a treat!!!
First day you leave at 4:30 am on snowmobiles and follow tail lights up an old logging road, watch the sun come up on top where you can see the world!! Then I look over the edge and realize what I drove by in the dark. It made my snow mobile stay to the mountain side a lot more. We covered a lot of country. I saw all types of wildlife; elk, deer, moose, eagles, lots of wolf tracks. Found a cat track the first day, but were in an area where we could not turn the dogs loose.
| We saw some smaller tracks as the week progressed, but it was four full days later before we found the one we wanted. We turned the hounds loose. They started slow, but then took off. We get all the way to the cat only to have him jump out and take off, watching your dream go over another mountain, wondering if you will ever see it again. After jumping four more times (many miles later) it finally stayed in a tree and I got my cat!! |
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I have hunted around hounds my whole life. Craig has some good ones. WOW!! You can see in Craig's eyes that he loves it. I really believe that Craig would do anything in his power to get you the game you are after. Mike Wilson was also there during this hunt and was a lot of help. He helped me out of many a snow drift and was good company at the cabin. He too, went the extra mile. I would tell anyone wanting a lion to go with Craig!!! That said, be ready. I ran stairs for three months before I went. Thank goodness. It still was a task up and down the mountains. Takes its toll on a flat lander. I have lots of other things I want to hunt before the years slip by but I want to do this again some day. In closing, my Outdoor Connection agent, Ron Diersen, made all of my traveling simple. All I had to do was hunt!! Thanks for a great hunt!!!!!
Todd Null
IDH2
Ice Fishing on Lake of the Woods (Report by Steve Ellenson (OC-MN))
My son Matthew and I made what has become the annual pilgrimage north through the frozen January woods of Minnesota to Lake of the Woods for a couple of days of ice fishing. Our outfitter, located at the convergence of the Rainy River and the big lake, once again didn't disappoint. The guides, staff and owner really go out of their way to make the little one's feel right at home. A five year-old at 7am, when the temp is 25 below zero can be interesting, but Gregg and his crew really made him comfortable every way they could. With a big cold front that went through, the fishing was a little tough at first. But the second afternoon we had a flurry that will keep my fishing buddy bragging for years to come. Yes, the little guy outfished Dad once again-and he even snuck in a nap in the fishhouse!!! Oh well, if it keeps him fishing, he can outfish me anytime!
Little kids, big kids, families--It's tough to beat a day on the water where all you have to worry about is if the fish will bite!!!
MNF6
Idaho Cat Hunting (Client Report by Steve Micciche)
The picture (to the right) of my cat kill shows Ron Casperson on the right and his friend Josh holding the cat. It is only fitting that the two people who worked the hardest to make my hunt a success are shown in the picture. The dogs that we hunted with and the training they received made this all possible.
Let me tell you unequivocally that I would not hesitate to recommend Ron and Lyn for any hunt that they put on. From the time I was picked up at the airport by Lyn and her friend, till the time I was driven back to Boise, everything was done to make the hunt a memorable life experience. From their hospitality, to the food, to the hunt - everything was done to accommodate me. The fact that we hunted hard and the hunt was blessed with me harvesting the cat, was really the topping on the cake.
I could not have asked for or received more attention to every aspect of the hunt. Ron is truly a hard working, dedicated hunter in every sense of the word. That he practices his skills by guiding hunters and the enjoyment he gets from these experiences is much more than trying to make a living guiding. He and Lyn and their family and their friend, Josh are genuine people that I would be proud to call friends.
Lyn, a hunter and guide in her own right, balances family and business with seemly ease. She provide outstanding meals, considering my diet at every turn. I enjoyed sharing their life and family for a week.
The beauty of the mountains painted in snow has to be experienced first hand. We saw game - elk, deer every day, as well as bighorn sheep and even a coyote. I must tell you that this hunt is not for the faint of heart or a "hunter" that wants to get up at 7 A.M. and make a kill by 10 A.M. We were up by 2 A.M. most days and some days up by 1 A.M. Most of the hunt was conducted in Ron's 4 wheel truck with snowmobile side trips every day. Weather ranged from -4 to a high of 27. We put 125 miles a day and in our last 2 days - over 250 miles as Ron drove to different hunt areas in search of a big Tom.
The dogs (God bless them) treed a large female on the fifth day of the hunt, but we passed on it, even though it is legal to harvest females. Then on the last day of my scheduled hunt the dogs tracked not one, but two cats and held them for several hours in a cavelike rock structure, Ron and Josh were not to be denied and Ron poked the larger cat out of the rocks. The cat took off down the mountain with the dogs in pursuit. Down across the road - 50 yards from the truck, across a creek and up the mountain, the cat and dogs went, with the dogs treeing the cat a hundred yards up the hill. We caught up with them in record time coming down the mountain, and with one shot from a barrowed .243, I was able to dispatch the big Tom using an 80 grain soft point bullet. You see the results in the picture.
The cat will be preserved as a full mount in my house. Good hunt, better people and a shared life experience that will remain with me.
Steve Micciche
IDH5