The Marble Island Experience, Australia (Scott Marvin, OC-MN)
Our guide Andrew was only yards from us. The steepness of the slope we were on was evident by the fact we could only see the top of his shoulders and his head. His hand signals told the story as the Rusa stag worked its way towards an opening. As with everything we hunted, the stag had all the time in the world. We used that time to keep glassing, waiting for those telltale polished antler tips to come into view.
My wife and youngest daughter were with me. I noticed my daughter glassing off in the distance. In fact, it was so distant I determined her destination was off the island. About the time I was ready to ask Amie what in the world she was doing; she lit up the valley with her eyes and said one word… “Whale!”
I think that is what they call a “conundrum”. A “what do we do now?” problem. There was no answer other than the level of excitement kicked up many notches. Here we were, flatlanders from the very northern part of Minnesota, in Australia with a stag working its way up the valley and a whale spouting off the shoreline! “Welcome”, I said to myself, “to the Marble Island Experience!”
We arrived at this fantastic destination by doing the marathon air travel venture with no problems. Our travels included the last leg being a charter plane that carried our weary bodies to Marble Island. Any jet lag, sleepless hours, and achy bones disappeared as the beauty of Marble began to fill the view finder on our cameras. We touched down at paradise with no problems, worked our way to the ocean front cottage and nestled in for our stay. Our Aussie hosts made us feel like home, allowed us some catch-up sleep and joined us the next morning for our morning ocean front coffee and toast.
The first hunt day, my twin daughters Amber and Ashley joined their guide Rueben for the first leg of their hunt. My youngest, Amie along with my wife Lynda and I, paired up with the one of the owners, Andrew. For five days we climbed peaks and valleys, watched whales and trophy animals, did our spot and stalk, and fished from the shore in front of the cabin. In those five days the girls took six animals and I took one. They were a mixture of Rusa, Blackbuck and Axis. When we weren’t hunting, we were continually switching between photo ops with the ocean as a backdrop and glassing the next valley in awe as we watched Rusa fighting. We watched inspiring sunsets slip away over the waves of the ocean while Rusa stags, horns filled with native grasses, sounded their guttural roar as they threw their heads high. On occasion you could find us shore fishing off the beach while whales spouted off in the distance. During our stay at least seven times the faint echo of our gunshots added yet another story to our journal.
It was an exceptional trip made special by the opportunity to be with family in such a great location. If you had an hour or so, you could capture a better feel for our trip by looking at our journals. For me, it became a hunting bookmark called the Marble Island Experience and will forever remain a special place in this dad’s heart.
Catalog Code - AUH1
In Pursuit of Moose (cover story) (shared by Ron Diersen, OC-KY)
Decided after hearing about your hunt to write a little on our moose hunt. In eight days we saw 24 moose. Wow! Mostly young bulls and cows. We did however, see three legal bulls which we proceeded to set up and shoot.
Circumstances and a novice hunter played a major factor in our lack of success in harvesting one of these magnificent animals. Either I was to chatty or moved too much, or just plain did not get set up fast enough.
It was pretty exciting to see these large moose. I asked the guide if one was an elephant because the moose had such long legs. That was pretty awesome!
We did get an opportunity to shoot a small chocolate bear but I was so busy with the video camera that by the time I got down to shoot, the bear had spotted us and I didn't feel I had ample time to get a shot off that would actually kill the bear. Therefore I gained the nick name “Sure Shot” from our guide.
We were getting ready to leave one evening and a young bull moose showed up 60 yards behind us. We got excellent video because he was not legal to shoot. We saw lots of wildlife in British Columbia: 4 mule deer, 2 lynx, 1 martin, 2 crossfox, 2 hawks, 1 very large gray owl, 1 small rabbit, 1 small bear and 24 moose. Quite the trip, especially for Linda on her first moose hunt.
We did get a good taste of moose meat while we were there. Five out of seven fellow hunters were successful getting a moose or bear. The hunter from Germany dropped his moose with a rifle at about 6 yards in front of him. Another bow hunter, at one of the camps, got his moose at thirty-eight yards with a compound bow. All in all it was a great trip and the people were friendly. Our guide worked real hard to get us an opportunity. He was very knowledgeable about moose.
Linda and I are already planning on going back. Picture shows me with set-up for my gun. I also hunted from the truck, having the appropriate special license.
We mostly hunted from the Ranger and drove the cut lines and oil roads. The outfitter went the extra mile to accommodate my needs, including building special ground blinds. It was a great set up for a handicapped person.
Curtis and Linda Weipert Catalog Code - BCH5
New Mexico ‘Lope (report by Ron Diersen, OC-KY)
Wanted to share this photo of Tony and his fine New Mexico antelope. Rocky, outfitter, said everyone had a great time and all three hunters in their party had completed their harvest by noon of the first day of the hunt.
One of the hunters in the group took a prize 17 inch antelope. Tony recommends Rocky and his guides. If you’re interested in hunting antelope in New Mexico, ask your Outdoor Connection franchise owner about Catalog Code - TXH4.
Colorado Private-Land Elk (Bill Bowering, OC-NY)
September 17 to 23, 2008, Dave Powers, Outdoor Connection franchise owner from northeast Ohio, and Bill Bowering, Outdoor Connection franchise owner from upstate New York, headed to southwestern Colorado to inspect a new elk and mule deer hunting destination. The lodge was first class with home cooked meals, comfortable accommodations and a great staff.
Hunts are conducted on private ranches from 5 minutes to almost an hour from the lodge. The ranches are surrounded by national forest land, which receives significant pressure during the rifle seasons, driving the elk onto the ranches. Rifle elk hunts are conducted on private ranches from ground blinds and tree stands, and are easily accessible making it an easy hunt for anyone. When the pressure hits the surrounding national forest, elk head onto the ranches and hunters enjoy a high opportunity rate. Our hunt was conducted on a small lease just a few minutes from the lodge. We were into elk nearly every time out. The bulls were just coming into the height of the rut. We had numerous bulls within a few hundred yards screaming at our guides, who were very effective callers. The guides told us they would bring the elk up close and personal. They delivered. I had opportunities at bull elk at less than twenty yards. I ended up taking my first bull ever. Dave had bulls as close as twelve yards, but heavy cover prevented shots. One elk came into the calls so close, that Dave could hear the cow chewing grass. (This is an either sex hunt, but Bulls must be four point or bigger.)
It was the most exciting elk hunt for both Dave and me. This hunt is conducted an hour from Delores Colorado and licenses for archery along with 2nd and 3rd rifle season require no draw and are available over the counter. If you’re looking for a private ranch hunt that is easy on the body and the wallet, give this Colorado outfitter a try. Catalog Code - COH
South Dakota Pheasant (Bruce Rowe, OC-WI)
“Just returned last night from South Dakota, with a group of 10 guys I took with. They all loved it and they asked me to get started on a rebook for next year. I have already got it penciled in with Kevin at the lodge. The picture is the second day’s kill with 62 birds. Total kill for the 2 days was 108. We all had a blast.” To enjoy your own South Dakota pheasant hunt, ask your OC franchise owner about Catalog Code SDH3