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www.hunts.net
Refresh or reload to get the most up-to-date information We still have some good hunts available for this fall, and the better 2009 hunts are filling up. |
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Alaska: Here I come! I'll be leaving for Alaska on Aug. 6 for a hunt I've been looking forward to enjoying for a long time. My friends know that I like tough hunts and have been on three different hunts that required 20-mile or longer approach backpack trips. This one promises to be the toughest of them all as my guide has located three monster Dall rams way back in. We expect to hike 28 miles or more from the road though we can cover the first few miles by mountain bike. As you can imagine, I've been working out and hiking at every opportunity and still feel unprepared. This past weekend we organized a family hike to the top of Mount Timpanogos, which reaches an elevation of 11,749 feet in central Utah, a hike that took 14 to 15 hours round trip. Below are a couple of pictures I took on the hike. I will be in cell phone range for part of my trip to Alaska, and I'll also be able to receive emails at times, so feel free to call or write anytime I can be of service. My assistants Chuck Johnson and Ryan Taylor will cover for me, too. So wish we luck! -- Rich LaRocco.
Mountain goats on Mount Timpanogos on Saturday, Aug. 2. Click on photo for larger image.
My brother-in-law Kyle Wilson, son-in-law Justin Furr and daughter Jenny Furr making the final ascent up 11,749-foot Mount Timpanogos on Saturday. We got above all the deer, elk and mountain goats. Click on photo for larger image. Colorado mule deer and elk landowner permits One of the ranchers we know in Colorado called today (8/4/08) to say he is offering mule deer and elk landowner vouchers again this year. His prices include accommodations in a ranch house he owns. This area produces some nice mule deer as well as elk. Some Hunts.Net customers from Idaho are returning this year for the third year in a row for muzzleloader and archery season. The following vouchers are still available at $1,100 for bull elk, $800 for buck mule deer and $700 for cow elk:
The vouchers allow you to hunt anywhere within the big game unit, which has produced elk up to 350 B&C for our customers. Hunters purchasing these landowner vouchers have killed some great deer in the 27 to 30-inch range. Only skilled hunters with a lot of Western big game hunting experience and the proper vehicles and equipment should consider this hunt because there is no guiding service available. The rancher will pack out game for a fee, however. Ask about Hunt EK3801. Eastern Colorado whitetail hunt available Sportsmen in the know realize that the Eastern Plains of Colorado consistently produces some fine trophy whitetail bucks. That's because tags are extremely limited. Even landowners must draw tags to hunt their own land. Consequently, the bucks get a chance to grow old and big. This outfitter owns and leases land near Lamar, including riverbottom property along the famed Arkansas River, where bucks in the 150s and 160s are relatively common and where bucks in the 170s, 180s and 190s and even some in the 200s live out their lives. The outfitter is known more for producing big muleys, but this year the state has issued a few tags that are valid for whitetail only, so he's anxious to start building a reputation as a producer of trophy whitetails, too. Last year he had a whitetail hunter, but his tag was valid for either species, and he shot a muley in the high 180s on the first morning and didn't even get to the whitetail habitat along the river. This hunt will be priced at $5,000 to $6,000 once the outfitter produces a couple of big bucks, but he is offering an introductory price of $4,000, including guide, meals and ranch house lodging, as he builds his reputation. This is for a 2x1 hunt that is five days long. He has one transferable landowner voucher right now and can acquire a couple of more vouchers from his brother, who ranches in the area, or another neighbor. The season is Dec. 1-14. Ask about Hunt WD3841. Grizzly/caribou combo hunt opens up One of our long-time Alaska outfitters called to say that he just had a cancellation on an early September hunt for grizzly and barren ground caribou. This area has produced a 75% success rate on grizzlies averaging eight feet and also yields some of the biggest caribou bulls in Alaska. The hunt takes place about 80 miles north of Tok, an area that is home to the beautiful Toklat grizzly as well as the 40 Mile Herd of caribou. Unlike the Mulchatna River herd, the caribou in this area are doing well, expanding every year lately, and it produces some whopper bulls. This hunt is usually $10,800, but if you can make it for this year, the price is only $8,500. The price includes the air charter from Tok, but does not include a $200 flight between Tok and Fairbanks on your return trip. If you want to hunt bear and caribou and bring a buddy or a son or daughter wishing to hunt caribou, the cost is $8,000 for you and $5,000 for the caribou hunter. Call for details. Ask about Hunt GB4408. This same outfitter has one opening for brown bear in 2010. This is an outstanding hunt on Chichagof Island, and he'll book a hunter now for this year's price of $11,500. Bighorn sheep scouting trip goes well
Tim Pilling and I scouted this past weekend in the Utah unit where I drew a bighorn sheep tag for this November. We saw several rams but did not find the big boy we wanted to photograph. Still, I learned a lot about the country. Tim and I found 10 or 12 shed mule deer antlers, too. Tim, who is licensed as an outfitter in this region, has room for mule deer hunters in 2009 as well as cow elk hunters this fall. The
cow elk tags in this region are available over the counter beginning today, July 22. Call for details. This unit is composed of huge mesas and ridges and is known for producing some great muleys as well as some big elk. The deer tags are easy to draw. The elk are quite inaccessible during the September rifle hunt, and there are no non-resident tags for the November rifle bull hunt. You do not have to draw a tag for this particular cow elk hunt. Tim can still buy antleress permits for his customers. As for deer Tim has personally killed bucks to about 190 B&C and has seen some much bigger bucks. Judging from the sheds we found, a hunter has a good chance of taking a mature muley in the 25 to 28-inch range, and then there is always a possibility of running into a monster, such as the 200-plus typical killed there last year by a hunter Tim knows. You must apply for mule deer tags by the end of January. He wants to take four hunters in 2009, and the price is $2,500 a person for a party of two willing to share a guide or $4,500 1x1. You must be in excellent physical shape to enjoy the deer hunt. The cow elk hunt could be much easier, depending on the weather. The September rifle bull elk hunt is physically difficult. Tim uses llamas to get into the buck and bull areas. He can use horses, ATVs, snowmobiles or hike to hunt the cow elk. The price of the cow elk hunt depends on whether you want to use horses, ranging from $1,250 for a hiking hunter to $2,000 a person for a horseback hunt. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, here are two photos -- one of Tim with a matched pair of shed muley antlers and another of some sheep we saw. -- Rich LaRocco. Quality elk outfitter has two slots in Utah and two in New Mexico on great leases These are top-level hunts on superbly managed private land at $8,500 a person. Hunter success is typically 100% on mature bulls with most of them in the 280 to 330 class and occasionally a really big bull. Licenses available for this year. These are unfenced private lands where the bulls are free to roam onto neighboring properties. Ask about Hunt EK4514. Landowner permits available for guided trophy elk hunts in New Mexico A customer called to ask about the availability of high-quality elk hunts, and I checked with two of my long-time outfitters in New Mexico. One of them can definitely get landowner permits for hunters wishing to hunt in Unit 34 or Unit 36. He charges $9,000, which includes the landowner voucher. He produced a bull over 370 and another over 380 last year. The other charges $4,000 for his hunt and the landowner voucher in his favorite area is an extra $7,000. New Mexico landowner permits available If you want to hunt elk in New Mexico, you might consider buying a landowner voucher. A voucher allows you to buy a license without drawing a permit. Landowner vouchers vary from about $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the unit and whether the permit is valid only for a private ranch or for an entire game management unit. Let us know what you can afford, and we can give you options. Or, if you already know which unit you want to hunt, let us know how much you'll be willing to pay, and when a permit becomes available in your price range, we can let you know. |
Discounted: New Mexico landowner permits We have two landowner vouchers that allow the holder to buy a license to hunt elk in an area that holds good numbers of elk as well as some mature bulls. The vouchers are $1,000. We had a party of three, but the least expensive additional permit we could find was $2,000, so these are a good buy. The vouchers allow you to buy unit-wide tags that are valid for the five-day October rifle season, and you can hunt the 3,500-acre ranch that received these vouchers as well as public land within the unit. These permits are not in Unit 6C or Unit 5B, which are difficult units for do-it-yourselfers but are in a unit with a good elk herd and, as the rancher stated, "all sizes fo bulls." Call for details. Alaska moose and Dall sheep opening This hunt takes place in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, where I've taken by best ram so far and where I also saw a 65-inch moose while sheep hunting. I was on a fly-in hunt and wasn't about to shoot a moose where we had to pack it miles to the closest landing area. However, this outfitter hunts by horseback, so this hunt is physically much easier than my trip was. You can ride right into good sheep country. We thought this hunt was full, but a hunter has developed some back problems and has been advised by his physician to stay close to home. -- Rich LaRocco. Click here for more details. New Mexico antelope permit becomes available One of our favorite hunts is on a private ranch in eastern New Mexico, which produces some superb pronghorn bucks. Until this ranch began severaly limiting hunting pressure, cutting the harvest from 22 bucks a year down to four or five, this part of the state was not known for producing big antelope. Now this ranch is among the best anywhere, yielding many 15 to 17-inch bucks, including several in the all-time Boone and Crockett book. The ranch just received an additional permit this year and has decided to book a hunter at a $500 discount. The regular price is $4,000. Details. Serious elk trophy hunters: Top-quality permit available We have two great trophy elk hunts available. One is a landowner permit in Nevada (Update: Sorry this one is now full, but the Utah hunt described later in this paragraph is still available). You can buy the permit and hunt on your own, or you can pay a bit more for a fully outfitted and guided hunt. The outfitter saw a 400-class bull recently and is confident of producing a top-quality bull for a hunter who can shoot well. The permit is valid both on the ranch that received the permit as well as in the entire unit, which is managed for trophy-class bulls. The hunt is in November, but the outfitter knows where the mature bulls hang out at that time of year. The other hunt is on a private ranch in Utah. The guides have been watching a 400-class bull lately. This ranch used to produce 250 to 300-class bulls until the state made the public area surrounding the ranch a limited-entry unit. Now the bulls get a chance to reach maximum size. When I hunted on the ranch a couple of years ago, I saw several bulls in the 350 to 380 class, and the property is better now. A hunter who gets one permit per year on the ranch is trading three permits for a desert bighorn sheep hunt in Mexico. This elk hunt takes place during the rut in September and includes your own guide, meals and cabin lodging. We rate this ranch as one of the top five in the entire West for trophy quality. Ask about Hunts EK3602 and EK4562. Three Nevada mule deer permits available for 2009 We have been able to reserve three landowner permits for one of the Silver State's best trophy areas for next year. We had a customer say he wants two of them, so we have at least one left. You can hunt on your own, and we have arranged for a local outfitter to go over a map with you to show where he has seen big bucks. Or you can hire him for a fully guided hunt. Call for details. Wyoming preference points available now If you want to hunt the Cowboy State in a good area, this month is the time to apply for preference points. They're available for elk, deer and pronghorn antelope. Click on "Wildlife agencies" in the navigation box on the left side of this page, and then click on Wyoming for more information. Deadline nears for Wyoming raffle The Wyoming Wildlife Federation is once again offering a chance to draw special commissioner's tags for elk. You can enter the drawing by buying a raffle ticket. The winner of Dream Hunt No. 1 will get a guided hunt in Unit 100, which is known for producing some nice bulls. Hunts.Net has hunters apply in Unit 100 every year, and our outfitter there does extremely well. Dream Hunt No. 2 includes two commissioner's tags, so you can take a partner and both hunt elk, deer or antelope in the state's best hunting areas. The drawing is Aug. 1. Details. Colorado landowner deer and elk permits We have sources for landowner permits in several different units, mostly for mule deer but a few for elk. If you're interested, either call or email me. Let us know your price range, and we'll try to line you up with the best permits available in that range. Or if you want to hunt a particular unit, call or email with a bid, and we'll contact you if a permit becomes available at your price. Some of the landowners tend to be negotiable as the hunting seasons approach. Prices for rifle deer vouchers range between about $1,700 and $7,000, depending on the unit. We have access to some excellent muzzleloader deer permits for $2,000, and archery permits are in the $1,000 to $1,500 range for the most part. Two of the best tags are in a unit where you and a partner can have exclusive access to a ranch where you have an excellent chance of finding bucks scoring 190 B&C or more. This rancher is open to bids. As for elk, we have landowner permits lined up in Units 40, 61, 62 and 66. In most cases, prices have not been set, and the landowners are open to offers. Landowner permits for elk in good units range from $4,500 to $10,000. Quality deer hunts may be available in eastern Colorado One of our favorite outfitters has more than doubled the acreage he has leased, taking over some property that a long-time outfitter operated for years. Now he has more than 400,000 acres of prime hunting land spread over several hunting units in northern and eastern Colorado. If you're looking for a big muley or outsize whitetail, he offers an excellent hunting opportunity. We've worked with him for seven or eight years and have watched him grow his business. He might have a new ranch available this year to hunters seeking big bucks. The landowner hassome vouchers that would allow you to bypass the drawing. If you have a few deer preference points and want to hire a quality outfitter on private land once you get a tag, please call to reserve a spot for next year or the year after. Moose and elk openings
We have openings for elk or moose in Alberta on a hunt that has produced the biggest bull elk in Canada three of the past seven years. $5,000 for six days, including guide, airport pickup, meals and lodging. Call for details. Utah CWMU ranch has openings for 2008 for elk and mule deerElk and mule deer bargain hunt A ranch in Idaho is available for self-guided deer or elk hunting, rifle or archery. This ranch was being reserved for a group, but they fell through. The ranch has produced bucks in the 28 to 32-inch class and bull elk to 350. Over-the-counter tags for deer and archery elk. The ranch usually gets one or two landowner permits for rifle elk.
Two slots for Nebraska whitetail deer Two openings remain for November 2008. We thought one of these was full, but the hunter, who is a rancher/outfitter in New Zealand, is going in 2009 rather than this year. The rancher himself has run this hunt for more than 20 years and has maintained an extremely high success rate on nice bucks. Usually you cannot get on the rifle hunt, but four of the repeat hunters gave up their spots this year. He usually takes four hunters during each half of the November rifle season and one or two bow or muzzleloader hunters. Details. Elk and deer openings in Utah All deer tags in Utah are sold out, but we do have some limited openings on Cooperative Wildlife Management Units. These are all private-land hunts that cost $6,500 to $7,500 and consistently produce mature bucks with the bigger animals scoring 180 and the wider racks close to or exceeding 30 inches wide (outside spread, of course). As for elk, we still have a guided hunt for $4,000 on a private ranch that covers most of a mountain in the Uintas as well as some excellent archery elk hunts in a private area surrounded by CWMUs. Hunters on this hunt typically get lots of shooting opportunities at branched-antler bulls within bow range, and the bigger bulls are usually in the 280 to 320 range though occasionally a really big bull comes from this area. Another hunt is a $2,000 muzzleloader elk drop camp on mixed private and public land in an area that usually attracts good bulls during the early November blackpowder season. Ask about Hunt EK4505. New Mexico ranch available for archery elk hunt We have four landowner permits for an archery elk hunt in northern New Mexico for $2,500 each. These allow you to buy a tag from the state and hunt a private ranch on the Johnson Mesa. This hunt is always highly productive on bulls in the 5x5 to 320 class, and there have been some bigger bulls. If your party buys all four permits, you can hunt up to 20 days starting Sept. 1, and you can take a deer and a black bear, too. If you have a party of two, you can hunt half the season. Last year the ranch produced a 32-inch muley. Last year all the hunters on the ranch killed bull elk, two killed deer and one got a bear. |
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