This outfitter is based out of Grand Junction, Colorado and is a family run company that offers Guided hunts for Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Mountain Lion / Cougar, Big Horn Sheep & Bison. Their primary focus for big game is Colorado unit 61. As most of you know unit 61 is one of Colorado’s most sought-after Trophy elk and deer units.
In the early years of their operation, they saw the need to expand their business into Utah. In the beginning, this was strictly for the purpose of our mountain lion operation and it proved to be a great success. As things grew, they started getting requests from clients who wanted deer and elk hunts in this area as well. In 2017, they decided to take action and now offer custom trophy hunts in both the Little Creek Roadless & also the Bitter Creek unit of the Utah Bookcliffs. These are offered on a limited basis only taking 2 hunters a season.
ELK
They operate on Forest Service, BLM, and small private ranches giving them all the needed resources to make your hunt an exceptional one. All of the hunts are typically fully furnished and guided but they also have options if you would like to bring you own camp/camper.
In most situations, they have a lot of terrain options and hunting techniques to accommodate hunters of almost any physical condition. Transportation during your hunt will vary from trucks, ATVs, and UTVs. Horse accessed hunting is also available upon request. (Bookcliff Little creek Roadless area is strictly a horse hunt).
A typical day of hunting will vary from you and your guide intensively glassing to locate elk, then use spot and stalk techniques or calling/bugling setups to get you in comfortable shooting distances. Another option is hunting from ground blinds over active wallows or water sources.
Unit 61 is hands down one of Colorado’s most exciting units to hunt. This is a great unit for harvesting bulls in the 310″-330″ range. There are bulls up to 365 inches killed here every year. Unit 61 has the best bull to cow ratio of all the units they hunt. This allows for a long active rut, in a typical week of hunting we will see a lot of average 280-310″ 6-point bulls as we search for the larger trophy elk.
We advise clients to practice shooting up to 400 yards to be fully prepared for longer shot opportunities that commonly present themselves in this area. Archery Elk hunters over the past several years average a 50% success ratio.
Lodging is a modern wall tent camp located at 9,000ft in the heart of elk country. Camp is complete with hard wood floors, high end cots and a generator for electric power in the mornings and evenings. Full kitchen with cook and homemade meals are provided before and after each day of hunting.
They also provide sack lunches for the field. You will appreciate their hard work ethics and first-class western hospitality.
Hunters are allowed to arrive two days prior to the start of your hunt. This allows you to get settled in and spend one full day scouting with your guide before your hunt starts. Quality is their #1 focus.
***Bear can also be added to your elk hunt, and if tag out early on elk, you may get many opportunities to harvest a bear during the remaining days of your hunt. If you don’t harvest a bear there is no additional charge.
MULE DEER
The outfitter has several options to hunt mule deer with their main focus being in Colorado units 61,62, & 70, as well as the Utah Bookcliffs unit. They take great pride in harvesting only the biggest and best and their year-round scouting practices provides them an incredible amount of knowledge about the deer and their seasonal behavior patterns. This scouting allows the outfitter and guides to know the deer’s every move from low country wintering grounds to high elevation summering grounds. When hunting season arrives, they are fully prepared to anticipate their actions allowing them to put you in line for the shot of a lifetime.
Unit 61
It is no question that unit 61 has proven itself as a top trophy producing unit. They recommend hunting either 3rd season or muzzleloader season. 3rd season is often a low country hunt with lots of time spent covering country looking for buck to come out of the wood works and chase does.
Muzzleloader season puts you in the higher country glassing for bachelor groups as they feed in open pockets of timber. Hunters can expect bucks 165-180 with several bigger bucks being taken every year. Terrain is moderate in this unit allowing us to accommodate hunters of varying physical abilities. Lodging on this hunt will be based out of the main camp located in this unit.
Unit 62
Unit 62 is another one of Colorado’s top producing units with deer over 200” killed each year. Bordering unit 61 it offers the same quality deer and diverse terrain to hunt them in. A lot of locals say the bigger deer prefer the 62 side of the mountain and our outfitter tends to agree. The down fall to this unit is the higher number of elk hunters that are also on the unit. As a result, tags are easier to draw and land owner voucher tags cost less. Fortunately, the deer reside in different areas from the majority of the elk allowing them to avoid some of the pressure during our hunt.
All of this aside, they still manage to get big deer killed here. Again, it is recommended this unit to be hunted either Muzzleloader or third season.
4th season Unit 70
This a great late season hunt especially on years where winter comes early. 4th season is designed to be during the rut so you are hunting at the most opportune time to catch big bucks off guard. The deer population is high in this unit, but it takes a good deal of looking to find the big ones. This is primarily a desert hunt and the terrain is somewhat open. A lot of glassing will play a big part in the success of these hunts. Deer in the 170 range can be expected. As typical with most trophy units, bigger bucks get harvested every year.
Lodging on this hunt will be out of a nearby motel or client is welcome to bring his own camping accommodations.
BEAR
It is no question that Colorado has one of the largest black bear populations in the lower 48 states.
It is normal to see several bears during a week’s hunt. Our Colorado bear hunts are conducted using spot and stalk methods. We use well selected glassing knobs and quality optics to locate your bear. We then put on a stalk and get as close as possible. Greatest success comes to hunters comfortable shooting up to 400 yards. This hunt can also be done with a bow where we pick high bear traffic areas and use calls to bring them in to shooting distance. Sitting over an active waterhole in early afternoon is also a very successful way to archery hunt them. It is recommended using a rifle for the highest chance of harvesting a large boar.
We offer these hunts in two different units as well as on a private ranch with guaranteed tags.
MOUNTAIN LION/COUGAR
Our outfitter and his pack of lion hounds spend six months out of the year roaming the foothills of western Colorado and eastern Utah searching for the majestic mountain lion that call this country home.
This outfitter has been breeding and training lion hounds since his late teenage years. In his mid 20’s he left the coal mine where he worked and pursued his dream of guiding hunts and owning his own outfitting business. We promise you won’t find an outfitter that takes cougar hunting more serious than they do.
They breed and train their own strain of lion hounds that are cougar catching machines. This gives them the ability to catch cats anytime, anyplace, in almost any condition. Top that off with a huge permitted hunting area containing one of the highest cougar populations in the lower 48 states. This covers 7 game management areas in Colorado as well as a large portion of eastern Utah. They hunt 5 day a week, 6-8 months out of the year to ensure their hounds are as good as they can be. All of this makes this top producing outfitter the perfect choice to assist you on a guided cougar hunt.
There is no bigger rush than being up close and personal with a large cat. They offer two kinds of cat hunting experiences (winter & dry ground) each option offers an entirely different experience. They often jump back and forth between Colorado and Utah, so if the conditions are right, once you harvest your first cat you will be given the opportunity to harvest a second cat in the other state if you wish to do so.
Snowy winter months are perfect for harvesting cougars. Their winter/snow hunts run from late November until mid-March. This hunt is conducted with trucks, snowmobiles, and other off highway vehicles. They start out days very early driving roads looking for mountain lion tracks. Once located, they release the hounds and catch your cat.
Using GPS technology, they track the hounds and precisely locate where they treed your trophy. They then determine the easiest route to take you into your trophy. Hikes can be very short but can also range 1-2 miles and 750+- feet in elevation.
Due to the large area they hunt, lodging will vary from hunt to hunt. Most hunts will be based out of their home where clients will have their own private bed, bath and living room area. Weeks where the outfitter chooses to travel to further hunting areas, lodging will based out of comfortable motels in the nearest town. Some areas you will stay in a rustic modern cabin with most of the luxuries of home.
** To best fit the needs of all our clients our winter snow hunts have two options (scheduled & on call)
**All mountain lion hunts come with two guides to double the amount of country they can cover and greatly increase the success of each hunt
*** They also have options available to take two hunters at a time
ELK PRICING: (Prices subject to change without notice)
All hunts are fully furnished and 1 on 1 guided
ARCHERY **2019 special**- 6 day hunts- $4250
MUZZLELOADER- 5 day hunts- $5000
$500 per day if hunt goes beyond 5 days.
RIFLE- 5 day hunts – $5000
$500 per day if hunt goes beyond 5 days
Can Add Bear on earlier season hunts
*Hunting licenses not included*
*They ask that all hunters arrive two days prior to your hunt so you can get settled in and spend a full day scouting with your guide prior to the hunt starting.
** They offer a packing service in both unit 61 & 62 **
MULE DEER PRICING: (Prices subject to change without notice)
5 day fully furnished hunt- Price: $5000
9 day fully furnished hunt- Price: $7500
*Hunting licenses not included*
*Hunters interested in serious trophy hunting can add an additional guide for $1,500 per 5 day hunt
*All hunts include two days scouting time. Custom scouting packages can also be purchased.
BEAR PRICING: (Prices subject to change without notice)
5 day hunts $4,000 fully furnished and guided.
*Hunting licenses not included*
MOUNTAIN LION PRICING: (Prices subject to change without notice)
- ON CALL HUNTS (success is over 90% making this our highest success option for killing a mature cat)
If you want a guaranteed snow hunt in prime conditions, we ask you book an on-call hunt. This option may require some flexibility in your schedule. When you book this hunt, outfitter will give you a rough idea on when your hunt will be and will keep you updated as the season progresses.
As the time nears, they will call you when conditions are right. This may only be a couple days’ notice.
This is a fully furnished 5-day hunt, complete with 2 guides, full meals and 6 nights lodging.
$6,500
- SCHEDULED HUNTS (recommended for clients who need to plan for exact dates far ahead of time)
This hunt is conducted much like their on-call hunts other than your hunt is scheduled for selected dates at the time you book, and we hunt despite what nature throws their way. They typically allow slight changes of a day or two to accommodate weather but will not reschedule unless they feel conditions are impossible to catch in. Extremely muddy conditions would be the only time this will be allowed.
They typically have decent snow to hunt from Dec thru early March. It varies every year what month conditions are best.
5 Day Fully Furnished Hunt. Includes 2 guides on each hunt, Food and 6 nights lodging included.
$4,750 (80% opportunity on mature cat)- LIMITED AVAILABILITY
*** If successful in harvesting a cat early in your hunt and you are interested in trying to harvest a second cat during your 5 days, the fee is $500 to begin hunting and $2,500 kill fee If successful. If you would like to continue hunting past the 5 days you were scheduled for, the daily fee is $800 per day but the kill fee is waived.
***If you have been unsuccessful on your first cat and want to extend your hunt the price is $500 a day.
