My History of Guided Hunts

For those who haven't been following this blog forever, here's a little background on how I got into hunting.  I have always enjoyed the outdoors but I did not have any exposure to guns or hunting until later in life.  I enjoyed swimming, snow-skiing, scuba-diving, fishing, hiking, etc but I just never really had much exposure to hunting or firearms.  I shot BB guns or 22's at summer camp as a kid.  I had an occasional chance to shoot a target or a clay when hanging out with friends. But I never owned a gun or did any hunting until I was in my 40's.

In the mid 90's, I made a career change and the company that I joined had a tradition of doing some hunting for client entertainment.  So I started into hunting as a business activity and I "caught the bug".

My initial hunts were goose hunts with clients in Eagle Lake TX. We had groups as big as 60 people who would convene for several days.  The guide service was owned by Clifton Tyler.  I've looked online and I can see references to his service but it doesn't look like he's in business anymore.  Anyway, it was an amazing experience with swarms of mostly snow geese (high limit) but also speckled belly and Canadas (low limits).  On some of these trips, we also did a little duck hunting (green wing teal).

So I got my first shotgun, started shooting some clays, and began hunting upland birds at local preserves (Quail Run, Quail Ridge, Cherry Bend).  My son Eric also started joining me on some of the hunts or clay outings.

In the late 90's, I also did my first big game hunt.  It was also business related when we were invited by a client to come hunt wild hogs in Texas.  It was a guided hunt on a huge (250,000 acre) ranch near Carizzo Springs.  Two hunters were paired up with a guide and we barreled around this ranch in Jeeps looking to find hogs and put on a stalk.  I shot my first hog on this hunt.

Another business related trip that became an annual activity was a goose and pheasant hunt in South Dakota.  We hunted at Big Bend Ranch. Big Bend Ranch It was a beautiful property and quite an experience.  We would hunt geese at sunrise, come in for breakfast, then go out to hunt pheasants over flushing labs, then come in for lunch, then out again for pheasants, then geese until last light.

In about 2000, I had the hunting bug bad enough that I started looking for some acreage of my own.  In 2001, Joan and I bought our farm.  Sometime shortly thereafter, I shot my first deer with a muzzleloader (no rifles in Ohio at that time).  By 2006, I took my first archery buck.

In 2007, I went on my first big game hunt in the west.  One of my friends arranged for seven of us to go to Idaho to hunt elk at a remote tent camp.  We could drive to the tent camp (75 miles off the pavement in 4x4's on logging roads) but we would hunt on horseback from there.  We were each able to get tags for elk, deer, bear, and mountain lion.  We had high hopes, travelled by RV, endured all kinds of weather from rain to sleet to snow. The outfitter was based in Elk River and he appears to still be in business.  Shattuck Creek Outfitter  Since this was before this blog, I didn't keep all the details but a short summary is seven hunters, four tags each, not one shot fired, and we heard wolves howling every day.  Needless to say, we were disappointed but had a great adventure.

In 2008 or so, this same group of friends did some hunting with Stowe Samco in South Dakota. Absolutely Pheasants  They hunted pheasants, deer, and prairie dogs with Stow.  I didn't make all of the hunts but in 2008 I did make the prairie dog hunt and in 2009 I hunted wild pheasants.

In 2010, I started this blog.  So from this point forward, there is at least one blog post (and often more) on my guided hunts.

In 2010, my nephew Dave and I did something a little different.  We went on a gator hunt in FL.  Our guides were my niece Kristin and her husband Leo.  Florida Gator Hunt

In 2011, I went on my first successful elk hunt in Utah.  Utah Elk Hunt  The outfitter was R&K.    R & K Outfitters  Three hunters, 3 bulls in the first couple days.

Also in 2011, I got drafted at the last minute to fill in a spot on a fabulous Georgia quail hunt. Georgia Quail Hunt It was at a very classy lodge.  Rio Piedra Plantation

In 2012, I tagged along on another prairie dog hunt.  This time we booked directly with an individual from the Red Bud Indian Reservation.  The most memorable part of this trip is the experience that I had with chiggers.  Prairie Dogs and Chiggers

Based on feedback that we heard from another hunter in camp in Utah, we booked a 2012 elk hunt in Colorado with an outfitter named Jimmy Hill.  We paid our deposits but when it came time to prepare for the hunt, this outfitter stiffed us.  It took a long time but we eventually got our deposits back.  We did some online searching and found all sorts of stuff about this guy and his partner.  Here's an example.  Jimmy Hill Fraud Warnings

As a result of that experience, we have primarily booked our hunts via a booking agent since then. We have had generally good experiences using Brian Stecklein of Hunt Nation.  Hunt Nation Booking Agent

On short notice, I asked Brian to find me an elk hunt for 2012.  He hooked me up with Tuffy Barnett of Mangas Outfitters. Mangas Outfitters  It was a muzzleloader hunt in New Mexico which turned out to be unsuccessful.  But I was glad to get a hunt in at all.  New Mexico M/L Elk Hunt

Also in 2012, I managed to slip in a Texas hunt when invited by my friend Jim.  It wasn't professionally guided but Jim is really a pro.  South Texas Hunt

In 2013, I hunted elk in the area around Chama New Mexico.  Randy Slaughter is the outfitter with Rio Brazos.  Rio Brazos Outfitter  I did multiple posts on that hunt but we all took bulls.  Here's the overview.  NM Elk Near Chama

In 2014, I was turning 60 and planned to make a trip to Africa.  Brian at Hunt Nation booked me with Kerneels Shultz at Valley Bushveld Safaris. Valley Bushveld  It was a fabulous trip with multiple blog posts on both the hunting and sightseeing.  This post is the overview but you can find links to the other posts at the end.  South Africa Trip Overview

My next trip was in 2016 to a different area of New Mexico.  The outfitter was Toby Truby of Red Rock Outfitters.  Red Rock FB  In our group of 3 hunters, one bull was taken.  New Mexico Red Rock

In 2017, I decided to try a muzzleloader mule deer hunt in Utah.  It was with R&K again.  R & K Outfitters  I got a long, last minute shot but we didn't recover.  The guide did weeks later.  Utah M/L Mule Deer

In 2018, it was elk in Montana with Mike Hubbard.  Hubbards Yellowstone Outfitters  I was successful but it was only 2 for 6 in camp.  Montana Elk Hunt  Beautiful location and lodge.

In 2019, it was Wyoming for mule deer and antelope.  We hunted with Clark and Tad of Hunton Creek Outfitters - they appear to have gone out of business.  Eric and I both had success.  WY Mule Deer and Antelope

In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Eric and I had an epic adventure hunting elk in the Thorofare region of Wyoming.  The outfitter was Bill Perry of Hidden Creek Outfitters.  Hidden Creek Outfitters  I wrote a bunch of posts on this trip and you can find the links at the end of this overview.  Wyoming Thorofare Elk

And most recently, in January of 2022, Eric and I did a Texas trip with stops at two different outfitters.  First we hunted with Mike Wyatt for ducks and hogs.  First Shot Outfitters  Texas Ducks and Hogs  Then we hunted again with Bill Perry for aoudad Texas Hidden Creek Outfitters  There are two posts for the aoudad hunt.  Texas Aoudad Overview  and  Texas Aoudad Details

That's the highlights of my guided hunt experience to date.  We are booked to hunt New Mexico again this year with Rio Brazos.  Hopefully more big adventures in the future but I thought I would put these guided hunts together in one post.