Guided Muley Hunt

M

muzzle

Guest
Hey guys, I finally got the blessing from the boss (Wife) to book a guided hunt this year. I am leaning towards a Muley hunt but a good elk hunt would get me going too. I am looking for hunt with the very real possibility of a 180+ buck. I would like to hunt out of state preferably Colorado, Wyoming or Idaho. That being said, which outfits/states would be able to deliver and are reputable? You can surf web sites all day but first hand knowledge is the only way to go. I would like to keep the price as reasonable as possible but I would be willing to pay more to hunt with someone that can giter done. Anyone willing to throw some names out there that might fit the bill?

Thanks in advance!
 
I hunted with Donny Carr, Goldeneagle outfitters, and if you rifle hunt with him, a 180 class is a very realistic goal. I bow hunted with him twice during the rut in november, successful both times. But the rifle boys have a better chance at cullin the herd in october. His website is:

http://www.goldeneagleoutfitters.com/

Hope I ain't steppin on any toes here.

He runs a great camp and has a great guide in Sean Sanders, lots o personality there. The food is great and the accomodations are more than adequate.
IMHO

Scott
 
"Do it Yourself" It is far more rewarding than having some guy hold your hand and pointing out what deer to shoot. Don't get me wrong guides are good but they are not for me. I have hunted all over the west and have never went on a guided hunt. I would rather shoot a 150 inch deer on my own then a 200 inch deer that I had nothing to do with other than pulling the trigger.
 
There are hundreds of options available out there for you buddy, some great, many OK, and a few not so good. Do your research, talk with past clients and make a choice. I ask you though, please support this website by checking out some of the guys who make this website possible.

For all of you, I hope you like and appreciate what you find on this website. Please remember, what you find here is not free, only FREE TO YOU. Our wonderful sponsors are who keep this site in business, and I ask/hope that you will atleast visit them online and consider their services and products. I hope that if anyone has gained knowledge, made new good friends, or just enjoyed some good entertainment here at MM, that you will feel, even a small obligation, to let our sponsors earn your business.

All of our supporters are listed in the dropdown in the top, left corner of the site. Give them a chance before making any decisions.....please.

Thank you,,

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
 
All good opinions. I was also going to say Golden Eagle. I went a few years back on a late rifle cancellation hunt. Great hunt I end up shooting a 170" slick typical, I saw a few like this. It was my first Mule deer and passed o some of them, a 3 pt with no back forks at about 5 yards that would have made 170", shot it on day 4, that was all I could take of passing great bucks to me. Great people and a great hunt.
Yes, there are lots of options.
 
WeScout4u offers private land ranch (fair-chase) hunts for self-guided hunters in SE Idaho. These can save you money yet still get you in great country with good bulls and few hunters. See www.wescout4u.com and check the private-land trespass fee hunt page.


The Christian
 
Thanks guys for all the input. I do get the DYI vs the Guided thing but I have been DYI my whole life and while yes, I agree this is the most rewarding way to go, with a business to run and aging kids and their demands, I am having a harder time getting out and putting in the time needed to find the type of deer I am interested in. Not saying I won't continue the DYI style hunts but I thought it may be fun just to try it the other way. My brother went on a guided muzz hunt for elk in unit 40 last year and it was a blast. We hunted everybit as hard as we normally do and I would say the guide was there just for local knowledge of the area but we did most the work. Anyway, thanks for all the sugestions, i'll consider all the options..especially the guides on this site:)
 
You didn't list NM as an option, but if you're interested in that talk to JFW Ranch Consulting (JFWRC on here). I haven't used him previously, but he seems to be held in high regards by everyone on this site. He's an extremely nice guy to talk to as well. I booked a muley/elk combo hunt with him for this fall and he still has one spot open on that hunt I believe. I think it's going to be a good hunt and keep getting more excited by the day.

I can understand the DIY calls, but I'm in the same boat as muzzle with two kids and a busy work schedule. I'm on the east coast so trips to go scouting would be out of the question. This is my first guided hunt of any kind and decided to do it for the same reason you are.

Ben
 
Muzzle-
PM me if the sounds of a PLO Colorado 3rd season "shoot" sparks your intrest.....i have a few tags left.








48288e6577d023b6.jpg
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-27-09 AT 12:15PM (MST)[p]I get very tired of hearing that "do it yourself, it's more rewarding" term or "someone to hold your hand" thing. I have been guiding and outfitting for 15 years and have never "held" any one's hand. If DIY hunters want to go alone- great, do it and do with all the luck we, or anyone else can wish you!
But at the same time many DIY's will call me for advice on where to hunt! Well, that seems to me to be a little wishy- washy. What an outfitter does is provide someone with limited time a chance to optimize that time, and have comradery, camp, and help in the field. It is not always the kill, yes, that is how we gauge ourselves, but there is more to it than that. Outfitting is not something we do for the money, we do it for the love of the outdoors. Believe me when I say, the trophy is just as rewarding! An outfitter does not have a magic potion, but we do put the odds in a person's favor.
Travis
www.southwesthuntingadventures.com
 
Amen Travis!
It seems as if a person wasn't fortunate enough to be born in the West and have the upbringing to know how to hunt the species that reside there, they are less of a hunter?

The Christian
 
Travis-

Good post!
It's the ones who have never been on a guided hunt that say that crap, we both know that.

And if someone says that, that HAS been on a guided hunt where someone held their hand......they obviously weren't on a hunt.








48288e6577d023b6.jpg
 
I'll throw in my comments here as well. I've hunted since i was 8 yrs old mostly on my own, DIY. I've also been fortunate enough to go on several guided hunts & i can say with all honesty, a guided hunt can be just as tuff. I've never had anyone hold my hand or for that matter felt my hunting skills were any less than my guides. The guided hunts i went on were to allow me the opportunity to hunt private land to optimize my chances at a trophy. I'm one of those guys that gets really irritated with all the 4 wheelers running around or when i crest a mountain just to see nothing but orange vests! I still hunt DIY but i will also use an outfitter if i think it's the right thing to do.

You might consider a ranching for wildlife hunt in Colorado for a big mulie.

7 Mag
 
I would put the Eastern Plains of Colo in the mix if you are looking at a super chance at a 190+ TF buck...if you have the cash! It's pretty hard to beat guaranteed tags plus hunting the rut w/rifle! Scott Limmer does a heck of a good job and has some of the best leases in the state.

If $ is no option....go Jicarilla or Sonora!
 
"I would rather shoot a 150" class buck than a 200" buck" is like saying " I'd rather remain constipated and drop a few pellets every morning than buy a bottle of TurboLax and fresh veggies in order to release it freely." Go guided and look at some of the services this website offers. Good luck
 
>Mrkrabs, PM me with more info
>on your hunt, I wouldn't
>mind a combo hunt in
>NM.

If you haven't seen the PM yet. I sent it a couple of days ago. If you need anymore information let me know.
 
The hunting experience is sort of like sex. You CAN do it yourself, but it is a much more rewarding experience when shared.

The people who whine and snivel about guided hunts, have never been on one, otherwise, where would they get that "hold your hand" crap? That's just stupid,,,,,too much television I guess.

I have been on several guided hunts and with the exception of being taken to a productive area and having breakfast and stock ready....everything else was up to the hunters.

You can drive a VW Beetle or a 4x4 Powerstroke....they will both get to where you mostly want to go, but you will enjoy the truck ride a hell of a lot more!
 
I guide for an outfitter in AZ and I have been on several guided hunts myself.

In fact I'm researching outfitters for a blacktail hunt in Oregon or Washington. I guess could do it on my own it's going to take me years and a ton of money travelling from AZ to figure out where I need to be to optimize my success, learn there habits,knocking on doors asking for permission to hunt on somebodies land.

Or I can spend a one time fee and hire an outfitter to hunt an animal I know very little about in country I know nothing about and improve my odds of killing a blacktail.

I think I'll hire an outfitter. My scouting and research is finding the right outfitter for me. It will be more rewarding knowing that my research finding the guide on a successful hunt versus spending even more money and time being frustrated and giving up.
 
Whatever makes you guys fill better. I like the analogy about sex so you need help with that o.k.

I like the last paragraph of mesquitehunter when things got tough and he got frustrated then just through some money at it and hire someone to do the grunt work.

Some day I will go on a guided hunt but until then I will do it the hard way and earn my trophy and I will teach my kids that its about the the experience and time with family in the field.

So just cool it with the DIY. 4000 to 6000 grand will by you alot of gear
 
So because I can't afford or have the time to take multiple scouting trips cross country to do my research on an area I haven't earned my trophy? I'm doing just as much preparation for this guided hunt as I did my DIY hunt last year.... getting up at 5am every morning to get a workout or long hike in, pouring over topo and satellite maps, reading everything I can about the area, and harassing the guide/outfitter for info(just like I harassed as many people as I could for info last year). I want to know when I get there if my guide falls over dead with a heart attack I have enough information to step across him and keep hunting. I might even call 911 if I can get a cell phone signal.

4000-6000 will buy alot of gear, but what do I need with that much stuff? I won't have my wife to carry everything for me while I hunt so I need to keep it as light as possible.
 
Zboy,

It's a long way from Arizona to Oregon or Washington to do extensive scouting. I can read or watch videos on blacktail deer all I want but that's not going to improve my chances on a successful hunt. So if I hire a guide I didn't earn my trophy? I happend to be saving my money for several years to do a hunt. I'm also a single father raising my kids so I can't just jump in my truck and drive a thousand miles every other week for three or four days scouting at a time. Or better yet should I spend the next ten years learning how to hunt blacktail on my own? Do these limitations make me a lesser hunter?

I hunt DIY here in Arizona with my kids all the time because I can put my homework scouting and I know the animals I'm hunting. I guide accomplished whiteail and turkey hunter from back east every year but when they come to the Arizona desert to hunt muledeer or any other desert game they haven't got a clue how to hunt desert terrain. They still have the right to have the experiance. I wouldn't expect a guy from New York to fly out west rent a car several times prior to the hunt and just stumble around trying to figure out how things work in that particular unit, would you?

As far as hiring somebody to do the grunt work, I'm doing the grunt work by working my ass off while raising two younge kids to save some money to have an experiance hunting an animal other than in my own backyard. I don't need to stroke my ego by saying my "MY TROPHY IS BETTER THAN YOURS BECAUSE I DIDN'T HIRE A GUIDE"
 
If I was from "the city" and wanted to go mtn. lion hunting would I be smart to hire a guide?
YES becuase I would probably not own dogs, or the room to train 8-15 hounds. Or here is an idea- EARN MY TROPHY. Do the grunt work and hike my ass off until I come across a lion just hanging out somewhere. At least while I am unsuccessful attempting this, I can say "The trophy means more becuase I had DIY lion hunt", sounds pretty dumb to that, don't you think?
Travis
www.southwesthuntingadventures.com
 
Not here to add pee to a pissin match.....some people shouldn't hit the keyboard if they don't know who they are talking to. I've had a beer or two with those AZ boys when they got done hunting......no MacDonalds drive through hunting in that desert. A ton of work in very flat country even for the best of hunters. There is always more than one view to how certain hunts go. This is too broad of a post to be shooting across someone's hood. Not defending anyone, just defending the fact that every single hunt is unique & most tags are hard to get....make the most of the tag you draw, however it works for your particular situation. Unfortunately, with the way money & jobs are right now....a guy has to consider all options.

Good luck in the draws!!!
 
Hey D that is the truth. I would NEVER tell anyone to absolutely go with me or anyone else. Just consider one's options!
Good post! And look forward to having a cold one soon! Soory I couldn't make Vegas, next one's on me!
 
Here's a twist for everybody: Lets say a guy from back east goes hunting with a buddy who lives out west. And that buddy helps him on the hunt and kills. Was it less rewarding? Did the easterner deserve that animal any less than telling his western friend " I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP, BECAUSE IF YOU HELP ME MY TROPHY WON'T BE AS REWARDING TO ME, THANKS BUT NO THANKS!"

IMO if I shot a 500" bull elk on a high fence hunt in KY would be less rewarding than a guided public land fair chase 350" bull.
 
In reading his post he says he has decided to go on a GUIDED hunt. More power to him if that's what he wants to do. I think he did the right thing myself, and I'm sure he was hoping to draw on the experienced hunters here for outfitter info, not some pissing match of guided vs unguided (he's already decided).
 
Forget going guided, take your money and purchase the best westside Colorado landowner tag possible! That way you wont have somebody whispering in your ear, shoot now. Much sweeter DIY. BH1
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom