Dream Hunt

I knew my friend Cactus was up to something … every year, Cactus and I, along with our two friends Roger and Rick, go on an Oregon hunting trip. Two things happened that changed everything: Roger was called Home and the ranch we had been hunting on changed hands. I figured I was done hunting. Well, Cactus refused to accept this and started looking at the possibility of another hunt. He didn’t tell me anything, but I picked up little smidgens here and there and knew it was big.

Last spring, Cactus took me out for supper one day and as we sat there he let me in on the surprise. He explained we were going on a special hunt on a private ranch, the Rocky Mountain Elk Ranch. Friends in the industry had made it possible for me to get both a bull elk and a meat buffalo. If this wasn’t enough, they had also planned a John Taffin Appreciation Dinner two weeks after the hunt. I was totally stunned! I don’t think I slept for the next three nights.

To make it even better, six of my best friends in the world would be accompanying me: Cactus himself; Tony Kojis; Matt Perry of Buckhorn Gun Shop; Rick vonDerHeide, my former student, fellow teacher and taxidermist; Roger’s daughter, Crystal and longtime friend Jerry Danuser.

Decisions, Decisions

To prepare for this dream hunt, I spent several weeks trying out different handguns: Ruger’s Super Redhawk sixguns in .44 Magnum, .454 and .480 Ruger and T/C Contenders in both .44 Magnum and .375 JDJ. I also checked to make sure my one gun that goes along on every hunt, my SSK 6.5 JDJ, was still sighted in and ready to go. I had a hard time making up my mind, but it was soon made up for me.

Friend Ashley Emerson, who recently purchased Garrett Cartridges, made arrangements to stop by and see me. He sent a package of some of his new hard-cast offerings, namely a 365-gr. Hammerhead FN .454 at 1,350 and 1,500 fps and a .45 Colt of the same weight at 1,250 fps. Both shot exceptionally well in the 9½” Ruger Super Redhawk and the rubber finger-grooved grips made it easy to control, so I went with the .454 load. I wasn’t disappointed.

We took the 6-hour drive over to Rocky Mountain Elk Ranch in eastern Idaho and I was stunned at the beauty of the place. Meadows, aspen-timbered areas, creek bottoms and a beautiful lodge set up at 7,000 feet. The accommodations were as top-class as they could possibly be — the owners of the ranch, Jeff and Alana Lerwill, were wonderful hosts. Alana, probably the prettiest cook in Idaho, served three excellent meals every day. She wouldn’t let a bologna sandwich get within 10 miles of the place!

Since we were at a high elevation, the weather was subject to change at any time. After a wet and windy first day, the second day was much nicer. In fact it was so nice I proved once again I’m never too old to make mistakes. With the sun shining, I left my insulated coveralls at the lodge and had just a small jacket with me. Of course, the weather changed while we were out. Fortunately I had enough room in my backpack to bring a rolled up Black Hills Ammunition fleece blanket — which I had planned to use as a rest — along with my camera, rangefinder and binoculars. I was wrapped up in it by late afternoon …

Looking For Freezer-Fillers

Two young fellows, Logan and Dalan, were my guides; since I couldn’t get around very well (I had knee-replacement surgery three weeks after the hunt) they put me on a 4-passenger Polaris Ranger. Buffalo was the first game we encountered, and everyone wanted me to go first. We found a group with both trophy bulls and meat critters, but all of us were looking to fill the freezer. My shot came at 90 yards and the meat bison went straight down; however as bison are prone to do, the others gathered around to try to get it up. They succeeded. And for the next half hour I tried unsuccessfully to get a shot. The bison then walked up the hill and into the timber; Matt and Tony went up the other direction to try to head them off.

Matt got a shot and put one down. He didn’t know he had accidentally shot my bull until he saw the hole too high in the hump. I was just happy the bison was down. But I was unhappy with my shot, I later watched a video of it and the screen filled with flying debris as my shot went through about 20′ of brush — it’s a wonder the bullet even hit the bison.

The guides then drove me in the timber where we could ambush the buffalo as they came down the other side. The plan worked perfectly, except for a small miscommunication. They told me to shoot the middle bison, but I couldn’t see them until they were in front of me. I watched five bison go up into the timber so I figured the middle one would be the third one.

As they came out about 40 yards away, the first one through was a big trophy bull, the second looked like a perfect freezer-filler and then the third was another huge trophy bull — and no others followed. When the guide asked me why I didn’t shoot the middle one, I told him I miscounted and was waiting for the third one. The next morning all was made right when I took the freezer-filler with one shot using the Garrett load in the Ruger .454

Listen To Your Guide

Four of us in the group were after elk, and again everyone wanted me to go first. We got onto two bulls and one presented me with a perfect 50-yard broadside shot, however one of his antlers was slightly smaller than the other. Although I would’ve been satisfied, the guide said we could do better — one thing I’ve learned in hunts all over the world is do what the guide says.

A few hours later, we were in the Polaris on the side of a hill when one of the boys spotted a bull down at the bottom. They told me this was one we were waiting for. He was about 80 yards straight downhill, lying down. I couldn’t see his antlers, but I could just make out his right side. I put one of the 365-gr. Hard Cast .454 Garrett bullets in his shoulder. At the shot he hunched up a little bit, so the boys told me to give him a second one to keep him down. The second shot hit the limb of a small tree he was behind and a third hit him. As it turned out, the first shot was all I needed.

To get him, my friends went straight down the hill with one of the guides, while the other took me down and around in the Ranger so we could come up below him. When we got there, we found a 6×7 trophy bull — my immediate thought was, “Where in the world am I going to hang him in the house?” His antlers were the widest of the four we took on our hunt; this will be a problem when I try to get it into the house! Rick may have to make the antlers removable so we can get him through the door.

Dream Time

This whole trip I was in a dream and I was worried somebody was going to wake me up. Yes, it was a dream hunt, but it was real. Rocky Mountain Elk Ranch is a first-class operation with top-grade lodge facilities, and they go out of their way to do everything possible to ensure success and a very pleasant stay. The Ranch is located in the Big Hole Mountains of Idaho about an hour-and-a-half from Jackson, Wyo. The scenery at the ranch is absolutely breathtaking.

Overall we had a magnificent hunt; the seven of us took home four trophy bull elk, four meat buffalo and four exotic sheep.

Subscribe To American Handgunner