Lots of good memories went home with our hunters this year.  They left many good memories with us, and left a good number of trophies with the taxidermists.

At the end of the season, we had close to six hundred elk between the Daisy Dean and Haymaker drainages.  The winter winds have blown slopes clear for them to graze there.  They should be in great shape for next season.  The herd has a good ratio of mature bulls, who will all be even bigger next year.  I’m designing some new blinds to set up next summer so we’ll have better hiding from those sharp-eyed cows next fall.   Our biggest obstacle in stalking is the wind. 

Our four point rule is paying off in producing more big mule deer and whitetails bucks.  Our whitetail population remains stable.  Several of the big bucks we saw only once this year are still there.  They’re pretty nocturnal.  The mule deer population is on a slow increase.  We left some pretty nice bucks in the field; they’ll be some beauties next fall.

Steve Hayne got the final score on the antelope buck he took with us in 2007, it went well in the Boone & Crockett records!  This year several hunters saw bucks like him, but they all escaped.  The antelope herd was scarcely touched throughout the central part of the state, due to the opening week snowstorm.  I’d really like to have some antelope archery hunters take advantage of this high population during the rut.

Hungarian Partridge and sharptail grouse populations improved markedly this year.  Our guided hunters and hunt club hunters enjoyed the best upland hunting in several years. 

We planted breeding pheasants last spring.  In spite of plentiful predators and cold and wet weather in May and June, we had a small contingent of pheasants on the place this fall.  We plan to plant more again in 2009.   Eventually they’ll establish well enough that we can add pheasant to our upland bird opportunities.

As in the past three years, the height of the waterfowl migration was the first two weeks of November.  This year the ducks came through in lesser numbers, but the geese numbers were astounding.  Now that nearby Martinsdale Reservoir has been refilled, the birds don’t have so far to fly to the grainfields to feed. 

Spring time was a little late coming, cool, rainy, and snowy off and on until the end of May, and then a big snow in mid-June.  Our spring season started with varmint hunting.  Jim and JR set records for ammo burned and gophers eliminated.  Bear hunters Alex, Dan, and Page saw every kind of wildlife in the country, even bears!  Some were small; one was too wary to pull a successful stalk on, and one was just the wrong color.  Bear season ended with heavy rain and snow.

Our September archery hunters were consistently into elk, both on our main lease and on Wall Mountain.  Brian almost ran over a rack bull in his bed.  The bull got organized before Brian did, so no shot.  Steve and Gene hunted a week from Wall Mountain in a drop camp, and then moved down to the lower place, where Steve took a nice bull just at sunset.  Ace and Sinatra got their first chance of the year to pack elk quarters.   I wish we’d had more bowhunters to take advantage of the number of good bulls in our areas.

September bird hunters had to cancel, due to hurricanes in their home states.  When the Parker crew came to open waterfowl and antelope seasons in early October, they were accompanied by record snowfall the whole time they were here.  It was mighty tough antelope hunting, but they took three good bucks, and a daily limit of ducks and geese.  Upland birds were a little tough to get to, with three foot snow drifts in many places.  This group got into a lot of action.  We look forward to their return in a normal weather pattern.

Big game rifle season, just two weeks later, opened mild, windy, and dry.  This was the main weather pattern most of the season.  The first week of the season, everyone was into a smorgasboard of game.  Everyone filled their buck antelope tags.   One hunter shot a dozen times before hitting one, but once he figured out the wind, Mr. Antelope bit the dust.  Allen, Bill, and John all got mule deer bucks.  John had a perfect bead on a good rack bull on the Daisy Dean.  “It was like looking at the cover of Outdoor Life,” he says.  While waiting for Bill to get lined up on another bull in the bunch, there was a big change in circumstances, and no bull taken.  Jeff got to watch two six point bulls fighting, finally took a shot.  The bull suffered a minor hit, and we were unable to follow him up for another opportunity.

Second week was windy!  Chuck and Logan were here for their third hunt.  As usual, 15-year-old Logan did a fine job of shooting, taking his buck antelope, mule deer buck, and bull elk within five days.  Logan put each animal down with the first shot.  His bull turned out to be the biggest taken for the season.  His dad did well, too, taking an antelope buck and a mule deer buck.  The day they’d saved for bird hunting was awfully windy.  Bob and Jim learned to play the patience game, watching a big herd of elk and waiting for the right bull.  Bob had a good shot at an antelope buck, and Jim took a mule deer buck and a five point bull.  Bob also took a couple shots at the companion to Jim’s bull, no hit.  Harry spent the week sizing up various bucks and bulls, looking for the exact trophy.  In the words of Greg, his guide, “We had catch and release”.  Harry is probably the most-widely traveled hunter we’ve ever hosted.  We enjoyed learning from his perspective, and hope to see him again. 

Third week of rifle season, Tony started things off by killing a big whitetail buck the first morning of his hunt.  That afternoon, he shot a good rack bull.  He didn't have an antelope license, and hadn’t planned on hunting birds, so he was supervisor the rest of the week.  We’re looking forward to Tony’s return next year.  Charles and JC were on their first Montana hunt.  Charles shot a young bull, which seemed to disappear into thin air.  14-year-old JC had his scope on a rack bull, but didn't get time to shoot.  He did take a nice whitetail buck.  We sure enjoy these family hunts.  We hope to see Charles and JC here again.

Bill and Ronnie came for their biennial hunt the fourth week.  Serious medical problems may have slowed Ronnie’s walking, but not his shooting.  He dropped a good whitetail buck immediately.  Bill’s big trophy of the week was a porcupine, which he took with a juniper club.  Bill and Ronnie passed on a couple of bulls smaller than the ones they took in 2006.  Bill took a nice whitetail buck.  Brian returned to fill the tags he hadn't filled in archery season.  He took his first mule deer buck, and passed up a couple of young bulls.  Terry scored on a whitetail buck with six-inch eye guards.

Fifth week of the season brought John and Cory for a short hunt.  Cory took his biggest whitetail buck before they headed home for Thanksgiving.  They’d like to get a couple of bulls, hopefully next time, when they have longer to hunt.  Jim limited on geese on Friday, and got a double on Saturday.   Having no deer hunters after Cory left, our son-in-law Mike hunted whitetail one afternoon, and took a beauty.  He’ll be on the wall in the lodge next fall.

We enjoyed our 2008 hunting guests, and hope to see many of them on future hunts.  We’re looking forward to showing you even better hunting in 2009.