Past Life Member Hunts
NAHC Gobble-n-Grunt Life Member hunt
by Doug McDougal
| NAHC Life Member Leigh Sherman of Glen Spey, NY had watched a parade of bucks and decided to drop this fine 10-pointer. |
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| NAHC Life Member John Butler of Little Meadows, PA harvested a heavy horned buck sporting a 10 point frame with split brow tines. |
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| Guide Jeff Walters was able to fish John’s buck out of the mud hole it landed in, but not without incident. The buck was free, but Jeff’s truck was buried in the river sand, inches from being in the drink. |
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| NAHC Life Member Keith Bailey of Deer Park, TX dropped a gnarly 8-pointer with kickers off of both G2’s. Seconds later he shot the doe the buck was chasing. |
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| NAHC Trophy Life Member James Blevins of Stevenson, AL took this buck that his guide Brett Gettler rattled one up for him early one morning. |
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| NAHC Life member Aaron Bates of Mooreland, OK belly crawled to within 40 yards of this buck. Aaron never gave the buck a chance. The 20+ inch wide 9-pointer died where he slept. |
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| Life Member Wayne Major of Montrose, PA hunted out of the Gobble-n-Grunt’s Redbird lodge in an earn-a-buck zone. Wayne shot a hefty doe on day 2 of his hunt and a heavy-horned 10-pointer from a pop-up blind on day 3. |
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| Host and NAHC Life Member Doug McDougal folded a big bodied 8-pointer at 325 yards. |
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For information on Gobble-n-Grunt hunts, visit www.gobblengrunt.com or contact James Brion at 406-363-0801, jamesbrion@msn.com.
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| NAHC Life Members on the coyote hunt with BackRhoads Outfitting in Oklahoma with balmy winter conditions. |
Coyotes In the Sooner State
by Doug McDougal
This past January, a group of NAHC Life Members met at the BackRhoads Outfitting camp in Oklahoma to do their part in controlling the Coyote problem. You’d never have known it was January, not a trace of snow and balmy temperatures - hardly perfect Coyote hunting weather, but who cares, we were out hunting in January!
The group split into 2 teams, the first lead by Rick Rhoads himself and the second lead by sometimes cameraman and sometimes guide Tyge Floyd. Coyote sign was everywhere but despite many sets with aggressive calling, coyote sightings were somewhat scarce. Apparently, they were fat and happy in the unseasonably warm winter weather.
While not overrun by coyotes, there were a few that just couldn’t resist the prospect of a free meal as advertised by a dying rabbit call. Some made it in close, only to be surprised by a quick shotgun blast or a volley from an AR. Life Members Dave Bergmark (Garden Prairie, Illinois) and John Ernst (Riverdale, Utah) were teamed up to hit the Coyotes both coming and going.
Those Coyotes that thought they were safe by hanging up at a few hundred yards were sorely mistaken. Life Member Dale Williams (Portage Des Sioux, Missouri) surprised one dog with a perfect 275 yard shot off of shooting sticks.
When the Coyotes weren’t entertaining the hunters, the deer herd was. It seemed every draw held bedded Whitetails and Muley’s, some with impressive racks. A life Member deer hunt might be the next hunt in order.
For information on hunts with BackRhoads Outfitting, visit www.BackRhoads.com or contact Rick Rhoads at 575-756-4186 or Rick@BackRhoads.com.
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| NAHC Life Members on the hog hunt at the Stasney’s Cook Ranch near Albany, Texas were: Johnnie Hudman, Robert Teel, Bill Miller, Dave Bergmark, John Ernst and Ward Long. |
Life Member Hog Hunt on the Stasney’s Cook Ranch
By Bill Miller
Like North American Hunting Club Life Members from five different states experienced a true cross-section of Texas outdoors during a recent Life Member hog hunt on the Stasney’s Cook Ranch near Albany, Texas February 25 –27.
Turn the clock back to the 1800s, and the Stasney’s Cook is “Lonesome Dove” country. The ranch spreads out over more than 30,000 acres of Texas landscape almost the way it looked back then -- minus the oil derricks and wind turbines of course. The ranch is home to a lot more hogs, deer and turkeys than it was back then, too.
If you’re looking for “real Texas” the ranch’s Wildlife Manger Johnnie Hudman is an honest throwback to those days. He’s an NAHC Life Member himself and simply as Texan as Texas gets. The assembled hunters were fortunate to have Johnnie who is a lifelong Albany-area native as host and head guide.
The weather during the hunt started warm and grew warmer and windier each day. By the end of the hunt hogs were pretty much active only at first light and last light. But the Life Members enjoyed great success. Robert Teel from Pocatello, Idaho took three hogs with a combination of rifle and .41 Magnum handgun. John Ernst of Riverdale, Utah; Dave Bergmark of Garden Prairie, Illinois; and Ward Long of Little Rock, Arkansas each took two hogs.
All of these Life Members out-classed yours truly once again because of the “curse of the camera.” We were trying to do double duty on the trip by taping an episode of North American Hunter TV and take a good boar with the bow. We stuck with that plan through the first two days of hunting, then decided to switch to the handgun to pull an episode out of the fire on the third and final day… and we managed to get it done. An eating-size boar of about 100 pounds made the mistake of leaving his hidey hole earlier than usual that last afternoon and I got where I could make a shot with the 7mm-08 T/C Encore pistol.
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| Stasney’s Cook Ranch is one of the places were Old Texas and Modern Texas intersect. Oil wells and wind turbines share the landscape with cattle and wildlife. |
The accommodations and hunt schedule served perfectly to bring the Life Members all together for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the huge dining hall. And the food was delicious, family-style and ample. A comfortable seating area in the hall spawned great conversations of firearms, past hunts, future hunts, travel, the weather, life back home … and, as always, we solved all the world’s problems from hunting camp … now if somebody would only listen!?!
With Johnnie making the wake-up rounds at 5:00 a.m. no one lingered too late in the rocking chairs before retiring back to their quarters. The set-up at the Stansey’s Cook can easily accommodate 15-20 hunters, so our group of five plus a cameraman and a guest enjoyed nearly “private” accommodations including bedrooms, baths and even a honeymoon cabin for Robert and his wife Pen.
Because of a special deal we cut with Hunter Specialties before the trip, we were able to provide an iKam Extreme to each of the hunters. This is basically a set of interchangeable lens shooting glasses with a digital video and audio recorder built into the frames. Dave and John in particular shot several hours of footage each to allow members who weren’t there to see how much fun the NAHC Life Member Hunts are. In fact, they shot so much footage, the TV guys back at headquarters are going to need some time to sort out the best stuff, but it will soon be posted on huntingclub.com and Youtube for all to enjoy.
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| Despite the curse of the camera, the author managed to take an eating-size boar the last evening of the 3-day hunt. |
The next NAHC Life Member Hunt is coming up this fall November 11-16 in Nebraska with Gobble n Grunt Outfitters. The game will be big whitetail bucks. Life Members, their guests and NAHC staff will hunt on 70,000 private land acres where the Sandhills and the farm country meet in northern Nebraska. This is the kind of country that produces trophy whitetails. Nebraska is a sleeper state for big whitetails. Extremely good nutrition, low pressure and well-managed private land makes the perfect combination for exceptional whitetail hunting.
Gobble-n-Grunt Outfitter’s hunts are very high success 80-100% from year to year. That's not opportunity, but dead on the ground, tag filled on a good buck success. Bucks will average between 130 and 150 depending on the year. Top end bucks score 190 so self control will be the hardest part of this hunt!
For $3,750 (normal price is $3,950) you will get:
• 2 to 1 guiding
• Lodging at Big Sandy lodge
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Transportation during hunt.
Click here (www.gobblengrunt.com/Display.asp?Page=Home) to learn more about Gobble-n-Grunt Outfitters. To book your hunt contact James Brion at 406-369-0160 or jamesbrion@msn.com.
Life Members & Nebraska Turkeys - Osage Outfitters Turkey Hunt
By Doug McDougal
Osage Outfitters has once again lived up to its reputation for primo turkey hunts. This past April (2010), a group of NAHC Life members arrived in Nebraska to see if they could outdo the results of the ’08 Life Member turkey hunt. It is tough to beat 100% success. We came close but didn’t quite make it.
Dave Bergmark (Garden prairie, IL), a Life Member hunt frequent flyer, tagged 2 mature Toms, 1 of them had 2 beards. Dave has already signed on for the February ’11 Life Member Hog hunt in Texas.
Nick Tursi (Albertson, NY) put in his hours hunting. It took Nick 3 days but he was able to fill both of his tags with big Nebraska Toms. Nick works for the City of New York transportation department. It was interesting to hear his stories about 911.
The “killer” of the group was Larry Wise (Dowagiac, MI). Larry couldn’t get in his blind without a suicidal Tom running to him. Larry’s guide extraordinaire, Jay Olson, may have had something to do with it. Larry spent many years in the apple business. He treated the group to bushels of tasty Michigan apples. Mike Rogge, owner of Osage Outfitters, turned the apples into some delicious pies and crisp!
Rookie turkey hunter Bart Peirsol (Farnam, NE) had a rough time of it. Bart made the turkey hunting task even more difficult by hunting with a crossbow. Despite many hours afield and an eventual switch to a shotgun, Bart was not able to connect with a turkey. Bart’s goal for the trip was to gain some turkey hunting experience. He got plenty of that!
As usual, Nebraska was really good to me. Opening morning, I coaxed a Tom and hen from the roost into a pasture. When the hen dragged the Tom away, I did and end-run and stole her fell’a with some 5 shot. The next morning as 3 vocal and dominant Toms followed hens away from me, 2 more subdued birds tried to sneak in the back door. Only 1 made it past my shotgun.
Thanks to Osage Outfitters for a great hunt. Good food, good friends, and good hunting – what else could you want? For More information on Osage Outfitter hunts (turkey, pheasant, deer) visit www.osageoutfitters.com or call Mike Rogge at (402) 859-4401.
Hope to see you on a Life Member Hunt!
Osage Outfitters Bow Hunt
By Doug McDougal
Like all Life Member hunts, the fall ’09 hunt at Osage Outfitters in Du Bois Nebraska was a great way for members to meet each other, meet NAHC staff, and experience hunting in a new area of the country. Tom Shost (Poughquag, NY), Dave Bergmark (Garden Prairie, IL), and Ken Hamstra (Hudsonville, MI) joined me (NAHC Member Benefits Director, Doug McDougal) on the hunt. The camaraderie was great, the hunting was tough, but all hunting is fun!
It was triple witching hour in Nebraska – a full moon, driving winds, and standing crops. The deer just weren’t moving. All of the hunters saw deer and had shots at bucks, but the in-range bucks were not of the caliber everyone wanted. The big bucks that we know are in the area were nocturnal. Given a normal crop harvest schedule, gentle winds, and dark nights, the story might have ended on a more positive note. I did watch a nice 10-pointer spar with and smaller buck at 75 yards, but the big guy never strolled into reasonable arrow range.
If turkeys or coyotes were our primary targets, things certainly would have been different. Just when you thought you were safe from the howling coyotes that surrounded you, a turkey going to roost would about knock you out of your tree.
This story would not be complete without mentioning outfitter Mike Rogge’s cooking. Evening meals were exceptional banquets of grilled Nebraska raised beef, pork, chicken, and of course venison. The entrée’s were seasoned in special mixes of herbs and spices that would put Colonel Sanders to shame. I’d go back just for the home cook’n!
If you want to try Mike’s cooking or are interested in hunting Nebraska deer and turkeys, contact Mike Rogge at Osage Outfitters by visiting www.osageoutfitters.com or calling (402) 859-4401.
May ’08 Nebraska Turkey Hunt
The Life Members who participated in the April ’08 NAHC Life Member hunt were definitely not disappointed. Over 3 days, everybody tagged at least 1 bird, 14 of 15 tags were filled, and the only open tag was literally inches from being filled.
On day 1, the group put down 4 birds. Shocking success considering the poor weather. Gerry Weaver (Calhoun, GA) scored on a 4-beard, 30 pounder. Dave Bergmark (Garden Prairie, IL) and Frank Youdleman’s (Tucson, AZ) 13 year old son Robbie each bagged their first turkeys ever! The fourth Tom was taken by Dave Randall (Ft. Collins, CO).
I lead off the second day by dropping 1 of 4 Tom’s that strutted in to me off of the roost - a real beauty - 25 pounds and 2 beards! A couple of hours later, my hunting partner, Steve Kohles (Tooele, UT) got on the board with a 28 pounder. Back at the lodge, I learned that Dave Weekley (Berlin Center, OH) had shot 2 Tom’s within an hour. Charles Randall had also taken a nice bird.
That evening, it seemed appropriate to have a little celebration of our hunting success, so we headed into Pawnee City for some libation at the Schilling Bridge Winery & Microbrewery. It was pretty tough to decide which tasted better, the fine wines we sampled, the “Git-R-Done” lager (named for a local favorite son –guess who?), or the homemade Root Beer. This place was fun! I’d go back even if there weren’t tons of turkeys in the area.
The morning of day 3, Frank Youdleman was still working hard at getting a bird, so he asked me if I’d take his son Robbie out after another bird. While Robbie and I hunted, Kevin Ellert (Kendallville, IN), Frank Youdleman, Steve Kohles, and Dave Bergmark all killed birds. Robbie and I spent the day playing cat and mouse with birds, but he didn’t fill his tag.
The hunt was hosted by Mike Rogge at Osage Outfitters in Dubois, NE. Visit OsageOutfitters.com for more information. To book this hunt and other exciting hunting adventures contact Outdoor Expeditions at 877-482-3982, E-mail OutdoorExpeditions@GanderMountain.com, or visit OutdoorExpeditions.com.
Fall ’08 Life Member Elk Hunt - Winterhawk Outfitters
On September 17th I joined a group of NAHC Life Members at Winterhawk Outfitters in the Flat Tops Wilderness of Colorado area for the first ever NAHC Life Member bow hunt.
The first day was exciting for Life members George Kronbach (Yulee, FL), Dan Reid (Cotton, CA), and his guest Richard West (Reno, NV). They spent a couple of hours with Elk milling around in front of them, but they were not able to put the herd bull down. Day after day, this group got into Elk, thanks to guide “Oakey”.
Life Member Jim Gaul (Lower Banks, NJ), guided by Jerry Blake, had numerous Elk encounters that would work for a rifle, but not for a bow. Bow hunting is a challenge.
My best opportunity came when guide Mike Dill took John Hiller (Honesdale, PA) and me vertical to chase a 300 class bull that was hanging out below a slide area at the tree line. After a 1 ½ hour morning ride and dragging ourselves through blow downs for another hour, Mike bugled the bull to within 40 yards. A slight tickle on the back of my neck told me the wind was swirling. I could almost see my scent smack the bull’s nose. The bull turned and cautiously retraced his steps up the mountainside, never crossing a shooting lane for John or myself. That one experience made the whole trip worthwhile!
For information on Colorado Elk hunting contact Larry Amos at Winterhawk Outfitters, (970) 487-3011 or visit winterhawk.com.
Black Bear Hunt ( Vancouver Island, BC)
May 2007
This past May, 7 NAHC Life Members and I hunted out of Jim Shockey’s camp on the north end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The island’s mountainous terrain contains a patchwork of dark timber and logged off “slashes”. These open areas in the forest, appear as scars on the landscape but are quite beneficial, providing food and cover for abundant wildlife. Eagles circle overhead, mountain lions prowl, and wolves slink through the underbrush. Seeing 20 or more bears a day is not unusual – without the open slashes, this would not be possible. All of this is within sight of the inside passage which runs from the southern tip of the island all the way to Alaska. This narrow strip of ocean is home to whales, porpoises, and salmon.
Life member Ron Manoni (Brookfield, CT) arrived in camp late but wasted no time, taking a bear the day he arrived. He took a second bear a couple of days later. Bill Barrass (Willits, CA) also worked quickly, shooting huge 20 4/16” and 19 9/16” boars on the first 2 days of the hunt. Husband and wife, Richard and Bunny Huntley (Bethel, VT) were a team. When Richard decided that a shot was too long for his muzzleloader, Bunny took over with her .308, downing the bear while lying prone across Richard’s back. Richard did the job with his muzzleloader a few days later. Randy Smuck (Iowa Falls, IA) shot a bear on the 4th day of his hunt, much to the relief of his wife Kathy who had promised to ride along on day 5, if necessary. David Stevenson (Sloughhouse, CA) passed on a number of good bears, wanting to make sure he shot a big bear and not wanting to end his hunt too early. His wait was worthwhile - on day 3 he downed a 19 7/16” boar. Art Wohllebe (Tolland, CT) and I both filled our tags on the 4th evening of the hunt.
We couldn’t have asked for more in an NAHC Life Member Hunt: 100% success on BIG Black Bears, luxurious accommodations at the Cluxewe River Resort, meals that demanded overeating, and the highly professional guide staff of Jim Shockey’s Pacific Rim Outfitters. For information on hunting Vancouver Island, visit www.JimShockey.com or call (250) 748-6413.
A True Western Hunt
November 2006; Winterhawk Outfitters
In November ‘06, a group of NAHC Life Members met at Winterhawk Outfitters base camp in the Flat Top Wilderness area of Colorado to experience the west, hunt Elk, and hunt Mule Deer.
Many nice Bulls and Bucks were hung on the meat pole. The Big Bull of the week fell for Emil Hegbli. Ed White has bragging rights for being the first to fill both his Elk and Mule Deer tags. Paul Salerno, Allen Johnson, Larry DeVoy, Skip Clark, Brad Kolb, Mike Farnesi, Shane Snedeger, Tim Berner filled their tags or had chances to.
A second Winterhawk camp was also filled with NAHC Life Members. The harvest included a big Mule Deer taken by Dan Wilkinson.
The hunting was great, the experience was superb. Sitting on a knob at 10,000 feet, watching a herd of Elk cross the valley, spotting a mule train with a full load of meat and antlers creeping along a distant trail, listening to coyotes yip and horses snort, as the moon rises – it just doesn’t get any better. If you want a true western hunt adventure, Winterhawk is the place!
Click Here for Winterhawk Outfitters or call (970) 487-3011.
Big Grass – Big success
May 2006; Big Grass Outfitters in Manitoba
The May ’06 Black Bear hunt with Big Grass Outfitters in Manitoba turned into a fantastic outing. Mike McCarty (Nashport, OH) opened the show with a big chocolate boar on Monday night. Tuesday was a bear bonanza with 4 tags filled. Dennis Christensen (Stillwater, MN) took a black with a white chest star, Dave Lawson (Granite Bay, CA) downed a large chocolate sow. Jack Kunberger’s (Fort Wayne, IN) 6 foot plus black bruiser was the heavyweight of the week. Tony Boyd (Aloha, OR) had 4 bears come in together. He shot the lead bear. Glen Johnson (Laguna Hills, CA), the only bow hunter in the group passed on 3 different bears. On Thursday evening, Doug McDougal (NAHC staff) connected with a cinnamon boar.
Thanks to Tom and Judy Usunier for putting on another great NAHC Life Member Hunt. For info on Big Grass Hunts (Spring Bear, Fall Bear, Whitetail, Waterfowl) visit BigGrassOutfitters.com or call (204) 773-3686. Big Grass has reserved May 13th -19th, ’07 so that NAHC members can bear hunt together. Contact Judy or Tom if you want to join the group.
Anticosti Island , Quebec
September 28th – October 3rd 2005
This unique, 4-day whitetail hunting adventure was located in the St. Lawrence Bay, Quebec on the secluded, 135-mile island of Anticosti. The hunt was so popular with Life Members that our twenty-person group needed to be set up into two separate hunting camps, allowing plenty of room for us to hunt different remote sections of the island. Here’s who attended:
Camp #1: Jupiter 30
William Slifka, Robert Reichert, James Nechwedowich, John Marchand, Mark Romeo (pictured last)
Camp #2: McDonald
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J.J. Reich, Dan Bleaking, Thomas Guskey, Paul Salerno, Bub Gordon, Steven Gordon, Richard Cooke, Mike Hannan, and David Bartlett
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Stephen Kreps, Steven Dunwoody, Don Mazzarella, Edward Corbett, Allen Jeffrey, Timothy Byvol, and Bruce Yarnick
Two of the best success story includes the one from Bub Gordon (in top photo), who tagged both a six-point and eight-point buck on the first day of the hunt. Then, Bubba bought a small game license and on the 3 rd day of the hunt he shot his limit on grouse. Back at the other camp, LM James Nechwedowich also shot a beautiful Anticosti eight-point buck (not pictured).
At each day’s end, we had a lot of fun sharing stories, jokes, and traditions with all the Life Members at camp. For example, Life Member Don Mazzarella and his group treated us to Don’s famous home-made Italian-stuffed hot peppers.
However, what we all really enjoyed most was Anticosti Island’s stunning beauty and excellent accommodations. The rocky terrain, tree-lined ocean shores, colorful sunrises and sunsets, foxes, eagles, moose, and clear-water rivers with visible salmon were simply amazing. The friendliness of the staff and guides, plus the delicious, gourmet meals really made the trip worthwhile.
Special thanks goes to Gilles Dumaresq and the staff at Sepaq Anticosti for providing an experience we will all truly treasure and cherish. Contact www.sepaq.com or (800) 665-6527.
Big Bucks in the Lone Star State
December 2004
Eleven Life Members traveled from across the United States to pursue big whitetails in the Texas brush country from Dec. 15-18, 2004. Joining the "NAH-TV" crew (Dan Larson, associate producer, and Dave Maas, managing editor of North American Hunter) were Bob Beller, Tom Cavanagh, Brad Darling, Steve Gordon, Rob Murphy, Rick Offermann, Art St. John, Paul Salerno, Bruce Stader, Don Stader and John Titman.
With the whitetail rut in full swing, the Life Members heeded the advice of outfitter Rick Hodges and waited for the chance at a mature buck. Their patience was rewarded as 10 of the 11 Life Members killed good-sized bucks during the 4-day rifle hunt. The one hunter who didn't fill his tag missed a big buck and passed on several smaller ones. In addition, several antlerless deer were taken during the hunt, as well as a bobcat and 150-pound wild boar.
Most of the Life Members shot the biggest buck of their hunting career, and everyone enjoyed the mild afternoon temperatures, which often topped 65 degrees. With new friendships made, the hunters departed for home with fond memories, delicious venison and, for many, an upcoming taxidermy bill!
Be sure to tune into "NAH-TV" during the summer of 2005 to catch all the exciting footage!
For more information on hunting with Rick Hodges and Lone Star Outdoors, call (830) 609-3600, e-mail rhodges@2hunttexas.com.