2005 HUNT PHOTO GALLERY Guest Quote. . . "It was so peaceful and beautiful. I came here with a predicted hunt in mind. What I got was a great surprise. You can't predict! My hunt was better than predicted! I slammed my elk from 350 yards. A memory for life! I can't say enough about John and the Buffalo Creek crew, Mike and Paul. They're the best. Words can't express what a beautiful place this is. It really is a piece of "God's Country." Thank you all and 'til we meet again, "Baldy" P.S. "Sweet!" "Huge!" Editor's note: I believe our guides use those adjectives more than common.

The First Season Rifle Hunt (October 15 -19)
Antlers pictured on left are the actual antlers harvested First Season 2005

First season brought very mild weather conditions and a rather eclectic cast of hunters to the Buffalo Creek Ranch. three of them were returning clients and four were "newbies" to the Buffalo Creek experience. The elk were plentiful, the weather was beautiful, and our guests were, well, colorful.

As usual, the elk on the ranch were still very vocal, which provided a bonus to the Buffalo Creek experience. The bulls we harvested were huge, bu the experience we all shared made it a truly exceptional hunting camp and a great way to begin the 2005 hunt.

Web author's notes (a non-hunt camp spouse): I heard more hilarious stories about this group than I ever have.. From the "special husky hunting gear" to the lovely anatomy lessons from the hot tub for our very polite kitchen help . . . you had everyone roaring. I can clearly see these stories being part of the Wapiti lodge folklore for decades to come. Thank you for putting smiles on our hard working guides and lodge staff's faces!

Voytek Bobak -First Season
pictured on right

This was Voytek's first guided elk hunt and he didn't waste any time making the most of it.

At FIRST LIGHT on OPENING MORNING, to the chorus of several bulls' intense bugling and their respective cows' soft mewing, Voytek and guide, Mike Schleppy, intercepted a herd of about 120 elk on the move through dark timber. The herd was on its way toward greener pastures. As hunter and guide worked their way through the timber, they found themselves surrounded by elk on several occasions. In this way, from following to intermingling, these two finally moved into an open, grassy area where they quickly chose amongst the bulls to find one that was big and clear for shooting.

Voytek brought down this bull with one shot and killed him with another . . . that is, after guide, Mike, wrestled his video camera from his grip.

Obviously this hunter had W-A-A-Y too much time on his hands after bagging this bull within the first two hours of hunting light. Rather than packing his bags for home, he settled in and recklessly abandoned his loyalty to the guides and caregivers around him. By mercilessly employing his cunning photo and video editing skills and boundless creativity, this hunter made every guide, cook, and walk-in wary enough to keep looking over his/her shoulder . . . and while breeding an environment of distrust, he created a lot of entertaining, raucous laughter.

Voytek was joined on his hunt by his brother-in-law, Bobby Loper.

Bobby Loper - First Season
pictured on left

And here is the brother-in-law, Bobby Loper, mentioned above. Traveling with Voytek, this was the veteran Pennsylvania whitetail hunter's first trip out West and his first elk hunt. On opening morning, Bobby watched a herd of 150 elk drop down a ridge just out of shooting range. Interesting start to an interesting week.

Sitting in a blind on his second night with Voytek, he watched a huge herd of elk feed down out of the timber and into the hay meadow, but again, all were out of comfortable shooting range.

Three's a charm. On his third morning, hunting with guide, Mike, Bobby spent his time in the dark timber with bugling elk all around them. He shot this dandy 6X6 only 80 yards away.

You definitely can't tell it from this photo, but this guy has the most contagious laugh in the world. Having him in camp was nothing short of joyous.

Jim Black - First Season
pictured on right

Jim joined us for his second hunt on the Buffalo Creek Ranch, and was once again joined by his non-hunting spouse, Jan. Last year, he brought a son . . . (I cut and paste from one year to another to make these hunt pages, and it was his son's picture I took out to put this one in!)

On opening morning, we posted Jim in the saddle of Buffalo Ridge where some action took place. Some of the herd Voytek (first story on this page) shot into, split off and ran 100 yards above Jim as they came through the saddle. A nice 5x5 bull ran by with the first group of twenty or so, but Jim was looking directly into the bright morning sun, and they quickly got by him. A second group ran into view with this 5x4 bull in them. Some cow elk were in the line of fire of the bull, but the instant they moved away, Jim made a great killing shot directly into the sun. An excellent veteran of the sport.

Jim has already booked again for next year and as he packs his rifle and orange gear, he's also packing his wife, Jan, and another son who hasn't had a chance to hunt on our ranch yet. He's planning on a bringing home a nice 6X6 in 2006.

Knowing this guy, it will probably happen. Check back in December next year to see how pretty it is.

Dennis O'Neil - First Season
pictured on left

Dennis, you're making this easy for me, the web page lady. You popped up right here during this copy/cut/pasting project I do every year. I almost didn't even have to change the picture from last year, because you got a beauty last year also. In fact, here's what was written in 2004 that I'm typing over for 2005.

"Dennis O'Neill was back again. This was his third hunt with us. We love it! And this time he brought his better half, Sue, who accompanied him as a non-hunting spouse. Opening morning had him and guide, John, into a herd of 200 elk at first light as they moved from their feeding grounds to bedding grounds near Buffalo Peak."

Okay, let's strike some of that to make it current. O'Neil was back again . . . (surely there is only one L in your name right? Right? I owe your wife a thank you note for the sweet gift, so I'll check then. Oh, back to work here.) O'Neil (one L in this version) was back again for his . . let's make it his . . .FOURTH . . .hunt with us. We love it! (we still do) And this time he brought his better half, Sue, (she really is pretty cool -- last year I made up the better half part, because I didn't know her yet, but I finally got to spend some time with her this summer when they brought all the families out for a fun day of horseback riding, fishing and picknicking. Ask their kids about my suburban tours -- they are a versatile mix of education and entertainment, highly sought out by both scholars and tiny tots. There are a lot of trees which provide endlessly fascinating conversations. Darn, I digressed again. Adult ADD is a constant challenge for this web lady.) Opening morning had him and guide, John, into a herd of 100 (not 200) elk at first light.

See how easy Dennis makes this? Man, that's a beautiful animal. Back to the story. The elk were bugling and carrying on as they began moving uphill at first light. Guide John and Dennis sat on a hillside and watched the show hoping some bulls would wander their way.

And they did. One by one, three different bulls spaced their appearance five minutes apart, just 70 yards below. Since it was opening morning and Dennis had shot some nice bulls with us in previous years, he decided to pass on all the bulls presenting themselves in hopes of a larger one. That choice proved prudent later that same day.

While posting along an aspen timbered edge adjacent to an open sage flat, Dennis and guide John could hear a lone bull sounding off several times as nightfall approached. As darkness neared, the bull still hadn't appeared in the open area, so they went in after him. With just a few cow calls from guide John, the bull eagerly responded and gave up his position. Dennis quickly closed the gap and caught this monster moving through some timber just 70 yards away. Very little time was needed to determine this bull was a shooter and one shot quickly brought the beautiful bull down.

He is probably in the 330' class range with 22" daggers, a beautiful specimen and a worthy reward for our great friend Dennis with whom we've shared some great hunts and fun times. I'm afraid he'll have to pass on a lot of bulls on future hunts if he hopes to top this bad boy.

Dennis Schmid - First Season
pictured on right

This veteran Iowa whitetail hunter decided to give a new species a try this year by accompanying his son, Scott (below), a return hunter for us.

Dennis was posted in a 15' tower blind while his guide, Paul, scouted the area for elk. Paul heard elk moving toward a clearing in the trees but in the opposite direction of where Dennis was perched. Paul retrieved Dennis and the hunt was on. They snuck toward the clearing. While they waiting to get a clear shot, the elk were very vocal. One shot through the lungs left Dennis with this great 6X6. Not bad for a first hunt! While they were taking this picture, they could hear the elk fighting and bugling not more than 200 yards away.

No wonder Dennis is smiling.

Scott Schmid - First Season
pictured on left

Yes, friends and family -- he's not lying! He really did hunt with us last year and THIS year! "Scott Schmid" Native American Word for "web lady passeth over"

So, Scott came back even after being passed over on our website in 2004 (he WAS there with a 5x5, but after he pointed out his disappearance to me, I can only venture to guess that his photo and story vaporized into the ether where solitary socks roam in search of their mates), and even brought his father, Dennis, pictured above.

Scott passed on several smaller bulls opening morning and during some subsequent hunts in the dark timber of East Buffalo full of bugling bulls after that. Thrilling hunting, but quite frankly, Buffalo Creek guides began to worry if maybe he might opt against shooting all together this year, thereby rendering some very macho guys bruised egos.

This big bad boy pictured on the left (the elk, not the man) was bugling in dark timber where he had been feeding the night before. It was Scott's third morning out while accompanied by guide Mike. Mike's hunting strategy and calling enabled Scott to get within 125 yards of him in the dark timber where Scott dropped him instantly. This bull was most likely declining with age, because his antlers had a magnificent spread on them. Scott vowed to return again in three years for "another hunt of a lifetime." Congratulations Scott AND Dennis on two VERY fine bulls.

According to Larry, his first elk hunt (but definitely not his last -- he's already booked next year with us) gave him "the best memories of his life." Yeah! We strive for nothing less.

Larry hunted hard all week and saw hundreds of elk but was never afforded the opportunity to fire off a shot. He spent one night in a ground blind and watched a whole herd feeding, fighting and frolicking in the hay meadow, but none of the bulls came closer than 500 yards. He spent the rest of his trip commenting on how he had "never seen anything like that before." I love it when gratitude is paid off.

Finally on his last evening and in the waning minutes of daylight, Larry watched a herd move toward him. Finally, after a long and exciting hunt, Larry was granted a very brief shot at this nice 5x4 bull.

Second season had the wildest pacing of any hunting I've ever seen on the Buffalo and one of the nicest deer I've ever seen. The beautiful fall weather persisted with daytime highs of 60 degrees and nightly lows in the upper 20's or lower 30's. Unbelievably, the elk continued to be very vocal and all hunters were able to experience bugling during their hunt. This season brought six new hunters and one seasoned veteran to the ranch. Of the six new hunters, four had never hunted before but were anxious to "cut their teeth" in the elk hunting mecca that our ranch and staff have become known for. Read on to learn more.

Antlers pictured on left are from second season 2005 on Buffalo Creek Ranch

Carolyn Williamson - Second Season
pictured on right

Carolyn, a seasoned veteran of Florida whitetail hunting, came to the Buffalo Creek Ranch with her husband. This was to be her first Western hunting experience. Arriving at the lodge, Carolyn expressed her hope "to get to see an elk while hunting." With that goal wham-blasted by the next evening, Carolyn dug into dinner with this monster 5X5 bull under her belt, a bull that proved to be the largest of the week.

Opening morning, Carolyn walked with trusty guide Matt. They saw elk, fulfilling her wish, but never found the right shot opportunity.

That evening she could hear elk in the timber working their way toward the clearing where she sat in one of our comfortable blinds with trusty guide Matt at her side. An hour before dark, elk came out of the dark timber and began feeding a couple hundred yards from the blind. Several bulls came out, but it didn't take much time for Matt to focus his attention on this bull. Carolyn waited patiently for the perfect shot opportunity on this ol' boy and dropped him with a single shot at 150 yards. A perfect killing shot: taking out both lungs and the heart. Our only female hunter this year showed the boys how it's supposed to be done. Andrea will be proud that Carolyn is holding the monster bull perfect record for female hunters on the ranch that Andrea has worked so hard to maintain for the last several years.

I guess Carolyn liked her Western experience . . . she and her husband, below, booked the entire 2nd season in 2007.

Weyland Williamson - Second Season
pictured on left

Weyland, the counterpart to Carolyn pictured above, had not been on an elk hunt since he took one in Colorado 30 years ago. Sitting in one of our blinds the first evening in the same vicinity of his wife when she shot her monster bull, he saw several elk but they remained just outside of comfortable shooting range.

Trusty Guide Matt (I'm just going along with it, Matt . . . I guess you're now known as Trusty Guide Matt) and Weyland worked in the direction the bulls were heading. Unfortunately, the first bull crossed the clearing at over 400 yards. When repositioning for the second bull, Trusty Guide Matt caught sight of two bigger bulls outlined on the horizon of East Buffalo and watched them work their way right towards them.

Weyland was facing the other direction and it took every ounce of willpower he had to not turn and watch as the bulls cut the distance. Soon they descended into a valley giving Weyland a chance to reposition. The elk sensed something was wrong and they turned tail and ran up the hills, stopping at 250 yards where Weyland made a very nice shot, dropping this dandy 5x5 in his tracks.

We look forward to the "Williamson Week" on the Buffalo Creek Ranch next year, second season!

Mike Rosenberger - Second Season
pictured on right

Again, we had an Eastern hunter who'd never been out on a Western U.S. hunting trip join us in the form of Pennsylvanian Mike Rosenberger. According to him, he "just wanted to experience what the West is all about." We hope we showed him.

Mike started his first evening in a blind in Wapati Park where he could hear the elk bugling and carrying-on up in the timber, but no bulls showed up in the open area he was keeping tabs on. Guide Paul sat close by to survey the scene. Deciding their best play would be on foot pursuing the bugling bulls, guide Paul retrieved Mike from the blind to hike into a nearby draw. Following the ruckus, they quickly came across this dandy 6x6 feeding with some cows. They picked out the best "lane," put the shooting sticks up and waited for the elk to feed into a clear shot. According to guide Paul, it couldn't have been any better.

Mike wasn't disappointed at all that his hunt lasted less than a full day. He took full advantage of the unseasonably beautiful weather and his free time to relax in the comfortable lodge catching some football on the large-screen tv and catching trout out of our streams and lakes. He was even kind enough to lend a very helpful hand preparing dinner one evening when our cook was a little under the weather.

Thank you Mike Rosenberger, and congratulations on a beautiful animal.

Steve Cummings - Second Season
pictured on right and below left

Steve has been on several guided hunts in our vicinity and has shot some smaller elk, but this was his first hunt for muleys. Unwilling to give up the pursuit of the big bull, however, Steve came to the Buffalo Creek Ranch with all the aces up his sleeve, and bought a combo mule deer/elk hunt.

On opening morning, he walked no further than 100 yards from the pickup with guide Mike, when this dandy buck stepped out of an aspen grove and began walking across the sagebrush hill just a couple hundred yards above them. Steve quickly rested his rifle on guide Mike's shooting sticks and took this fine buck by 7:30 a.m.

After field dressing, taking photographs and loading the animal into the back of the pickup, they worked their way up the hill and into some dark timber. They found a bull bedded down and oblivious to their approach. Unfortunately, Steve missed his attempt at a neck shot, so his hunt continued. Had he hit the bull, his whole hunt would have been over by 9:30 a.m. We think he subconsciously missed because he wanted to keep hunting. A fruedian slip.

Steve spent one whole day with Guide Mike hunting some of the ranch's dark timbered areas, in and out of elk the entire day. They spent the middle of the day "bedded-down" amongst the elk as they were in the middle of the herd with no shooting opportunities and knew any movement would just disturb and displace the elk -- more of our smart-hunting tactics.

On the second to last evening of the hunt, Steve was out with guide John on our Illinois River Ranch and tried "sneaking in" on some elk that had been staying in the river bottom willows. Within minutes guide and hunter were "pinned-down" by twenty five head of elk bedded down just 70 yards in front of them. John kept close watch on the herd while Steve caught some needed rest! When they arose to start feeding (the elk, no the hunters), Steve awoke and chose to pass on two bulls that were sparring right in front of them. They moved through the relatively unconcerned group without spooking them in pursuit of a larger herd was moving beyond where these elk were feeding.

After crossing through willow bottoms, the river, and then a 75-yard "belly-crawl" through sagebrush, they reached the edge of the meadow where 200 head of elk were feeding about 300 yards away. After a seemingly forever amount of time waiting for one of the bulls to separate from the herd and present a good shot opportunity, one finally did, and Steve made a great fatal shot on one of the largest bulls in the herd --- this fine 6x6.

Steve has been on several guided elk hunts in Colorado and Utah and we're proud to say that he has already rebooked with us for 2006 and future elk hunting adventures.

Scott Clark - Second Season
pictured on right

Scott Clark came to the Buffalo Creek Ranch with his friend Mike Rosenberger. No newcomer to the sport, Scott has hunted on guided trips in British Columbia and Montana, however he had never gotten a bull . . . until this year.

Scott didn't waste any time in hitting high adventure on his Colorado hunt. During his first evening, guide Mike and Scott were posted together in Wapiti Park. Guide Paul needed Guide Mike for something and left Scott alone . . . or at least they thought they'd left him alone. A black bear walked up to within 60 yards of him. I wonder if he sweated?

His next hunt out was with guide Paul in the dark timber where they spotted a lot of elk, but unfortunately missed a nice bull at relatively close distance. This prompted Scott to go to the firing range and "tune-up" his scope, which was definitely off its mark.

With new confidence in his rifle's accuracy, he headed to our Illinois River Ranch with guide, Mike. They found a large herd feeding in the middle of a hay meadow, but with no way to close the gap between them and the elk without belly-crawling about 800 yards to a fence-row where they would wait and hope for a clean shot at one of the many bulls feeding along with the herd.

After a long wait, Scott made a great 375-yard shot at this 6x5 bull that had fed its way a safe distance from the other animals. He claims he saw "hundreds of elk during his hunting adventure and never dreamed elk hunting could be quite like it is at the Buffalo Creek Ranch."

David McCrum - Second Season
pictured on right

David hails from the beautiful eastern state of Maine, and joined buddy Steve Cummings for his first elk hunting trip. With trusty guide Matt in tow (or vice versa), David hit Wapiti Park in the early morning where they attempted a stalk on a nice herd that was feeding towards the dark timber. A bit of belly crawling got them within 300 yards of a very nice bull, only to have him get hot on a cow (the bull did, not David) and chase her into the timber just as David got his scope fixed on him.

Deciding that Wapiti provided pretty exciting action, David and trusty guide Matt returned that evening. It didn't take bionic ears to hear the herd work their way toward the clearing. Eventually 30 cows emerged and began feeding right smack towards David and trusty guide Matt. Next attendees to invite themselves to the party were three good-sized bulls, while another one kept bugling up in the timber. The cows made things pretty exciting by feeding within 30 yards of David and his trusty guide, forcing a now or never shot. David quickly shouldered his rifle and smoothly put the killing shot on this nice 5x5.

Dewain Combs - Second Season
pictured on left

Dewaine was sitting on stand between two ridges when a herd began feeding toward him. He dropped this dandy 6x6 at 200 yards as it stepped onto a road, knowing that the guides certainly give brownie-points to hunters that make game retrieval such an easy task. And he is climbing an arduous uphill bad rep battle from years and years ago . . . which some people don't seem to want to forget. Now, why, I ask, is this web writer bringing that up????? Hmmmm. (All in good fun, Dewain!)

He also filled a cow tag that was also within about 20 yards from the road.

That is one beautiful Buffalo Creek elk. Congratulations, Dewain.

Second Season - Second Half: 3 day Hunt: New for this season and as a result of the DOW new nine day-long season, we decided to offer a three day hunt after our usual five day hunt. We hoped this would help meet some of our clients' time management needs, due to a busy hunting or work schedule. It proved to nicely fill a niche for two lucky hunters for Omaha, Nebraska. They both had their bulls before the sun set on the first day of their hunt. They have already booked the same hunt for next year.

Steve Reynolds - Second Half: 3 day Hunt:
pictured on right

Guides John and Mike met this businessman from Omaha at a sports show and he expressed interest in doing a shorter hunt as his schedule was tight. Although he has a ranch in South Dakota where he hunts a lot of pheasant and whitetail, this was to be his first elk hunt.

He went out with Mike on the first morning. Mike likes to get the job done in the first hour or so of a hunt, so within keeping his standard of excellence, they snuck up on a bull in the dark timber. And while it was only 80 yards away, the trees kept the antlers hidden and never afforded a clean shot.

That same afternoon, he went out again with guide Mike, who at this point is way past due for a trophy bull and a quiet evening at home. This time they climbed to the top of Buffalo Peak where a large herd began to feed below them; the herd caught wind of them and backtracked a circle around the mountain. Steve's good physical condition enabled him to keep up with guide Mike as they pursued the moving herd. Although they followed the elk through the timber where the animals surrounded them, they were never able to get a clean shot.

When the animals moved through the timber and began feeding in an open area, Steve's hunting partner, Jim, was in a perfect position to take one of the bulls with a clean 100-yard shot.

As the large herd began to split up into smaller groups, Steve and Mike continued purusit and were able to swiftly close the gap on this bull. Steve made a great shot, especially considering he'd just finished a swift half hour hike in pursuit of the animals.

Jim Sween - Second Half: 3 day Hunt:
pictured on right

Jim Sween accompanied Steve Reynolds above as our only two hunters for this unusual three-day hunt. Like his hunting partner, Jim had never elk hunted before either.

With guide Paul, Jim watched a large herd of elk feed away from where they sat on stand on Buffalo Peak. With that, guide Paul, repositioned themselves and couldn't have picked a better spot as the entire herd fed right above them about an hour later. Jim took this fine bull with a single shot. Unfortunately, he did not see the other bull that was larger. Hopefully he'll grow even more and be waiting for Jim when he returns next year to enjoy another hunt with us in 2006.

Third Rifle Season: the weather for the beginning of this hunt was still relatively mild and remarkably, there was still some vocalization occurring during the rut, though it seemed to be more about the bulls keeping track of where the herd was and where they planned on going next. Nevertheless, it did help us gain position. There were still some large herds moving their way on and off the ranch, but many of the bulls had separated from the herds and were hanging out in smaller "bachelor groups." (No poker chips were spotted, however.) The guides were especially excited for this hunt as Sig Johnson was returning after hunting muleys with them during the special early season hunt in October. Now he was pursuing elk and was accompanied by his son and another friend for this very special elk hunt.

hunting guide Paul (on left) and fishing guide/fly shop manager, Scott (on right) busy caping a guest's elk -- one of the many services we provide.

Sig and Barb Johnson - early Season 2005 Hunt Mule Deer
pictured on right

We met Sig, his wife Barb, and son Mike, at a hunting show in Grand Rapids last year. Both Sig and Mike had hunted elk quite extensively throughout the West, but hadn't hunted in recent years due to a health problem Sig was battling, a degenerative eye condition that has left him legally blind. His peripheral vision is gone, leaving him with severe tunnel vision. We assured him at the show that we were the right outfitters to come hunt with and we would do everything possible to provide him with a quality experience.

Mike proved to be the right guide and up to the challenge Sig's eyesight presented. They had been successful on Sig's earlier deer hunt and Mike had adapted his hunting techniques to work with Sig's eyesight.

It didn't take very long on opening morning for Mike to spot two elk feeding along a sagebrush ridge a couple of hundred yards below where he and Sig walked. Sig got into position and placed his rifle on the shooting sticks. With Mike's patient assistance, he was able to get this fine bull into the crosshairs on his scope. The rest is history. The smile you see on Sig in this picture says it all.

On a side note, John commented on what a pleasure it is to have Sig as a friend and guest to our ranch. The smile you see in the picture was ever-present during his stay. Despite the adversity he is battling with his eyesight, he continually remains positive, happy, and just a delightful person to spend time with (I'm not sure John has ever called anyone delightful before???). Sig will be undergoing another eye surgery this winter. The entire staff here on the ranch sends their prayers and best wishes for a successful operation and a speedy recovery! God willing, Sig hopes to return for another hunt next year and nothing could make us happier.

Sig Johnson - Third Rifle Season
pictured on left

Mike Johnson - Third Rifle Season
pictured on left & right

Mike has hunted elk throughout the West, and decided to do a combo elk/deer hunt with us, excited to be hunting with his father again.

He shot the deer on the left as he and guide, Paul, worked through some dark timber just 200 yards from getting out of the truck. He had to make a difficult head-on shot as the buck just wouldn't give a broad side shot.

Watching a group of seven bulls feed their way out of some dark timber and into an open area while sitting on stand gave Mike plenty of time to pick his shot on this fine 6x6 bull.

Lonnie Rives - Third Rifle Season
pictured on left

Like his hunting partners, Lonnie is no stranger to hunting elk in the West. He had been on a previous guided hunt in New Mexico where he was "ripped-off", so he was a little apprehensive about another guided hunt. He immediately saw that his homework/research had paid off, and that everything we had promised was in place for a great hunting adventure.

On his first evening he sat in one of our comfortable blinds and was able to view some elk, but none were close enough for a shot.

The second morning of the hunt he accompanied guide Mike. At first light they headed out from the lodge on foot and within 15 minutes, they could hear some elk bugling. They quickly made tracks to get into a position where they could see the elk feeding in Wapati Park. Lonnie made small work of putting this bull down at 250 yards. Just as with Sig's bull the previous day, his hunt was complete just about an hour after leaving the lodge. We all kidded Mike that he didn't like to guide more than the first hour of the day.

This was the biggest bull that Lonnie ever bagged and I think we re-instilled his faith that not all outfitters are crooks. Some of us take the business very seriously and strive to bring a high level of professionalism to it.

4th Rifle Season: As a result of the Colorado Division of Wildlife restructuring the big game seasons this year, this would be the first time that we would be rifle hunting well into the month of November and we were a little apprehensive about the weather and elk's cooperation. The weather was more reminiscent of what winter is usually like at 9,000 feet of elevation in November: two days before the hunt began we received about a foot of snow and it continued to flurry off and on for the next few days The elk behaved pretty much as we thought they would. Large herds of elk consisting mostly of cows were heading to the Wildlife Refuge in the flatlands of our country while the bulls broke off into smaller groups and could be found wandering around most anywhere. It made for classic elk hunting like I remember from years past when we used to get more snow than recent years have delivered. Unsure of what to expect for this hunt, we only booked two hunters and I think they would agree that it was a great hunt.

pictured on left - David Schleppy, guide Mike's 16 y.o. son - Not a Buffalo Creek muley per say, but we like to show off our guide's personal 2005 hunting efforts in tougher hunting habitat - public lands! David's comments when asked about this fine muley: "I highly recommend my guide. I'm going to ask for him next year." (way to go, Dad. And quite frankly, Dad was proud of you too. You passed on a lot of fine muley's, especially for a youngster, and your patience was rewarded with this monster!)

Chad Como
pictured on right

Chad hails from Arizona where it's hard to draw an elk tag and, apparently, even harder to get an elk as Chad remarked that he had not seen an elk the last four times he hunted elk in his home state.

Hunting with guide, Matt, opening morning, they bumped into a small bunch of elk at first light (already doing better than the last four hunts in Arizona). They were unable to get any shots off, so they tracked three bulls through the dark timber, but never closed the gap on them.

Later that afternoon with guide Paul, they pursued three bulls they had viewed feeding their way towards Buffalo Peak. After some arduous hiking and stealthy sneaking, they were able to work their way to within 125 yards of this nice 6x4 as it remained bedded down in an aspen grove.

Jay Como pictured on left

Jay grew up in Michigan hunting everything it had to offer before moving to Arizona twenty-five years ago. He has shot numerous bulls and cow elk in Arizona when he's lucky enough to draw a tag. On opening morning, Jay pulled a muscle in his leg, so he really had to struggle to move around in the foot of snow covering the ground. He came close to getting shots at some different bulls, but it never panned out.

Later, Jay was sneaking up on a group of twelve elk with one bull when the animals decided to vamoose. Planning on leaving a couple of days early and holding a tag for either sex with a painful injury, Jay took the option of a "sure" shot on a fine eating cow.

Nothing beats the taste of young cow elk. Look on the bottom of the big Game Hunting Page for my personal favorite marinade.

John Thompson with trophy bull moose
pictured on right

John came to us as a long time elk bow hunter and Colorado resident AND with the coveted bull moose tag that hunters pray for . . . but most never do (including ranch guides who've been applying for over a decade). Well, after spending a week with John, we decided a nicer gentleman couldn't have received the lucky ticket.

After checking into several area outfitters, John chose us and his research proved accurate. Our area contacts got him onto a neighbor's private ranch and he had this fine bull moose down within the first half hour of his hunt. (We do have moose on property as well, but when a client comes to us with the golden ticket, we get everybody involved to ensure the best moose is taken -- even if that involves losing part of our profit).

John informed us he came for the full Buffalo Creek experience, so he did not pack up and go home until his week was up. He spent that week with us fishing with our guides, learning the ranch, calling elk and listening to them bugle back at him. A good hunter enjoys the experience as much or more than the trophy! John is surely a good hunter!

Guides Mike (below) and Paul (left)-- favorites of many of our hunters, take on a little muley action of their own this year on public lands. Not knowing the animals' habits and lie of the land like the back of their hands like they do our ranch . . . plus the added pressure of higher hunter numbers per square mile -- creates a little more drama for these hunting gurus. Challenge met. Also pictured above by the Fourth Season Header, is Mike's son (Paul's nephew) with his 2005 muley.

Thank you all for dropping in to look at our 2005 Hunt Photo Gallery. As the editor/HTML person, I did not get to experience these hunts or hunters first or even second-hand. If you are one of the hunters, and would like to add details to your story, do not hesitate to e-mail me. Drop me a line. Let's spice it up.

Also, if you are a hunter who wants to be featured in 2007 -- call us (970) 723-4045. Book a hunt!

e-mail: john@buffalocreek.com