Outfitters

Colorado Trophies: Norwood, Colorado. Tom and Lynn Colander are fantastic outfitters/hosts for almost any high country adventure. We have hunted elk and deer, both rifle and archery, with them. We have also done a few Prairie Dog hunts. In addition, they offer fly fishing, corporate retreats, and most any other activity you may be interested in. If you are after luxury lodge accommodations and beautiful scenery, this is the place!

 

 

Elite Outfitters: Ruidoso, New Mexico. Johnny Hughes and Brian Newell have access to some of the finest elk herds in the country. If you aren’t in shape, don’t bother! Most of their hunts require extensive hiking to get to the elk…remember, elk are where you find them. These guys will bust their tail to get you into the elk!

ThunderBow Outfitters: Swan Valley, Montana. Mike, Bobbie Jo and Ron Robinson put on a great Spring Bear hunt. Their camp is comfortable and the food is great. We did have a problem on a New Mexico archery hunt thru ThunderBow. However, none of the principals were there: once Mike was aware of the problem he did his best to rectify the situation.

Kniktuk Outfitters: Dillingham, Alaska. NOPE! We hunted with this outfitter in September, 2004. ALthough he provided a great guide and packer, he placed in a very crowded area, and did was 8 days LATE in bringing in re-provisions. Plus, read the fine print in his contract, he charges extra to get you to and from the hunting area, and extra to haul out your meat! His references checked out and he sure seems like a great guy over the telephone, but we give him a thumbs down for this hunt! Read about it here!

Rifles/Gunsmithing

S.G.&Y. Precision Rifles: Speedy Gonzalez is a world-renowned shooter and gunsmith. We owe most of our shooting and reloading knowledge to the gang at SG&Y. As of July, 2003, Speedy has built 12 rifles and 16 barrels for us. Also, he has done countless little things on our reloading dies, equipment, and non-SG&Y rifles. For shooting knowledge and fantastically accurate firearms, there is no other place but this!

C. Sharps Arms - Montana Armory: Although I have never met John in person, I have gotten to know him over the phone. He builds a really nice Black Powder Cartridge Silhouette rifle. We have two of them, both Sharps 1876 models: one in .45- 2 1/10 a.k.a. 45-70 and the other in .45- 2 4/10 a.k.a. 45-90. The workmanship on both of these pieces is beautiful, Both rifles were fairly easy to develop accurate loads…at least as easy as Black Powder Cartridge and molded bullets, through tang sights, can be!

Shooting Supply

S.G.&Y. Precision Supplies: J.D. Sims carries a great inventory of hard to find, upper-end shooting supplies. If he doesn’t have it, he can get it!

Sinclair International: These guys carry a great inventory of mid-level and upper-end supplies. They ship in a timely manner…and if you spend enough money, they will send you a free hat!

Buffalo Arms Company: Dave Gullo is a world class Black Powder Cartridge Silhouette competitor. He also runs a world-class BPCS shooting supply. When I got my first Black Powder Cartridge rifle, I knew NOTHING about how to reload or develop a load for it. Dave spent several hours with me in explaining the differences between these fussy firearms and their modern smokeless cousins. If it is new or needed in BPCS shooting, these guys will have it!

Archery Supply

Nix Guns and Archery: A local shop to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, these guys will really help you get set up with the right gear for your archery hunt. They have a shooting range right there to test new gear, and a really cool "dart" range to shoot at a giant T.V. screen showing moving game animals. Then, when you shoot, it shows you where the arrow hit and gives you a score on how much of a chance you had to harvest the animal. 3-D targets are nice, but this gives you a chance to shoot at animals in all types of positions, and at all speeds of travel. Highly recommended for archery. Nix also handles guns and shooting supplies, and gunsmithing....but I don't feel they carry the upper echelon of supplies, more of a consumer grade...however, we are pretty particular about our shooting supplies! I have not used the gunsmithing services (Scott Mays), but I have heard nothing but good things about them. But for Archery, THESE GUYS ARE THE BEST!

Wild Game Processing

Joey's Jerky: Joey's Jerky (also known as Syracuse Custom Meats) is the BEST! We bring all of our meat back from the high country to Joey Mussacchio at Syracuse. We have had dishonest out of state processors steal our hard won meat, and let me tell you...there is nothing worse than working hard in the preparation and execution of a big hunt, then only get 1/4 to 1/2 of that delicious meat from your trophy! The guys at Syracuse give you back ALL of the meat from your animal, and they do a FANTASTIC job of cleaning, trimming and packaging. Like I said, we drag ALL of our game back from wherever, all the way to Joey's shop, because they are the best!

Taxidermy

Penny Hess: The Colony, Texas. Penny is a multi-award winning taxidermist who does a magnificent job with most anything we drag over to her. She is responsible for all of our elk and deer mounts, except Dale’s first Elk and our first two Mule Deer. She has done several rugs for us, as well as full-body Black Bear mounts, European skull mounts, and a conversation starting Prairie Dog mount.

Magazines, Television Shows, and Hunting Brokers

Hunting Lease Magazine is written and edited by a great bunch of guys! Janice and I had the pleasure of spending a week with Keith, Milton, Hoss and Chip on a rifle hunt in October, 2003. These guys are not only fun to hunt with, they offer a great Land and Lease Broker service along with a new Discount Hunt service. Check out their site.

Wildlife Art

Lester's Studios - Lee Lester of Lester's studios does it better than anyone! He is not only an artist, he is a hunter and a guide. He KNOWS what these animals look like and captures them in unbelievably real poses! In addition to his bronzes, he does magnificent paintings also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shooting Organizations/Ranges

National Rifle Association: Protectors of our 2nd Amendment Rights. If you aren’t a member, and you enjoy the right to own a firearm, you need to join!

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Protectors of habitat. Just as above, if you aren’t a member, and you enjoy the ability to observe game that is not behind a high-fence, you need to join! They protect habitat for many species other than Elk.

NRA Whittington Center: The premier shooting facility in the country, located in Raton, New Mexico. We try to get to Whittington several times a year. We always plan on stopping for a day or two on our way to hunts and make it over there for competitions in BPCS and Benchrest. A world –class facility.