How about this for five days of hunting?  In early October at our Sunnyside Ranch we had 3 Bull elk hunters, a buck hunter, 5 combo mule deer and elk hunter, and one hunter with a bull, buck and antelope tag.  This was a great group of hunters and awesome work by our guide staff.  Man is it fun to hunt!

A gal from Ohio did what few can claim on a hunt in early October with Bull Basin Guides and Outfitters.  Penny was handed three tags the night before her hunt began, one for an elk, one for a mule deer and one for a pronghorn antelope.  Opening morning had her in a herd of about 100 elk, but a slight change in the wind sent those elk away into thick timber.  The evening of her first day had her waiting on the am herd, but it never showed up-she passed a small bull.  The next morning she was into a bigger herd of elk, this time well over two hundred!  I have seen lots of great elk hunting, but this was at the top as far as numbers and rutting bulls!  We maneuvered past several groups and were able to get her set up on a nice herd bull-she would anchor him with a couple of well placed shots!  The bull was in impressive 6x6, mature and right at the magic 300 pt mark.  That afternoon we would hunt an area on the ranch where both elk and deer were a solid bet-her partner had an elk and deer tag also.  We glassed lots of areas, and located a small herd of elk feeding out into one of the hayfields.  Once we were able to get close-her partner John decided to pass on a decent 5x5 bull, another bugling bull about a mile away had our attention now.  We hustled towards the bugles, hoping to make it to him before the light went out on us.  Keeping the wind right and wading a thigh deep creek put us well within range.  We carefully glassed the herd over from behind a group of trees that concealed our location from the herd.  Finally we found the big herd bull, and even though his harem of cows protected him from a clear shot-he finally broke clean and John dropped him in his track!  John's bull was almost identical to Penny's!  The next morning we were glassing for bucks and were surprised to see a trophy buck materialize right in front of us.  Penny's shot was true again as the trophy buck hit the ground-a magnificent heavy mid 170 buck!  A bigger buck stepped out from the shot and was lucky to escape without John getting a bullet in him.  That afternoon Penny was excited to go for her antelope, the prize she wanted most!  After looking over several nice goats, she set her aim on a dark faced beauty, and put down her third trophy in as many days, an awesome 80" + monster buck!  Our hats are off to this little gal, what a great hunting accomplishment!

The previous entry shows seven photos of great bulls and happy hunters, but doesn't come near to telling the story of how so many important factors came together to result in a great elk hunt.  With over twenty years as a professional Outfitters, i have spent lots of time on the mountainside and around elk camps.  This experience has taught me a lot about all the things that go into making a successful hunt.  In my book success is not simply measured by a bull being harvested-don't get me wrong, i think that taking a free ranging elk of any type is a great accomplishment-it has got to be one of the most prestigious trophies on our continent.  I believe i experienced success on a much greater level this past week, it occurred when i shared a camp with 8 hunters, four guides, a couple of on-lookers,and a camp chef.  In the world of guided elk hunts there are several factors that play in to the overall experience and result of the hunt, i saw first hand how a bunch of guys pulling the rope in the same direction made it all happen last week at sunny side.  Every camp has a certain amount of enthusiasm and optimism the night before the hunt-this group carried that great attitude throughout the hunt.  Each time a bull was brought into the camp every person in camp was quick to the meat pole to congratulate the hunter, hear the story and admire the bull.  Hunters were completely unselfish in where that hunted-who guided them and who would take the first shot.  Hunts that didn't produce elk were not followed by discouragement, instead anticipation to where the next hunt would take them.  Guides shared with each other what they were seeing, where and offered peers advice on how to get the hunters in front of game.  The chef continued to produce one great meal after another, helping where ever he could and kept everyone fat and happy.  The group dealt with hot days, snowy days, sore legs, and thin air.  Times between the hunts during the day and around the camp fire at night provided us all a chance to learn more about each other, our families, lives and pursuits.  Everyone took some sort of friendly ribbing-whether it be about their sports team, hometown or camo pattern.  Those who filled tags early in the hunt took joined up with those that hadn't in an effort to experience more elk hunting.  It was cool to see the staff of guides and hunters all work together to make the hunt a success, each appreciating what the other was all about.  One of the hunters had to leave early to deal with the loss of a family member, he would be the only one to not fill a tag.  I think we all realized that hunting is surely a little different to each of us in our own personal way, but no doubt involves much more than taking an animal.  I hope that when the hunters look at their elk racks on the wall several years from now, they will remember this hunt, the effort, the luck the friends and the special experience that only an elk camp can create.  My hat is off to all the guides and hunters that worked so well together, it was a great team effort-thanks to all for such a special week.

The evening of September 23, 2009 would be very special for Bull Basin, guide Chad Sherman, and two bow hunters from South Dakota.  Rick and Troy were into the second day of their guided archery hunt with us, they had perfect conditions with cool temps and even some early season snow on the ground.  The two were encouraged, opening morning resulted in elk all around them, and Troy got a shot at a nice bull, but the broadhead found bone in the shoulder, and the bull escaped with only a scar from the encounter.  They were very close to lots of elk during their evening hunt on the first day, and passed a nice big 5x5 on the morning of their second day.  For the afternoon hunt of their second day Chad decided to take the pair to the Northern part of the Ranch.  They located a good herd of elk and devised a plan to get in close.  Knowing the importance of keeping the wind right, Chad took a major detour to get the archers in place.  The extra effort paid off as the group was able to move in towards the group of elk undetected-at about 200 yards away from the herd, Chad directed the two hunters to move towards the herd another 80 yards and to set up.  Once the hunters were in place, Chad began to work his magic on the cow elk call.  With hunters down in front of him to the left and right, Chad was hoping to coax one of the many bugling bulls past the waiting bow hunters.  It didn't take long, and Chad knew things were getting interesting as one of the hunters signaled to him that a bull was working towards the other hunter.  Chad being unable to see the second hunter continued to cow call.  His efforts paid off as the cold air was filled with the harsh "whap" of the arrow striking the bull!  Chad was encouraged as the nice 6x5 bull pranced past him at only 10 yards, blood bursting out his side.  Another cow call stopped the mortally injured bull, and Chad watched him crumple to the ground!  Chad would learn later from Troy that the bull passed only 3 yards in front of him-the shot was taken literally at point blank range!  Before Chad had a chance to get up and check out the downed bull, Rick motioned that another bull was coming in!  Chad began the soft, sweet cow talk-and moments later Rick would let his arrow fly.  That arrow hit-but the way things lined up it was difficult to know how solid the shot was.  Chad gathered the two hunters and told them he thought it best to let the second bull be while they took care of photos and field dressing of the first bull.  Troy told Chad that while he watched the bull come into Rick, the herd Bull came into the call not 20 yards in front of him!  Anticipation and excited lead Rick to want to see what was up with his bull, so as Chad worked on taking care of the first bull-he told Rick it would be ok to go look for blood and hopefully a downed bull.  A few moments later Chad noticed Rick returning with his head down, and a disappointed look on his face.  Rick made it back to Chad and quietly asked Chad to put down his knife.  Chad now a little confused by the request set down the knife and waited for Rick to give him the news.  As Chad's knife hit the ground Rick leaped into Chad's arms and gave him a great bear hug of thanks-his 6x6 bull was dead on the ground not 60 yards from where the arrow hit its mark!  Two great bulls in one awesome hunt!  Anyone who has spent any amount of time archery hunting for elk will attest to the fact that there are a thousand things that can go wrong and result in the elk winning the battle.  In talking with the hunters I knew they were serious about bow hunting, and I know that there is not a better guide than Chad Sherman.  This is a great accomplishment, and I believe a deserving reward for all the hard work, effort and relentless passion for hunting that Chad has.  My hat is off to this trio-way to go on a truly unbelievable hunt!

Our first clients of the year hit the mountainside before dawn on August 29th-and we have been going strong since!  The weather has been as close to perfect so far as one could expect for the high country here in Colorado.  Most of the mornings we wake to temps in the upper 30's and then watch the temperature rise to 65-70 during the day.  We've had some pretty good thunderstorms rip through on occasion, and currently are dealing with the first light snows of the season.  Most of our hunts have focused on elk top this point, we have taken several nice black bears too.  We are doing our best to update the photo gallery each week at our www.bullbasin.com website, you can check out the photos there each week to see what has been harvested.  The elk rut is hot and heavy right now-and should go off the charts this week as a good snowy cold snap typically sends the rut to a higher level.  Its great to see all of our returning clients with a splash of new guys mixed in.  So much of the enjoyment of our hunts involves all the stories and tales shared around the camp fires.  We have been fortunate to get some clients their first elk ever-and have had some clients shoot their personal best bulls.  It is truly a privilege to share the hunts with our guests.  Be to keep checking the site for photo and blog updates-

This past Saturday we held our annual one fly fishing contest out at Troublesome Creek with our members.  Some of the members had slow action, while the winner landed 10 trout in less than three hours.  It appears that fly selection was more critical this year, wondering if others felt the same way.  With the higher water level, and color of the stream, was it the bigger flashier flies that were tempting the trout?  Or was it the fact that the streamer type fly that won the contest was being stripped upstream, while other were being dead drifted in the current.  Interesting to get some feed back on what was the real factor in the difference between the number of fish that were landed-

Hope everyone is doing fine in your part of the world, things are great up here in the high country.  We had a good snowpack from the winter and really no winter kill issues which is great.  We have had a very wet Spring so the mountainsides are covered with lots of lush green grass and feed for the elk and deer.  Conditions right now are really shaping up good for horn growth and health of the herds.  I was up at Sunnyside camp last week around lunch time and heard a full out bugle from a bull up on the hill above camp-he must be practicing for the fall!

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