Ever dreamed of chasing a Dall ram in Alaska or Canada? I sure have. Some day I hope to give it a try. But what if you could just buy the sheep without all the work? NOW YOU CAN! For the bargain price of $25,000.00 you can skip the whole hunting part of the experience and just shoot some poor sheep in a pen.

I’d like to be clear on this: This is not hunting. This has no place in the hunting community. The person who will win this auction is not a hunter. Shooting an animal does not make you a hunter.

It’s disgusting that there is even a market for this type of thing.

Here’s what I’ve come to believe about South Dakota pheasant hunting:  It’s honestly too easy.  The state knows it’s too easy.  They make you wait until noon to hunt during the first week.  After the first week you have to wait until 10:00.  They only let you shoot 3 roosters a day.  Many times I’ve had the chance to kill 3 roosters driving to the first field (road hunting is LEGAL). 

Despite the easy nature of the hunt, it’s still fun.  Farmers manage the ground for birds, and birds are thick.  This time we hunted with an operation called American Wingshooting Lodge based out of Platte in the central part of the state.  The operation is new but absolutely wonderful.  Bill has been arranging day hunts in the area for years and has more land than you could possibly hunt. 

Birds are everywhere.  After our hunt the second day we returned to the lodge.  I fed my dogs and when Riley started getting birdy at the edge of the yard I figured she was smelling one of the many other dogs “gracing” the area.  Nope.  8 pheasants, 4 of which were roosters, came out of a small patch of grass at the edge of the yard.  I literally could have put my boots on, walked 20 yards to the edge of the yard, killed my 3 birds, and gone back to bed.  It wouldn’t have been very fun, but it shows you how many birds the area holds. 

They operate a fantastic lodge and provide wonderful meals.  Open bar, shells, hot lunch, and transportation included.  Great guides.  It’s a truly first class operation and without the cattle call feel that some other places have.  They shoot for groups of about 10 and a maximum of 15.  They don’t combine groups or force you to use their dogs.  What’s not to like?

Well, to be fair, their dogs weren’t great.  Small criticism since our 9 guys had 8 dogs, some of which are fantastically talented.  Honestly, I can’t think of anything else that wasn’t exactly how I would draw it up myself.  I’ll let the results speak for themselves.

Day 1:

Day 2:

So you’ve been living under a rock and you’ve never heard of Spiderbull?  Well first, check him out here.  There are rumors running everywhere on this incredible bull.  The general consensus is that he is a wild bull in the Monroe unit of Utah. 

Now for the rumors:

Some are claiming this is Spider… but that doesn’t appear to be true.  Others are claiming it’s a huge archery bull out of Oregon.  It actually appears to be the other side of this bull.  Just to add to the confusion, they changed angles and people pictured.  The bull pictured is a huge rifle kill out of Washington.  Follow the article link above for more on the incredible string of bulls this hunter has taken.

So what about Spidy?  Rumors claimed that he was killed by a kid during the youth rifle season.  Unfortunately that doesn’t fit because the Monroe area does not allow the youth rifle hunt.  Others are claiming the MossBack guys are following him around for another one of their high-end clients.  Others claim to have seen him in the last few days.  There are even rumors of landowners blocking roads that could provide access to areas where the great bull has been seen. 

Of course there were rumors about huge bulls last year too.  And the year before that.  Some of those bulls turned out to be incredible tame elk.  Could it be that Spidy doesn’t even exist in the real world?  Or maybe the MossBack guys are throwing everyone off the track?

Me?  Well I’m too poor for a Governors tag, and too unlucky to draw such an incredible tag (2 were drawn by non-residents this year).  So I’m left hoping for Spidy to get smart and bury himself in the deepest darkest timber in the unit.  I hope everyone is talking about him again this time next year.

Late breaking rumor has it that Tuttulik has suddenly ceased business.  Will the craziness never cease?

To clear up, this is the operation I recently returned from.  They operate several caribou hunting camps around Lake Minto on the Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec.  My group of 7 hunters saw exactly 1 caribou (a calf) in a week of hunting.  Actually the lack of caribou didn’t seem to be Tuttulik’s fault, per say.  The problem with them was their nearly complete lack of organization.  Phone numbers were dead, plans were not executed, and we were perpetually shuffling gear around Lake Minto because nothing was left at the right camp.  The owner “met” with us at the end of the hunt, but he came with a body guard and left after dumping our bags on the ground and without talking to anyone.  Obviously he saw the writing on the wall, and we did too.

When I compare my Tuttulik experience with my Jack Hume trip it’s not hard to figure out which one has run for 2 generations and which one is in bankruptcy.