Garrett
Let me start off by saying: my wife and friends booked a hunt for a surprise birthday for me and a handful of my friends. I found out about the hunt in June and we went out end of October first of November.
As a testament to Amon and his crew (mainly family and friends) my wife knowing very little to nothing about this kind of thing and only 1 of the group set to go had ever been on a hunt like this before, Amon went over all the details and put her mind at ease before she booked this amazing adventure my friends and I.
Never having been on such an experience before, after I found out at the surprise party, I quickly realized how pressed for time I was. I called Amon the following Monday, where he answered and we spoke on the phone for almost 45mins. I asked a million questions wanting to be as prepared as my friends and I could be to make everyone’s experience as good as it could be.
We drove out and landed 120miles away and hung out for a couple days to acclimate to the lack of oxygen and recharge from the drive. We drove in on a Tuesday, we arrived a little early where we found a young man cleaning the cabins out, he spoke, shook our hands and asked if we’d spoke to Amon, he jumped on his ATV and went and got Amon and Bill (the owner and one of his guides) we were met with huge smiles handshakes, honesty, and a welcoming feeling that put everyone at ease.
So after we met some of the crew, Luke ( guide) rounded up our group to check zero on our weapons, he took us to the range, and set us all up to ensure our weapons were on target before we took them to the woods. Luke paid extremely close attention to everyone’s whereabouts with SAFTEY as the main concern.
After rifles were checked for zero and some hunting stories, we all went to the main lodge for dinner and the meeting. Amon and his group introduced themselves, then we all went around and introduced ourselves to the other hunters in camp and the guides. Amon and his crew spoke about the rules and regulations, what he expected from us and asked for questions and made sure everyone understood the rules and regulations, keeping safety at the upmost concern.
Corra (sp) the camp chief was up at 3-3:30am to cook breakfast for everyone there, a very hearty start to the day every day. There were lunch provisions to make sandwiches and calorie packed snacks to pack with you. She also was in the lodge every night ensuring that hot meals for dinner were prepared for all us hunters and the guides.
There were (5) in our party Amon broke us up into manageable groups and me and one of my friends got the opportunity to hunt with Amon.
To tell you our experience was in any way shape or form was a negative one would be a bold faced lie. I’m not sure how they did it but they managed to make everything seamless. Amon, being only a few years older than I still runs the mountains like he’s 20. Getting to hear about his childhood and his family story how he was guiding before he could drive and how his father had influenced him, his story is truly an amazing one. The travel vehicles were warm before we got in them, atvs were fueled and ready to go if and when we needed them. Everything from the hunt down to the cabins was an amazing experience. Amon and his crews experience in the woods is unrivaled in my limited experience, they are very humble, intelligent, very well rounded and respected individuals. They always kept us hunters on point, offering offering advice whenever possible in a way that made you feel like you’d been hunting with them all your life.
Bill, (guide) was paired up with (2) of our group. Bill was as professional as they get, polite, respectful, open to new ideas and input from his hunters. Bill’s love for the outdoors is simply astonishing. He had spoke of his neighbor falling ill in their elk season, so Bill put his hunting on hold to help his neighbor get things lined out because his neighbor was unable to do so.
One of our crew got a guide named Travis, Travis was nothing short of amazing in his ability to roam the mountains, keeping things exciting and challenging all at the same time.
I know that I’ve forgotten a few names, but I will say this, Amon and his family and close friends run a very tight ship, their main objective is to get you the trophy animal of your dreams. The guides didn’t carry rifles, they carried side arms for emergency purposes only, these people aren’t out to do their hunting while you’re trying to do yours they’re only interested in helping you achieve your goals.
Our experience was worth every penny and the 4,000miles round trip just for the experience. The silence on the mountains is almost deafening, when you can sit on a ridge and hear a Ravin fly over and hear the air flowing through their wings you know why you’re there. The views are amazing, the knowledge that Amon and his crew bring to the table is irreplaceable for any first time hunters looking to dip a toe in.
Little tips from my personal standpoint. I just turned 40 last year and do physical work for my career, after speaking with Amon in June, I added running, hiking and jumping rope to my daily regimen, I got all new hunting gear (where we live a heavy coat and bibs is how we hunt) out there you need a GOOD layering system! Practice with it before you get there, it was a little awkward running a bino harness, and a layering system as we don’t use all that around here and by the 3rd or 4th day we all kinda had the hang of things. Your ability to manipulate the mountains physically will directly affect your ability to harvest your trophy! These guides are guides not magicians! Prepare yourself, Comfortable good boots are a must!, I’m by no way saying you need to buy all brand new equipment or anything like that, but I am saying these kind hearted guides would probably give their client their gloves, boots, rain gear or (insert whatever the client forgot or didn’t bring) to make sure their clients have the best experience possible.
In summary I would like to say this was truly a once in a lifetime adventure, I was originally skeptical but always open minded as I didn’t feel like it was my thing, but I’m always up for a new challenge, so I embraced it and the experience was nothing short of amazing! breathtaking views, getting to see the wildlife, the camaraderie, and the memories, I’d go back tomorrow and drive those 4K miles to experience it one more time.
Other outfitters will always be compared to this experience because of how amazing it truly was for my group.
Oh, sorry almost forgot, the ever lingering question “did you get anything” out of (5) of us, 1 of us harvested a very nice 5×5 and another one of us harvested a beautiful 3×3.
I honestly think a hunting tag is almost just an excuse to get to pack around some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen, my friends and I can’t wait to plan our next adventure, and Shattuckcreek will be our first choice of outfitters to contact.