Lest one be misled by the term "management," Benton tells me he is harvesting, in some instances, better management bucks than some outfitters are taking in their regular hunts. For example, one management buck killed recently was a 3 x 3 with a 28-inch spread; another was a 2 x 3 with a 26 ½-inch spread. Benton does not define management bucks by a specific score, but rather as a mature buck that either will not achieve trophy-hunt quality or that has peaked and is now in decline.
Benton conducts his Wyoming hunts on five different ranches, all in one contiguous block, totaling approximately 140,000 acres. He will be doing eight of these hunts in the 2004 season, which runs from October 1 through October 14. If the hunter desires, he may add an antelope to his deer hunt for an additional $1,000. The antelope season runs concurrent with the deer season. Do the math - $2,750 plus license fees for a two-species hunt on a vast block of private land.
Benton also offers a trophy mule deer hunt at $3,450. The success rate for all his hunts - trophy and management - has been 100 percent. Benton is very particular in that he will not allow a hunter to upgrade from a management deer to a trophy deer during the hunt. So, make up your mind ahead of time. His trophy deer average 165 Boone and Crocket points. As for his antelope, they are not in the record book category, with bucks measuring from 13 to........(continued)
