This property is located near the town of Whitehall in southwest Montana and encompasses 25,000 acres of rolling foothills, canyons and high timber. It is managed by John Cargill of Ironwheel Guest Ranch and Cargill Outfitters. This year, Cargill had 12 clients take 11 bulls, including eight that gross-scored over 300 B & C. Four of those scored over 350 points - 365, 364, 357 and 352. Despite these numbers, Cargill is very cautious about how he sells his product. He tells potential clients that they will have a very good chance of taking a 300-class bull, but he won't promise a 350-point bull, although his past performance says that's a real possibility. He does not allow clients to shoot anything smaller than a 5 x 5 bull.
Cargill's success rate is pretty good as well, but again he cautiously says that conditions and hunter ability can affect those numbers. His clients were 100 percent in 2003, but not in 2004 when hot, dry conditions kept the elk in the timber. Only clients who were physically able to climb up and down the canyons took bulls, bringing the success rate down to 70 percent. Those clients also took a few smaller elk that year - two 5 x 5's and what Cargill says was a small 6 x 6. This past year was better with 92 percent of clients taking elk.
Hunting Report subscriber Bruce Pitters was one of those who hunted........(continued)
