All across the country there are quality outfitters quietly going about their business of producing top-notch hunts without ever getting written up or receiving national exposure. The best of them don't need it, because word has spread through the grapevine about the excellence of the hunts they offer. Such is the case with Edwards Outfitting. The company was founded in 1977 by Richard Edwards and offers hunts for whitetail deer, mule deer and antelope on tw o ranches totaling 25,000 acres in southeastern Wyoming. Between the two ranches, Edwards' hunters have an 85 to 90 percent success rate on whitetails, with 100 percent opportunity. At times here you can see as many as 10 to 15 bucks a day, other times slightly fewer. Edwards says most of the bucks his hunters take are 3 1/2 years old. Bucks that live longer than that, he says, seem to go nocturnal and become hard to find. The genetics are so good, though, that the typical buck harvested grosses close to 140 B & C. Every year there are several bucks in the 150's and at times a few in the 160's. In fact, Edwards says he tries to keep clients from shooting bucks below 130. Whitetails are mostly taken from stands or 4 x 6-foot blinds.
The first of Edwards' fair-chase whitetail hunts takes place in mid-October before the rut on 5,000 acres of a ranch near the town of Wheatland, primarily along river bottoms. Edwards' clients usually take about 10 bucks there every year. Starting this year, Edwards plans to offer another hunt on this ranch during the rut in the last half of November. He feels this hunt may allow clients to kill some old bucks they would never otherwise see. These two hunts cost $3,200 for five days and are only offered to rifle hunters. This price includes motel lodging, meals, ground transportation and airport shuttle service from Cheyenne.
Moving a bit north in the state to the town of Douglas, Edwards offers fair-chase hunts for whitetails, mule deer and antelope on the 20,000-acre Cross Ranch. He says........(continued)
