http://www.huntingreport.com/rss/rss.cfm Hunting Articles For The Hunter Who Travels Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=597 By Barbara Crown, Editor of The Hunting ReportWith input from our affiliate partner the Dallas Safari Club Buy a hunt at auction recently? Every year The Hunting Report receives scores of reports on hunts purchased at auction. Many go right, but others go horribly wrong. What can you do to make sure the hunt you purchased at a fundraising event doesn't end in disaster? Here are some tips: 1 - Read the contract/donation form closely. Always note what is included and what is not included, such as trophy fees, gun import fees, licenses/permits, overnight stays and meals before or after the hunt, meet-and-greet services and transportation from the airport to the hunt area. If the hunt is for two people, make sure you understand whether the animals included are to be split between you or taken in doubles. Make sure you understand where you will meet your operator. We've heard of hunters arriving at a major airport, such as Johannesburg, expecting to meet their operator only to discover that they were supposed to meet at a smaller domestic airport hundreds of miles away. That's the kind of snafu that will ruin a trip. Keep in mind that sometimes the hunt description provided for an auction is incomplete. On occasion, descriptions are incorrect due to human error or an uninformed auctioneer. Hunting Report subscriber Bill Snow (see Report 7619 in our online database) recounts how a donation form for a hunt in Argentina that he purchased at auction actually included things that were not part of the donation. He worked that out with the operator, although he experienced other problems later. 2 - Contact the operator right away while the donation is still fresh in his mind (and yours) and his hunt schedule is still flexible. Don't wait three to six months to contact the operator who donated your hunt, much less just before it expires. Remind him where you purchased the hunt and what it was. Bill Snow's example above is one reason why you want to do this sooner rather than later. You also want to get a sense of the operator's availability for the hunt and when you should be trying to finalize your plans. 3 - Know when the hunt donation expires. Most donations are for a specific year. Some offer an alternate year. Make your arrangements to hunt as soon as possible. Things change. Operators lose areas. Partners fall out. Game die offs occur. Quotas get cut and regulations get changed. Also, operators are continually working to fill their slots with fully paying clients. By scheduling and taking your hunt as soon as possible, you will avoid many of the complications and problems we've seen on some of these hunts. A perfect example of what can happen if you don't act quickly is a complaint we covered in the May 2012 issue of The Hunting Report from subscriber Mark Klapmeier on a donated rhino dart hunt (Report 8639). Before he could take that hunt, regulations restricting dart hunts were put into place, making it impossible for him to take the hunt as it was donated. Klapmeier and the operator were unable to come to an agreement about swapping the hunt. Then the operator went bankrupt. "Take your hunt as soon as possible," Klapmeier advises fellow subscribers who purchase hunts at auction. 4 - If you significantly change the hunt agreement, understand that you are voiding the original donated hunt. Adding a couple of animals on an African plains game hunt is one thing, but completely changing the hunt is quite another. When this occurs, the operator is making big adjustments and incurring expenses on your behalf as if you were making an original booking. Here's an example of why that matters: A hunter bought a donated waterfowl hunt in Canada. He later upgraded to a moose hunt with a second hunter joining him. When the hunter's friend cancelled, he too wanted to cancel the moose hunt and go back to a waterfowl hunt. The outfitter refused. The original donation, he said, was voided when the hunt was changed and another hunt agreed upon, plus the outfitter had already incurred expenses he could not recover for the moose hunt. Importantly, when the hunter made significant changes to his donated hunt, it voided the contract the outfitter had with the organization that received the original donation. They were NOT able to help him. Since The Hunting Report is an affiliated partner of Dallas Safari Club, I asked Executive Director Ben Carter what DSC's policy is when an auction buyer changes his hunt. "Once the auction is final, DSC is no longer part of the process," he says. "We warrant our auction items, but only to the extent of the write-up for the donation. If the buyer renegotiates the terms, it can void our warranty, although that would be determined by DSC." Despite that, he says the organization is interested in hearing about any issues that crop up on their auction hunts, and of course, they want to hear about successful hunts too. 5 - Do not rely on verbal agreements. If you do make changes, even if only to swap animals on a donated hunt, make sure you get the new agreement in writing. We have received numerous complaints claiming an outfitter agreed to exchange species at no additional cost only for the hunter to get an unexpected bill for the animals he took. So, make sure all changes to the original donation are put in writing from the operator. Keep a file of all communications and changes and bring it with you to review with your operator upon arrival. Also, when trying to make changes to a hunt purchased at auction, be aware that an outfitter may be unwilling to swap certain things due to various factors. Depending on the donation arrangement, the operator will have put out a specific cost for the donation. Also, keep in mind that his costs likely do not match the declared value of the hunt. "Values" may be more reflective of what the market will bear for a hunt in some cases and in others may reflect a narrow profit margin. For these reasons, operators may refuse to swap a donated hunt of one value for another, even if priced alike. 6 - Research the hunt as if you were booking it directly. If you have already purchased a hunt at auction, you may think there's no need, or that it's too late, to do any research. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether you book a hunt directly, purchase it at auction or win it in a raffle, you want to learn as much about the hunt as possible so that you fully understand what to expect when you get there. Many of the complaints we see, whether the hunt was bought at auction or booked directly, involve unmet or unmatched expectations. In other words, the hunter arrives expecting one thing and gets something different. It's much like sitting at dinner to eat what you think is sweet and sour chicken only to find that it is sweet and spicy. You might like it anyway, but then again if your mouth was truly set for sweet and sour or you hate spicy food, you're likely to be somewhat disappointed. Same thing on a hunt. Make sure you understand the hunting techniques used, the terrain, the size of the property, whether it is game-fenced or not, if the game movement is weather-dependent or otherwise migratory. Exactly what are the accommodations? Will you be the only party hunting there at the time? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 7 - Ask the donor for past references. Again, you've already bought the hunt, but last season's hunters could give you some excellent insights. They'll tell you what the hunting is like, what the PH's strengths and possible weaknesses are, if it's the place to bring your non-hunting spouse or not, what special equipment they found most useful or useless. Again, previous hunters will help you understand what to expect and what not to expect on this hunt. 8 - Hit the "pause button" if things start going wrong. If you can't get a hold of the operator right after the auction, or whenever you do try to contact him, consider whether it's the time of year when he may be out in the bush with current clients. Give him some time to connect with you. However, if six months go by without any luck, then ask the organization that auctioned the hunt for some help. Once on the hunt, if something seems to be going off the rails, take a breath and talk about it with the operator. An ethical, quality operator does not want any of his clients to have a bad experience, even on a donated hunt. Sometimes things fall through the cracks or just plain go wrong, but they can usually be resolved amicably. 9 - Remember why you're there. You bought a hunt at auction to help out a deserving organization, whether its Dallas Safari Club, Grand Slam Club OVIS, Wild Sheep Foundation, Safari Club International or The Boy Scouts. And you probably hoped to get a good value for your money too, as well as enjoy a good hunting experience. Likewise, an outfitter or safari operator donates his services to help the same organization, and he hopes to get some good promotional value and maybe make up his cost with some upgrades, whether in additional species, days or people. If any party feels squeezed at any point in this process, resentment is usually right around the corner. Don't let a miscommunication, unrealistic expectation or a simple snag sour your whole experience. If you know what to expect and have detailed, clear communications, you will eliminate most of the problems we see in complaints on donated hunts. Most operators honestly want to make clients happy. While you may find the hunt isn't exactly what you would have liked, a little patience and understanding on both sides will at least yield a pleasant overall experience that you'll want to share with friends and fellow hunters. It may not be something you'll care to do again at full price, but it won't be a disaster. 10 - When disaster does strike: Sometimes no matter how much research and preparation you do, you end up with something that you simply find unacceptable. Despite your best efforts, the mismatch between your needs as a hunter and the operator's services cannot be overcome. It happens on occasion. At The Hunting Report, we understand that not every hunt is right for every hunter. Your critique/review of a hunt is just as valid as the next hunter's, because your needs and expectations may be completely different from his. Our goal is to help you make that determination, hopefully before you purchase a hunt. That is the purpose of our online database of hunter reports and the critical reviews we feature on hunting operators and destinations around the globe. Many fundraising organizations also try to give potential buyers the opportunity to check out a hunt before they purchase it at auction. Some do more work vetting donors than others. If you can, try to find out an organization's vetting process before bidding on a hunt. Here at The Hunting Report, subscribers who oversee the donations program for their local conservation organizations often contact us for reports and background information on potential donors, and we're always happy to help out. At DSC, Carter says they have spent 30 years fine-tuning their donations program. "We only accept hunt donations from exhibitors, and each donation is carefully vetted for value and ethics," he says. DSC conducts it auctions during its annual convention in Dallas and mails a catalog of the hunts to be auctioned at the event. That gives their members the opportunity to do a little research before the event, which The Hunting Report recommends. DSC also provides member references in the exhibitor's description, and of course interested hunters can meet the outfitter in their booth prior to the auction. This kind of transparency goes a long way in helping potential buyers make good decisions on which auction hunts to pursue. That said, we have seen our share of bad operators find their way onto convention floors and make donations to various organizations. By bad, we mean duplicitous, careless/reckless, corner-cutting and even illegal operators who don't produce, put their clients at risk or simply jerk them around until their house of cards finally comes down around their ears. If your hunt turns out to be with one of those operators, definitely let the organization that sold the hunt know. While they may not be able to do anything about simple disagreements, unethical behavior must be reported. Also, file a report with The Hunting Report. It's one of the benefits of being a subscriber. We don't charge extra to handle a complaint; we'll attempt to make the operator give account; and we'll make the entire file available to interested hunters. There are no sealed files at The Hunting Report. We believe full disclosure is the best route to making an informed decision about where to spend your hard-earned money and time. Noel Wolfe of Oregon knows just how wrong an auction hunt can go. Despite his best efforts to check things out, his very first safari ended up in a different area than agreed upon and with a different PH, one he says came to hunt with a borrowed gun and borrowed boots! Against his better judgment, Wolfe and his party went hunting, and he was almost killed by a Cape buffalo. While we originally covered that story in 2000 (Article 591), you may find Wolfe's latest retelling of great interest. The TakeawayCaveats aside, most auction hunts go just fine. "The percentage of good hunts we have auctioned far outweighs the bad ones," says Carter. And he encourages hunters to report on those hunts. "We want to hear if a hunt was fantastic," he says. DSC has a report system for hunters to provide feedback on auction hunts, as do most hunting conservation organizations. And, of course, The Hunting Report takes those reports as well, investigates them and provides expanded reports on them in the publication. The bottom line is that auction hunts are a great way to support our favorite organizations. DSC, for example, has used auction proceeds to fund more than $3 million in programs supporting conservation, hunting education and other efforts. I encourage hunters to support these efforts, but also to follow these tips and use The Hunting Report to find the hunts that are right for you. Now, go hunting! - Barbara Crown, Editor (Postscript: Dallas Safari Club's Convention & Expo will be held January 3-6, 2013. To learn more about the event and available auction opportunities visit their web site at http://www.biggame.org/.) Paid Ad www.biggame.org Paid AdMouflon, chamois, roe deer, brown bear and all other European species. 100% success!http://www.artemis-hunting.com/ Paid Ad2012 Botswana Elephant Openings Maybe the last elephant hunts available in Botswana forever! Botswana's current plans are to close all but two of their hunting concessions at the end of this season and those two that will remain open are sold out already for 2013. If you want to hunt Botswana this is your last opportunity. Only three permits left.Dates available May 21 to June 4th, June 17 to 30 or July 17 to 31, 2012.First deposits placed get the hunts.John BarthAdventure Unlimited, Inc.Tel: 361-852-0537Mobile: 361-852-0537Email: safaris@trip.net and john@ausafari.com News Bulletins Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=597 http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=596 Hunters, trophy import brokers and anyone else in the international hunting industry have only days to file comments on a new proposal by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) that will impose more onerous procedures for shipping agents to get replacement CITES and import documents that are lost, damaged or destroyed during shipment. We first told you about these proposals in a March 20 Email Extra Bulletin when the original deadline was April 9. That deadline was extended to May 7. We urge all international hunters, conservation groups, brokers, safari operators and overseas hunting organizations representing the industry to weigh in with comments before next Monday. If USFWS succeeds in passing the new regulations mentioned above, it will become even more difficult to import CITES trophies. Seizures will increase. More hunters will lose their valuable trophies through no fault of their own. You can refresh your memory on what the Service is proposing by rereading the report, USF&WS Proposes New CITES Regulations, by John J. Jackson, III, of Conservation Force. It appears in the April 2012 issue of Conservation Force Bulletin. Read the section subtitled, "Replacement Documents." You can also read the proposal itself. If you would like some guidance on what to say, you can also read the comments that Jackson has filed on behalf of Conservation Force, Dallas Safari Club, Dallas Ecological Foundation, Houston Safari Club, African Safari Club of Florida, the International Professional Hunters Association (IPHA), Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA), National Taxidermists Association, Louisiana Chapter of Safari Club International, Alabama Chapter of Safari Club International, International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife (IGF), the International Counsel of Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC), Wild Sheep Foundation and Grand Slam/OVIS. - Barbara Crown, Editor News Bulletins Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=596 http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=595 The United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that it has downlisted the Canadian wood bison from Endangered to Threatened. That means US hunters can freely hunt and import this species again after a 43-year moratorium. The announcement was posted to the Federal Registry yesterday, and the new rule takes effect June 4. "The fight is over," says John J. Jackson, III, of Conservation Force. You'll recall from previous bulletins and stories that Jackson has spent 12 years wrangling with USFWS to accomplish this. "It was exhausting work for the good of the bison and the native people of Canada," he says. "Thank you to all who have participated." Jackson will cover more details about this latest development in the upcoming June issue of Conservation Force Bulletin, delivered with The Hunting Report Newsletter. This downlisting is a huge success for conservation, Canadian wildlife authorities, hunters and the species, which has recovered so fully that it is in danger of overwhelming the carrying capacity of its habitat in The Yukon Territory. You can learn all about the hunts available for wood bison in the June issue of The Hunting Report. We'll tell you everything you need to know about the hunts available for this species. In the meantime, congratulations to all who participated in this effort! - Barbara Crown, Editor. News Bulletins Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=595 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=796 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=796 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=813 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=813 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=800 As an Email Extra subscriber, you already know about the panic caused by an email claiming that hunting in Botswana has been banned starting in 2013. As I explained in the <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=594" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Email Extra Bulletin</A> I sent you on Friday, April 20th that news was not exactly correct. <BR><BR>As this isn't the first time we've received such news over the past four years, I immediately called Debbie Peake with the Botswana Wildlife Management Association to find out what is going on. <BR><BR>Peake confirmed that the Botswana government is restricting hunting further in 2013, as we previously reported they would. Next year, numerous concession periods come to an end, and, as we told you in January 2010 (see <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/article_details.cfm?ar_item=2376" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Article ID 2376</A>), they will become photographic/eco-tourism concessions. You'll recall that in 2010 six concessions in the Chobe and Okavango regions had been tendered for non-consumptive use, and a number of operators were left with hunting leases that would expire over the following three years..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=800 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=801 <DIV align=center><EM>By Barbara Crown, Editor</EM></DIV><BR>This past February at the SCI convention in Las Vegas, Jean Pierre Bernon of <A href="http://www.fauna-safari-club.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Club Faune</A> told me about a concession he secured that supposedly holds good numbers of korrigum. The area is in northern <STRONG>Cameroon</STRONG> and has a quota of eight korrigum. Bernon says he has two other areas in Cameroon and only one of them gets a quota for this species, with only two korrigum available. This new northern area also offers Lord Derby eland, roan, western savannah buffalo, etc. But Bernon pushed the area as <U>the</U> place to get a trophy korrigum. <BR><BR>Before I could mention the area in <EM>The Hunting Report</EM>, I received an enthusiastic report on it from subscriber Pavel Sidorov (<A href="mailto:Pavel.Sidorov@advgroup.ru">Pavel.Sidorov@advgroup.ru</A>) who had just returned from this hunt. I will let him tell you about it:, "My main objective was one animal-korrigum. I already tried to hunt it once several years ago in northern CAR, but due to the political instability in that region the hunt was cancelled at the last moment. So, last year I realized that the only place where I could now hunt this antelope was northern Cameroon..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=801 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=797 Big game hunters who also wingshoot are likely familiar with the well-respected company <A href="http://www.daviddenies.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>David Denies Wingshooting</A>, which has been offering dove and duck shoots in Argentina for more than 25 years. And those who are also flyfishermen will know the high quality lodges operated by <A href="http://www.nervouswaters.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Nervous Waters</A>, in business since 1984. What you may not know is that these are both under the same umbrella company and have now started a big game hunting operation called <A href="http://www.redstagpatagonia.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Red Stag Patagonia</A>. I caught up recently with Sebastian F. Casado, the motive force behind the new company, to learn more about the operation and their offerings. <BR><BR> Casado worked as a fly fishing guide in Patagonia for seven years for both Nervous Waters and David Denies. Eventually, he started arranging his own custom fishing and wingshooting trips. When more of his clients voiced an interest in trophy red stag hunting, he approached Nervous Waters and David Denies to create Red Stag Patagonia. He is now managing partner in Red Stag Patagonia and does some guiding himself, especially for bowhunters. He is a bowhunter himself, having learned effective techniques in Idaho and Montana on elk and now applying them to red stag. <BR><BR> According to Casado, Red Stag Patagonia has secured three areas offering different experiences for different hunters. Their star area is a new and very limited opportunity in Chile for huge stags. Continuing subscribers will remember our 2002 report on another such opportunity for stags scoring in the 370- to 380-plus SCI range. (See article <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/article_details.cfm?ar_item=1001" rel=nofollow target=_blank>ID 1001</A>.) This new opportunity promises to produce stags every bit as good..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=797 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=802 Correspondent Michael Bodenchuk looked into some new requirements for hunters bringing hides from Mexico into the US. Here's what he found out: Some hunters and outfitters were surprised this year when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would not allow them to enter the US from Mexico with green deer capes. The reason has to do with some "new" requirements that are part of USDA rules to prevent the importation of ticks. These rules were published in the Federal register and appear to have been in effect since January 2011, although the USDA web site (<A href="http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/animal_import/animal_imports.shtml" rel=nofollow target=_blank>www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/animal_import/animal_imports.shtml</A>) lists only an undated document under "New Requirements for Importing Ruminant Hides from Mexico." The document you open at that link is titled, "<A href="http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/downloads/mx_deer_hide_alert.pdf" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Clarification of NCIE Policy for the importation of hides and skins from Mexico.</A>" It appears that CBP began enforcing these new provisions late in the 2011-12 hunting season. The government website to ask questions about these new rules returns email as undeliverable and phone calls garner only the same information available on the web. <BR><BR> The purpose of the regulations is to prevent the importation of two diseases of concern: heartwater and cattle fever, which are carried by ticks. Wild ruminants are hosts for both species of ticks that transmit these diseases. The fever tick, responsible for cattle fever, was eradicated from the US, but still exists across the border in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, and a very active border quarantine zone exists along the Rio Grande in Texas to prevent the reemergence of the tick in Texas cattle herds. The tick that causes heartwater is not known to occur in Mexico, but is present in some Caribbean islands and could be spread by cattle egrets into Mexico or the US. <BR> The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=802 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=803 Last month, we told you that a <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/current_issue.cfm?id=790" rel=nofollow target=_blank>former employee of Miller Trophy Room had been indicted</A> in the Eastern District of North Carolina on federal charges relating to the alleged relabeling, misuse and misapplication of a registered pesticide. According to the <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/images2/pdf/ViolationsofFedInsecticideFungicideRodenticide.pdf" rel=nofollow target=_blank>indictment</A>, Miller Trophy Room's "proprietary formula" trophy preservative was nothing more than the registered pesticide Termidor SC (a trade name for <A href="http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/fipronil.html" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Fipronil</A>), produced by BASF, which Miller's diluted and applied to game mounts as a preservative to prevent insect damage. Fipronil is not licensed for use inside buildings except in enclosed wall voids. <BR><BR> Not surprisingly, that report unleashed a flurry of phone calls and emails from subscribers wanting clear answers about how dangerous this chemical is and what to do if the charges are true and Fipronil was used on their trophies. Unfortunately, clear, concise answers are very difficult to come by. Frankly, at this point we aren't sure that even a trained chemist or chemical engineer could give clear answers. But here's what we know so far..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=803 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=799 <DIV align=center><I>By Lance Stapleton<BR>Senior Western Correspondent</I></DIV><BR>The last shot on Santa Rosa Island marked the end of one of the most remarkable wildlife success stories in North America, and unfortunately, in my opinion one of the most distasteful examples of government arrogance and waste I can remember. <BR><BR>The Santa Rosa story has been well reported in these pages by me and others. Introduced in the early 20th century, mule deer and Roosevelt elk thrived, making Santa Rosa the place to go if you wanted to tag a 200-inch mulie buck or a trophy Roosevelt. MUM's wildlife management efforts produced remarkable results: year after year, the hunting just kept getting better, culminating in the 2010 hunts where the average buck measured 30 inches wide and scored SCI 200-1/2 points. Roosevelt elk bulls averaged 270 points! In 2011, MUM again produced comparable statistics for their last 40 hunters. <BR><BR>The fight to eradicate wildlife on Santa Rosa and turn the island over to the National Park Service was long and fierce and, again, well-reported. You may not know that there was a brief time when Republicans held the majority in Congress and Representative Duncan Hunter was successful in saving hunting on the island. But then the Wicked Witches of the West (Senators Boxer and Feinstein) stepped in when the Democrats regained power and reversed Hunter's amendment. <BR><BR>In another slight of hand, the Park Service contracted the final eradication to a non-profit company (White Buffalo) without going to bid. White Buffalo promptly subcontracted the project to a for-profit company, Pro Hunt, which benefitted from free services provided by the Park Service..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=799 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=798 <P align=center><EM>By Harry Moorse, Correspondent</EM><BR> Between 2001 and 2011 the top 10 <A href="http://www.boone-crockett.org/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Boone & Crockett</A> entries for typical and non-typical mulie bucks were scattered between five states and two Canadian provinces. Colorado and Saskatchewan produced three bucks each, Utah placed two typicals in the book, and Arizona put two massive non-typical trophies in the decade's top 10. There were also some big bucks from states like Kansas that have always been considered on the fringe of mule deer range. Bottom line, over the last 10 years, no one state consistently put mule deer bucks in the book year after year. During the same time period, hundreds of whitetails made the book, compared to the handful of mule deer entries. Taking a trophy class mule deer has become one of the biggest challenges in western North America. <BR><BR> For this fall, your two best options are hunts in <A href="http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Idaho</A> and <A href="http://wildlife.state.co.us/Pages/Home.aspx" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Colorado</A>. Idaho still holds quality bucks. As a B&C Official Measurer, I recently scored a 204 typical buck and a 235 non-typical, both from southern Idaho. May is the application month for Controlled Deer and Elk hunts in Idaho, and the best and biggest bucks consistently come from controlled hunt units. Idaho is one of the few states without a points system. So, everyone has the same chance of drawing a controlled hunt tag. However, only 10 percent of the controlled hunt permits are available to nonresidents, and you have to buy a nonrefundable hunting license ($154.75 for a nonresident), to put in for the draw. If drawn, the tag is $301.75. Fees and instructions on how to apply are available at <A href="http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/huntplanner/huntplanner.aspx" rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/huntplanner/huntplanner.aspx</A> .....<BR> The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=798 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=808 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=808 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=810 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=810 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=814 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=814 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=809 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=809 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=811 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=811 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=812 The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=812 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=804 Good news about good hunts is always better than bad news and, given the recent reports of scam hunts in central Europe, we welcomed two very positive subscriber reports from that area. Jens Valdemar Krenchel and Brian Gooding both hunted in <STRONG>Romania</STRONG> but with different outfitters, and both recommend the hunts without reservation. <BR><BR>Hunters looking for a European wolf take note: Krenchel, who hails from Denmark, tells us he found an outstanding operation in the Covasna area of Romania, roughly 100 miles north of Bucharest, where he hunted this past January with outfitter Kiss Attila of <A href="http://www.transylvaniahunt.ro/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Transylvaniahunt</A>. He booked his hunt through the Austrian agency Mistral Jagreisen. <BR><BR>Krenchel reports: "This is my fifth wolf hunt; taking a wolf has been a life-long dream. After my previous experiences, stating that wolves are abundant sounds odd in my ears. But the number of wolves here was greater than any other area that I've hunted in Europe. Lots of tracks, lots of scat, lots of wolf kills, lots of wolves.....<BR><BR> The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=804 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=807 Subscriber David Bryer, who describes himself as an "intermediate-level deer hunter," tells us he found a place to sharpen his skills on mulies about two hours north of Billings, <STRONG>Montana</STRONG>. The outfit he hunted with is <A href="http://www.tchunting.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Twin Creek Ranch</A> (406-429-5615), and Bryer tells us that whitetails up to 180-class and mulies up to 200-class(!) were abundant on the property thanks to an long-term wildlife/habitat management program. Bryer also says that the food, accommodations and guiding were all excellent. <BR><BR>In a follow-up phone call at press time, Bryer told us his mule deer scored in the 180-class, and that he missed a much bigger trophy. Bryer tells us that hunters travel by ATV, glassing fields and then stalking on foot, and that most of the hunting is accessible to any physical ability...... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=807 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=805 Caribou opportunities have been shrinking in recent years especially in Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec (see the cover story in our December 2011 issue for more details). Farther west, Northwest Territories has had its share of difficulties (see article <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/article_details.cfm?ar_item=2449">2449 </A>in our Email Extra database). But still, we continue to receive enough reports (17 from hunts in 2011) to indicate that caribou are of interest to many hunters, either as primary quarry or as an add-on to a hunt for another trophy. <BR><BR>Parker Shipley recently sent us a report on a hunt in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) north of the Brooks Range, where barren-ground caribou were the primary target. Shipley hunted from August 21 to 30 with <A href="http://www.deltana.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Deltana Outfitters</A> (907-895-5006) and reports taking two trophy-quality bulls. <BR><BR>"This was a hunt I will never forget. A friend and I chose Deltana Outfitters for a fully-guided caribou hunt. After bad experiences with guides in both the Lower 48 and Alaska, we made sure we did our homework..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=805 http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=806 Still on the subject of <STRONG>Alaska</STRONG> caribou, subscriber Larry Seidler (<A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8452" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8452</A>) reports taking a trophy caribou while on a combo bear and 'bou hunt with <A href="http://www.theperrinsrainypasslodge.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Perrins Rainy Pass Lodge</A> (907-248-7599). He notes that one of the highlights of the hunt was "riding bareback to intercept caribou on the last day of the season." <BR><BR> In Canada, we received five entirely positive reports on caribou hunts taken in 2011 in <STRONG>Nunavut</STRONG>, with Ryan St. John of <A href="http://www.heniklakeadventures.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Henik Lake Adventures</A> (867-857-2587). Taken together, reports <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8346" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8346</A> by Jerry Goss, <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8347" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8347</A> by Douglas J. Beaudoin, <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8378" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8378</A> by Robert Di Pietro, <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8379" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8379</A> by James Carstens and <A href="http://www.huntingreport.com/email_extra/report_details.cfm?hr_item=8380" rel=nofollow target=_blank>8380</A> by Jonathan Warke paint a picture of three very successful hunting weeks. Gross completed his caribou slam here with his largest trophy; Warke took what he describes as a "giant" tundra wolf..... The May 2012 Issue Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=806