Client Review: Self Guided Mule Deer Drop Hunt

I would like to tell everyone about our wonderful experience with Outdoors International’s Partner Outfitter. As non residents from Virginia, we put in for the early season unit 39 controlled mule deer hunt. In the two previous years, we were DIY (DO-IT-YOURSELF) hunters in western Wyoming. We put in extensive Internet research and talked with several of the Idaho game biologists to come up with this draw hunt. In talking with the biologists, they suggested using an outfitter to get far in the back country of the Sawtooth Wilderness as possible. This is when we contacted Outdoors International and boy are we glad of that initial phone call. We knew from the very first conversation that these were our guys. We wanted this to be a self guided hunt and they accommodated our ever need.

It began with a long horseback ride into the Sawtooth Wilderness (about 10 hours). The outfitter put us in a spot that had been previously hunted and scouted earlier in the year. He willingly went over Topo maps with us and made us feel right at home. Brian Sullivan killed a 21 inch muley on the first day and Denny Clatterbuck killed a 25 inch heavy horned muley on the second day. Needless to say we were in mule deer haven and only two days had passed. Based on what had been killed and had been seen in those first few days, I had to pass on several decent mulies. Being a whitetail hunter from the east made it extremely difficult to pass up on deer over 20 inches wide. With 10 days still to hunt, I had high hopes of getting a nice one. A couple snow storms later in the week didn’t allow for hunting on two days due to visibility, but it was great hunting after the snow. I eventually had the opportunity to put on two stalks on two different exceptional deer. Both deer were in the 25-28 inch range. But as hunting goes, no shots were fired on either deer. The last stalk was in some steep and rugged terrain and I ran out of daylight. Even though I never fired a shot, the hunt was truly successful and unforgettable.

Based on our wonderful hunting experience, we decided to book a fully guided mule deer and elk hunt with the same Outfitter in the fall of 2007. I can’t wait to get there.
by Kenny Miller, Winchester, Virginia

If you are interested in a self guided mule deer hunt like this contact us