Huntguide.Com Visits Rebel Outfitting

Planning for my trip with Rebel Outfitting began in February of 2003. Rebel Outfitting is managed by Rebel and Holly Carr. Holly contacted me and indicated they would be interested in having Huntguide.com visit their operation and do an article about the hunt. It has been 10 years since I last visited Montana on a hunting trip so I was very anxious to return. Holly worked with me to coordinate and submit the necessary license information for my upcoming hunt. One of the nice things about hunting in the state of Montana is their “GUARANTED TAGS ” for elk and deer hunts. This eliminates the hassle of trying to plan a trip and then worry about getting a license.

My hunt was the opening week of rifle season, which began Sunday 10/26. Holly was waiting for me at the Missoula airport when I arrived. We made the 1-hour drive north to where I would be staying for the week. On the drive up I was able to gain helpful information from Holly. Rebel has been guiding for 17 years. Their own guiding business has been in operation for 11 years. The land they hunt is a managed 500,000-acre area of land that is reserved for hunting by 11 different outfitters.

Their specialty is Mountain Lion hunts but they also enjoy outfitting for Deer, Bear and Elk. Success rates over the last several years on Mountain Lion are 80%, Mule Deer 60%, Bear 70% and Elk 17 – 20%. Holly was able to negotiate a very good rate at a local resort complete with a heated pool and hot spring sauna. Depending on your budget various lodging options are available. Holly will coordinate lodging at your place of choice. Lodging and meals are not included in their base price.

Opening day proved to be a challenging day with Mother Nature having the upper hand. We decided to hunt on foot and spend the day taking a 5 – 6 mile hike through seldom-hunted rather extreme terrain that often held both elk and mule deer. We started at daylight and proceeded to hunt some of the most beautiful but rugged terrain that I have ever experienced. If you plan on hunting on foot in this area high quality, aggressive traction boots are a must! The terrain is steep and in many places rocky. By midday , the temperatures soared into the mid 70's. We did manage to see plenty of fresh sign but understandably, the animals were not at all on the move in this type of heat. Still it was a rewarding day. We did manage to see one small whitetail buck at the end of the day. That evening I was very glad the resort had a hot spring my legs really needed it.

Monday the weather cooled slightly but still reached the upper 60's in the afternoon. We started to hunt using horses. This was my third horseback hunt and I do have to say that Rebel's horses are the best that I ever ridden. They are easy to ride and very laid back. We rode about 5 miles and then I “still hunted” a 3 mile stretch back to the logging road where Rebel met me with the truck. We ended up only seeing 4 mule deer doe and a few whitetail doe that day. The weather was still too warm for the game to be on the move. Tuesday brought the front edge of a cold front moving in with steady rain most of the day. We hunted hard, horseback riding between 14 and 16 miles. The change in weather finally got the animals moving. We saw 22 mule deer doe, 3 whitetail doe and one small whitetail buck.

By Wednesday, the weather turned sharply colder with snow and fog arriving in the mountains. The combination of poor visibility in the mountains coupled with my legs needing a break made Wednesday the ideal day for a Buffalo hunt. I have never hunted a buffalo plus I have heard that the venison is very tasty. Rebel has access to a private 6500-acre ranch that has a managed herd of between 350 and 400 buffalo. This is a great way to add variety to a hunting trip and bring home some of the best tasting venison possible. Soon after entering the ranch we spotted a herd of about 25 animals. After looking them over closely, there was a nice mature bull in this group. I made a short stalk easing into position about 80 yards away. One well-placed shot with my 300 Weatherby magnum did the trick. The animal staggered and fell to the ground within a few seconds. As you can see from the photos, it was a mature bull, approximately 5 years of age, weighing in at approximately 1200 pounds.

The nice thing about these buffalo hunts is the way Rebel handles all the details. Coordinating the hunt, field dressing the animal, transporting it to a local meat processing plant. The meat processing plant will then work with you to process the animal to your specifications and ship it right to your front door. Depending on the size of the Buffalo you wish to harvest, these hunts cost between $900.00 and 1700.00. Definitely something to consider when you hunt with Rebel!

Thursday we were returned to the mountains to focus on trying for a mature mule deer buck. The weather was now winter-like. Three inches of fresh snow blanketed the timber and made for a very scenic day in the woods. The morning started with the sighting of a few mule deer doe. Then later that morning suddenly I had an opportunity. We spotted 3 mule deer bucks feeding in the timber about 80 yards above us. I approached slowly with the powder snow keeping my sound to a minimum. As I got closer I was able to glass all 3 mule deer bucks. A spike, a small fork horned 2 point and a young 3 by 4 were all feeding together.

I watched these bucks for a few minutes then suddenly spotted the body of a fourth, much larger bodied deer. I waited and maneuvered quietly trying to get a look the deer's head. Finally he turned giving me a quick glance at his rack. Instantly I knew it was a shooter buck. Even though he was only 75 yards away, there was no way to get a good shot. I scrambled to a near by tree in an effort to find an opening. As the buck passed, I got a good look at the one side of his rack. He had at least 6 typical points on his right side, with numerous “non-typical” points extending from the top his rack. The color of his horns was a dark chocolate brown with exceptional mass. Unfortunately, the buck seemed to know just where to walk and never give me a shot. We tried but were unable to head him off crossing at a near by clear-cut. Even though I never fired, a shot is was definitely one of those magical moments you encounter in the woods. A true trophy animal, so close but yet so far.

As we rode our horses back to the truck, we would have one more brief opportunity. With the day ending both Rebel and I were still thinking about that monster mule deer buck that earlier slipped away. We were walking the horses giving them a break and not paying as much attention as we should. Rebel spotted a whitetail doe. Then as luck would have it, from nowhere there stood a true monster whitetail buck. Rebel has been hunting the mountains of Montana for over 20 years. He said by far it was the biggest whitetail buck he had ever seen. We got too close too fast; by the time I retrieved my rifle from the horse and got in position all I could see was the tail and massive rack bounding down the steep mountain slope. Another close call but unable to fire a shot.

The last two days were extremely cold. Lows in the mountains about below zero, highs barely reaching 20 degrees. Each day we rode between 15 and 17 miles on horseback. On Friday, we saw 21 mule deer doe and a small mule deer buck. On Saturday we saw 25 mule deer doe and 3 young mule deer bucks. No more opportunities at a “shooter mulie” presented itself.

As the hunt ended, I sincerely thanked Rebel for a great hunt. Even though I wasn't lucky enough to take a mule deer or an elk it truly was a very enjoyable hunt. This is not your typical mule deer hunt. The terrain is scenic but very rugged. Hunting mulies in the heavy timber is much different than hunting them in the rolling hills of sagebrush that you find in many other states. You don't see quite as many animals on this type of hunt simply because you can't see nearly as far in the mountains. Once the weather cooperated, we did see 20 – 30 animals per day. The hunt is also remote. The days we hunted on horseback we never encountered even a glimpse of another hunter.

The thing I enjoyed most about hunting with Rebel was the personalization on his hunt. There are numerous other outfitters in the area who charge substantially more than Rebel. On top of this, they take more hunters and don't offer the personalized service that I enjoyed. Rebel will taylor the hunt to your individual hunting needs and ability. If you can hunt hard and walk 10 miles a day in the woods he will. If you enjoy hunting on horseback and cad ride 15 – 20 miles a day you will. If you are not in the best of shape and can only hunt a half day and wish to spend the remainder of the day glassing from numerous logging roads he can do that. The most important thing to me about Rebel is his hard working attitude and the personal pride he takes in giving you the best possible hunt. He will literally do everything and anything he can to ensure you have an enjoyable hunt!

If you are looking for a hunt in the big mountains of North Western Montana, give Rebel a call. You will be glad you did!

 

If you have any detailed questions about this hunt feel free to drop me an email at dlatsha@aol.com . Or feel free to call me as a reference.

Denny Latsha
Huntguide.Com
717-651-9088