SCOTT BOULANGER - CONFESSIONS OF AN ELK-HUNTING OUTFITTER

Guided Hunt or Weeklong Camping Trip

Editor's Note: Thirty-eight-year-old Scott Boulanger, an outfitter from Darby, Montana, a guide and instructor at Circle KBL, has a very busy hunting schedule, including guiding for elk, deer, bear and mountain lion. Success on a Boulanger hunt depends on the weather, the physical condition of the hunter, the hunter's willingness to hunt and a little good luck. This week Boulanger shares with us anecdotes from his vast experience as an elk outfitter.

Question: Please explain what you mean when you say that some hunters won't hunt.
Answer: Last week we had six, older, heavy set hunters from the East. I got into camp on the third night. The next morning I was trying to get everybody ready to go out hunting. I told them, "You guys have to go. Breakfast is done. Dishes are done. It's time to go." The guys just stood there saying, "Oh, we're coming. What can we do today?" Well, I lined them up to hunt off of a ridge. I told them a horse would drop them off to hunt down in there. Two guys refused saying, "That is too steep. I don't think that is safe enough."

Now we are talking about timber, not a rock bluff, just a timber draw. "Maybe I can just sit somewhere." Well, all right you can go out and sit and watch these meadows. "Well, I don't really want to sit, it is too cold." Well, we can hike. "I get so sweated up, but I really want to hunt." Well, we can do the horse taxicab thing today. "My butt and legs are kind of sore from that ride in two days ago. I don't know what we are going to do. Maybe we will just hike around camp for a little while." They basically never got more than quarter to half a mile from camp the entire week. A couple of the guys went down into some heavier timber, but they came back. They had no complaints with us, but were disappointed in themselves. We basically took them on a week-long winter camping trip. The problem was that they didn't grasp that this was a tough hunt.

Once in a while, you will get revitalized. We had a guy come out on crutches. He had a disease on his spinal cord and couldn't get around at all, but he had the desire, the heart and the attitude. He had no feeling in his legs, so he was a terrible mount, and fell off his horse about 10 times. He would just roll in the snow, get back up, laugh, pick up his crutches and get back on. He hunted as much as he could.

So many hunters, like we were talking about earlier, on the second day of the hunt say, "Scott, I'm disappointed. We haven't seen an elk yet." I have to remind them, "You have only hunted for two days. There is a lot of country out there, and those elk are spread out." Some only last one day. They'll say, "We can't do it. It's too hard."

For more information on hunting elk, contact Scott Boulanger with Circle KBL Outfitters at P.O. Box 733, Darby, Montana, 59829; (406) 821-0017; email: elkhunter@circlekbl.com or visit the Web site at www.circlekbl.com.

TOMORROW: GETTING THE HUNTERS TO HUNT