In 1996 I did not draw an elk tag for the Paintrock Adventure's area, however I did draw a mule deer buck tag. I was one of the lucky few who got to hunt the 1996 season for mule deer bucks on the private ranch. The reason for this is that the properties are managed for quality, only a predetermined number of hunters are taken each year to assure the high trophy caliber.

Like my elk hunt, the Paintrock folks delivered equal too or more compared to my hunt in 1995. In sum, here is what you can expect. 

1. Whether you are in the rustic camp or semi rustic camp, long before day light Todd Jones wakes you up by stoking your tent wood stove and placing a hot cup of coffee into your hand before you get out of bed. 

2. The guides work hard for you from before daylight to dark. (My experience with several other outfitters has been that the guides get burnt out during the season. The guide won't sit in one place all afternoon so that the hunter can glass and the guide can nap.) Furthermore, the Paintrock guides sole job in camp is to guide, they are not running chores or cooking thus they are focused on hunting. If a particular guide does not have a hunter on a particular day, the guide does not sleep the day a way instead, he goes out scouting. 

3. The Paintrock folks want you to have a good time so don't try to help and wash the dishes-- they will in a very nice way stop you (i.e., They will not let you do their work.) To the surprise of anybody who has hunted with many outfitters you will find out that Paintrock Adventures is very well organized. You will find that the camp cook is actually interested in cooking and has a typed written menu for every meal. The cook knows in advance what you do and do not like to eat. It is this attention to detail that made me very comfortable and maintained the focus on me and my hunt.

4. You can expect great hunting, I saw over 45 buck mule deer before I killed my 4x5 mule deer this year. By the way every other day I saw branched antlered elk that I could have shot if I had an elk tag. 

5. Once I filled my tag, the Paintrock people did not ignore me, as often happened to me with other outfitters. I had two days before I departed and the Paintrock staff did everything they could to entertain me. I asked to go coyote hunting and elk scouting, they guided me with the same enthusiasm as if I had an elk tag. (By the way, we saw three mule deer bigger than the one I got, so there is at least one left for you.) The next day we went on a horseback fishing trip where even I hooked a nice cutthroat in every other hole. 

6. The Paintrock people keep in contact with you after you leave not only to tell you who got what after you left but throughout the year. This is key, from this contact you can tell that the Paintrock people actually do scout year round. Now, you will be damn hard pressed to find many outfitters who really do scout in the off season.

Leonard George