by J. T. Petrie, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep Life Member
"My sincere thanks to all who contributed in putting this hunting opportunity together and for all the effort that help make FNAWS the great organization it is."
"Christmas 1999, was a great one for me
for several reasons. First of all, my entire family;
children, grandchildren and all were home
for the holidays. Secondly, not only did my
kids give me the Doug Eck Dall sheep bronze
desk set, my wife gave me a life membership
to FNAWS. My wife and I attended the show
in Reno in January, and at the Saturday Banquet,
my name was drawn as the winner of
the new life member elk hunt with Edwin
Johnson in Gardiner, Montana.When I returned to my seat after shaking hands and getting my picture taken their was some guy sitting in my chair, cutting my steak and chatting amiably with my wife. He looked up and said, 'Congratulations on winning the hunt, and oh, by the way you're going to need another steak!'
It turned out to be my hunting partner for the hunt, Astronaut General Joe Engle. Joe is a terrific guy, during the hunt we began a friendship that I hope lasts for many years to come. Getting the chance to hunt with Joe was certainly a highlight of my trip.
The hunt itself took place in mid November on the Royal Teton Ranch. The Royal Teton is a beautiful 10,000 acre ranch that has a common boundary with Yellowstone National Park and when the weather is right, there are hundreds of elk migrating in and out of the park. I got lucky again as the weather this year produced early snows that brought elk down out of the high country.
During my hunt the weather was perfect with daytime temperatures in the 30's and below 0 at night. I arrived in Gardiner, Montana on November 16th and checked in at Beede's Yellowstone Resort. Bob and Shelly Beede run a first class resort operation with fine accommodations and great family style meals. They and their entire staff are willing to please in any way possible.
Edwin had 9 other hunters in camp that week, and after checking our licenses, etc. we all sat down to dinner and anxiously awaited the next morning's hunt. At breakfast Joe and I met our guide, Arlyn Creek, a young man of 19, who as it turned out guided his hunters to the most number of bulls for the year. We discussed our game plan for the hunt and for the next 3 days searched the ranch for the right bull. Joe took his bull on the 3rd morning and my turn came the next day.
The evening of the 3rd day we made a climb to check out an area toward the back of the ranch for fresh sign. We found quite a bit and decided to return the next morning and be in position at first light. We knew that we'd have to leave camp earlier than normal to get to the top of the ridge by the legal shooting time of 7:00 a.m.
After an early breakfast Joe, Arlyn, and I started for the top. After about an hour we were almost in position so we stopped to catch our breath before we topped out. When we reached the crest we looked over and saw 4, 6x6 bulls feeding in the timber below while slowly making their way back toward the park. One of them had us spotted so the decision had to be made quickly, but it really wasn't a difficult choice since one of the bulls was clearly bigger than the rest with wide sweeping antlers.
Since we were caught out in the open, I had no choice but to sit down, rest on my knee and take the 225 yard shot. I shot my Weatherby 7mm and the big bull collapsed. With that the high fives and hugging began! As we approached the bull, Arlyn kept saying, 'You just shot one helluva bull!' Never having hunted elk before I wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the animal, and the antlers were just as big as I had seen in all the magazines. The bull was a big 6 x 6, and more than I ever expected.
As I reached the bull it started to snow and as I looked around I thought about how blessed I was to be there. I was in a beautiful setting in the high country of Montana, standing next to a true trophy animal, and sharing it with 2 new friends.
My sincere thanks to Edwin Johnson who has generously donated this hunt for many years to help promote new life memberships to FNAWS. He runs an excellent operation on a great ranch with a lot of elk. The Royal Teton is one of the premier places in the country to hunt free ranging elk in their natural habitat.
On this hunt the harvest was; two spikes for meat, one 5 x 5, 5, 6 x 6's and a 7 x 6 that scored 364 5/8. On the next hunt Arlyn wrote me that one of his hunters took a 6 x 6 that scored 378 3/8. I would also like to thank General Joe Engle for co-hosting this hunt. Believe me, getting the chance to hunt and spend time with General Engle is worth the trip in itself.
Also, I got the opportunity to meet and have dinner with General Chuck Yeager who was co-hosting the next hunt that Edwin donated to SCI. This was a first class hunt in every aspect, and I encourage all members of FNAWS to consider upgrading their membership to the life member status so that their name might be drawn as the next winner of this fantastic hunting opportunity.
And finally, thanks very much to my wife, Mary, for a great Christmas gift."
J. T. Petrie, Life Member
Sweetwater, Texas
