SCOTT BOULANGER - CONFESSIONS OF AN ELK-HUNTING OUTFITTER

What You Can Expect With Circle KBL Outfitters

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: What should someone expect from you, when booking an elk hunt?
Answer: He should expect good service because we are in the service business. We structure our hunts to each individual. I always guarantee a warm bed, a full belly and a good hunt because those are the things I have control over. I guarantee I will do as much as I can to control the things I can. The trucks are maintained, and the stock is well-fed and well- shod. The saddle you are riding has been maintained properly, with new strings, relined and re-oiled. All of the ropes are fixed, and after the winter, we hang up the tents and then every spring they are patched. Those are the things I can control. There will be a big pile of firewood in the camp and a big pile of groceries on the table every night. Breakfast is ready two hours before daylight. Those things I will guarantee. I cannot control the climate. Earlier this year it went from 10 below to 50 degrees within a week. The elk quit moving and hit heavy timber. In addition, the elk do not care about your social status. He doesn't care how much money you have, what kind of gun you shoot or where you went to college. Elk hunting may be fun and games for you, but it is life and death for him.

So you ask me, what they can expect from us? We give them a whole week full of hunting for regardless of how long they stay, whether it be 10 days, seven days, two weeks, five days; we will just hunt their bodies off.

The same is true with our cougar hunts. People ask if we guarantee a cat. I tell them, "No, but I do guarantee that I'm going to hunt your body off for six days solid. We will be out there every morning at 2 a.m., and we will hunt till 2 in the afternoon. We may take a big tom the first day or not catch one at all." They will then ask me, "Well, if we don't take one, can I come back for free?" I always reply, "No. I'm selling you the hunt, not the animal. Before you get here, all of the snowmobiles will be running and tuned-up. All of my radio tracking boxes are charged. All of the dogs have been exercised all summer long. We just finished fall bear hunting in Idaho, so we are ready. I will tell you I'll pick you up at the airport at 1:15, and I will be there. When we pull in here there will be dinner on the table, and the cook will have lunches made for the next day. We are going to hunt and hunt. That, I can guarantee."

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.