One night after my wife’s folks passed away unexpectedly exactly four months apart, my wife and I started talking about what we wanted to do before it was too late. On my list was an elk hunting trip in the mountains. I had hunted whitetail all of my life in Northern Minnesota, but I had always dreamed about a horseback mountain elk trip. The hunt itself was a dream, but my wife also suggested taking my two sons who had hunted with me their entire lives. After some discussion about this trip and the financial aspects, we decided to give this as a gift to our boys. They jumped at the chance to participate. Starting to do research on taking a trip like this took me to my Huntin’ Fool membership. I had subscribed for a few years but hadn’t used any of the services offered, I’d only read the stories.
At 62 years old, I knew I didn’t have time to learn all the things needed for a self-guided trip, so I decided an outfitter was the way to go for us. I started talking with different people who had been on outfitter trips with some of them not happy with the experience. One day as I was reading my Huntin’ Fool magazine, I found out that they would help with recommending an outfitter. I called and talked to a very helpful lady, and she suggested I talk to Isaiah Joner. I left a message for him, and he called me back a few days later. We discussed what type of trip I was looking for and what my expectations were for elk size. I told him that I would like a horseback mountain experience with my two boys. Being as it was our first elk trip, I wasn’t concerned about shooting a record book elk but wanted a good overall experience. He asked a few more questions and said he would email me a list of outfitters that would fit my requirements.
I received an email with six outfitters in three different states, and I decided to call Randy Petrich with Rising Son Outfitters out of Montana. After discussing it with Randy, I decided to proceed. He sent me a list of references, and two of them were within 75 miles of where I lived in Minnesota. I contacted both of them, and they had nothing but glowing reviews. They had used Rising Son Outfitters numerous times, so I booked a hunt and started saving money.
The two years flew by, and on November 21st, we were at the ranch, ready for my dream trip. Our guide, Zane Petrich, would be guiding the three of us as we wanted to hunt together. The first day before riding up the mountain, I told the boys we would draw straws to see who got to shoot first. They refused to draw and said I was the one who would shoot first.
Zane said it was a strange fall as they didn’t have much snow up high on the mountains, so we would have to ride up a little higher than usual. The first three days were a little slow for seeing elk because of the weather and wind direction. We also had deer tags in our pockets, so one day when we were riding down the mountain because the wind wasn’t right, Zane’s brother, Zander, spotted a nice 10-point whitetail buck bedded down. We made a stalk on it, and I was lucky enough to harvest it.
The next day was Thanksgiving, which turned out to be a truly thankful day for me. The wind was blowing left to right at 20-25 mph as we slipped over the ridge. Standing 150 yards away were 12 bull elk feeding their way up the ravine.
I whispered to Zane, “Which one should I shoot?”
He replied, “None of those. They are 5x5s or smaller. Look across the ravine.”
Following his gaze, I noted on the ridge three more bull elk. Zane said the last one was a shooter and was at 343 yards. I was shooting my Browning .300 Win Mag zeroed at 200 yards.
I whispered to Zane, “I don’t think I can shoot that far.”
He calmly told me, “I saw you shoot that whitetail yesterday at 230 yards. Just aim four inches higher, and don’t worry about the wind.”
I was laying prone with my gun resting on Zane’s backpack, so I squeezed a shot off and the elk just stood there. I whispered to Zane, “I think I missed.”
“No, you didn’t. Shoot again.”
I shot again, and the elk stood still. Now I was convinced I had missed both times, but Zane seemed confident I was good. Finally, the elk started walking and looked a little weak, but Zane said, “Shoot again.” He didn’t want the elk to get over the ridge into the next valley. I took my time and shot again. Finally, this beautiful creature fell. I was relieved for a moment, but then it started to slide down the side of the ridge and out of sight.
After confirming it was down, we mounted the horses and rode around the ridge and up the ravine. This was the moment I put my hands on the most majestic animal I had ever seen. There were three bullets in that big elk, proving to me how tough these animals are.
It was such a fantastic experience for me, but it was even better that I got to share it with my boys. The trip got even better because both of my sons shot a nice whitetail buck, and the last day we were there, Zane took my son, Sean, and I out and found a bedded bull, which Sean harvested, and it is a story in and of itself. Randy took my other son, and he harvested a cow elk. We filled our tags and brought home some very fine meat, which we have shared with many.
That was probably the best week of my life with my sons. Not only was the hunting great, but we rode horses together every day, experienced the mountains, and also helped on a cattle drive. The resounding thought I had during those days was that life was pretty darn good.
None of this would have been possible without the wonderful people who make up Rising Sons Outfitters. Randy and Zander were super helpful with everything. Zane was very knowledgeable, but most of all, he was very patient to three whitetail, first-time elk hunters from Minnesota. In fact, it was such a good trip that we signed up for a backcountry archery trip in 2023. Thanks again to Isaiah Joner for his expertise and Huntin’ Fool for offering this service.
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