My name is Kent Stafford and I am very pleased to provide Dr. George Vogt a summary of my Elk Hunt in Canada.

Believe it or not, I bought my Elk hunt off of ebay. When I saw the description of the hunt I couldn't believe it. The description on ebay was guaranteeing a 6 x 6 mature Elk scoring a minimum of 340. I have always wanted to go Elk hunting but have never done so because I so seldom see them while deer hunting. I decided to go for it and to my surprise I was the highest bidder!

Dr. George Vogt called me the next day and informed me that he was looking forward to meeting me and that he was confident that I would enjoy my hunt. He answered all my questions and we spoke several times over the upcoming months as I thought of questions. I began counting the days until my scheduled hunt, which was to be in October 2001.

I booked my flight on Air Canada. I departed out of San Jose, California, had a short lay over in Calgary, Canada and then arrived in Lloydminster. I registered my rifle in Calgary and it took me about 20 minutes. Fortunately, Dr. George Vogt had sent me the forms in advance or it would have taken me another 15 minutes and I might have missed my connecting flight, so take that into account when booking your connections. You will also need to take approximately $50 Canadian for registering your rifle. Other than some soft drinks at the Airport, that was all the cash I needed.

Jan Alsager, my guide, met me at the Lloydminster airport. He drove me back to his new lodge in Maidstone where we had a home cooked dinner and talked about the next morning's hunt. Jan asked me if I was interested in an Elk larger than 340. He mentioned that he has Elk on his ranch that score in excess of 400. Jan added that there is however, an additional charge depending how much larger an animal I wanted over 340. After talking briefly about the price range I told him that this was my first Elk and that I would be very happy with getting anything in the 340 range. Jan told me he had just the one in mind for me and asked if I would like a 7 x 7. I told him you bet! Later in the evening I met Dr. George Vogt, a very friendly and knowledgeable individual. He asked how my trip was and we chatted for awhile. He gave me some advice to follow for the next morning's hunt; he said don't shoot the first one you see. Check them all out and take the one you really want. He said he wanted me to be happy with my hunt and the Elk I take home. I told him I would, specially knowing that I had 3 days to hunt.

The next morning I got up and had a continental breakfast with Dr. George Vogt, Jan, and several other hunters who were there hunting whitetail. We left the lodge around 8:00 a.m. Boy, talking about roughing it :-). Jan drove us over to a place where I was able to fire a few test rounds through my rifle to make sure it was still sighted in. We then drove several miles from his lodge to their hunting site. We got out and began walking around. The property was fairly flat with lots of trees and brush. We walked approximately 15 minutes before we saw the first Elk. It was a beautiful 6 x 6. He watched us for a minute or so and then ran off. We continued walking and began to see Elk after Elk, all of them big. I couldn't get over how big they were and the numbers. I had never seen so many Elk. As we continued, about 40 minutes into the walk, Jan stopped and pointed out a small heard of Elk and inside the herd was the one Jan had told me about. A beautiful 7 x 7. He asked if that one would make me happy. I said absolutely. He asked if I wanted to continue looking around and commented that we could come back this evening and check him out again. I replied, no, no, this one would make me a very very happy camper; I was ready to take him now. Jan said great and suggested that I take a shot at him from the knoll just to the right and in front of me. I laid down and put my scope on him right behind his front shoulder. I squeezed the trigger of my 7MM Mag and it found its mark. The bull elk walked about20 yards and stopped. Moments later he fell and never got up again. As we started walking up to him I couldn't get over how big he kept getting. He was a monster. Jan estimated he weighed about 1,100 pounds. Jan called his dad and within another 40 minutes he had reached us with his truck. Jan field dressed him and the two of them winched him onto the truck. I was already fantasizing about this big boy over my fireplace. What a dream come true. However, my elk hunt was now over, the first morning of the hunt.

As we headed back to the lodge, Jan asked me if I liked duck, geese, or varmint hunting, specifically coyote. I said sure. I wasn't much of a duck hunter but coyote hunting sounded fun. That afternoon Jan drove me into town where I bought four coyote tags for about $25 US. Jan then proceeded to take me every evening and morning for the remainder of the three days hunting coyote. It was a real kick. In the process of coyote hunting we probably drove 150 to 200 miles. We saw a half dozen or more coyotes and probably two dozen deer, some white tail and some mule deer. A couple of the deer, both whitetails, were monsters. I would have given anything to have had a license at the time. One was a non-typical 5 x 7; the other a typical, beautifully formed 5 x 5.

On the second day, Jan took me into town where we met with the manager of the local meat locker. The manager was very professional and walked me through all my options with regards to cuts of meat. He also gave me a hand full of differently prepared jerky and sausage to choose from. He explained how they prepare the meat for shipment and what I could expect when I picked up the meat at the local airport near home. As advertised, the meat showed up in excellent condition and hard as a rock.

As for my elk head, Jan showed me a pamphlet from Ram Taxidermy that included all the price information I needed. Jan added that the folks that own and operate this business have been in business for many years and are perfectionists; I would not be disappointed. It also helped that the price was right ($825 + $175 Canadian for crating and export permits). Jan took care of everything for me.

I must say, everything about the hunt was first class. If you want to take home a guaranteed monster elk or have an excellent chance at a monster deer. Canada is the place to go.