Snake River Scents,

Just a brief note to say thanks for the quality scent products. We harvested 2 nice bulls. 5 x 6 and a 6 x 6 late in our 1999 Colorado Archery Hunt. Both these bulls were harvested on public land and were non-guided hunts. My hunt conditions were as follows: I typically walk to within 300 yards of this particular elk stand, then "scent up" before walking my scent trail to my stand. This morning the winds were swirling and trying to set up at my back. a problem for the typical movement of elk for this stand. After I walked mv scent trail I moved to my stand and began to prepare my gear for a quick climb into the stand, my first elk tree stand by the way. On the platform I was arranging my pack when the scent stick popped out ...... I made a grab for it but only hit it with my hand sending it tumbling further from the base of my stand. I could still smell the scent from the day before on the tree so I decided to look for it later.

Within the next 3 hrs a number of bulls began bugling and moving around. They were within a 1/2 mile or so but not moving in my direction. By this time I was cold. the winds were at my back, not good, and I was thinking about bailing out to work the retreating bulls.

Before I could decide. I heard a bull "woof" somewhere behind me a few hundred yards. I responded with a small bull call. He bugled and then nothing.... A few minutes later I caught some movement to my right, dead down wind near my scent trail and walk-in trail to the stand.

A large cow appeared on my trail., with her head down working the trail. She following it to my turn point then looked behind her. A nice bull was following at about 75 yards, also working the trail. He stopped once to do a lip curl and almost silent "woof, woof, woof, woof. Now I though I was in trouble, animals down wind, on my trail which this part of the trail also servers as my access to the stand. I walk it a lot to my stand. They did not look the least bit concerned with the cow moving toward me, in the open, on the trail. She stopped on the dropped scent stick, 8 yards or so. After a few moments she slowly moved to cover behind my stand while the bull watched her. Finally the bull began to move on the trail toward my stand and again he stopped on the scent stick then moved out to a wallow at 18+- yards. As he moved broadside I drew and cow called, he stopped, I shot, he ran, double lung, 80 yards. As he trotted away I watched as his antlers slowly tilted to the right before going down. Nice 5 x 6 which should score near 300.

As a side note. the night before I harvested my bull, a hunting partner. 16 year old Dan Clum, stick bow shooter, harvcstcd a 6 x 6 using your products in combo with excellent hunting skills. I was not with him when he took his first elk but wish I was. Also for the record we had a number of additional elk encounters which did not present a shot.

The scents worked very well allowing me a good shot in poor wind conditions. I do not use a scent suit.

Thanks for the product.

Kim L. Herzfeldt