News – Montana Wounded Warriors

November 20 2020

Twin Bridges 2020

In this crazy year of shutdowns, closers, masks, and social distancing, members of the Montana Wounded Warrior team headed to Twin Bridges, Montana for some Whitetail hunting. A special thank you to KC and crew at the Kennedy Ranch. The whitetail’s were plentiful, the guiding was outstanding, and the weather was perfect. The Ruby Drake Lodge was the site of the first class accommodations. Steve and Pete worked tirelessly keeping the team fed and comfortable. Montana Wounded Warriors Mike Mestas, Daniel Wilmont, and John Yeager, joined board members Craig Greenlee and Mike Sedgwick on this trip.

November 6 2020

Dillon 2020

Montana Wounded Warriors took three hunters to the Schuett Farms in Dillon MT where we have had great success hunting elk in the past. This year was no different. Each of our hunters took a cow elk, and multiple deer. Blade Schuett was our guide and once again he provided a quality hunt. Jason Baker also got one of our hunters on some water fowl. The vets who came this year were Aaron Blaine, Damon Lightfoot, and Luke Thomasson. We are so grateful to David and Shelli Schuett who continue to allow us to hunt on their farms. We would also like to thank Justin and Sarah Hartman, owners of the Expedition Lodge, who graciously donated their wonderful accommodations for our vets.

June 13 2020

Big Timber Fishing Trip 2020

Montana Wounded Warriors had the privilege, once again, to have a couples fishing trip at the Riverstone Lodge in McCleod. MTWW’s Nathan Pross, Mike Kuntz, and Scott Parsneau, along with their better halves ;), as well as Board Member Neil Baumann and his lovely wife were truly blessed by the hospitality of the lodge’s managers Craig and Deb Greenlee and their staff. The food and lodging were excellent.

The first two days of fly fishing were challenging, with steady winds of 20-30 mph and gusts much higher. Still everyone caught fish as well as a sun/windburn. The last day we were there, some of the group went to the Natural Bridge for a short hike while others fished the lakes on the property. Everyone had a wonderful time and we can’t thank CVR Energy and its owner Carl Icahn enough for the wonderful opportunity they have blessed us with over the past three years.

May 18 2020

Spotted Bear, South Fork Bear Hunt 2020

Once again, Lisa and Bill of the Diamond R Guest Ranch welcomed Montana Wounded Warriors Tyler Tummons and Scott Larkin, as well as guide Jesse Shively and MTWW Board Member Bob Lilienthal. As usual, our hosts provided great lodging and wonderful meals in an absolutely stunning setting. Our MTWW’s are always amazed at the beauty and solitude of the surroundings. Unfortunately, partially due to the moist weather and numerous grizzly bear sightings, our hunters were unable to harvest any black bears. They hunted very hard and often, under the guidance of Jesse, but the critters did not cooperate. In spite of this, everyone had a great time and sincerely appreciated the hard work and hospitality provided by our Diamond R hosts.

January 1 2020

Florence Elk Hunt 2019

Over the summer, Montana Wounded Warriors was contacted by Jake Jourdonnais, a retired marine from Bozeman. He said that if we were interested, he could get a couple of our vets access to hunt cow elk on the MPG Ranch in Florence, MT during the shoulder season. Jake was able to take Kevin Martin and Brandon LaRocque, who each harvested a cow elk on this beautiful ranch. We would like to thank Jake and his dad, Craig, the manager of the MPG, for the wonderful opportunity they provided for our vets.

November 24 2019

Twin Bridges 2019

Another great trip to Twin Bridges whitetail hunting on the Trailsend Ranch. Todd Bucher, Josh Cota, and Dan Kerpa harvested these wonderful bucks as well as several whitetail does. Huge thank you to Casey and Adam for getting us on the deer and another huge thank you to the Ruby Drake Lodge, Pete and Steve Bartowski for awesome lodging and the best food a person can eat. Great hospitality and friendship for sure.

November 15 2019

Grass Range Bull Elk Hunt 2019

Opening weekend, one of our Wounded Vets, Mac Vosbeck, was given a chance to fill a bull elk tag that he had drawn for hunting district 411 in the Grass Range area. Dan & Macie Ahlgren opened their home to Mac and board member Neil Baumann. They were able to see a bull right out of the gate the first morning, but by the time they had an opportunity to shoot, he disappeared. The weather was blustery, and the rest of the weekend they were unable to locate any elk.

Mac didn’t give up though. Two weeks later, Mike McGouldrick joined Mac Vosbeck as Dan & Macie invited them to their home once again. Mac got his bull elk and both Mac and Mike got two really nice mule deer bucks. Another awesome and successful hunt with Montana Wounded Warriors. Thanks again to Dan and Macie Ahlgren for their wonderful hospitality and for supporting our Wounded Vets.

November 9 2019

Fort Peck Mule Deer 2019

We had a great group of Montana Wounded Warriors that participated in our Mule Deer hunt at Fort Peck Hotel in November of 2019. They included Dev Stutsman, Bill Austin, George Burke and Dustin Hostetler along with MTWW board assistant Fred Ricketts. Our host, Carl Mann, the owner of the Fort Peck Hotel, and the 2 guides, Jesse and Caleb, assisted our hunters on a Great Mule Deer hunt. The weather was good for the 1^st three days of our hunt, but Sunday we woke up to 5 – 6 inches of snow.

Dev got his deer on the 1^st day so Fred took him out for a little Pheasant hunting on Friday. Great weather and a lot of walking. Birds flew ahead of us just out of shooting range, but it was fun seeing Gunner, Fred’s Griffon, go after them. By Saturday everyone had gotten their deer. Carl and the guides took the vets out goose hunting on Sunday. The goose migration was in full force. The Wounded Warriors got a lot of chances at the geese with a few hits and a lot of misses as the geese flew off the river. It was a fun time in the snow trying to harvest the geese.

Everyone had a great trip spending time with each other and enjoying the hospitality of Carl and Linda. Special thanks to Linda who was up each day at 4:00 AM cooking breakfast for the whole group.

Thanks to all that participated…

Fred Ricketts, Board Assistant

Fort Peck Nov-2019 - Dustin Hostetler -1

Fort Peck Nov-2019 - George Burk -1s copy

November 5 2019

Dillon Elk Hunt 2019 Part 2

Montana Wounded Warriors took five hunters to one of the best places to hunt elk in Dillon, MT – Schuett Farms. Over the course of 4 days of hunting, our hunters harvested 5 elk and 12 deer. This year the bulls were more elusive than in the past, resulting in 4 cows and one bull being harvested. Blade Schuett was our guide and once again he provided a quality hunt. The vets who came this year were Kevin Chasson, Chad Kiernan, Randy Hagerman, Jeremiah Wright, and Clint Moore. We are so grateful to David and Shelli Schuett who continue to allow us to hunt on their farms. We would also like to thank Justin Hartman, owner of the Expedition Lodge, who graciously donates his wonderful accommodations for our vets.

November 1 2019

Big Sandy Hunt 2019

This year our hunt at the AG Ranch was a memorial tribute to Charlie Rogoness, a good friend of ranch owners Alan and Gale Peterson. Alan and Gale rolled out the red carpet for us yet again. It was truly one to go down into the books. Montana Wounded Warriors Clint Mainwaring, Joe Horner, and I were lucky enough to be a helping hand for a veteran and his wife that harvested a beautiful big horn sheep. They had been applying for a tag for 42 years. In addition, after doing lots of spotting for the right animals, Clint was able to harvest a great mule deer. Joe had a day above all days, harvesting his big horn sheep ewe and a great muley buck in about 2 hours. With the vet’s tags filled, Clint and I were able to help another one of Alan’s friends with a big mature muley buck. With all the success of everyone else, I was able to take a day and see what I could stir up. After an entire day of glassing and just not finding a mature deer, we decided to start heading back to the ranch house, taking a slight detour on the way back to spot a deep draw that was calling my name. I was lucky enough to take the biggest buck of my life!! It had 9 scoring points on one side and 8 on the other! I cannot say enough about how lucky I am to be able to give back, helping my “brothers and sisters in arms” doing something that I absolutely love. We “Montana Wounded Warriors” are extremely fortunate to have great friends like Alan and Gale Peterson that always go above and beyond with our hunts at their absolutely amazing ranch! Thank you all for allowing us to continue to helping veterans recover in our amazing wilderness. Mackay Mathiason