Hamilton Reef
10-15-2005, 09:00 AM
This is what money can buy outside of Michigan.
Lucky 7
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/112921683958590.xml&coll=5
Fenton Twp. hunter completes 'grand slam' of Alaska big game
FENTON TOWNSHIP THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
October 13, 2005 David V. Graham dgraham@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6306
FENTON TWP. - Rodney Mayner says he likes big game hunting for the adventure, the travel and the people he meets, but he also says he doesn't mind pulling the trigger, either.
Mayner, 46, a machine repairman at General Motors' Flint Engine South and a member of the Flint chapter of Safari Club International, has achieved the "grand slam" of major big game during his seven trips to Alaska, taking a grizzly, black bear, moose, caribou, Dall sheep and, last month, a mountain goat.
"The Dall sheep and the mountain goat were the toughest," he said, referring to the hours of mountain climbing on near-vertical slopes of rock, mostly shale.
The Dall sheep required a 24-hour hunt and haul-out that ended in two shots at 314 yards, measured with a range finder, he said.
Mayner said he and his guide were so wet with rain and sweat during the long hunt that at one point they stripped down to their underwear in order to dry their clothes.
That, of course, was when the big ram appeared about 600 yards away and they had to quickly throw their clothes back on for the long stalk.
The goat was taken Sept. 22 after Mayner and his guide sneaked down the mountain to try for a shot on a resting animal that was downhill from them, at least 600 yards away.
They got within 162 yards before Mayner took his one shot that "anchored" the goat, he said.
Mayner's 8-foot grizzly was taken during the 2001 hunt, after Mayner and his guide hiked for miles looking for a suitable bear.
He said the shot at more than 200 yards from one mountain slope to another was taken after a four-hour stalk that started when the bear was two miles away.
The following year, Mayner returned to Alaska to pursue moose and caribou. His guide called a large bull with a 60-inch rack out of a swamp and Mayner dropped him at a little more than 100 yards.
"I shot him through the lungs three times but he didn't fall for quite a while," he said.
"I didn't know they continue to stand even though they are technically dead on their feet."
Mayner said he brought the meat from all of his animals except the grizzly home, at considerable expense.
Somehow, along with the Alaskan trips, Mayner has also found time to take Michigan's largest bull elk in the Atlanta area in 2001, a big 6x6, along with other hunting trips to three Canadian provinces.
Mayner said he hasn't had all of his animals measured yet for the Safari Club record books, but he plans to get around to it someday.
Lucky 7
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/112921683958590.xml&coll=5
Fenton Twp. hunter completes 'grand slam' of Alaska big game
FENTON TOWNSHIP THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
October 13, 2005 David V. Graham dgraham@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6306
FENTON TWP. - Rodney Mayner says he likes big game hunting for the adventure, the travel and the people he meets, but he also says he doesn't mind pulling the trigger, either.
Mayner, 46, a machine repairman at General Motors' Flint Engine South and a member of the Flint chapter of Safari Club International, has achieved the "grand slam" of major big game during his seven trips to Alaska, taking a grizzly, black bear, moose, caribou, Dall sheep and, last month, a mountain goat.
"The Dall sheep and the mountain goat were the toughest," he said, referring to the hours of mountain climbing on near-vertical slopes of rock, mostly shale.
The Dall sheep required a 24-hour hunt and haul-out that ended in two shots at 314 yards, measured with a range finder, he said.
Mayner said he and his guide were so wet with rain and sweat during the long hunt that at one point they stripped down to their underwear in order to dry their clothes.
That, of course, was when the big ram appeared about 600 yards away and they had to quickly throw their clothes back on for the long stalk.
The goat was taken Sept. 22 after Mayner and his guide sneaked down the mountain to try for a shot on a resting animal that was downhill from them, at least 600 yards away.
They got within 162 yards before Mayner took his one shot that "anchored" the goat, he said.
Mayner's 8-foot grizzly was taken during the 2001 hunt, after Mayner and his guide hiked for miles looking for a suitable bear.
He said the shot at more than 200 yards from one mountain slope to another was taken after a four-hour stalk that started when the bear was two miles away.
The following year, Mayner returned to Alaska to pursue moose and caribou. His guide called a large bull with a 60-inch rack out of a swamp and Mayner dropped him at a little more than 100 yards.
"I shot him through the lungs three times but he didn't fall for quite a while," he said.
"I didn't know they continue to stand even though they are technically dead on their feet."
Mayner said he brought the meat from all of his animals except the grizzly home, at considerable expense.
Somehow, along with the Alaskan trips, Mayner has also found time to take Michigan's largest bull elk in the Atlanta area in 2001, a big 6x6, along with other hunting trips to three Canadian provinces.
Mayner said he hasn't had all of his animals measured yet for the Safari Club record books, but he plans to get around to it someday.