2009 Veterans’ Elk Hunt

Mike Mistelske

You’ll remember that for several months last year we requested nominations of US military combat veterans, from among whom two were selected at random for a free elk hunt in eastern Oklahoma. All of this was thanks primarily to the generosity of Jay and Melody Barczak of Wild Game Outfitters, currently operating on Duchess Creek Ranch, about 40 miles east of Henryetta. Jay and Melody donated the complete hunt—including the elk, lodging, and meals!

 

Our generous hosts for this special hunt…

Melody and Jay Barczak

Melody and Jay’s son Tim and daughter Felica also pitched in: Tim primarily in the field helping to guide, and Felica primarily helping her mom with the many chores in and around the house.

Our hunt location was the Duchess Creek Ranch, near Porum, Oklahoma

Other major contributors to this special outing included Paul Thomas of Thomas Meat Processing (Keefeton, OK); taxidermists Larry Garrett and Mooch Foreman of Gentry Creek Taxidermy (Checotah, OK); taxidermist Shannon Ostertag of Reflections Taxidermy (Monett, MO); the Tulsa Red Castle Gun Club; many members of the Oil Capital Rod and Gun Club; and Cabela’s. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation played a major role in promoting this event.

Our lucky veterans were recently-retired Colonel David Berry, a highly-decorated veteran of more than 40 years’ service in our armed forces, and Chris Whinery, a decorated veteran of over four years’ military service. Each veteran also chose a guest to bring with him: David selected his brother-in-law, John Cox; and Chris elected to bring his wife, Gennifer.

 

[left]
Outfitter/guide,
Jay Barczak

[center]
Veteran and eastern-Oklahoma resident,
Chris Whinery

[right]
Veteran and western-Oklahoma resident, Colonel David Berry

So….having made all the preparations, collected nominations for several months, exchanged scores of emails and phone calls, and coordinated the schedules of everyone involved, the appointed date on which to start the hunt finally arrived. No one developed a schedule conflict, and we all gathered at Duchess Creek Ranch exactly as planned. Great!

However, you’ll also remember the big ice storm that hit on January 26th. That just happened to be the first day of our hunt…and we happened to be in what at least seemed to be the epicenter of the storm!

The ice-encrusted forest was beautiful! However, this was intended to be primarily a spot-and-stalk hunt, which requires a certain degree of stealth. Duchess Creek Ranch is heavily wooded, and with the ice-covered branches bowed over until the ends of many branches—and even the tops of many smaller trees—were touching the ground, “quiet” simply did not exist. At its worst, the ice was so heavy that the cracking and breaking of branches had the elk so spooky that the most one might hope for was a fleeting glimpse as the elk nervously flitted away. The hunters’ ability to move around was severely hampered: it was all but impossible—and pretty dangerous—to try to walk through the forest, and even most of the 4WD trails were blocked by bent-over and broken branches.

But our intrepid guides and hunters carried on…even during the freezing rain.

Everyone saw elk, and there was one brief sighting of a wild hog. Getting a decent shot, however, was a different story. To make that long, wet, cold story a little shorter…one elk was taken, and one other only narrowly avoided a trip to the meat processor.

 

 

Veteran David Berry’s friend, John Cox, and his
hard-earned cow elk.

Many cows and bulls (and many whitetail deer) were seen in our three days.

 

 

In spite of the harsh conditions and the difficulty of bagging elk, everyone enjoyed themselves—thanks mostly to the Barczaks’ warm hospitality!

The fireplace and a couple electric space heaters kept us warm, evenings were spent watching movies and playing cards, and no one ever went away from the table hungry. We all saw game and got plenty of exercise, and the icy forest was literally “as pretty as a picture postcard”. Despite the horrible driving conditions, everyone made it home safely—although very, very slowly.

But the story is not completely over: Chris, who did not have a shooting opportunity on this outing, plans to take Jay up on his offer of a free return trip within the next few weeks; and both David and John are already planning a return hunt next fall.

Thanks again, Jay, Melody, and everyone else who contributed so much to put this special event together!

[If sufficient sponsors can be identified, Jay and Melody hope to be able to offer a special hunt through our SCI chapter again next winter. Jay may be contacted at 918-484-5718 (home), 816-284-0014 (cell), or jay@wildgameoutfitters.com.]

Mike Mistelske
Phone: 918-695-8556
Email: http://mjmistelske@yahoo.com

P.S. from David Berry, addressed to Jay and Melody Barczak:

“On behalf of myself and John Cox, we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for a memorable three-day experience. You provided wonderful accommodations, and service was second to none. In spite of the bad ice storm that rolled in on the end of the first day, Jay kept us in elk. John was able to capitalize on the expertise of Jay and his associates and harvested a very nice cow Elk. I also had the opportunity to harvest a cow but it was not in the cards, and I simply missed the animal. Again, on behalf of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airman we would like to thank SCI and Wild Game Outfitters for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. John and I will be back in November to again take advantage of the wonderful opportunity that has been afforded us.”