09.24.2009
DEER MEADOWS OUTFITTERS
Deer Meadow's
Scott Kuhn had a job that insulated him from the outdoors he loved. He worked in a windowless room, wearing earplugs against the factory noise.
But there’s a difference between a good-paying job and a good job, and one day he chucked it all for the wide open spaces of Nebraska’s sand hills.
“We’re remote, and that’s the way I like it,” Kuhn said. “Now I’m miles away from anyone, and we really love what we do.”
Kuhn and his family (parents, sisters, sisters-in-law, sons and nephews) run Deer Meadows Outfitters (www.deermeadowsoutfitters.com, 308-360-0664), near Hay Springs, population 650. He guides rifle, bow and black powder hunters for antelope, turkeys, mule deer, whitetails, prairie dogs and coyotes on 170,000 private, leased, trophy-managed acres on two ranches in Sheridan County, northwest Nebraska.
He also guides buffalo hunters on 400 acres in South Dakota, on late winter hunts.
“I live here, so I can keep track of the deer year round – that’s one of the reasons we’re so successful,” Kuhn said. “The main part of our business is mule deer hunting, but we also have some monster whitetails.”
Kuhn first purchased his property as a hunting ground for family members. His house and lodge is located at a state historical site for author Marie Sandoz, who wrote novels about pioneer life, including a biography of Crazy Horse, who roamed the area.
He gradually acquired additional leases and started guiding hunters, but limits the number of hunters he takes per year. Although there are tree stands and ground blinds, the majority of the hunting is spot and stalk in the rolling hills, with one guide for every two hunters.
“People are surprised at how close we can get, but that’s because we don’t pressure our deer,” he said. “We want to keep the guiding business small, and personal, and also only take quality animals.”
“If he’s (a buck) not nice enough the first ten minutes of the hunt, he’s not nice enough on the last day,” he added. “We want our hunters to take trophy bucks and 170 to 180-class animals are common.”
He doesn’t miss his windowless factory work, not one bit. Instead, he likes to roam the grassy plains landscape which hasn’t changed much since the 1870s.
“I don’t have tv out here,” he said. “Out here, you don’t need it.”
Scott Kuhn had a job that insulated him from the outdoors he loved. He worked in a windowless room, wearing earplugs against the factory noise.
But there’s a difference between a good-paying job and a good job, and one day he chucked it all for the wide open spaces of Nebraska’s sand hills.
“We’re remote, and that’s the way I like it,” Kuhn said. “Now I’m miles away from anyone, and we really love what we do.”
Kuhn and his family (parents, sisters, sisters-in-law, sons and nephews) run Deer Meadows Outfitters (www.deermeadowsoutfitters.com, 308-360-0664), near Hay Springs, population 650. He guides rifle, bow and black powder hunters for antelope, turkeys, mule deer, whitetails, prairie dogs and coyotes on 170,000 private, leased, trophy-managed acres on two ranches in Sheridan County, northwest Nebraska.
He also guides buffalo hunters on 400 acres in South Dakota, on late winter hunts.
“I live here, so I can keep track of the deer year round – that’s one of the reasons we’re so successful,” Kuhn said. “The main part of our business is mule deer hunting, but we also have some monster whitetails.”
Kuhn first purchased his property as a hunting ground for family members. His house and lodge is located at a state historical site for author Marie Sandoz, who wrote novels about pioneer life, including a biography of Crazy Horse, who roamed the area.
He gradually acquired additional leases and started guiding hunters, but limits the number of hunters he takes per year. Although there are tree stands and ground blinds, the majority of the hunting is spot and stalk in the rolling hills, with one guide for every two hunters.
“People are surprised at how close we can get, but that’s because we don’t pressure our deer,” he said. “We want to keep the guiding business small, and personal, and also only take quality animals.”
“If he’s (a buck) not nice enough the first ten minutes of the hunt, he’s not nice enough on the last day,” he added. “We want our hunters to take trophy bucks and 170 to 180-class animals are common.”
He doesn’t miss his windowless factory work, not one bit. Instead, he likes to roam the grassy plains landscape which hasn’t changed much since the 1870s.
“I don’t have tv out here,” he said. “Out here, you don’t need it.”
