2018 Year in Review

2018 was another great year for Triple Three Outfitters. In late January, guide Adam Todd and I traveled to Harrisburg Pa and set up a booth at the Great American Outdoor Show. We met a lot of hunters from the northeast region. This show proved to be a great resource for meeting new clients and catching up with old ones.

As Mid February came, so did the snow. We switched to cat hunting mode. Longtime client Dr Brett Gunter came from sunny SC to -25 degree temps to chase mountain lions. He braved the cold and was rewarded with a beautiful cat on his second day.

When spring finally arrived, we hosted a group of firefighters from PA on our first spring turkey hunt. The turkey hunting was great and all 6 hunters took home nice gobblers. Our time in camp with this group may have been even better than the hunting!

When the grass greened up in late May, the prairie dog season went into full swing. We hosted mostly returning clients with some new ones as well. The dog shooting was great.

As our busy summer came to an end, we began preparations for our fall big game season. Kris's family visited in mid August and helped set up our Hazel Park camp on the mountain. Our TTT camp was mowed up and cleaned for our first group in September.

Archery antelope started September 1 at our home camp. We hosted brothers Kal and Kurt Haglund and Tim Tyner from MI and CA. Guide Ryan Afman and I had blinds set and the bucks were plentiful. All 3 hunters tagged nice bucks in 3 days. We also had returning client Jerrell Williams from IL in camp with a black bear tag. Guide Aaron and Jerrell played cat and mouse with a giant boar who just wouldn't give them a shot. We hope to have Jerrell back in the spring to try again.

We headed to Hazel Park in the high country after Labor day to chase elk. Father and son Geoff and Geoff Bacci from Fl and IL joined guide Ryan and myself in camp. The bulls were bugling and answering calls. We had several close encounters and some arrows launched at nice bulls. Cook Beto kept us fat and happy and we had a great week in the high country!

As we returned home from the mountain, guide Adam was already chasing elk at our TTT Camp with returning client JT Kreager from Ohio. JT arrowed a great 6X7 bull on the first morning of his hunt.

Our next group of archers at our TTT Camp were longtime clients and friends Mike Freidland and Wayne McDonnell from Pa and Steve Niedzielski and Tom Fallon from NJ. Wayne harvested a beautiful mule deer buck with guide Raoul and Steve arrowed a great 6X6 bull with guide Adam.

Our last archery hunt at our TTT Camp welcomed returning client Blake Burel from SC, Gale Pedersen from UT, Gary Mills from MN and John Kahon and his nephew Jack from WI. John and Jack were guided by Raoul and filled their antelope buck tags on day 1. Blake arrowed a great mule deer buck with guide Aaron on his second day. Gary hunted with me and harvested an awesome 6X6 bull we called "UP" on the 3rd day of his hunt. At 370"," UP" ranks in the top two archery bulls ever taken at Triple Three. Gale hunted hard with guide Bob and had several chances at nice bulls but held out for a giant without success.

Our rifle season opened at our home camp on October 1. We hosted hunters Ricky Grote from IA, Tad Bodmer, Preston King, and John Strong from MD, Paul King from VA and Paul Mehler from AK. Guides John, Raoul, Ryan and myself hit the ground running with some great hunters. All harvested great muley and antelope bucks in 4 days of hunting.

Our next hunt we hosted Kevin Gordon from SC, returning client Mike Walker and Gary Brown from KY, and 3 generation family George and Gary Woofter and Tim Haynes from WV. We also guided husband and wife Bob and Bonnie Lewis from ID. Mike and Gary each took home great mule deer and antelope bucks with guide John. Ryan guided Kevin to beautiful mule deer and antelope bucks. Raoul was on antelope duty and on back to back 3 day hunts, he guided George, Gary, and Tim to great trophy bucks, and then guided Bob and Bonnie to great bucks and does in 1 day. Great job by guides and hunters!

October 9 was opening day for rifle elk at our TTT camp. We hosted Ray Smith from SD, Rick Penno and Phil Orf from MO, and Eric Pizial from CA. The weather was cold and snowy and the big boys were on their feet. Rick started the hunt off with a GREAT 360 class 6X6 on the opening morning with guide Aaron. Ray hunted with guide Adam and took a great 6X6 on the first afternoon of his hunt. Eric hunted with me and took an absolute giant 390" 6X6 on day 2. Phil hunted with guide Bob and took and Great 6X6 on the 3rd day of his hunt. What a week! Great job by the guides and hunters.

We had the pleasure of hosting Billy Henry and his parents from PA this year. Billy certainly doesn't let his disability slow him down. It was truly an honor to help him harvest his first antelope buck. We hope to have them back soon. Great job Billy!

Our next hunt at our TTT camp included returning clients Dr. Brett Gunter and his son Michael from SC, and 3 generations of the Dahme family from CA. The Gunters each killed Awesome 6X6 bulls with guide Adam on the first day of their hunt. Al and Doug Dahme each took home nice mule deer bucks with guide Raoul. Young Mack Dahme took a great mule deer buck with guide Bob.

Our October 15 hunt at our home camp included John and Jason Miller from PA and DE, Doug and Fred Herman from ND and AR, and Buddy Masten and Anthony Ramey from DE. Brothers Doug and Fred each took great muley bucks and Doug also harvested a nice antelope buck with guide Mike. John and Jason both took great muley bucks with me. Anthony and Buddy each harvested awesome antelope bucks with guide Scott.

At our TTT camp, we hosted longtime returning clients Jeremy Dotson and Jim Heiser from OH, and brothers Jason and Justin Mackovyak from PA and MD. Jeremy and Jim hunted once again with their favorite guide Bob and each harvested cow elk and nice antelope bucks. Adam guided Jason and Justin to great antelope bucks and a cow elk for Jason.

On our next hunt at our home camp, we hosted father and son Joel and Adam Smith from NE and AZ, father and son Mike and Dan Allen from NY, and returning clients Corey Gruber and Jeff Afman (guide Ryan's dad) from VA. It was a great father and son week! I guided Joel and Adam to great antelope bucks . Ryan guided his dad and Corey to antelope bucks and cow elk. Mike and Dan each harvested nice muley bucks and a cow elk with guide Mike.

Our last mule deer hunt at our home camp included returning clients Mike and Randy Reger from MN and MT, Frank Yones from NJ, and Bill Petersen from PA. Mike harvested a great mule deer buck, antelope buck and cow elk while his dad Randy took a nice antelope all with guide Mike. Frank and Bill each took awesome mule deer bucks and great antelope bucks with guide Aaron.

Our last mule deer hunt at our TTT Camp included longtime client and friend Vic Vassalluzzo from PA, returning client Stan Brannon from AL, returning client Chris Wirebach from TX, and father and son Terry and Tyler Zimmerman from WI. Stan started things off with a great mule deer buck the first morning of his hunt. Chris took another great muley buck on his second day. Adam guided Vic to a great old muley buck and cow elk. Bob guided Terry and Tyler on a management mule deer hunt and they each took old bucks home to WI.

Our next hunters, from PA, Brother in laws RD Tipton and Harry Pinker each took big cow elk with guide Bob. Nephew Caleb Tipton harvested whitetail and antelope with me.

Our daughter Sydney had her first antelope tag this year. It was an amazing experience taking her hunting for the first time. She was able to harvest a nice buck. She held it together and made a great shot. Good thing she shoots like her mother!

The last hunt of the season we hosted all returning clients. Carl Sheeon from OR, Bill and Carrie Mazelin from NV, and Luke Sullivan from NY. Guide Aaron and I had our hands full with 11 tags to fill. Luke killed a great whitetail buck, Carl took a nice antelope buck, all 4 hunters took cow elk, and 5 doe deer and antelope were taken. It was a busy but fun week with this crew! It was also a bit of a sad week as we had an empty seat at the table this year. A longtime member of this group, Dick Hoffman from OR lost his battle with cancer soon after his 2017 hunt. Dick was always the life of the party during his 17 years in the Triple Three camp and is deeply missed by all of us.

Dick Hoffman

As our season came to a close at Triple Three, Kris and I joined my father for a South Dakota whitetail hunt. We hunted with great friends the Trasks of Dakota Trophy Adventures. Kris harvested her biggest buck yet with a 151" 11pt on her first morning. My dad took a great 10pt the next day. We had a great trip and returned home in time for Thanksgiving with family and friends.

As we close out 2018, I need to thank our incredible staff. My wife Kris keeps everything rolling along at our home camp and makes it look effortless. The incredible meals that she prepares every day keeps the hunters and guides coming back. Our daughter Sydney is always up for a card game with the hunters when she's not clearing tables and helping her mom in the kitchen. Our longtime cook Beto from Mexico serves some of the finest meals you will ever eat with very limited facilities at our Hazel Park and TTT camps. We are truly blessed to have some great guides working for us. They have proven again this season that they are as good as they come. The quality of animals that our clients take and the complete experience that they enjoy while in our camps is a reflection of the staff. We certainly could not do what we do without a great staff.

Thanks again to guides Aaron Wuerker, Adam Todd, Bob Thuesen, John Auzqui, Mike Harper, Raoul Morejohn, Ryan Afman, and Scott Rogers.

We are already looking forward to the 2019 season. We can't wait to see our returning clients again next fall and meeting our new ones. Once again we thank all of you for your continued support of Triple Three Outfitters Ltd. and wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

If you live in the Northeast, please stop by and say hello to Adam and I at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, PA February 2-10. We will be offering show specials!!!

Sincerely,
Phil, Kris, and Sydney Rutt
Triple Three Outfitters Ltd. BG030
(307)217-0400
triplethreeoutfitters@aol.com
http://www.triplethreeoutfitters.com

Available for 2019:
Early season cow elk hunts. August 25-28.
Archery antelope hunts in September.
Summer ATV tours in the Bighorn Mountains available

Our guide Adam Todd owns and operates Blacktooth Excursions, a fly fishing and horseback riding camp in the high country of the Bighorn Mountains. His fly fishing camps run July and August. If you are visiting the Buffalo WY area, horseback rides are available hourly or multiple days. Come enjoy the beautiful scenery and great fishing that the Bighorn Mountains has to offer. For further information on Blacktooth Excursions, please call Adam at (307)217-1140 or visit his website: www.blacktoothexcursions.com