Snowy Ridge Outfitting

Hunting News: Wyoming lawmakers really did have a bill on the table (HB 286) that would have blown mountain lion management wide open giving unlimited tags and hunt areas and allowing year-round, 24-hour lion hunting, a move would have effectively turned into an eradication policy instead of real management. But here’s the why I love the hunting community so much. That bill got hammered not just by non-hunters, but by hunters, houndsmen, conservation-minded sportsmen, and wildlife managers too, and it died in committee after overwhelming opposition. That proves something I’ve been saying about wolves. Hunters are not automatically against predators. When predators are actually managed, hunters usually accept them, hunt them, and even want them on the landscape. What sets people off is unmanaged predators on one end, or politicians trying to wipe them out on the other. That’s the real lesson here. Whether it’s wolves being protected from any hunting or mountain lions being targeted for unlimited hunting, hunters tend to push back when management stops being management. We are the reasonable ones.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Owner, DeLong Lures

Today was one of the days that remind me on how blessed I am to be able to have the dogs I have; the ones that have given me opportunities people only dream of. My dogs aren’t and will never be “tools” to me. They are my family. Loosing one feels like loosing a part of me.
We as a family don’t track lions to kill everything we tree. We do it to be out in the beautiful Colorado mountains with our best friends. A massive Tom in the tree is always a bonus of course; The cherry on top to the wonderful day I got to spend with my family. Being a Houndsman is something like nothing else in this world. You have a team that wants to make you proud, and loves you beyond their lives themselves.
I often have clients ask if I’m scared, Or worried about animals coming after me. My answer is no.
These dogs would give their lives for me.
Today was proof of that yet again. I had a dog I raised from a pup who showed sickness around my dad, but whenever I came around he acted like nothing was wrong. Sadly I had to put him down today because even though he tried acting fine. I could see he wasn’t. I brought him to the vet and there was an internal mass she found that ended up being something so bad that was inoperable.
I thought I’d share this because it weighs heavy on my heart. There isn’t a Snowy Ridge Outfitting without my dogs.
When you book a hunt with us, that’s what you’re getting.
Just a girl and her dogs.
Sometimes her kids and father at times.
You’re getting a Wirth-It experience because of the hounds I’m blessed to live my life with.
To my precious Bandito! My hunts just won’t be the same without you. The echos of you at the tree will be missed.