Stockton Outfitters Receives National Recognition
The granduer of Montana’s Big Hole Valley combines with the majesty of the Pintler and Pioneer mountain ranges to provide an unmatched panorama which has attracted numerous outdoor writers and photographers to the area. Stockton Outfitters, its guides, and even its clients have been privileged to be highlighted in the pages of a multitude of national publications.
The 10 Best Outfitters and Hunting Tours In Montana
Discover Montana Magazine – 2022
Montana offers a wide range of hunting opportunities. Many of the game species that are available to hunt in Montana are not found in many other states in the US. This makes Montana one of the more popular places for travelers to come for a unique hunting experience.
The Patriarch of Pioneer Mountain
by Mark J. Shutey
PREDATOR XTREME Magazine – 2021
It was one of those springs that all bear hunters in the Northern Rockies dream about. A seemingly endless winter with record snowfalls ended in an instant as daytime temperatures soared in to the 70s and 80’s. The massive drifts of snow that barred travel into remote areas began to melt…
The Patriarch of Pioneer Mountain
by Mark J. Shutey
PREDATOR XTREME Magazine – 2021
It was one of those springs that all bear hunters in the Northern Rockies dream about. A seemingly endless winter with record snowfalls ended in an instant as daytime temperatures soared in to the 70s and 80’s. The massive drifts of snow that barred travel into remote areas began to melt…
Midnight Legends On Ten Mile Creek
by Mark J. Shutey
PREDATOR XTREME – April 2017
Every hunt begins with a dream, a goal to attain success, but more often than not it is the encounters that we do not anticipate or the mere occurrences which tend to be remembered. It is not tales of the trophies taken which garner center stage around the campfire. It is the compilation of unexpected events which occur in the field that stir our souls, make us laugh and seem to last forever.
Stockton Outfitters,
Famed Montana Big Game Outfit
by Staff
GUIDEFITTER – December 2016
Whether you’re after a screaming bull elk, a trophy mule deer buck, or a hungry black bear that comes rushing to a predator call, Stockton Outfitters has a hunt for you. To learn more about how these guys operate and what sets them apart from other outfitters, I spoke to owner and guide Mark Shutey …
Calling Bears Handgun CLOSE!
by Mark J. Shutey
PREDATOR XTREME – June 2016
Though I couldn’t see him, I knew that Ruggy was locked and loaded on the opposite side of the huge fir tree we had selected for cover. I could literally hear his breathing getting faster and heavier as the cinnamon bear charged ever nearer to our position. The bear paused. Then suddenly it disappeared as a fissure in the terrain prevented visual contact about 200 yards out. Now blind, we waited anxiously for the bear to reappear.
My 2015 Montana Hunt
by Wallace Huggins
GUIDEFITTER – December 2015
As a qualifier for what is to follow, this is an account of my first elk and mule deer hunt and some of the observations may seem elementary to some of the grizzled veterans out there. That said, the purpose in writing this is to share what, for me at least, was a unique and memorable experience. In so doing, I hope even the most experienced of you find something worthwhile to glean from this hunt.
Bear Boom: How to Take Advantage of Growing Black Bear Populations
by David Hart
OUTDOOR LIFE – October 2011
If baiting isn’t legal in your area, consider calling, a technique that’s growing in popularity, particularly in the West. Montana outfitter Mark Shutey (stocktonoutfitters.com) relies on calls for much of his bear hunting in both spring and fall.
Alternative for Sweet Success
by Mark Kayser
BOW HUNTING WORLD – October 2011
Wander a wallow early. Mark Shutey, Stockton Outfitters, has been outfitting elk hunts for a decade in south west Montana’s Beaverhead – Deer Lodge National Forest. His personal elk experience spans three decades, but he’ll be the first to admit that new plays often lead to success. His University football background pushes that agenda and today he tries to look at archery elk strategy differently ever season and during every phase of the rut.
It’s A Bear And It’s A Big One!
by S.L. Merriam
BIG SKY OUTDOOR NEWS – April 2011
The rolling hills and broken hardwood bottoms where I hunted with my Dad were the places of a boyhood dream and the time we spent there created a deep appreciation for the outdoors. I eventually grew up, got married, and was blessed with a little girl while continuing to hunt with my friends. My hunting experiences took a welcome turnabout he time Meagan turned nine and expressed an interest in both shooting and hunting.
Elk failure can lead to SUCCESS
by Mark Kayser
BOW HUNTING WORLD – August 2010
I knew I had made a mistake the moment the young bull turned and walked away. Moments earlier the bull had plodded to within 4 yards of my position, never giving me a shot because of its fill-on, frontal approach. When it stopped within spitting distance, it knew I was out of place, but still not sure if I represented danger or another curious glance. My head-to-toe camouflage, scent eliminating strategy, and the wind all combined to make me all but invisible. Maybe I looked like a strange mushroom. Who knows?
Walk Up on a Bull
by Mark Kayser
Petersen’s BOWHUNTING – August 2010
It was something that I discovered accidentally. You literally could walk up on and elk. Hunting from a spike camp in Southern Colorado, I arose early as usual and after a granola bar breakfast, started easing toward my hunting area. The rut was in play, but the woods were surprisingly absent of bugles despite plenty of elk sign. I assumed hunting pressure in the area played a role in keeping the vocal ambitions of Bulls contained. The sun started streaking through the aspen stand I was slinking through and my mind raced to formulate a plan.
Calling Bruins in Big Sky Country
as told by Todd Styles by S.L. Merriam
BEAR HUNTING September – October 2009
When the early spring season finally arrived, I was eager to fulfill a dream. A dream not only to have a nice bear rug, but one with a cinnamon coat. These bears are most common in the Rocky mountains where almost 10% carry this color gene.
Late winter, while hunting on the internet, I was able to find Mark Shutey of Stockton Outfitters. I talked to him on the phone and within a short time understood what a great opportunity he provided. Once the hunt was booked all I needed to do was check off each day on the calendar until the end of May.
Calling All Bears
by Mark Kayser
Cabela’s Outfitter Journal – June 2009
When was the last time you experienced a really exciting hunt? I am talking about a hunt that gives you enough fodder for campfire tales well into the future.
That hunt is available in Western states that host spring black bear seasons. With states including Montana and Colorado making it illegal to bait or use hounds, hunters have had to come up with other means to put a bruin in their sights. It was only a matter of time before passionate predator hunters blocked from baiting gave their predator calls a whirl in the woods.
Bag a Bruiser Bruin
by Greg Merrian
Fishing & Hunting NEWS – April 2008
Got a bear tag? Great that’s the easy part. Now comes the hard part of the equation for spring success: finding the animals.
To learn successful techniques, we contacted bear outfitter, Mark Shutey of Stockton Outfitters out of Butte, Mont. He has some of the biggest bears in the Montana Record Book all fair chase, free roaming spot-and-stalk or calling kills.
The Blizzard Bear
by Mark Shutey
PREDATOR XTREME – December 2007
My binoculars were coated with moisture and hazy, as I peered out into the high mountain park to see the figure of a bear charging down the slope toward Tom and myself. With limited visibility and the increasing intensity of the storm, we found the bear we were after. We made the right play and now it was up to Tom to make the shot of a lifetime through the blinding snow.
Bears at a Whistle
by Mark Shutey
HUNTING the West – Spring 2007
The sound of your heart beats in your temples as you feel your pulse racing. Your ears are consumed with squeals and cries and your eyes strain to see every detail around you. Your body is on full alert. A squirrel leaps from a branch at 75 yards and then a birds moves from a brush pile. You detect even the slightest of motions and hear the most discrete sounds, then all at once it happens.
Many hunters have discovered the true adrenaline rush achieved by call black bears in the western states.
The Overall Experience
by Steve Gruber
HUNTING the West – Summer 2006
When I leave the flat land of the Midwest in pursuit of adventure in the western United States, I never know quite what to expect. Over the past two decades, I have enjoyed the greatest trips and I have overcome the worst of conditions. My experiences range from knelling and tagging a Boone & Crocket trophy moose in the Alaskan bush to weathering monsoon type down pours in New Mexico with green horn outfitters ill-prepared for the challenge. But every hunt is memorable for its.
Take last November, for instance with Mark Shutey of Stockton Outfitters.
My Top 10 Black Bear Hunts
by Larry Weishuhn
North American Hunter – May 2004
As a youngster, I often sat on my Granddad’s front porch overlooking the meandering Cummins Creek. /Nighttime brought fireflies and stories as old men gathered. I listened and marveled at tales of by-gone days, told by my grandfather’s friends. Long into the night they sipped “homemade” wine and regaled tales of a time when our part of Texas “afur piece from being civilized” as it was during the early 1950s. The older men, their handlebar moustaches standing chewing tobacco and self rolled cigarettes, told stories of their fathers hunting black bears.