A unique Christmas gift idea for that special person in your life

Here is a suggestion for a unique Christmas gift idea for that special person in your life who is a big game hunter or a would-be big game hunter.

It will be a modest investment for you, but if he/she is lucky, the return to them (and perhaps, even you!) will be fabulous.

Note that word "lucky!" Why lucky? Well, let me give you some hints before I get to the details.

Has that special person ever dreamed of hunting out of state, dreamt of bagging a record-book bull elk, or fantasized about a trophy buck deer? And, more importantly, have they been spooked off by the tremendous expense of one of those out of state hunts?

Well, check this out: Would they (and you!) be interested in going on a nine-day, packhorse, big game hunting trip in Montana in 2007?

And while on that horseback trip, would they like to hunt for Rocky Mountain bull elk, plus buck mule deer or buck white-tail deer?

If the answer is a loud "Yes," here comes the details:

They could do all that for a cost of just $50 to you for an unforgettable Christmas gift.

Here's how to do it:

The Carson City Sheriff's Mounted Police Unit is holding a special raffle for "A Hunting Trip of A Lifetime."

And this is what makes that raffle so special: There will only be 1,000 tickets sold at $50 each, from which three winners will be picked. Each of them will have one chance in 333 of winning a dream hunt.

Those three lucky individuals will go on an all-expense-paid, fully-guided, hunting trip in Montana in 2007. And best of all: Each of those three lucky hunters can take along a companion to also hunt. Heck, that could be you!

Those six persons will each receive a nine-day, combination elk and deer hunt on horseback in the world-famous Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

That nine-day hunt includes one day of travel to reach base camp, seven full days of hunting and one day to come out.

While at base camp, the six hunters will have polyfoam sleeping pads, cots and wood-burning stoves in canvas-floored tents. Plus they will be eating their meals on a cloth-covered table. Wow! How's that for "Roughing It" in the boondocks!

The Marshall Wilderness Area is located about 30 miles east of Missoula, and contains mule deer, white tail deer, Rocky Mountain elk, black bear, Grizzly bear, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goat.

Each of the six will receive $3,650 for the hunt, $1,000 for the hunting license and necessary tags, $500 for travel expenses and $400 for pocket money for a grand total of $5,550 per person!

I plan to buy several of those tickets as Christmas gifts and then hope, with crossed fingers, that one of them is lucky in the drawing and asks me to go along as their companion. Yahoo! If I am lucky enough to go, that $400 for pocket money is going to buy a lot of Manhattans while we are celebrating Don Q hunting out of state for the first time in many, many years.

The three hunts are with the White Tail Ranch (WTR) Outfitters LLC of Ovando, Montana (406-793-5666) (Montana License No. 3341).

WTR is a 1,100 acre outfitting ranch that specializes in packtrips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

It has been in continuous operation for over 40 years and is located north of U.S. 200, between Great Falls and Missoula.

If you are one of the six hunters, you will ride on horseback for a distance of 22 miles into base camp on the headwaters of Danaher Creek. Yipes, 22 miles on horseback! You had better have lots of thick padding on your butt!

Your Montana, Non-Resident combination license will allow you to hunt Elk, Mule or White-Tailed deer, plus Blue, Franklin and Ruffed Grouse and to fish in the river and nearby streams. You can also hunt Black Bear with an additional Special Permit.

This is a golden opportunity for that special person in your life to win a special, out of state, once-in-a-lifetime, big game hunt. And, for only $50 investment on your part.

If they do win in the drawing, that will be the most unique Christmas gift that they have ever received - bar none!

Heck, with any luck, they will take you along as their companion.

Geez, how can you go wrong!

Proceeds from the raffle go to the Carson City Sheriff's Mounted Unit. The winning tickets will be drawn in mid-January at the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

For buying raffle tickets or for information, call Chief Vince Pirozzi the Carson City Fire Department at 887-2210, ext. 1006.

For WTR Outfitters LLC information, call (406) 793-5666 or go to website www.wtroutfitters.com.

-- Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon he can't tell you the cost of a 2006 Montana Non-Resident Big Game Elk/Deer Combination - Outfitter Sponsored license (available over the counter).

If he grins and says, "In 2006, it cost $995," he wins this bet.

-- Don Quilici is the Outdoors editor for the Nevada Appeal.