Meet The Owner
My name is Logan Severson and I am the sole owner of Fern Creek Films & Consulting. I have been exploring the world and it's many different hunting cultures since I was 18 months old. I was raised mostly hunting whitetails, bears, turkeys and whatever else found its way in front of whatever type of weapon I had in my hand at the time. I am usually the one behind the camera, but have been lucky enough to chase some of the most sought after animals in the world at a very young age and have known for a long time that an office job was not for me. I moved west to New Mexico when I was 21 years old and became a hunting guide for sheep, elk, deer, antelope, bison and turkey, which solidified my passion in the big game industry.
I was raised in a household that revolved around hunting and fishing and living off of the animals that we harvested each year. We had a hard time going on a vacation if it didn't involve some type of fish being caught or animal being hunted. Through these travels, I have met an innumerable amount of the most genuine people. I have also found that there are some people in the industry that are simply looking to make a living and aren't worried about the experience that they are providing. It is my goal to personally filter through these outfitters and hand select the best operations in the industry so that you won't ever have to worry about your investments in these adventures. There is so much out there to experience and I hope to exceed your expectations as you travel the world with Fern Creek.
The name, "Fern Creek" came from the location of an archery elk hunt that took place somewhere in the depths of a big piece of public land. Not the most difficult hunt I have been on, but the way the story unfolded makes this the most memorable of any. This trip sparked a desire in me to help hunters connect with the best outfitters in the industry and make their own campfire stories. The best way I know to do that is to share my knowledge and skillsets with you so that you can get in the woods year after year.
The Full Story
Pre Season
In a unit that never really caught our attention as a future elk hunting opportunity, we had the chance to get our hands on a landowner tag for one of the most coveted units in the state. Not having unlimited funds to set towards hunting is something that almost all hunters face on a yearly basis, and when this tag came to light, sacrifices were made so we could go chase some big bugles.
I found a gap in August where I was able to get myself into the unit and do a little bit of scouting. After finding the holy grail of high country nursery herds of cows, we knew it was just a matter of time until the bulls poured in. A couple hiccups in travel made scouting interesting, but we knew where we were headed in a month!
The Beginning
Having the first three weeks of my September occupied with guiding in New Mexico, my folks would be on their own until I could sneak away for a couple days to go hunt with them. Being from Wisconsin, part of the first week they were there was spent battling altitude sickness and trying to learn the lay of the land.
Knowing that there was a chance at killing a giant, I told my dad to hold out for a big one. The first day out, he passed on a 320 class 6x6 (which I couldn't believe), and had passed a couple rag horns before I had shown up. The first day we hunted together, we showed up at the trailhead to the area I scouted and it was FULL of vehicles and decided it was best to try to get away from the crowd.
We chased a few bulls around for five days in some of the worst deadfall and burnt areas that I've seen without much luck. The last day of the trip, we wound up going back to that packed trailhead to see if the traffic was down and if any animals were still around.
The Approach
Crawling out of the camper that morning, we were greeted with the sweet sound of several bulls bugling in the next drainage over. We spent most of that day moving up the mountain with the herd, but could never get in the right position. We dropped elevation to keep our thermals away from them for the day and waited for last afternoon hunt.
As soon as we heard the herd bull bugle, we moved up the mountain. With him talking later than we hoped, we had about an hour until dark. Gaining altitude in the burn was taxing, but we made it to a big bench on his level and that's when things got interesting. I dropped off the bench and started raking trees and making cow calls while crashing through deadfall sounding like a young bull had snuck in trying to breed some cows. It was as good as elk hunting gets.
Last Chance
About 10 minutes into the spitting match with the herd bull, my dad snuck in and found a spot that provided several shooting lanes. The bull was about 50 yards from him, screaming away and slowly getting closer. I couldn't hear anything but bugles and chuckles as I continued barreling through trees and trying to sound as real as possible.
Only about 40 yards from me, I heard the bull grunt and start a high pitched scream, but it got cut short. Now the only thing crashing through the trees was a big bull with an arrow sticking out of his opposite shoulder. I waited as long as I could (about 30 seconds), and made my way up to my mom and dad. I could tell he was optimistic as soon as I saw him, and about 60 yards up the hill, was a dead bull!
