Verified Company
After countless hours of research trying to find a quality outfitter to lead me on my quest for a trophy mountain lion I settled on Rawhide Outfitters. I was met at the Missoula Airport by Johnny and Cathy Cranney, where we headed over the divide to have dinner with the rest of the clan at their home in Salmon.
After dinner I was dropped off at my personal cabin to get settled to chase cats the following morning. Day one was met with breathtaking scenery as Johnny and his son Justin drove me all over the mountain in search of cutting a fresh track. Although we came up empty handed that day, the views and the company were incredible. Day 2 brought great anticipation as there was fresh snow on the roads long before daylight. We found a good track at first light and cut the dogs loose. By 9am they had treed and we then started the 3 mile trek through knee deep snow to catch up to my trophy cat. By 12 noon I was standing under the tree about to fill a tag of a lifetime. Within minutes of sealing the deal the Cranney duo got to work by first capturing multiple photos for me to look back on for years to come, and then taking care of my lion to pack out the meat as well as carefully caping my trophy for the taxidermist. The journey out was brutal to say the least. I had Johnny giving me pep talks to keep me motivated as I was ready to throw in the towel more than once. The snow never stopped and it had reached nearly 24'' or more by the time we made it back to the truck at 5PM. The hospitality I experienced from this family run outfitter was second to none. I've hunted from Maine to Texas to Montana and now Idaho, but have never had any other operation at such a level of excellence as Rawhide Outfitter. I will be bringing my wife back for a summer rafting trip soon!!!
Thank you to the entire Cranney Family
