I had had the opportunity to hunt 2 times at Solitude with Mike Schmid....

The 1st time was a May turkey hunt on the ranch. The terrain is a lot different from where I am from in Alabama so it was an incredible experience just being in the Black Hills. The 1st afternoon we called in 5 jakes and did not shoot. Then later, right before dark in a downpour, we had a gobbler working and ended up getting him in to gun range. The whole hunt was incredible.

The next morning Mike and I went after a turkey that had been gobbling on the side of a hill for a few weeks. He flew down away from us but was still Gobbling. Mike got us above the turkey and we were able to call him in and kill him. In addition to Killing my 1st Merriam, we saw several Elk rubs, and found numerous Whitetail sheds.

In November of 2007 I had the opportunity to go on my 1st Wyoming Whitetail hunt with Mike. Words can not describe the experience I had during those 4 days. I have been deer hunting all of my life and have hunted in a lot of places but this trip was the best hunting trip I have ever been a part of. I saw at least 50 rack bucks in the 4 days I hunted. I had the opportunity to hunt within 1/2 a mile from Devils Tower which was amazing. It was hard to keep my binoculars on the deer with the tower right in front of me. I was able to hunt canyon draws, big timber, and the canyon walls. Sitting on a rock overhanging on a cliff glassing rutting bucks after a snowfall is hard to beat. I saw several deer that were is the 150 class but never could get the opportunity for a shot. I did shoot a nice 10 point that Jay Norman and I watched chasing a doe from a cliff one afternoon. I was also able to kill a nice Merriam Gobbler with my bow. There were so many turkeys around that I had a hard time getting drawn back. I did shoot a 20lb gobbler before it was all said and done.

Of all the places I have been, Solitude is by far on top of my list. With laid back and friendly atmosphere and easy going friendly guides, it is hard not to feel at home. I want to thank Mike for his friendship and allowing me to come out to his ranch and hunt. I hope I have the opportunity to go again and would highly recommend the ranch to anybody wanting a awesome fair chase hunting experience.

Emris Graham