What a thrill it was to see old friends and meet new friends at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's banquet Saturday at the Benton Events Center.
After last year's banquet was canceled due to covid-19, Saturday's banquet was a respite from relentless bad news, but it was also a statement. Fundraising for conservation is back in business.
As is customary, I shared a table with John Balenko and his son Mike Balenko, and Chris Goodwin of Russellville. John does not hunt elk, but he gives generously to the Arkansas Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in time and money. He donated for auction a new Christensen Mesa rifle chambered in 300 Winchester Magnum, a custom case and a leather RMEF pocket journal. It brought $1,400 in the live auction, and after reading about all of its custom features, I regretted not bidding on it myself.
I didn't keep track of what all the other rifles and pistols brought in live and silent auctions. I know that a Sig Sauer semiautomatic chambered in 5.56x45 brought even more than the Christensen.
"Do you think many people even know about Christensen rifles?" John Balenko asked.
"I don't think they do," I replied. "For the money, I think it's one of the best rifles you can buy. People that have them love them."
A bunch of Savage Axis rifles were involved in numerous ticket raffles and games, as was a Kimber Rose Gold semiautomatic pistol in 380 ACP. A Henry Golden Boy in .30-30 WCF was part of one raffle, and a Henry Silver Boy in 22 rimfire was in a live auction. The grand prize, the "key" item, was a Sig Sauer bolt action rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, an odd chambering for an elk function.
Even odder was a live auction for a taxidermy bull elk mount. This sparked a lively discussion between Mike Balenko and me.
"The auction is for the taxidermy service," I said. "That's just an example of the taxidermist's work."
"No it isn't, either," Balenko said. "They're bidding on that mount right there."
"Why in the world would anybody want a mount of an elk that you didn't kill?" I asked.
"It's a lot cheaper than hunting your own, and you can make up any story you want!" Balenko said, laughing.
It brought a hefty price, about $1,500, if I remember correctly. It's still a fraction of what a guided elk hunt in the Rockies would cost.
Of course, a guided elk hunt in the Rockies costs a fraction of what it costs to hunt an elk in the Buffalo National River area. A permit to hunt a Buffalo River Elk, donated by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, brought $17,000 in a live auction. The winning bidder was not present, but bid by phone.
Mike Balenko won the elk permit in 2009 for $6,100 and bagged a magnificent, 7x7 bull that grossed a Boone and Crockett score of 330. We chronicled his hunt in the Oct. 18, 2009 edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The highest price paid for the permit was $30,000, in 2007. It was done twice that year, at the state and national RMEF conventions. The Commission no longer donates a permit to the national organization.
The food was excellent, as always, but we most enjoyed the fellowship and camaraderie. That's what these events are all about, and we are happy that people with common interests are mingling again after a year of isolation.
Outdoor Hall of Fame
Another long-awaiting event that was postponed in 2020 is the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame induction ceremony Aug. 28 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
This year's event will honor the 2020 inductees, including Hank Browne of DeValls Bluff, Jerrell Dodson and Penny Dodson of Little Rock, Mark Davis of Mount Ida, and the Mahony family of El Dorado.
As always, the live and silent auctions are very popular. They are being conducted virtually, which makes them available to bidders not attending the ceremony. The virtual auctions went live on Wednesday and will close Aug. 28 at 8:45 p.m. To view auction items and to bid, visit https://one.bidpal.net/fish/browse/all
Doors will open at 6 p.m. Attendees will be required to wear masks inside the venue. Staff and volunteers will be temperature screened.
Individual tickets cost $125. For more information, call the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation at (501) 470-6874 or email Tyler Lawrence at [email protected].