Plan to bid on unique 2022 Convention auction item
All SCI members are walking in the footsteps of Founder C.J. McElroy by virtue of the fact that the club would not exist as it is absent Mac.
At the upcoming SCI Convention celebrating the 50th anniversary of the club, some member will be able make something happen that has never been possible before: Hunt with the founder’s own personal rifle.
It was the 1970s – the decade when SCI formed and took its first steps to becoming the finest organization of hunters the world has ever known. Mac already knew gunmaker Roy Weatherby well. After all, Mac had received the Weatherby Award in 1969 and Weatherby was both an exhibitor and advertiser with SCI.
During their tenure together, Mac obtained from Roy a Weatherby Mark V rifle chambered for the .300 Weatherby Magnum (literally the cartridge that helped make Weatherby what it was/is).
On that rifle, Mac mounted a 2-7x Leupold scope and proceeded to use it around the world to take all manner of game animals, both large and small. The outside of the rifle is witness to the fact that Mac used it extensively and that he considered rifles to be tools more than anything else. The rifle remains in good working order, however, and is ready to hunt again.
Both Roy and Mac are now in the Happy Hunting Grounds, but the rifle lives on. It turned out that SCI Past President Dennis Anderson acquired the rifle after Mac’s death in 2002 (Roy passed away in 1988).
Subsequently, Anderson donated the rifle to SCI, and it has been enshrined since then in a custom display case in the SCI Tucson, Arizona facilities. Thanks to Anderson’s generosity, SCI is able to offer a unique hunt at the 2022 Convention.
Sam Fejes has invited one hunter to Sam Fejes Tsiu River Lodge for this 15-day, 1×1 guided rifle hunt with Mac’s rifle for Alaskan brown bear, black bear, mountain goat and wolf, along with fishing for silver salmon on the world famous Tsiu River near Cordova, Alaska. Schedule the hunt with the outfitter for open dates in 2022 or 2023.
Sam was the winner of SCI’s 1994 North American Outfitter of the Year award, Dallas Safari Club’s 2006 Outfitter of the Year award, the 2013 C.J. McElroy Award and the 2016 Tony Sanchez Arino Award, as well as the Alaska Professional Hunter Award winner, twice. He has also received more than 90 top Alaskan APHA awards over the years.
When you hunt with Sam, you are assured that you will have a safe, enjoyable and memorable trip and the trophy hunt of a lifetime. As an Alaska master guide, Sam owns and operates the Sam Fejes Tsiu River Lodge in Cordova, Alaska.
The area is home to large populations of brown and black bears, moose and mountain goat. This hunt donation is a tremendous opportunity for one hunter to secure a hunt with one of the most recognized outfitters in Alaska.
Hunt from the main lodge and tent camps. Included with this donation are lodge accommodations, meals, 1×1 guide service, trophy field prep fleshing and salting. Additional hunters and observers are welcome per outfitter’s current price list.
Not included are the air charter to/from the lodge (approx. $850/person), game tags (U.S. resident $2,110, foreign resident $2,800), hunting license (U.S. non-resident $160, foreign resident $630), 5% sales tax, bed tax ($25), APHA fee ($150) and gratuities.
Hunt can be upgraded to include moose for $14,500. Arrival/departure point is Cordova, Alaska. Don’t let this chance for the ultimate Alaskan adventure pass you by! Contact Sam by phone at 907-349-4040 or by email at [email protected] for more information. Company’s website: www.fejesguideservice.com. This 100 percent donation is valued at $50,000.
An article about the winning bidder and the hunt itself will be published in Safari Magazine.
Following the hunt, the rifle will return to the SCI facilities and be put back on permanent display there – this time with a special plaque noting who hunted with it last and what animals it took on the safari to be auctioned off at the SCI Convention Jan. 19-22, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Hence, whoever is the winning bidder on this item will literally become a part of SCI history and that historic tie will be directly with the club and indirectly with its founder.
Seldom in life are there opportunities to make such ties to the past while helping assure a bright future for both hunters and hunting. Think about it. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Bid high and bid often. Then have fun with Mac’s rifle and know that both SCI and hunting will benefit as a result.–Steve Comus
