An educational and entertaining way for outfitters and hunters to share their bad experiences
so that others can avoid the same situations. Most if not all of these bad experiences could have
been prevented by using Outfittersrating.com
I had always wanted to elk hunt out West. At a Spring show my wife agreed I could book a hunt for my birthday. It was that day! The outfitter from Southern BC had all the pics and video and one person in his booth who had hunted with him and acted as his agent in the US. I booked a hunt Elk hunt for $6500 and was encouraged to buy tags for bear, mule and whitetail and wolf. They did inform me that in BC you had a six point minimum one side, but we didn't talk about herd size. They mentioned success rates of 70-80%. They talked lots about going up to spike camps from their main lodge and hunting from them. The main lodge was nice enough, but I soon discovered they didn't have enough guides to cover the number of hunters they had so some who had paid for one on one hunts had to double up. They even had to send four hunters to an older camp some 8-10 miles distant they maintained for "over flow". The first day I was paired with the oldest guide who was in his early seventies, but seemed to be very experienced. I happened to be the oldest hunter at 57. They never asked what I wanted and being new to working with an outfitter I wasn't very vocal. We rode horses out of the main lodge each morning and rode up the mountain, about a two to three hour ride. We heard some elk and saw several at a distance of about 1/2 mile. That guide had to leave mid week and I was placed with a younger guide who took me in his pickup each morning and we rode the logging roads. We didn't see anything at all. The only two elk that were killed out of 12 hunters were taken by hunters when their guides took them up the mountain to a spike camp where they over nighted so the first thing in the morning they were in place high up as the elk started to move. My best advice is to ASK QUESTIONS before you book your hunt and to be specific in what you want to do. Had I pushed the point a little they probably would have allowed my guide ( or some guide ) to take me up to a spike camp from where I might have had a much better opportunity. Don't be concerned about asking questions - after all it's your money!
I booked with an outfitter in Maine and was promised cabins with everything to cook with etc. Instead I got a small 2nd story room with no table and nothing to prepare meals with. Owner was totally unapologetic and failed to see the difference or problem between an advertised item and what they actually provided.
The area is good but the service was lack luster. Three in camp, of which I was "selected" to hunt with the outfitter himself. As it turned out the outfitter didn't have his own plane, seems it crashed a few weeks earlier but he failed to inform me. However, he had a companion guide who did have his own plane and an assitant guide that took the other two hunters in camp. They both were sucessful in taking rams by the third day while even one had to be moved because there were no sheep in the area after the first day. I however was not as lucky. The area in which I hunted, unfortunately, the sheep seemed to have moved to another mountain. The only reasonable sheep (2) were easy to spot with the spotting scope were out of his area and he didn't have a plane to move me as it was tied up with his other customers. It was suggested that I was too old and out of shape and more suitible for grizzly hunting from the road yet we turned down a grizzly stalk on three bears that were just over the other side of the mountain, the part too rough for me to walk. I'm not certain who to go back with for another shot at my dream, but I know who not to go with.
First moose hunt never happened. Our Alaskan outfitter and guide came down with cancer and passed away and so did our $30,000.00. Our second time around the outfitter didn't have experienced guides. One was their mechanic who was scared of bears, the other was a know it all drunk that didn't want to leave camp. So now we leave on 9/2/2011 for I hope is a "third time is the charm" moose hunt. I hope outfittersrating.com will weed out the rip off outfitters and give the honest hunters hope in the future. Thanks to all honest outfitters.
In 2010, I received a message via Facebook from an Outfitter in Pongola , Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa offering me a very good deal. I checked the guy out who told me he was fairly new to business. I didn't get much information, but nothing bad. I hunted with the guy in May of 2010. I shot some great trophies. When check on status of trophies he told me that everything was in order and they would be shipped soon. I never once received anything from taxidermist regarding payment. Long story short I did some digging and found this guy was not a legally licensed PH or Outfitter. We have a legal case going against him. Hopefully with help of SA Govt I will be able to get my trophies out or my $10000 back.
Booked a NM Elk hunt in Chama NM. The guide was related to a family member in law. I was told that it would be a turkey shoot that time of year. When we arrived at the lodge the smell of sewer was over whelming and the septic was leaking out on the ground. The TV had dish network that hadn't been hooked up since Sept. The well wasn't maintained so the water stunk worse than we did after three days of not bathing. There hadn't been a mature Elk seen the prior two weeks, nor did we see a single mature bull the week we were there. I found out from a guide that the week prior they sold a cougar hunt and had coon dogs running the mountain. It was a complete fraud and the other 4 hunters and I feel like we were just donating to the Christmas fund for this outfitter.
Went on a spring AK brown bear hunt (2009) with an Outfitter that was featured on a prominent T.V. show. Booked 10 days- hunted 3, then his "other" client arrived and I was out! Gave me a refund check for the remaining 7 days. That check is still bouncing!! 2 years prior went with an Outfitter in AK for grizzly and that Outfitter never showd after the plane left myself and another hunter in the Talkeetnas. I did manage to get my money back and he was prosecuted by AK F&G. Even when you do all the research and get so called "solid" references- BEWARE!! In most cases T.V. show references recieve a FREE hunt in exchange for the exposure. Doesn't make them creditable, just recognizable. And if the show host gives a bad reference no more FREE hunts?
After not hunting for 10 years my brother talks me in to going on an elk hunt. We paid $6000 for a 220,000 acre ranch to hunt with a lodge. When we arrived lodge was under dispute so we stayed in a mouse infested ranch house. Found out after getting there that half of the ranch has a different tag so we couldn't hunt there. Was told only 2 elk would be taken from this ranch but 4 had already been killed when I arrived. I never saw an elk but we did follow elk tracks for several miles. "If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all." BE VERY SPECIFIC and get EVERYTHING IN CONTRACT OR DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THINGS GO SOUTH. I'm not a Dr. or lawyer or someone with lots of doe just another hard working American. Goes to show you don't always get what you pay for.
I went turkey hunting in South Dakota on a ranch with a guy claiming to have 40,000 acres. Every morning he dropped off 5 hunters within 400 yards of each other on about a 600 acre block of land. Birds were skittish and when pressed, he finally took us to another property that he admitted that he had not scouted in a month. No birds there. He was too busy planting alfalfa to scout. He bragged about all the client hunters that he had run out of his camp before. He got mad at me and kicked me out of camp that I had already paid for when I went and killed a turkey on public land that I found by myself (I was the only one out of our group of five to tag out). The guy also claims to guide for deer and elk in SD and Wyoming. He offers a discount if you pay in advance, now I know why, beware!
My brother and I booked a trip with an outfitter from Montana last fall. The outfitter told us we would be hunting blinds that he had established and that he had been actively observing tons of whitetails from for several weeks. All of the news and feedback had us very excited, but when we got there it was another story. We arrived late in the afternoon on a Wed. sighted our rifles in to make sure they were on and prepared for the hunt. That night over dinner the guide informed us that he would be leaving camp that night to take another hunter to some other property 2-3hrs away, and that we were to meet our guide at a convenience store the following morning. One, we had never been to the store that was several miles away and two, we had never met, spoke to, or even seen our guide. The next morning we did find the store and the guide did arrive as stated and was very cordial and all-around good guy. He took us to our hunting area; when we arrived there we asked how to get to the blinds we were to be hunting, he looked puzzled and said there were NO blinds. He said we'd just have to find a spot on the ground beside a tree and hunt and that he'd be back at dark to pick us up...ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Well this was our routine for 4 days, which yielded very few deer. We did not kill anything. Now back to our so-called outfitter, he did NOT return to camp for 2.5 days he did not call to check in our anything. Also, COOKED meals were to be included with our hunt. He bought sandwich meat and chips and a couple drinks. But he did show up next to the last day to collect his money. This trip was a complete rip-off from our outfitter; he does not deserve to have his license. People like this hurt the entire hunting industry. (Let me clarify our guide was a great guy and did all he could to put us on a deer, he even took us to his private farm on our last day trying to help us fill our tags. He also told us that the so-called outfitter had not even been to the property that we were hunting.) What a complete con!!!! BEWARE!
My son and I booked a hunt for trophy mule deer. Well nothing was as promised, when we arrived he required us to sign a paper stating if we killed to small of a deer we had to give him another thousand dollars. No refunds take it or get out! Well the camp house was full of wasps and the sink was full of dirty dishes. We neither one ever saw a big mule deer just some does and young bucks. This was an all-around nightmare never will I spend money with an outfitter again. FRANK
My wife and I archery hunted bear in Western Maine 9/28/10. She carried her bow and I had my video camera. The outfitter said each hunter will be given an active bait and the sites will be baited 30 days in advance of the season. The truth is that of the 11 hunters that week only 3 had bear coming to the bait. Also, the sites had been baited only 3 times in the month before we arrived. The outfitter only provided 2 E-mail addresses for references. The outfitter also had 4 different names for his business. Not one of the 11 hunters was a repeat customer. The outfitter could only be contacted by cell phone and P.O. Box. These are all warning signs of a crook. If you have any suspicions before you commit money, don't.
Booked with an outfitter from TX that advertises in a well-known hunting magazine. Web site indicates a lodge with 10,000 acres of hunting property with a real and expected chance of taking a 150 B & C class buck at each hunt. Reality is that there is no lodge or 10,000 acres of hunting property. Outfitter sets up hunters in bunk room (converted garage) at his home. Hunting property is a 45 minute drive into what appears to be about 700 to 800 acres of worn out pasture land. Property is so far that he gets the hunters up at 3:30 am. Tri-Pod hunting stands are a wreck and very dangerous. One I tried to hunt had its seat rusted and would not turn. Another had three of its uprights almost broken off. In 2 & 1/2 days of hunting, I saw 2 does and 3 small bucks. STAY AWAY FROM THIS OUTFITTER. HE IS A COMPLETE FRAUD AND IT'S A COMPLETE RIP OFF.
I booked an elk hunt with an outfitter in WY for me and my son hoping that my son would take his first elk. I got concerned in the prehunt meeting when the lead guide said that we wouldn't hunt in the evening since it was a full moon and warm weather. Sure enough we never hunted until dark sometimes back at the camp having a drink at that time. It was mainly a horseback riding adventure which appeared to be their specialty. Only saw 3 elk running while we were riding. Never again will I believe a slick brochure.
I booked a turkey hunt in TX and brought a friend for his first outfitted hunt. We were supposed to stay in a furnished trailer with the meals supplied. We arrived to a trailer that had been broken into and a lot of the stuff was stolen. The fridge didn't work so we had a cooler and absolutely no food. The hunting was ok but I didn't pay to come and stay at a dump like that. The outfitter obviously didn't have any money so we didn't even try to get ours back. It was a real waste of time and I felt really bad for my buddy because this is not what it should have been.
Went on a muzzleloader elk hunt in NM. Planed for over a year and set a lot of money aside because it was to be a private ranch hunt with a outfitter that had been in business 27 years. What a disaster, the outfitter literally chased the elk with a truck and would then have the hunter jump out and shoot it. I refused and asked to be set on a stand where the elk were traveling as I was told would be the case. The outfitter said okay if you don't want to kill an elk that was fine with him. All of his guides were new and told us they would not be back next year. Well none of the hunters were coming back either. Heard he was kicked off the ranch the next season.
Booked a safari along with my wife, a buddy and his wife in Jan.2010. Sent full payment as per request so that outfitter could obtain the best air fare for our safari as time grew shorter for our flight date. We kept on calling and e-mailing outfitter as to where were our tickets and letter of invitation. Five days before we were supposed to leave we received an e-mail that he was having some money problems and could not fullfill our agreement. We have since learned that we are not the only ones who have been scammed by this thief. The South African Pro hunting org.has since then kicked and is pursuing legal charges. Any person who belongs to SCI,DSC,NAHC,NRA or any other group should be warned.
I went with [Name of outfitter removed]. This was a very poor excuse for an elk hunt. Practically no elk, only three had been killed in this camp for weeks of hunting. Hunted only a few hours at a time, in camp rest of time. One of our party made kill on 4 x 5. I saw total of five elk at one occasion(one spike and four cows)then very poor judgment when blizzard came for three days. Had to walk out five miles, ride by horse ten or more then walk three more down mtn face as to steep to ride. Much longer ordeal than space will allow, but I spent $7000.00 on a very poorly guided hunt with next to no game. Would not go with with this outfitter on a free hunt.
Perry
A buddy and I booked an elk hunt in Montana through a booking agent and were told to expect seeing a lot of elk as we would be hunting just outside of Yellowstone Park. This was confirmed by the outfitter when we spoke to him on the phone. His website showed that he had been in business for many years and he assured us we would experience a top quality hunt. When we met at the trail head we were greeted by 33 other hunters and not one of them had hunted with this outfitter before. This was our first warning that things weren't going as they should. We were then split into two groups which left us with 18 hunters in our camp. When we arrived in camp it was clear that there shouldn't have been more than 9 to 10 hunters as they didn't have enough room for us all. Although we were told that we would be staying in wall tents with bunks my buddy and I had to sleep in a pup tent on the ground. They had also sent all of our gear to the wrong camp so the 2 of us and our guide rode all night in the dark back to get our stuff and only arrived back at our camp just in time to go hunting the next morning. To make a long story short we didn't see one elk in 7 days of hunting. Some of the guides in camp were kids from back east that had never hunted elk before, didn't know the area at all and had no clue as to how to blow a cow call or bugle. We talked to the outfitter but all he did was make excuses and blame his employees. When we got back to the local town after the hunt we were told by numerous people that there hadn't been elk in that area for a few years and this outfitter was just booking new hunters every year. The booking agent took our first call and said there was nothing he could do. After that we were unable to contact him. How I wish we had something like this program and maybe we wouldn't have wasted so much time and money on those losers.
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