Over the years, I have been on several outfitted hunts. Some of them were good hunts that I will remember because I had a good time, regardless if I harvested an animal or not. I have also been on a few outfitted hunts that were very poor. I remember those hunts because everything the outfitter told me prior to the hunt was a lie. Unfortunately for me and many like me, by the time I discovered the outfitter was a fraud, I was sitting in camp and my check had been cashed.
I went on an outfitted elk hunt several years ago that turned out to be a disaster. What I was told and what I was sold were two completely different things. I was told that all of the guides in camp were experienced elk hunters and bowhunters. I was assured we would have Class A accommodations and would be hunting private land that had seen little hunting pressure. After arriving in camp, I quickly realized I was in for an adventure…. but not the type of adventure I signed a $6,000 check over to partake in. My guide had never held a bow in his hand before, let alone harvested an elk with one. The accommodations consisted of pop-up campers and an outhouse, which my wife who came along on the trip really enjoyed!
We did not even have a target in camp to shoot our bows at. That was okay; we shot at a rotting mule deer carcass that was hanging from a tree behind camp. As far as the hunting land was concerned, there were too many hunters being brought to the camp to hunt. During the week I was there, there were seven different hunters hunting the same piece of private property. There were five or more hunters in camp for weeks before I got there and for weeks after I left - and all of us were hunting the same couple herds of elk.
I hunted seven days. In the first five days of my hunt, I didn’t see an elk. The other hunters in camp had similar luck. After fighting with the outfitter, I was moved to a different camp where I saw the behind of an elk that was 300 yards away. The other hunters in camp never saw a single elk. One hunter in camp had saved money for years to go on the elk hunt and had two kids in college. This was his once-in-a-lifetime hunt that turned out to be a nightmare. Oh, and by the way… our cook smoked a healthy dose of marijuana every day while preparing our food.
Most hunters choose an outfitter based on a conversation we have with them at a sport show or outdoor function. We walk up to their booth and listen to them tell us everything we want to hear. “Yes, we have trophy class animals. Yes, we have a 90% success rate regardless if you are using a bow or gun.” They prove it to us by showing us a photo album full of grinning hunters holding their big buck or bull. So, we plop down a deposit and go home happier than a pig in mud. However, we might have the hunt of a lifetime… or we may not. We are flipping a coin and without doing lots of research on the outfitter, we stand a good chance of being disappointed. Choosing the right outfitter requires the hunter to do a little homework and act as a private investigator.
Always have a list of questions to ask an outfitter. As you watch TV at night, write down questions you think of. Have the list ready before you attend a sport show. Ask the questions. Having the list in front of you as you talk with outfitters will help you remember everything. Key questions may include: How much is the hunt? Are there any fees you’re not telling me about? How long have you been in business? Do you specialize in bowhunting? Make sure you get all of your questions answered before booking a hunt. If an outfitter starts acting angry or upset as you ask the questions, move on to the next booth. If they answer each question with an answer you are looking for, they stand a good chance of being a reputable outfitter.
Every outfitter has a reference list they love to distribute to potential clients. If they give you this list, make sure it contains a few names of unsuccessful hunters. If it doesn’t, ask the outfitter for a few names of clients that were unsuccessful. Before booking a hunt, call successful and unsuccessful hunters to see how happy they were with the hunt. Hunters who tagged out are generally happy, which is why their name is on the list. Many outfitters only put the names of happy customers on a reference list. Calling the hunters who went home empty-handed is a good thing to do. They will always tell you how they feel. Did they have a good time? Did the outfitter deliver what he promised? Why was the hunter unsuccessful? If the outfitter put the hunter on animals but they didn’t get a shot or missed a shot and the outfitter did what he said he would, it’s probably worthwhile to spend your hard earned money on him. If the unsuccessful hunter tells a story similar to the one I discussed earlier, cross the outfitter off your list.
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Another option is calling the State Wildlife Department that issued licenses to outfitters in the state you want to hunt. They can tell you if they have any blemishes on their record. If I would have called the state of Colorado before booking with my outfitter, I wouldn’t have booked with him. I found out that he had his license revoked several times because he broke rules and regulations. A few phone calls can save you a lot of money and headaches.
The best way to choose an outfitter is to go through a hunting booking agency that screens outfitters and hunts with them before sending clients to them or listening to a friend who goes on a quality hunt with an outfitter. Using a booking agency costs a little more, but they do the legwork for you and put you with an outfitter that caters to the type of hunting you are looking for. They know what questions to as outfitters. Outfitters tend to treat booking agency clients well because they want more business. Many hunters who use a booking agent have great hunts. Using a booking agent is like going through a travel agent to go on a family vacation - the difference is they specialize in hunting.
I chose my last elk hunt based on the recommendation of a friend. He had heard lots of good things about the outfitter and had a few friends who hunted there in the past. Everything my friend said ended up being true. There were lots of elk, good guides, quality accommodations and great food. I ended up harvesting a bull elk on the fourth day of my hunt. I have told many friends about the outfitter. This method is fool proof because friends don’t have a reason to fabricate the truth. There are many good outfitters out there but many of them look at you, see dollar signs and do whatever it takes to get your money. Many of them overbook their properties and charge too much. They prey on hunters who don’t know the right questions to ask or have little experience hunting with outfitters.
To increase your chances of success, plan an outfitted hunt at least a year in advance. This gives you plenty of time to research several outfitters and call lots of references. Don’t book a hunt at a sport show. Many outfitters offer show specials to get you to book a hunt that day. Leave your checkbook at home and grab lots of brochures. Make calls and verify websites from home for a few weeks before booking a hunt. Hunters who rush to a show with the mindset of signing on the dotted line before going home are the ones who get burned. When you choose a new car, you often kick a few tires before making a purchase. Do the same thing when planning a hunting trip.
I may make it sound like in a room full of outfitters, only two outfitters are honest and offer a good hunt. That’s not what I am saying. In a roomful of outfitters, there may be a handful of rotten eggs, but each one that books a few dozen trips at the show translates into dozens of hunters who will have a poor experience and go home after a hunt with a bad taste in their mouth and not ever trusting an outfitter again. Taking your time to choose the right outfitter will ensure that you enjoy a great hunt and possibly come home with a buck or bull of a lifetime. But, the first step in tagging a trophy worthy of the wall is choosing the right outfitter. If you spend half as much time checking up on outfitters as you do shooting your bow or gun and picking out gear, you will probably have a great hunt worth every penny!
If you have never been on a guided hunt, let me suggest two species that are a great first time trip for someone looking for adventure: black bears and caribou. In 2008, I went on a caribou hunt and a black bear hunt. I was successful on both trips which is what makes hunting these two species with a guide so great - both species are fairly easy to harvest and less expensive than whitetail or elk hunts. The success rate for both species is usually over 90%. Both of my trips occurred in Quebec.
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