Great thread. Alot of people miss out on the whole picture. After being an outfitter for almost twenty years things have changed in today's hunting mind set of hunters. Word of mouth was our main source of cliental bookings. But you can only take a client for so many trips then they start looking at other hunts around the world. Usually they book about 3 to 6 hunts before moving on for other adventures. We do have a group that has been with us 14yrs I can't thank them guys enough for making life easy when it comes to booking clients. But for every person that decide's to move on to different terrain you try to replace them for the future.

Some outfitters do alot of shows and some do alot of advertising. I personally haven't done alot of either. But then again I'm not trying to book large numbers of clients, just enough to keep me in the field all fall.

So for me it's alot of research to try to find alot of information for the best way to advertise without spending a fortune on website's that don't represent all that well. Also answering hunters questions without being too direct or false statements. I know alot of outfitters that will tell a client anything to get them to their camps. The client will soon find out how it really is when they arrive.

When an outfitter tells you they have some good animals in their area but you could come home empty handed, you just might want to appreciate his integrity. Not all hunters come homewith what they wanted and some come home with more than they dreamed. But the key for a successful hunt is a decent outfitter, good weather, positive attitude, and optimism until the last minute of the last day of the hunt.