I've never paid someone to guide me on a hunt. I wouldn't pay someone to help me find a good hole on the river to catch trout either. If I can't do it myself I'll go home empty handed.

The one exception being the Alaska grizzly hunt that I plan to do in order to check it off my bucket list. Not much choice on that one.

*** Nice ride there Pete!!!

It was then. I had just built it. It's a lot more beat up now, but still gets me there.

I love it when some hunter in a pickup tries to follow me to my hunting areas.

Topgun 3006: first off I'm not looking for sympathy I only want to save other hunters who work insane hrs to make a living honestly and don't have the time to call three years worth of clients for references. We run businesses that restrict our hunting time. More often than not I go do it yourself. If this wasn't a spot n stalk I would have never went guided and have only been on one other guided hunt ever. We went with This outfitter after calling some references asking lots of questions and observing who was hunting there. Thing is you can't do enough to know for sure and I'm not the kind to just buy an animal. Some hunters get so self ritchious. It great to do it yourself and it's fine to go with an outfitter if you want to for whatever reason. I'm plenty capable of hunting and scouting on my own I've done it all my life. Today if you want good chance at a high quality mule deer you most likely have to wait years and years to draw or spend up to $15000.00 which I would never do, but I don't sit on my high horse and judge someone who does if it's legal ethical hunting. Besides with all the character flaws in people nowadays like ignorance...., I am not concerned if someone goes on a guided hunt or pays a mortgage on one as long as it's legal and ethical hunting. Naive??? Maybe, I wouldn't cheat anyone so sometimes it's hard for me to think someone could be so dishonest when your in direct dealings with them and they seem genuine. I would also bet that a lot of those hunters bashing guided hunting or paying for a hunt would be doing the same if their budgets allowed. I find a lot of satisfaction in hunting on my own and I might do a guided hunt where the guide is limited in the amount of involvement they have in the hunt. This is why I went for deer in the sand hills but I'll say that the guide was involved more than I expected. Like I said though I'm just trying to save honest hunters a lot of aggravation. I'm not looking for sympathy and sure as heck don't need it. Lastly I'm also not looking to be scolded for the way I hunt or look for an outfitter. Your missing the point here and you have no idea of the circumstances that went on or the type of hunters that we are and I could care less about what kind of hunter anyone else is as long as your ethical. If you don't want burnt stay away from deer meadows. Maybe hire top gun 3006 as your guide, he seems to be the equivalent of Chuck Adams and Jim shocked rolled into one perfect hunting machine:)

Like I said in my post. When you saw him breaking the law by baiting. It should have thrown up a red flag.

I don't like to see someone cheated, and I hope you do more about it than post here.

***That is pure BS if I ever read a post and I didn't say YOU made your post looking for sympathy! You've just stated you don't have enough time to spend a few nights on the phone calling and talking to a bunch of people before you spend that kind of money with a perfect stranger!!! I say BS because if that's true then IMHO you need to reevaluate your priorities and stop to smell the roses once in a while. I'm saying calling a bunch of past hunters is exactly what is needed to assure that the kind of crap that happened to you doesn't happen to others and that's all I've said. Now you're saying you did talk to a few, but it sounds like you may have gone there because of some TV show or personality hunting it that you saw. If that is the case then you are very naive because those people will receive top notch treatment every time in order for an outfit to get advertising from them on their show. That ls the whole problem nowadays with hunting being an "industry" and that's exactly what it is. I have no problem with people doing DIY hunts like I do or going on guided hunts if they need to or are required to in certain areas or for certain animals like in AK. I have made no comments against outfitted hunts or those who go on them, but I do feel that you can have good mulie hunts without spending a fortune. However, you do need to have a few PPs in certain states to draw and get into areas that hold better deer. Again, just like hiring an outfitter or going to a place like you did, you need to do plenty of homework to increase your likelihood of success. Finally, that was really sour grapes attacking me with that Chuck Adams/Jim Shockey statement to end your post when all I said is you need to do more than you did to avoid getting screwed!!! I DID NOT miss the point of your post like you stated and this has nothing to do with me saying anything about your ethics, hunting style, etc. because I said nothing of the sort.

You would have been better off hiring Topgun than the clown you picked. He wouldn't have stopped you from shooting any deer.

***LOL at that one Pete!!! :s3:

I'm sure I would have been better off with top gun. Look I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers. I wrote that stuff tongue in cheek. I have to admit though I was a little offended by your post but maybe I misunderstood. I don't judge the character of a man by how they like to hunt and you said we were naive and crying about getting cheated. I took offense to that. There were obviously details that I didn't have the time or patience to write. If we would have stayed until we had refund money in our hands we would have probably been into a serious altercation with this guy and someone may have been hurt and we may have been in jail so we hoped he would stick to his word and left. We had some words with this guy as you could imagine. I just hope I help someone and if anyone knows where I can more effectively get the word out about this outfitter pleas let me know. No hard feelings top gun but the way you felt after reading my post is exactly how I felt after reading yours but I just don't take differences in hunting styles that serious any way. Good luck to you all and please warn people when you see they are considering this outfitter.

Mate I and many others appreciate you giving everyone a heads up about this outfitter but I do you think you kind of are playing the victim card. For example look at your forum name...

The name is just to send a message and catch the attention of someone thinking about hunting there obviously. I do feel that we were victims. It's a stronger word than I would use but still holds true, but I'm not sitting here feeling sorry for myself lol. I sure don't need any ones sympathy or some one to tell me it will be ok lol. Just trying to save some one some aggravation. Thought maybe that was the point if these forums. Nothing more nothing less. At this point I wouldn't stop warning folks about this outfitter even if he gave me a full refund because he's already shown his intentions and showed what kind of an outfitter he is. I have more principle than that. These post on here will be the least of my actions against thus guy though I assure you. Just be warned. I don't need you to be sorry for me. I'm a business man, I deal with far more serious situations regularly.

Isn't that what this thread was about long before you posted? I'm sure the name of this thread is what attracted you to post, and sign up for this forum to begin with.

"We went with This outfitter after calling some references asking lots of questions and observing who was hunting there. "


***To Deer Meadows Victim---That one sentence of yours alone is why I have a big problem with your posts. All I said was to check a lot of references from previous hunters and not just a select few the guy wants to give you. It sounds like you talked to several that he gave you and that you mainly relied on the TV show you watched based on this one sentence. If you had talked to any number of people instead of just a few that it sounds like were chosen by this guy for you to call you would have been able to check on the food served, the lodging that was said to be a lousy one room trailer for four people and their gear instead of a lodge, etc. IMHO, as I stated before, you didn't do anywhere near enough to insure you didn't run into a lot of problems, so please don't come back at me for anything I've posted when I've said nothing against any style of hunting, including yours. Again, if you will read my posts all I stated is in this day and age you can't trust anyone and need to do lots or research so you don't get stung. That was to help everyone so they don't make the mistake you made!
Fact---You didn't do the necessary work involved in choosing a reputable outfitter and got screwed. We don't know you from Adam since you are brand new on this site and if there hadn't been a majority of posts by others saying the same thing about this outfit it might be possible that you're a competitor and are just bashing the outfit to help your own business for all we know.

This has gotten way out in left field. Good luck to you all and safe hunting. I said what I have to say.

Now, change you name, and join the forum. We beat you up enough, and now we can talk hunting.

***Got way out in left field in what way other than maybe the truth hurts! Geez, if you had taken as much time looking into this outfitter as you've been on this thread, time you say you don't have, you wouldn't have had to come on here at all!!! I agree with Pete's last response. Change your name, join the fun here, learn from your previous mistake and know you've helped others avoid the same.

EDIT: This is interesting in that I just went back and clicked on the OP name Golfman to read some of his posts. It turns out that he IS a competitor of Deer Meadows and about every post he has made is plugging his own operation. Then in one of his threads he is presented the name of Deer Meadows by a member saying Golfman has good prices compared to theirs and his response pretends to not even know them, LOL! As was said in the old Laughin show: "Very interesssssting"!!! In fact, it sort of shows exactly what I told Deer Meadows Victim that we don't know him from Adam and that he could have been a competitor!!!

If this is true, then he has done serious damage to his credibility. A good example of what to look for when talking to outfitters. A good outfit can stand by their own works. Any outfitter who makes himself taller by cutting the trees down around him probably isn't an outfitter you want to do business with. Its ok to point out what you can do/have compared to other outfits, but this clearly crosses the line in my view, and makes outfitters in general look like idiots.

DEER MEADOWS OUTFITTERS in Nebraska
 

I cant beleive that i was a second from pulling the trigger on a 190 inch mule deer and my quide say's no...??? After words im told that Scott the owner of Deer Meadow Outfitters instructed my guide to not let me shoot this buck because they thik it was only 3.5 years old. That was the 2nd day of my hunt that night Scott reinsured me that I will get oportunity's on even bigger bucks. While i had no such luck we only saw 2 other bucks and neither wouldnt have scored above 150. Very disappoint so before leaving Scott said that he would make this right and figure out a refund for me. While that never happened so id have to say im very disappointed that i wasnt allowed to shoot at a 190 inch deer but i could have taken shots at 2 bucks below 150 inch. To top the story off the 190 inch buck was posted on Deer Meadows Outfitters taken by a rifle hunter I think named Gary? So if Gary was allowed to take the buck why wasnt I allowed to. Scott will not comment on that and has pulled Gary and the 190 inch buck named stickers off his site, Theres no mistake the buck had 1 sticker off his right side and 2 stickers off his left side and it was a perfect 4x4. Also When i asked my guide by email whats the deal her my guide has never commented. I wouldnt recommend the outfitter to anyone. Lets face it most of us arnt millionairs it cost me $5000 for this hunt 3000 mile drive I lost a week of work, a week of vaction and 2 week ends driving. Let alone the license was 235, the hotel cost while traving was 600 and we had over 1000 dollars in fuel. I think this buck was being saved for rifle season i am very very very very very very very very very disappointed with Deer Meadows Outfitters...

Is there an echo in here or is it just my hangover ?

***I'd put up that many too if that had happened to me. However, it wouldn't have happened because that deer called Stickers would have bit the dust then and there, regardless of what the guide said unless I had a written contract on what could and couldn't be shot that I had to adhere to! IF all this stuff is true, it sounds like that's a place to stay away from for sure!

Its the only time id ever use one also. I don't get that whole "outfitter/ guide" deal.
If you know how to hunt and know how to camp I would rather do a DIY hunt.

***Many times doing a DIY just isn't possible. For instance, a guide is required for a nonresident to hunt the designated wilderness areas in Wyoming and those are some real good trophy areas you can't legally do DIY. Many places also need horses/mules to access the best spots and most people traveling to other states don't have them. Many people hunting other states just dont have the time to scout in order to have a good chance of getting an animal themselves or don't have the other equipment needed. The thing I do dislike is the fact that outfitters have leased millions of acres of private lands throughout the country and then charge an arm and a leg for access when those areas could be done as DIY like the good old days and are now out of bounds to the average guy.

Like I said if required by law then you need an outfitter. The remote area thing...well you can hike it in but getting game out is a whole other story. I guess if a man did a little research you might be able to rent mules and horse.
As far as scouting game to me that's part of the enjoyment of hunting. Hunting is enjoyment until you kill something, that's when the work starts. But still ,to me anyway, that's all part of the hunt.
I guess im just more of a DIY type of hunter. I cant see myself being lead around told which one to shoot , have the guide gut it, quarter it and pack it out.
Now what I see myself doing is a drop hunt. The outfitter supply the equipment and youre on your own. I believe there's an outfitter on this site, Two Bears, that provides that service.
But to each their own, guided just aint for me.

***I couldn't agree with you more on DIY and everything else you mentioned. That's all we do in Wyoming every year and this year alone I helped backack out 5x5 and 6x6 bulls, as well as a big cow that friends shot on DIY hunts I was helping on. Not bad for a 1 1/2 -2 mile hike each trip for a 66 year old bugger! I also did two antelope of my own and helped a friend bring his out, but antelope are pretty easy when one of them is only about half the weight of one elk hindquarter!

66! bless your heart, ya got 10 on me !

***I'd like to give about 10 or 15 of them back and still be retired, LOL!

Jerry a lot of our drop camp hunters started on a guided hunt, then went to semi-guided, then started drop camp hunting. Pretty hard for an easterner to get enough field time to effectively call elk, so we teach them during a guided hunt. I guess a lot of people feel like they just come out to kill, not usually the case at all. Archery hunters in particular like to learn, and we enjoy teaching. Kinda an "elk school" where you get to hunt;)

I did that, retired at 55 and got the h*e*l*l out of NY!

This Is Steve Buck again which like I said I hunted Deer Meadows 2013 late September and I posted my disappointment that the owner Scott said he would refund but didnt. Reading all of the input especially from Deer Meadow Victim, Muley Hunter and Top Gun. Sure....... if you only know now what you should have know or did then. I just think the bottom line is the 190" Mule Deer Scott named stickers which I was told not to shoot at was taken approx. a month later. So thats the bottom line here Scott the owner of Deer Meadows wasted alot of my money and time. We can all sit here and go back and forth over ground deer meat meals, guided hunts vs unguided, calling references etc etc etc... people do what they want with the money and time they have and thats AMERICAN.....

My topic is crystal clear there's no 2 sides to the story PERIOD. Scott owner of Deer Meadows owes me a refund its one thing to tell a customer not to shoot because of age/genetics (which is disbutable), but after all that to find out that 190" stickered buck was harversted and Scott posted it on facebook by acident then immediatly removed the picture is pretty dam dirty.

I dare Scott owner of Deer Meadows from Nebraska to respond to this (we all know he follows this Hunting Net), its not right and other hunters should know this story because theres no middle ground to it Deer Meadow Outfitters needs to refund me and make this right. If any hunter need to talk to me 724-437-2211. I had been communicating to my guide Eric until I sent him the picture of 190" buck named stickers that I could have shot he has never responded since so there you go...

Steve---We can sympathize with you all we want, and most probably do to at least some extent, but there are usually three sides to a story when problems come up on hunting websites involving outfitter complaints. One is what you say, one is what he will/would say, and then there is the third middle ground that is probably the real story. We don't know either one of you or what the full complete story is, so I do have to say that IMHO you are incorrect when you say there is only your side of it. All I can say is that if you paid what you said for the hunt and didn't have a contract stating that you could only shoot certain bucks that were pointed out to you and not others, then it's your fault that you didn't kill the buck you call Stickers. I would have sent an arrow flying into that buck in a heartbeat and screw the guide's comments if there was nothing stipulating what you could and couldn't shoot. A guide's purpose is to put you on the best animal he can within the limits of the law and then it's up to you to pull the trigger if the shot at an animal you want is presented. If what you say is true, the guide is no better than the outfitter and it obviously sucks, but that buck should have been taken by you and there would have been nothing they could have done about it if there was no contract specifications on what you could or couldn't shoot. I doubt seriously that you'll get your money back, but you can keep trying, but it probably comes down to what you're now doing and that is to alert others like your'e doing about this outfitter. I hope you can work something out in the coming year and that you do have a Happy New Year with this getting resolved to your satisfaction!

Take a look at page one at the last post. Before that deal was done over there was over $50,000 in losses plus damaged feed because of Scott.

***How do you know that when you were the one that started a short thread that had only a couple posts asking for information because you were thinking about hunting with that outfitter? It sounds like you have talked with a landowner and have taken his word to come up with that statement and figure. Am I correct in my assumption? It may or may not be accurate, but right now it's a mere one-sided allegation made out on the internet by someone with just several posts that is brand new to this website---just sayin!

Read your PM's :wink:

Got it and replied---Thanks!!!

Deer meadow outfitters
 

If anyone needs a reference please call me anytime Steve at 724-970-5870 from Pennsylvania hunted there 2013 for mule deer, wasn't allowed to shoot a 180 class said it was too young but later that same hunting season i found out Scott the owner of deer meadows let another hunter shoot the same deer they wouldnt let me take a shot at.

Give it a break will ya! It was your fault you didn't shoot that buck since there was no contract that said you couldn't and we've heard enough about it and him on this thread so that anyone can do a search and read it! 5 posts from you, all 5 are saying the same thing, and you've now brought it back from the dead after 3 1/2 months!

Recommend Deer Meadows Outfitters 110%
 

I'm with topgun on this one. We've all heard your story. Give it a rest. I'd like to add my review about Deer Meadows Outfitters as I have hunted with them for two years and have already booked again. Scott is a very honest and hardworking outfitter. I have taken 2 nice mule bucks with his outfit and I strongly recommend Deer Meadows if you are looking for a high quality, spot-n-stalk mule deer hunt. His guides are very knowledgeable and very hard working. In reference to the food and lodging post, who cares what the food is if you are hunting quality deer in a quality area with quality guides? (I'd eat bologna every day if I were in a good area with hardworking guides. lol) Truth is, The food is good, warm, and abundant. I know Scott didnt tell any of ya that you'd be eating steak every night. Also, this is hunting camp, not the Marriott or Hilton. The truth is, lodging is very comfortable and clean. In addition to these comments, Id like to say that it is very low and unethical for competing businesses and neighbors to bash each other like some of you are doing. Maybe you guys should work harder to produce instead of bashing competition. Lets look at this, one person posted on this thread that they weren't aloud to shoot a deer that was deemed immature while another posted that deer meadows shoots immature deer. (Theres some contradiction. Hahaha) Which is it?? You guys need to get the story straight. I recommend Deer Meadows Outfitter 100%. Lastly, I wouldnt hunt with someone who so unethically and untruthfully puts others down.

***And how much are you getting paid by Deer Meadows to come on here and put up your first two posts saying how great they are?!!! I wouldn't touch that place with a ten foot pole after reading all these newbie posts on this thread like you have now done saying how great the outfit is. If we could ferret this all out I'd bet money that every one that has come on like you have either works for Scott or are getting something from him for making those posts!!! It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a bunch of first time posters coming on a thread to tell how great an outfit is that is getting raked over the coals are a bunch of paid posters!

Snap!

....

Put your money where your mouth is
 

Hey top gun, you wanna bet some money, put it up. I live on east coast, nowhere near Scott. I'm paying to hunt there just like anyone else. I just don't like it when people slam others just because they have a bad experience. Also, don't be jumping to conclusions about me. U don't even know me. Nor do u know Scott. ??? I'm only giving an honest review in light of my experiences with deer meadows. And in my opinion everything is positive with them for me. Also, I operate a business that faces underhanded unethical bashing from competition like Scott is dealing with out there and is exemplified here. I neither participate or go along with that kind of behavior. I'm more professional than that. Also, I believe in the Bible. In particular the part saying if you have nothing encouraging or good to say, keep your mouth shut. So, knowing the outfitter, and having a positive review, I voice my opinion. You wanna ferret things out? Let's do it! I'm positive Scott wouldn't pay to defend himself against little people like the ones posting condescendingly on this website. There u have it