outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

Apache Park outfitters. My hunt was a private land Elk archery hunt for 3900$ with promises of all kinds. Ended up hunting in a whole different unit, with an over the counter tag. Very little elk, and no quality. When i called him after the 3rd day to ask for a partial refund so i could hunt on public land by myself he refused, and made a whole new pile of lame excuses about drought and other things. Now i know there was a drought, so i booked very late (1 mo) just because of it, to make sure the outfitter knew where the animals where feeding and watering. He used that as one excuse, "you booked this hunt late" he threw at me as one comeback. What a theif. His mentality was that the money effect of the drought should fall completely on the hunters, not him and his outfitter/cattle biz. I questioned him for over 2 hours before i booked, about pressure, quality, quantity, price, unit, landowner voucher and the works. I let him kmow this was a once in a lifetime hunt for me since i am a cancer patient in remmission and do not know if I will be hunting for too long. The end result was a total lie. I didnt recieve a reciept of downpayment, or a packing/equipment recommondation after 4 contact attempts with him about it. On the night before i flew out he finally called and I was told a bunch of conflicting info from what i was originally told. This is a big name outfitter in coloraro and Norther NM Named Apache Park Outfitters, who sends out brochures from a mailing list that he gets from fish&game depts of unlucky draw tag applicants, that i am sure many of you have seen in your mailboxes. I left my 7 day hunt after 5 days to go on my own, on public land, even though i was paying to still hunt this sh#t hole property. I met a Game warden and told him my story and he laughed,telling me this guy has so many complaints that he does not know how he keeps his outfitter status. He said that there is hardly a outfitter meeting with the F&G that this guys name does not turn up.
I checked his references , but i found out that that means nothing.
The warden advised me of something i never knew, to call the outfitters registration for the state to find out about complaints, instead of calling hunter references. references can be rigged.
He operates out of SE colorado and chama NM. He seems to have some sucsess with the gun hunters but stay away from him during the bow season!! One of the other hunters that came from Pennsilvania got very sick with a diabetes problem and left the same day i did. I called him after the hunt and he never got a call from the outfitter to find out how he got home o.k. The hunter also was supposed to stay out for an extra week to rifle hunt NM, and put down a good downpayment. He backed out before the tag was purchased but still never got a phone call from the outfitter. The guy sent out a registered letter requestiong a call, and the outfitter never called, or refunded any portion of the money, or to even find out if he could come the following year. He just never called period. There is a LOT MORE to this story, i will post more about tresspassing on the ranch next to his lease and much more in the future. But for now, Call the state outfitter registration board before you book a hunt, not references.

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

Sounds like your trip was a bummer schmalts. Welcome home and back to the boards.

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

I've had their brochure for a few months. Just sh#tcanned it.

Never trust a bow under 40 (inches).

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

I had a little experience myself on a "guided" deer hunt. I hunted 3 days and never saw the first animal. the peanuts were harvested, and the deer moved off the fields in search of other food. Of course the "outfitters" didn't really care and refused to move stands or look for more recent activity. Oh well live and learn, but thanks for sharing your story.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

Schmalts,

It is stories such as this that make me nervous about booking a guided hunt. Sorry to hear about your poor experience. Hopefully your next trip will be more rewarding.






Never trust a bow over 36 inches....<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

I have yet to read a positive site from another hunter about booked hunts.

RE: outfitter to stay away from!!!
 

on the big game board a guy posted a site to see comments on outfitters. I looked this joker up and guess what? more like my hunt posted on Apache park. good site to keep bookmarked

Apache Park is now TROPHY OUTFITTERS @ elk elk elk dot com
 

Scam thieves and liars stephen flowers and rick searrs stay away!!

I am a former guide. STAY AWAY FROM STEPHEN FLOWERS, RICK SEARS AND KEVIN SEARS (CARSON) ALL SCAM ARTISTS! They are currently under investigation from several different entities! They cannot match what they promise!!!! STAY AWAY! DON'T THROW AWAY MONEY AND STAY CLEAR FROM THE APACHE RIDGE CATTLE!!! THEY ARE A PYRAMID SCAM!!!! LOOK UP RICK SEARS OR KEVIN SEARS!

This topic has been moved to the Hunts/Outfitters Reviews forum as the most appropriate forum. Hopefully, it saves somebody from getting burned.

CalHunter
Moderator

So Rick Sears is still operating? My Dentist buddy got scammed by that crook way back in the 80s or early 90s!!! I guess when you have millions of people out there and many don't look at references before they book with someone a guy can get away with cheating people for decades! It's a wonder somebody hasn't shot this dude by now though!!!

Apparently, Stephen Flowers and Rich are still operating together running Trophy Elk Adventures in CO & NM. I also got caught up in their deceit. Stay away from these guys. Their guides do not know or adhere to the state regulations with regard to tagging and hides and they will throw the hunter under the bus with the game warden the first chance they get. My hunt was a once in a lifetime, bucket list, first time booking with an outfitter instance and all was lost in the 1st 5 hours of the hunt when the guide was pulled over for speeding -- and no proof of insurance. Although a refund was promised, it has yet to be seen, and no return calls or texts.

Elkelkelk.com scam
 

11-03-2002, 10:46 PM :sign0016:

Last guy before yours hasnt even been back on the forum since 10-30-2017 09:03 AM and that was his only post.

Thanks for the heads up !