rock_jock1188

I know, I know. You think thestories you read about bad outfitting experiences will never happen to you. I thought that way since all my other guided hunting experiences were wonderful, but I got burned by these guys bad.

Here's the story:

I booked with another guy a 3-day guided hunt near Lubbock, TX in late November 2005. I was booked to shoot both a mule deer and a whitetail for a total of $5,800. Their website http://www.rustlercreekoutfitters.com/advertises them as offering "Trophy Mule Deer" hunts, with this little gem - "Many of the mule deer will range in the 140 B&C range. Spreads are commonly 22+ inches on these mule deer." OK, so far, so good.

Now, I should mention that, while I am not a world-class hunter, I do understand what should be expected from an outfitter, and especially what distinguishesprofessional outfitters who charge thousands of dollars from day or season lease operations that essentially make no effort to manage the quality of the herd. For the latter, youdo not have any realistic expectations of shooting a trophy-quality animal. Most of the bucks have small racks. They may be well fed, but their herd has not been specifically managed for genetics and nutrition. The cost of the intense game management that professional outfitters employ both requires them to charge large fees and allows them to state with a high degree of confidence that a hunter will have an opportunity to see several trophy-quality animals and shoot at least one. Most outfitters do not guarantee a successful hunt simply because they cannot control a hunters ability to react well or shoot with any accuracy. They also cannot control extreme weather conditions, which may totally disrupt normal behavior patterns of the game animals. What they can and do guarantee, however, is that they have created the conditions via active game management such that a sufficient number of quality game animals exist on a given ranch that will provide a hunter with ample opportunity to kill an animal that is of the size and quality (i.e., rack quality) that they advertise.

After two days of hunting with Rustler Creek in weather conditions that ranged from fair to highly favorable for game hunting, I can say that the claims they make on their website are substantially different from reality. I base this on observations made during two days of intense hunting totaling approximately eighteen hours (including four hunts from different "blinds" over corn feeders in different locations of the ranch, "stalk"-type hunting involving hiking and "glassing" (intermittent periods of hiking and using binoculars to spot and track animals) over approximately 15 miles, "spot" hunting involving driving most of the ranch over a period of several hours over both days) and conversations boththe outfitter owner (Richard Defee) and his partner (Jimmy ??).

I have detailed below a list of what I believe are most glaring discrepancies between their advertised claims and what I was either told or observed:

1. Claim: “We manage more than 200,000 acres of prime Texas hunting ground"
Reality: The ranch on which we hunted was less than 14,000 acres.

2.Claim: “We have excellent game and hunting on all ranches, as we have harvested 3 Boone & Crockett (over 170BC) deer and several in the 160 BC class”
Reality: This claim may be true of previous ranches leased by Rustler Creek, but NOT of the one we were on and since the website did not indicate that we would not be hunting on the ranches for which this claim was made, this was very deceptive. They were basically pulling a “bait-and-switch,” promising a certain quality of hunt on one type of lease used in the past and delivering a completely different experience, albeit at the same price. Richard Defee’s business partner indicated that they had not harvested either any or very, very few trophy-quality bucks from the ranch that we were on since they began leasing it three years ago. They had not, for instance harvested a single trophy-quality buck during the 2005 season from this lease. In fact, he openly admitted that the ranch had been over-hunted prior to Rustler Creek taking over the lease three years ago and that they hoped to change the poor condition of the hunting that had resulted from prior neglect of proper game management, not that they had already achieved that goal, which would mean that the ranch was not suitable for the types of claims that they are making on their website. Given the level of “scorched-earth” type hunting Jimmy described that had taken place in the past, it is reasonable to believe that a healthy population of quality bucks could not be established for several years at best, and that is assuming that they have been involved in active game management, which they have not (see below).

3. Claim: “We practice intensive game management on these ranches to provide you with the best opportunity to harvest a trophy deer during your hunt. Size of the deer range from 150 to 200 pounds due to the excellent nutrition programs implemented and excellent genetics.”
Reality: This is completely false. Both Richard and Jimmy admitted that they do not practice ANY nutritional management for the game animals, other than provide corn to feeders (which is not a nutritional supplement, but rather an attractant). Furthermore, there are not enough trophy-quality bucks to manage, nor are there enough animals harvested to count as any type of management for quantity or quality.

4. Claim: “The majority of the bucks harvested range from 110 to 130 B&C with trophy potential at bucks in the 160 and 170 class.”
Reality: Once again, this may be true of other leases in previous years, but is completely false at the ranch we hunted on. Jimmy (business partner) indicated that prior to this week (November 28-30), only a single mule deer and a single whitetail buck had been harvested during the entire 2005 season. Both of these animals were nowhere near the B&C ranch indicated on their website (Jimmy stated that the mule deer was either a 3x3 or 4x4 with a 20” spread and the whitetail was a very small 4x4). Over two days of intense hunting on foot, in blinds, and in a vehicle, using a pair of high-quality binoculars, I personally spotted at least one dozen whitetail bucks. None of the bucks even remotely resembled a mature, trophy-quality buck. In fact, all but one were immature bucks less than two years old with a single buck possibly being over two years. This particular buck had a rack that would most likely score no higher than 100 B&C.The population of almost exclusively immature bucks indicates a deer herd that is recovering from a previous period of heavy, uncontrolled hunting, with almost all mature bucks of trophy quality having been removed from the herd years earlier. This type of ranch is wholly unsuitable for trophy hunting at this time.

5. Claim: “Many of the mule deer will range in the 140 B&C range. Spreads are commonly 22+ inches on these mule deer.”
Reality: Once again, this may be true of other leases in previous years, but is completely false at the ranch. I personally observed over seventy mule deer at the ranch. Most of these were does, but I also observed close to a dozen mule deer bucks. The largest of these I shot, and that particular animal had a rack that would most likely score no higher than 110-115 B&C. No larger bucks were observed. Again, this animal represented the higher-end range of quality at the ranch, and does not even approach what the “average” should be based on their claims.

6. Claim: “Our monster bucks often weigh between 150 and 220 pounds, and score between 120 and 165 Boone and Crocket..”
Reality: See discussion above. This claim is materially false for the lease we hunted on.

I knew I was in trouble, when after the first day of hard hunting on foot for five hours and another three spent driving around, Richard Defee (the outfitter/owner) asked me "what do you think we should do tomorrow to find some deer?" You have got to be kidding me??!! This guy is the supposedly experienced outfitter, and he is asking me (who knows nothing about the area or the lease) for advice??

The kicker to all this is Richard Defee indicated that he would bring the meat that was processed in West Texas back with him when he returnedto the Houston area in 2-3 weeks. Well, I finally got the meat...not in December, but in March 2006, and while most of the sausage was at least in coolers, he brought back all the choice cuts (steaks and the backstrap) in a cardboard box, which compltely defrosted during the nine-hour trip. His reply to me when I asked him about this pretty much epitomizes his entire mentality: he shrugged his shoulders and said, "well, it was cold when I left this morning." What an idiot!

Folks, take this review for what you will I don't want anybody else to get screwed the way I did.

muliehuner

sorry to hear that, thanks for the heads up

Don K

Huntinfo.com has Outfitter reviews where you can leave your feedback there.

bow357

As DON K said. Post it in HUNTINFO.COM . Alot of people use it to find reviews.

trapperhawes

What really sucks . In the season of 1999 I was hired as a guide trainee in Montana. I pack up and move my family. I was quoted $2000 a month to be paid. When I showed up and started the outfitter refuse to pay me. He had this big idea I would work for free and join his church. I was so messed up over that and still am to

Lanse couche couche

What's the Latin phrase that translates to "Buyer beware." This is a great illustration of why I would never pay to hunt.

DARKSIDE55

If you never pay for a hunt then you'll never get stung like this guy did. Before I pay for a hunt, I do some checking. But you can't lump all outfitters together. I've paid for many hunts and so have a lot of the members on this forum. You're missing out on a lot of good hunting. You'll never be able to hunt Caribou because they are all pay hunts unless you live in Quebec.

matthewcmill

rock,the outfitters at hustlecreekoutfitters i mean rustle, must be used car salesmen when there not sceaming hunters. I would leave very bad feedback at huntinfo. PS My outfitters will treat you right, once you get over your burn wounds email me at [email protected] and ill get you a great outfitter, heck i will even knock off 5% of your hunt!!!

Lanse couche couche

Darksides,

I'll pass on any future Caribou hunts then if its pay only. There's too much other stuff out there that can be hunted for free.$5800 was more than enough for a down payment on some woods in Illinois that can give me about all the hunting I want.I would rather spend my money on something like that instead of buyinga big rack. But, that's just me.