Ok let me start this off by saying I have never been on any form of a guided hunt and a group of 8 decided we were going to do it this year. So after quite a bit of research and finding a place we could all afford we picked a place in Missouri. Long story I know but after talking with the guide before booking he said we will be hunting over food plots and mineral locations on about 1500 acres, well there is two food plots that they have done on the entire place one has not even began to grow because it was done two weeks ago the other is very nice, now the mineral spots is an absolute joke one and I mean one mineral block that you would buy at academy is out that we have seen at one stand and there is another spot that has a hole dug that looks like it may of had minerals in it last year, now to the deer he has said its 100% opportunity pretty much and there is 8 of us day 3 no shots and only 4 or 5 have been seen a deer and mostly a couple doe. Now here is the worst part in my opinion there is a page on the website for references or whatever or people that have hunted and tell their story one of them have this long drawn out story of his great hunt and leaves his number to call anytime if you have questions about his experience, so two weeks before going I decided to call him to see what to expect and that guy ends up being one of the partners of this outfitter he is not the phone number listed but is partners. Now to me that is complete crap and makes me wonder if all those stories that we based our decision off of are bogus, any suggestion what to do if anything would be greatly appreciated, we still owe $2,000 before we leave. Oh and as I set here and type this I am so close to another hunter I could hit him with a rock (50 yards)
As a group I would tell him how disappointed you are. That the hunt is not as advertised, and that you fell you should not have to pay the full amount. honestly you should have done your homework first as far as references go.
I read all his reviews of supposed past customers and all was great, checked on line and couldn't find much just what was on his website. I asked on here one guy said he gun hunted and would refer them, and I do understand hunting is hunting but he could and should have done a lot more to improve the situation.
That really sucks...but it's early in the season and you get what you pay for...if you could have booked the trip Nov. 1-7 you may have had an entirely different experience. Unless there is some sort of guarantee in your contract it's doubtful you have any cause to get your money back. Next time you may want to save more money and book with a more reputable outfit during a better time in the season. I would still complain though...I mean now is the time to complain...not at the end. Tell them you aren't happy with the amount of deer you're seeing and the stand locations so close together and see what happens.
Tough break...but consider it a lesson learned in regards to choosing an outfitter and verifying the references. I agree with those before me that say now is the time to voice complaint, not at the end of the hunt. Good luck, and I'm hoping either the hunting gets better, or you get some cash back.
What is the name of the outfitter to see if anyone has any history with them here? There is a lot of Missouri hunters on here.
that "bait n switch" they pulled with the bogus reference phone number is borderline fraud in my book. if nobody kills or sees any good bucks by hunts end, they might have to "book a guide" to get the remaining $ from me
I honestly prefer not to mention the name don't wanna run the name down they could be having a bad early season as far as preparation goes, but if anyone is planning on booking a trip direct message me I will let them know.
Nothing we checked cameras he didn't......couple deer and honestly the pics he has posted I don't think they are as recent as he has said
What is that going to do? It is semi guided so he could move stands or go to another property if they have one available. The semi guided places I have been usually have a number of farms to hunt. It definitely sounds like what he is dealing with sucks but I would find another spot on one of their farms myself.
I'm not defending the outfitter, but I will say that it's been almost impossible to get food plots in this season. In fact there are over a million acres in Missouri that farmers could not get planted because of all the rain and the timing of it. Also, it's early season so you aren't going to see the kind of movement that you would in November. If you can find some oak trees, that would be a good place to start since there's not much for food plots. Also depending on the area, we have seeing the results of EHD from a couple years ago. Numbers are down, especially for that older age class of bucks right now. There are still good bucks around, but they are just harder to find right now.
Ya the biggest thing to me is I have seen no effort out of him, he literally stays in his camper and scratches his head. We just spent the last 3 hrs scouting moving stands hanging stands and cutting shooting lanes, the stands that we have Been hunting have been on those same locations for years and this year is obviously different than years passed. So we just did his job for him in my opinion.
Semi-guide should do the work and set you up where the deer are.. a guide-guide for the most part hunts with you and talk you threw the deer you are looking at and talks you threw a shot. Sounds to me like he is paying for a non-guide... or giving someone a LOT of money to hunt their land. I have never paid for a hunt and may be way off, but thats the way I see it.
Well we worked our tails off all 8 of us and one of us killed a deer. The guide was shocked we moved stands in there. I just tried to explain to him no crops no food plots no reason for the deer to be out there, lol maybe it will be a good day tomorrow and better for the next group.
Bummer Zone. Sorry to hear that. I would rell him social media is a b!tch. He has a chance to redeem himself. Tell himYou can either tell everyone on Bowhunting.com how unprofessional his outfit is, or....... You will be able to share your experience of how his Outfit might be ok next season with more work and it will definitely be worth checking into because they care about customer satisfaction. Its up to them... like i said social media can be a b!tch !!!
Have you ever been on a guided hunt or have you just watched the tv shows and figure that on a guided hunt the outfitter sits with you and talks you through the shot? If you are on a guided hunt in the Midwest sometimes you only get dropped off at the stand you are going to hunt the first time.
