Does anyone book guided hunting trips online?

Hi All,

Just curious if anyone books hunting trips and if so how do you go about it?

I enjoy bow hunting the family farm and some public land hunting but occasionally want to hunt different animals and see different parts of the world.

Some of my frustrations with finding a hunt is having to go through google and look at individual sites and not sure if everything is as advertised. I don't want to spend 2,500 and get there and it doesn't match the pictures. Also a lot of my buddies don't have cash to drop on nice trips so referrals are hard to come by.

I have looked at bookyourhunt.com but the search is pretty weak and focuses it seems more on African hunts but does have some reviews. The rest are all agencies selling what seems to be the outfitter paying the highest commission.

www.bucketlistx.com is a startup that is working on solving this problem but they seem to be launching in late September 2017.

Thanks in advance ,
Michael

 

I wouldn't book with anyone I didn't talk to on the phone. Ask for successful and unsuccessful clients then call them for thier opinion. Get a copy of the hunt contact make sure all important details of the hunt are spelled out plainly. Any doubts back out

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Booking agents are a great start .

Bowhunting Safari consultants

Bow and arrow adventures are two that specialize in outfitters catering to bowhunting.

 

What he said.


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Booking agents are a good start, but in all honesty, (and IMHO) the best outfitters are more reluctant to use booking agents. For one thing, good outfitters generally have high rate of return clients, decreasing their need for help to fill lots of spots. Secondly, if they're good, they generally aren't going to have much of a problem booking hunts on their own and don't want to give up 15% of their hunt price. Third, from the outfitters side of the fence, I want to vet the client as much as they want to do the same. I want to know what a guy's attitude is like, his abilities, experiences, demeanor, physical ability, what defines a "successful" hunt for him. With a booking agent, I don't have that ability... you get who you get and there is nothing you can do about it.

There are lots of good outfitters and there are lots of bad ones but it's pretty hard for the bad ones to hide from the internet.

 

I've booked hunts on line and have been successful . Deer and Elk . I suggest having a list species you have interest in chasing then narrow down when, where and how you would like to pursue. I also am a member on Eastmans Forum and subscribe to there Bowhunting and Rifle magazines that are jam packed with western States and Big game hunting. If your interested in chatting over the phone shoot me a PM

 

I have used a couple over the years.
Find Your Adventure | Worldwide Trophy Adventures
Foremost Experts - World Duck Hunts & Wingshooting - GetDucks.com

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate all the different perspectives. I think it is very important to allow both the hunter and outfitter to get the opportunity to review a hunt and the need for realistic expectations. I really hope for one go to marketplace of booking hunts one day. It seems like to get there it will take a lot more than I originally thought which is why I guess there isn't one already out there.

 

This kinda mirrors my business. I've owned a CPA firm since '98. Back in the day when I was hungry I used a referral thing. Like Dubbya said, you get what you get and pay for that referral even if you don't do business with them. I would have to take the time to meet 10 clients and 7 or 8 of them I wanted nothing to do with them. What a lot of people don't realize is when you meet with a professional anyone to "vet" them, they're judging you just the same.

Over time you start to realize that clients tend to refer people that resemble themselves. May be subconscious, I don't know. If I have a good client that's easy to work with, pays on time, listens to what I tell them, etc and they refer a client I take notice because they tend to know how our relationship works and seem to refer people like themselves and wind up working out well for me too.

Do you know anyone that's ever booked a hunt? I ask because I personally don't know anyone well that has, but if I did - I'd make an assessment on their personality and get their opinions. We all know someone that complains about everything and you just can't suit them. If they had bad things to say about a guide I probably would throw their opinion out. Wouldn't necessarily book a hunt with that guide the next day.

When I first started my career I had a mentor in the big firm out of college. Love him to pieces and we're still great friends today even though he's much older than me. But every single human that left the firm for whatever reason was a crook and he was glad they were gone. LOL! Most of these people eventually found their way to me and he would warn me if I asked and I quit asking. Almost every one of them were great clients, just as great as he thought they were when they were still at his firm. LOL! BUT, a few crooks in there and we had to part ways. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut ever so often.