Bad outfitter, Bad

[Dr. Vette]

Originally Posted by Dalebow

not airing dirty laundry in public, not classy.

I agree. Look at older threads via the Search function and if you "read between the lines" you'll figure them out.

I've had an outfitter that didn't work out well in NM, one in TX that is great and one in Montana that was great but the wolves had already decimated the elk population too much by 2007 and 2009 for us to have much of a chance.

Call references, as many as you can. This year we're trying a different MT outfitter and every single reference we called is excellent. That's what you need to find.

[backyardsniper]

Thanks guys this is exactly the kind of information that I want. I have also been looking into the all inclusive caribou hunts from montreal. It is almost the same price as hiring a guide for an elk hunt and you can kill two of them.

I'm not wanting people to name bad outfitters, although there would be nothing wrong with that in my opinion if a guy screws me out of 6k or 8k you can bet I'm gonna raise hell about it and I would probably make it widely known so some of my fellow hunters didn't fall into the same trap. However, the much more useful information is the names of the guide services that you have had a good trip with, and I mean good trip whether you killed an elk or not. I will probably only get one shot at this and I want it to be right. You can get a list of references from these guys but you know they aren't going to give you the names of any guys that had a bad hunt. Thanks again guys and keep the info coming

[junior71]

You could get a few buddys and do a diy co hunt, to get your feet wet.
If your not into that and are set on a one time hunt. I would look into aprivate land hunt if it was me. Look for outfitters who own the ranch, have repeat clients. Its gona be high, but that's the best wat to have a almost guarantee success.

[Dr. Vette]

Originally Posted by backyardsniper

Thanks guys this is exactly the kind of information that I want. I have also been looking into the all inclusive caribou hunts from montreal. It is almost the same price as hiring a guide for an elk hunt and you can kill two of them.

Be very, very careful with those.
Plenty of bad references to go around with some of those outfits. Be sure to call several references - successful and unsuccessful - if you choose a caribou hunt. What they promise and how they fulfil it can vary greatly.

[junior71]

By the way. I said the same exact line about going just once. Now I have been on atleast 15 diy hunts out west. So if you like to hunt out west, trust me you will find a way. Oh yea, we had a bad outfitter our first time out. So now we do all diy hunts. Cheaper, more rewarding, and no BS, but they are a lot of work!
Another cheap get your feet wet hunt is antelope. I am taking my 2 sons this year, as they drew 4 tags each. We will be driving out from the east coast to Wyoming.