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Wyoming Elk and Deer hunt
- Thread starter MN_Mauler
- Start date
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bearpaw
Well-Known Member
why don't you be a little more specific
bearpaw
Well-Known Member
could you be more specific as wellDid you hunt out of Cody on horse back? I had a bad experience with Open creek outfitters.
I dont want to hi jack this thread but this is what happend on our hunting trip with Jay Reynolds of Open Creek Outfitters. Our hunt was going to start on Monday. We decided to fly in on Saturday. When we landed at the airport the airline lost our rifles. They promised they would deliver the rifles to our hotel on Sunday. Our group of 4 went down to the bar to have a drink when 2 guys come up to us and try to pick a bar fight with some of our guys. Later that evening we found out that the 2 guys were some of our guides on our hunting trip. Sunday rolls around and we call the airline to make sure our rifles are going to be delivered and they tell us betwee 3 and 4pm they will be there. We call the airline and they said their delivery person got sick and went home and they are trying to find someone to deliver our guns and they will be delivered around 9pm tonight. To make a long story short. The airline did not deliver our guns. We notified the outfitter what was going on and said we needed to drive up to Idaho to pick up our guns. The outfitter threw a fit said Monday morning the mule train was leaving at 7 am be there ready to go or your going to have to forefit your hunt and we are not going to refund your money. After about 20 minutes of words they decided to keep someone back and we would have to ride hard because we had a 42 mile horse back ride into camp. Once we recieved our guns we met up with the guides and rode into camp. Everyone from the cook wranglers and guide were not professional or very safe. One of the guides put his pistol in his back pack and the gun went off blowing a hole throug the top of the tent which could of killed someone. The guides were taking people down mountains so steep that the horses could not stand up. One hunter in the groups horse fell down the side of the mountan with a hunter on the horse. The whole group was not safe and not professional people at all.
bearpaw
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you've got a couple legitimate gripes and the hunt was not for you, what did you pay for the hunt? I looked at double Y's website, its a well done site, but the hunts are pretty cheap, something everyone should keep in mind. Also looked like several of the photos date back into the 80's from the hunters apparel. Everybody wants to price shop and gripe about how one guys is cheaper than the next when looking to book a hunt, but never stop to think about getting what you pay for. There are lots of options all over the US for the same game species, and I deal with potential clients price shopping every angle. Seems theres a price bracket for about every type of "hunt experience" available, not sure what you paid at Open Creek, but Double Y falls into the lower end price bracket. We are adjusting our prices to fit the economy to an extent, but seems the high and low end priced hunts stay the same, somewhere in between the two seems to get good results and a good experience for the client, and if you can afford a $14,000 elk hunt, I am sure it will be a great experience. Still interested to hear what was wrong with the Double Y hunts, legitimate issues with cheaper hunts always interest me. I'll check out open creek now and see if the writing is on the wall as well
bearpaw
Well-Known Member
checked out open creek, unless the photos are from someone elses operation, looks like a good hunt. Tack is clean, animals look healthy, game killed is impressive, although price is leaning towards the low end for an 8 day hunt. I'd be willing to bet they get more positive responses from unseccessful hunters than negative.
Sounds like your trip started out bad and that was projected onto the outfitter to an unfair extent, not saying your hunt was perfect, there was the firearm discharge to complain about.
Sounds like your trip started out bad and that was projected onto the outfitter to an unfair extent, not saying your hunt was perfect, there was the firearm discharge to complain about.
The hunt was a good hunt just poorly ran and managed. The guides looked like he hired bumbs off the street. Between hunts the guides slept in Jays garage. They did not have a lot of hunting experience. One group of hunters got lost and spent the night in the woods. Our group killed elk after we took charge and did a spot and stalk hunt instead of sitting on ground blinds and hoping something would walk by. I agree on a hunt you get what you pay for size of trophy you take home. There is no excuse for a poorly managed outfit. I would not of cared if our group came home with nothing that's hunting. Its about being safe having fun with the guys going on an adventure of a life time.
You need to get ahold of the Wyoming Outfitters Board and make sure all of your hunters lodge a complaint against Open Ck. They may not do much this time around, but if other complaints come in, they will may take some action. You might be saving some of your fellow hunters a bunch of hard earned cash down the road. There are some good outfitters in the Thorofare...
Sorry was out hunting whitetails. Double Y talks the right talk. I asked what I thought were the right questions. It is not what I would call a elk hunt. All we did for 7 days is ride horses in the morning in the dark and ride back to camp in the dark. During the day we sat on the side of canyons hopping a elk would come out. I pay an outfitter for opportunities we had none. Out of 7 people in camp one person saw some elk and actually shot one. There were people in camp that had deer and elk tags, like us but no deer. The trails we rode on in the dark were unbelievable, very steep and rugged. My so called elk hunt, was more like a see if you dare to ride horses up this trail. We were told that we rarely see other hunters because camp is 10 miles in. I bet I seen 50 to 60 other hunters on horse back, tents all over the place. You get what you pay for
Your wasting money booking a deer hunt in the Thorofare unless you're hunting the last week of the season. Deer densities in the Thorofare are low. They're usually tough to find unless weather has them migrating. An outfitter who doesn't share this kind of info when you're talking about booking a hunt is someone I would avoid. Look at the various outfitters websites who work up there. You'll usually see very few deer pics and the ones they do have are just average bucks for a lot of areas in Wyoming.
