Selecting a Hunting Outfitter

Selecting a Hunting Outfitter       
 
By Steve Peters  

"Seeking a reputable outfitter is similar to playing private detective.  You have to investigate every conceivable angle to be sure you are getting your money’s worth."

Selecting a reputable outfitter in this day and age can be a shot in the dark.  Just one look in the back of any hunting magazine can provide the names and telephone numbers of literally hundreds of outfitting operations.  Other sources such as weekend sport shows, feature magazine articles, government directories, professional hunting consultants, web sites and television programs that highlight sport hunting can provide even more.  When faced with so many outfitters to choose from, the question that usually follows is:  Where do I begin? 
 
To Read Article: Click HERE
 

Feel free to share your comments after reading this article by posting on this forum.
 

Looks good, Steve ... it's not an easy task ... and, never havin' done it myself, I'd be concerned about all that stuff ...

Is it likely that hunting outfitters will show up on the records @ the BBB? Either as "registered" (that's not the proper term, but ... ) or in the "complaints against" files ... ?

I'd guess p'haps the latter, but I'm not sure that any businesses actually "register" with them, or Consumer Reports, or the like ...

I'd personally be a bit leery of the G/O that shows up in a major outdoors magazine, and a newbie to guided hunts uses that appearance to outfitter selection as a sole reference -- tho that's what my dad and his cohorts did in Montana, about 50 years ago ... that hunt ended well for them, but he didn't bring home a "trophy" by any standards ... a filled tag, for the pricey license ... not a "failed" hunt, but one which might be considered as "disappointing" ... by today's standards ...

One other question: Cutlines? I'd be interested to know more about your fotos ...

All of life is six-to-five against, just enough to keep you interested. (Damon Runyan)

Gravity makes all the important decisions ... (John R. Powers)

NRA, REMF, PF, NAHC-L, NAFC-L, KC, NPPA

O:
 
Thanks for the compliments on the article.  I appreciate it.  Yes, it is quite the task to hire an outfitter these days, but hopefully, my article provided some good advice for doing so.
 
I'm not sure about the BBB.  I would imagine some would show up and some would not, which is sort of like regular business -- some do, some do not.
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad's bad experience.  I had one of those bad experiences in Ontario back in '95.  It was a nightmare from beginning to end.  I learned my lesson though -- research, lots and lots of research!
 
Cut lines:  Yeah...  I'm sorry, those were just stock photos I had in my files from outfitter clients so I didn't add any cut lines to the images.  The cut lines would have been very generic as in:
 
Photo 1: "A beautiful elk taken by a satisfied client in the Montana mountains."
 
Photo 2: "A big Saskatchewan black bear on the ground will make an outfitted hunt even more enjoyable."
 
How's that?  LOL!    
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve
 
 

Here is a terrible story that was relayed to me.....
 
A person that I know had the worst experience you could imagine.  The hunter lives in Texas and payed a very large sum of money on a remote Elk hunt in Colorado.  The hunt was a five day horseback hunt to a remote camp.  The Outfitter promised a highly trained and skilled guide for this hunt.  The Outfitter was to provide everything....horses, food for five days, experience, etc. 
 
Turns out that the guide was an alcoholic and was either too drunk or too hung over to even get out of the remote camp.  The hunters left the remote camp without the guide to do their hunting!!! (WTF!!!) The guide also saw fit to bring more alcohol than food and they ran out of provisions two and half days into the hunt.  They quickly had to turn back half way through the hunting trip with absolutely nothing to show for it but bad feelings and total remorse.  The hunter and his party have now filed a law suit against the Outfitter and the guide.
 
I know that this particular circumstance is not the norm, but it definatly pays to do your homework on an Outfitter prior to committing your hard earned dollars on a once in a liftetime hunt.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

That's too bad! I feel very sorry for those guys as I KNOW EXACTLY how it feels to get taken for a ride on an outfitted hunt. 
 
A buddy and I went on our first ever out-of-state hunt to Ontario, Canada on a bear hunt back in 1995 and we had a nightmare experience as well.  We were left to fend for ourselves after an afternoon of "bear hunting" in the pitch-black dark of night on a HUGE river system with hard to see islands and rock outcroppings dotting the water for as far as you could see.  Out of sheer luck I brought a map of the river system, a flashlight and a compass with me before we headed out to our stands that day or otherwise we would have spent the entire night on the water.  It took FOREVER to get back to camp that night.  We left our stand area around 11 p.m. and did not make it back to our cabin until 4 a.m.  The outfitter and guides never came to check on us.  We could have died on that river that night and no one would have known about it.  Also, we never saw a bear for the entire 7 days we hunted.  It was a complete waste of time and money. 
 
After that experience I have always done my research on an outfitter before booking a hunt.  Also, I do a ton of research on the outfitters that are listed on this Web Site and Talk Forums.  And, if I discover that any outfitter of ours is up to no good that outfitter is immediately taken off of our Web Site and Talk Forums no matter how much they paid for advertising!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve 
 
 
 
   

You REALLY have to do your homework nowadays!  Ask any of the 220 folks that got burned by the Tuttulik Caribou hunt debacle and lost around $5000 each.  You almost have to think about asking for financial record in some cases.  I would love to go to Africa someday and hunt Plains Game.  I will definitely be doing some HEAVY DUTY investigation if I get the chance to go.  Just something else to think about.   Great article Steve!!

Love playing that string music and sending a Muzzy flying!

Bo:
 
Thanks much!  Hope it helped or helps.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve
 

That is a great column Steve.
I can honestly say that I'm still looking into an outfitter for doing a
billy goat hunt. I was looking at BC, then went to Alaska, and now I'm doing some research
out west ( got to draw tags at most places ).
This trip will be a once in a lifetime experience so I'm not cutting any corners
when finding the right outfitter. And no one else should either.

Hunt Hard, Hunt Safe and enjoy what you got in life
Paul Snyder
LM NAHC,NRA,SCI,DU

Good job Steve!!!

Mike Stephenson
aka Topgun----30-06

duckwild, Topgun 3006:
 
Thanks guys!  I appreciate the compliments!
 
I'm glad you guys enjoyed the article.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

I've been off the grid lately, but now I'm back.  I was glad to see this article - Great advice!

orduckhunter:
 
Nice to see you back on the Forums!  Welcome back and thanks for the compliments on the article.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

Lottsa good advice there..........

Old Cowboys never die, they just keep riding the Range.

Fantastic article Steve. Great guidelines to follow. We had a terrible experience with an outfitter in Idaho. While the hunting was fantastic going three for three on bulls (drop camp on our own, no guides) the outfitter was ridiculously poor. They lied about everything they said they would provide as far as services, equipment, # of pack horses, etc. We thought we did enough homework on them but obviously we didn't do nearly enough.

dodgeman_29

dodge:
 
Thanks much!  I'm glad you enjoyed the article.
 
I know exactly how you feel except that I didn't even experience a quality hunt on my first go' round with an "outfitter".  I got burned on my first outfitted hunt and nearly lost my life as a result. 
 
The Ontario bear hunt that I booked in the early 90s was a complete nightmare from beginning to end.  I could tell you stories about that 7 day, terror-ridden escapade that would literally curl your hair!  That particular hunt and the circumstances surrounding it were one of several reasons for the creation and the eventual launch of the United Outfitters Association - FORAHUNT.com.  So, I guess you could say that something good came out of all of it, but I certainly didn't see it that way at the time!  LOL!
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve   

I was one of the hunter that was booked with Tuttulik. Sometimes even doing all the leg work on checking out a Outfitter is enough. Most of the reports on Tuttlik was very good. A few had bad things to sat but your going to have that. You can't please everyone. To loose $5300 on a guided Caribou hunt is tough to take. After the fact I think all outfitter should be bonded and have insurance to cover the hunter if something happens. Oh well, just my 2 cents worth.

Ron,

I am still sick that that happened to you!!! Don't give up on all of the Quebec outfitters. You can check a few sites and find some last minute cancellation hunts for about 1/2 of what the full hunt costs if you can do it last minute. Maybe you will still get up there to get that Bou!!!

I do agree that they should be bonded! There is waaaaayyy too much money changing hands to risk it. Trip Insurance is yet another expense but should be something that everyone gets from here on out if you are booking a high dollar hunt! You get your money back and the insurance company fights the outfitter.

Dave

Love playing that string music and sending a Muzzy flying!

Yeah I'm still sick about it. My wife was very understanding about the whole thing. More so than I was.

car:
 
You are correct; you can never be too careful when booking a hunt with an outfitter.  Trust me, I feel your pain and I'm sorry you had to deal with that situation and lose your money.
 
We do everything that we can to insure the legitimacy of every single outfitter that we feature on our Web Site and Talk Forums.  We also have a policy in effect that states if an outfitter is found to be doing anything illegal or underhanded in any way, shape or form that outfitter is immediately removed from our database without exception.
 
Take care and Good Hunting!
 
Best Afield,
 
Steve

And that is the way it should be.