Arrowhead outfitters review (Stay far Away from them)

[clebrun]

Howard and Deb are two of the most rude bullies I have ever met. I had to wait a couple weeks to write this review so I could calm down as it has been a long time since I have had someone be this rude. We booked this trip which should have been an awesome once of a lifetime hunt months ago 5 guys paying $2,500 a piece so a total of $12,500. They say they will move you if you want and are not seeing anything. 1st two days we hunted 14 hours hiking glassing and you can see for miles in the tundra. Sat on high peaks, all took off in different directions. long story short we hunted hard all week but after first two days we started calling because NONE of us saw anything all day. They say they will call to check on ya. called about 6 times over 3 days finally got a call back and they were not only rude but said they would leave us out there because he did not like our attitude. We were very nice at first but after 3 days of calling with no return call I think we had the right to be a little upset. They never offered to move us and by the time they got back to us it was to late to move because if they moved us we could not hunt for 24hours and we only had two days left. Hunt again hard for next 2 days and between the 5 of us we say 3 cows no bulls and the cows were at least 3 miles away. Now on there website it says they have a 97% success rate. I am a hunter I understand they can not guarantee anything and hunting is not 100%, but if I was going to take a friend hunting who never hunted before and I was taking him deer hunting I would tell him we have about a10% chance of taking a deer, if we did not get anything he would not be upset because the odds were low but if I told him we have a 97% chance to take a deer and he brings 4 friends and no one got something I think he would be a little upset. I am no jim shokey but I know how to hunt and we hunted hard. We were all bummed and came out a day early because we were not seeing anything. I will saw the pilots were all really nice and did a great job. So by this time we all wanted to just get home when we got back to base camp we were not rude and actually very nice but I wanted to express my feeling about the hunt and our displeasure of the service I did not want to talk about it with deb and asked if howard was there and she said no. I said very politely that I just want to as a customer let her know we were not happy with the service. I am a business owner and if a client has I concern I would listen and so I said I was not happy with the service she became very pissed off. It really took me by shook that she would bow up to me like that. When I was being very professional. Once she started be rude to me I tried to calm her down and talk professional but she keep be rude so that is when I said you do not speak to me like this I am a customer just expressing my opinion. After some back and forth I stopped and just wanted to go home she comes yelling at me howard is on his way like I was supposed to be intimidated. I said ok I will wait as we were about to leave. As he pulls up she(deb) goes running up to howard saying I verbally assaulted her. Which was actually the opposite of what happened. So he gets out of his truck already on guard. Once again I was very professional and went to him and said "Sir I did not yell at her I just wanted to express my opinion that we were not happy with the service and explained about them not calling us back and not seeing anything when you market a 97% success rate. Once again I was very soft spoken and professional. He proceeds to say we do not understand communications in alaska in a very rude manner. Which I am telling ya it was mind boggling how much of a bully his tone was towards a client just trying to express his opinion in not a rude manner. now here is were the wheels fell off my hunting buddy is a marine and he come over and he is not as soft spoken or professional as I am but he is a great guy. he said i was in Afghanistan do not tell me I do not understand communications and howard in typical howard fashion had a smart ass comment then my buddy called him an idiot that is when I said ok it is time to go home. Howard yelled at us to get off his fing property or he is going to call the police which is typical bully fashion acting tough. You know if he would have been the least bit apologetic I would have not let it bother me but man this guy is a piece of work. I was a professional mma fighter now I teach combatives to military and law enforcement and I was very proud of myself for keeping my cool because this guy really is a jerk and not a morally good guy. I would tell everyone to stay far away from this company.

 

[SHTF]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Its unfortunate that this happened. id definitely be fighting to get your money back.

 

[thnksno]

We looked into them because they were offered on the Cabelas outfitter section. I talked to a couple of guys that went with them (cabelas employees) and had the same experience. Wouldn't move them, wouldn't answer etc. They also said the pilots were good guys also.

We had the same experience with Winterhawk in Colorado a few years ago on a drop camp. Basically the exact situation you were in. We also work for outfitters so we handled it in a manor we wanted to be treated as guides and just walked away, but wish we could of had our money back.

I don't have a huge problem like you said about seeing animals because that is hunting. The part of not providing the services in the contract is was made me mad.

A guy just doesn't know what he is getting into and I am glad you shared this.

 

[Nick Muche]

It was a rough year for Caribou up there. We also hunted with Arrowhead. Our communication with them was non-existent, mainly because our SAT phone broke on the first day. We hunted hard and killed a couple bulls.

 

[Shrek]

Clue , if you find your outfitter through Cabelas then you're asking for it. Outfitters on Cabelas need work...because their word of mouth reputation isn't booking them up. If they've been in business for a few years you need to run , not walk , away.

 

[Bambistew]

I have a feeling there's more to this story.

 

[Stid2677]

Clue , if you find your outfitter through Cabelas then you're asking for it. Outfitters on Cabelas need work...because their word of mouth reputation isn't booking them up. If they've been in business for a few years you need to run , not walk , away.

Advise worth reading twice.....

 

[realunlucky]

Did you have a written signed contract? With out it in writing you got no recourse. Sorry your trip went this way happy valley was far from happy this year.

 

[Gznokes]

Sorry the trip didn't turn out well for all involved. Just our of curiosity, what dates were you up there. Sounds like things were kind of hit or miss this year around Happy Valley.

 

[450]

Welcome to Arrowhead outfitters and that's all I will say. Sorry your trip sucked.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Holy cow...what if you needed emergency extraction? "Oh we're unable to come to the phone right now...maybe we will return your call in a few days cuz this is Alaska." That's a pile of moose crap. You should copy and paste your report on every review site you can find especially pissedoffconsumer and ripoffreport because they always load 1st in any internet search. Horrible reviews sites to be on. Protect others from the asshats.

 

[WRO]

The best outfitters and ranches don't advertise..

 

[weaver]

Thanks for posting.
In researching them it seemed they got mostly good reviews as of the last few years.

 

[mtnrunner260]

Did you come out 8/14?
We did a 10 day hunt with them this year.
My impressions were that they were scheduled beyond what they could handle if issues came up. i.e. having to many hunters in the field to provide great service to all.
We went 20 miles west of the haul road for out first spot. Saw very little.
Asked for a move and got it two day later. Went 22 miles east of the haul road this time. Replaced a group that had killed a couple. We were able to get all 5 guys a caribou at the second location. We did a 10 day hunt. A 5 or 7 day hunt doesn't allow much time for a move so I'm glad we went that way.
Howard didn't seem to be as personable as the other pilot Les but he was alright.
I honestly can't say if I would use them again or recommend them. Maybe if I was in a different financial position I would but that is a ton of money for what we got in my opinion.

 

[elkeaterco]

Did you come out 8/14?
We did a 10 day hunt with them this year.
My impressions were that they were scheduled beyond what they could handle if issues came up. i.e. having to many hunters in the field to provide great service to all.
We went 20 miles west of the haul road for out first spot. Saw very little.
Asked for a move and got it two day later. Went 22 miles east of the haul road this time. Replaced a group that had killed a couple. We were able to get all 5 guys a caribou at the second location. We did a 10 day hunt. A 5 or 7 day hunt doesn't allow much time for a move so I'm glad we went that way.
Howard didn't seem to be as personable as the other pilot Les but he was alright.
I honestly can't say if I would use them again or recommend them. Maybe if I was in a different financial position I would but that is a ton of money for what we got in my opinion.

Yep! I feel Howard over extended himself. At one point on this trip. He said he had 13 people coming in, 18 going out, and 20 wanting moves. Seems a bit much for only 2 planes. We only saw 3 caribou on our flight into the first camp (over 20 mins of fly time) and only found a couple cows over the next 3 days. We hiked out tails off in multiple directions, climbed advantaged points, and glassed with spotting scopes to no luck. After the storm passed they moved us fairly quickly. The new spot was much better. We spent 12+ hr days hiking in multiple directions to tag out all 5 of us.

I would have a hard time recommending him, however, the floats planes do offer a great advantage.

 

[TrophyHunter_colorado3322]

For what it is worth, we were hunting the haul road around the end of AUG.. We ended up flying out with him and he dropped us right next to some other hunters from another company. That was unfortunate, but we did kill 10 Caribou bulls and a few were some real good ones!

 

[Throc]

We were successful tagging out with AO this year in only 2 days (after fly in day). That didn't mean we were impressed with their operation though. I won't get in to the specifics but I'll just put it this way.....Howard flys when he wants to fly, and that's it. Les, the other pilot, was great. But he didn't even seem too impressed with Howard. My overall impression of the operation was that it is highly inefficient and not worth the risk for the price of admission. Sometimes it's your only option though. I hope to try another option next time I fly out though.

 

[jherald]

The best air services I have gone with in AK don't advertise themselves as hunting transporters, however they are licensed to operate as such. They get more than enough business by word of mouth and don't travel the "show circuits" to draw business or trump business up with "success percentages". They are hard working, honest, and some of them have even gone so far as to do a fly by or circle a once over on camp just to check on you as they are on their way to another party, as well as being able to get hold of them via SAT phone if necessary or SPOT messenger, InReach, whatever.

If someone tells you that communications in Alaska is "hard" they are feeding you a literal line of BS. If I need to I can get a hold of anyone, from anywhere, in AK. And if I need them to, they can get a hold of me anywhere, anytime, in AK. Communications these days will have hiccups but not hearing from your air service in 3 days of calling is pure nonsense. Someone needs to be at the helm on calls to at least take messages and give an ETA on when you might get a call or text back.

I've only been burned by one air service here, but they made it up to me and then some at the end of the season with refund plus some. That particular outfit just had a string of unfortunate incidents happen and I don't hold it against them.

Many air services are no different than many guides, you don't always get what you pay for and some of them have the attitude of not giving a rip what your thoughts are regardless of circumstances. No one can guarantee success, but a business owner should at least listen to a client if there are concerns whether its before or after the trip.

I've been a little long winded but nothing yanks my nerves like spending a lot of money on what is supposed to be a good time (i say a good time, not good killing of animals, but enjoying my time out whether a kill is made or not) and have issues with communications with an air service that are not necessary. Communications are very simple, I call you, you call me back or you call me, I call you back. And don;t take on more business than you can handle either, which is common place these days here with a lot of air services.

If I was ended up stuck by an outfitter out in the field or they told me they wouldnt get me, I'd be on the phone and getting someone else to fly in and pick me up.

just fyi so not to sound like a neophyte, weather can delay flights, i know this, i'm speaking more in deliberately leaving someone in the field due to taking on more business than you can handle or leaving someone in the field to prove a point because you are trying to be a jerk.

Also, I don't have any direct personal experience with the mentioned air service, just speaking from my own experiences.

 

[Huffer]

Howard and Deb are two of the most rude bullies I have ever met. I had to wait a couple weeks to write this review so I could calm down as it has been a long time since I have had someone be this rude. We booked this trip which should have been an awesome once of a lifetime hunt months ago 5 guys paying $2,500 a piece so a total of $12,500. They say they will move you if you want and are not seeing anything. 1st two days we hunted 14 hours hiking glassing and you can see for miles in the tundra. Sat on high peaks, all took off in different directions. long story short we hunted hard all week but after first two days we started calling because NONE of us saw anything all day. They say they will call to check on ya. called about 6 times over 3 days finally got a call back and they were not only rude but said they would leave us out there because he did not like our attitude. We were very nice at first but after 3 days of calling with no return call I think we had the right to be a little upset. They never offered to move us and by the time they got back to us it was to late to move because if they moved us we could not hunt for 24hours and we only had two days left. Hunt again hard for next 2 days and between the 5 of us we say 3 cows no bulls and the cows were at least 3 miles away. Now on there website it says they have a 97% success rate. I am a hunter I understand they can not guarantee anything and hunting is not 100%, but if I was going to take a friend hunting who never hunted before and I was taking him deer hunting I would tell him we have about a10% chance of taking a deer, if we did not get anything he would not be upset because the odds were low but if I told him we have a 97% chance to take a deer and he brings 4 friends and no one got something I think he would be a little upset. I am no jim shokey but I know how to hunt and we hunted hard. We were all bummed and came out a day early because we were not seeing anything. I will saw the pilots were all really nice and did a great job. So by this time we all wanted to just get home when we got back to base camp we were not rude and actually very nice but I wanted to express my feeling about the hunt and our displeasure of the service I did not want to talk about it with deb and asked if howard was there and she said no. I said very politely that I just want to as a customer let her know we were not happy with the service. I am a business owner and if a client has I concern I would listen and so I said I was not happy with the service she became very pissed off. It really took me by shook that she would bow up to me like that. When I was being very professional. Once she started be rude to me I tried to calm her down and talk professional but she keep be rude so that is when I said you do not speak to me like this I am a customer just expressing my opinion. After some back and forth I stopped and just wanted to go home she comes yelling at me howard is on his way like I was supposed to be intimidated. I said ok I will wait as we were about to leave. As he pulls up she(deb) goes running up to howard saying I verbally assaulted her. Which was actually the opposite of what happened. So he gets out of his truck already on guard. Once again I was very professional and went to him and said "Sir I did not yell at her I just wanted to express my opinion that we were not happy with the service and explained about them not calling us back and not seeing anything when you market a 97% success rate. Once again I was very soft spoken and professional. He proceeds to say we do not understand communications in alaska in a very rude manner. Which I am telling ya it was mind boggling how much of a bully his tone was towards a client just trying to express his opinion in not a rude manner. now here is were the wheels fell off my hunting buddy is a marine and he come over and he is not as soft spoken or professional as I am but he is a great guy. he said i was in Afghanistan do not tell me I do not understand communications and howard in typical howard fashion had a smart ass comment then my buddy called him an idiot that is when I said ok it is time to go home. Howard yelled at us to get off his fing property or he is going to call the police which is typical bully fashion acting tough. You know if he would have been the least bit apologetic I would have not let it bother me but man this guy is a piece of work. I was a professional mma fighter now I teach combatives to military and law enforcement and I was very proud of myself for keeping my cool because this guy really is a jerk and not a morally good guy. I would tell everyone to stay far away from this company.

Yea Howard is the scum of the earth. He screwed me and my friends out of one moose and three caribou hunts. He tried to tell us that we had not even booked for caribou when we had booked three caribou hunts! Thought my buddy was going to rip his head off. None of us got anything. We couldn't reach him on the phone. And when he finally did move us, it was to a shithole with only two days left to hunt. Then he tries to blame it on us like saying we don't know how to hunt. I have hunted AK all my life and never been screwed like this. This guy only cares about the numbers......the amount of hunters he can get in the field and the dollars they pay him for an absolutely horrible experience. And if you were one of the fortunate who got something while using him as your outfitter, consider yourself very lucky because most people don't get anything with him and his "stats" are complete bullshit. I have talked to multiple outfitters out there and they consider him the black plague. The guy who gives AK outfitters a bad name. He is from Texas anyway.....he isn't even from up there in AK. Do yourself a favor and book with someone else!!!!!!! Don't make the same mistake we did. This guy and his one ton wife are the scum of all outfitters!

 

[Huffer]

Yea Howard is the scum of the earth. He screwed me and my friends out of one moose and three caribou hunts. He tried to tell us that we had not even booked for caribou when we had booked three caribou hunts! Thought my buddy was going to rip his head off. None of us got anything. We couldn't reach him on the phone. And when he finally did move us, it was to a shithole with only two days left to hunt. Then he tries to blame it on us like saying we don't know how to hunt. I have hunted AK all my life and never been screwed like this. This guy only cares about the numbers......the amount of hunters he can get in the field and the dollars they pay him for an absolutely horrible experience. And if you were one of the fortunate who got something while using him as your outfitter, consider yourself very lucky because most people don't get anything with him and his "stats" are complete bullshit. I have talked to multiple outfitters out there and they consider him the black plague. The guy who gives AK outfitters a bad name. He is from Texas anyway.....he isn't even from up there in AK. Do yourself a favor and book with someone else!!!!!!! Don't make the same mistake we did. This guy and his one ton wife are the scum of all outfitters!