Gila DNA Outfitters, David Silva - Reserve, New Mexico

[Northpark]

That sucks and that’s a huge bummer that you had to experience that. Stories like these keep me from booking much for guided hunts and definitely the expensive ones. Seems like there are way too many “outfitters” with poor behavior anymore. The trash thing sounds about right unfortunately. Too many people got brought up that way. Heck where I live the locals just go dump piles of trash on Forest rather than paying the $7.50 at the town dump.

 

[Loco4dux]

Sorry to hear your hunt went like that, glad that you outted them. I'd give hime a poor review anywhere you can. Google , facebook , bowsite so no one else has to go through what you did. Him him where it hurts, his wallet. Thanks for sharing

I did actually end up submitting the report to bowsite, but I can see that it hasn’t been published yet. Not sure what that’s all about.

 

[Broomd]

He would throw plastic water bottles and snack wrappers on the ground while out hunting constantly– presumably to not make any noise if you encountered elk.

All I needed to read, the guy's a total creep. I would have gotten in his face and demanded that he pick his sh!t up!

 

[Pacific_Fork]

He would throw plastic water bottles and snack wrappers on the ground while out hunting constantly– presumably to not make any noise if you encountered elk.

All I needed to read, the guy's a total creep. I would have gotten in his face and demanded that he pick his sh!t up!

yep, nothing wore than a people who litter. If someone has his address and lives close by I would start a fundraiser to have them dump a truck bed of garbage on his front porch. I can mail my kids poopy diapers!

 

[bojangles808]

I did actually end up submitting the report to bowsite, but I can see that it hasn’t been published yet. Not sure what that’s all about.

looks like you can review him on facebook too i would ding him there also. id make threads on other forums too I would be livid. Make it so whoever searches him finds out what kind of person he is. you shouldn't feel bad about it, as someone who works in hospitality/customer service a lot of times compensation or changes in practice don;t happen until there's a harm to their reputation. Just keep in short and concise. He was unprofessional (litterer, encouraging you to take long range shots), the odd behavior, he was lazy (napping instead of hunting) and he was condescending (wouldn't let you shoot what you wanted to shoot), and then to top it off made social media post making fun of you after you and the rest of his clients in camp went 0-4.

 

[David Silva]

(FIRST HALF) I guess reply’s can’t be to long so please read both half’s it’s worth a read!!


Back when Spencer drew his 1st season unit 16D archery tag he called me and asked about how we run things and I told him we are a small company who provides quality over quantity and I have all local guides who work for me and we have had great success in the past few years in the gila units. He proceeded to call other outfitter and which I told him to do so and to go with whoever he felt was the best fit for him because it is pretty much a once in a lifetime tag. As he did he realized having a local guide would definitely be beneficial and even talking with other outfitters and them even saying he couldn’t go wrong with me as his guide so then his one request was that I would personally guide him cus he didn’t just want one of my other guides so I told him I would do so. Keep in mind I am the outfitter and I am the one you talk to when you call and so I understand why most people request that.
After booking we would talk and text nonstop
I don’t mind chatting and answering any questions people may have that’s part of the job and I don’t mind but Spencer was next leave with all the texting but I just thought ok this is his first guided hunt and I understand it’s a lot of money so no big deal. WRONG!!!
For Spencer the hunt starts in September but for us as guides it starts way sooner then that I had scouted the unit and had found a pocket of great bulls and to be 100% honors I haven’t seen so many 350+ bulls in the same general area at once like I did scouting for this hunt. Spencer said on his contract he was 31 and from a “shape scale” of 1-10 he was like a 7 I think. so I just assumed and told my self ok great this guy can go and this will be a great time. Unfortunately that was not the case!!
From day one I was questioned on my tactics of getting big bulls killed and was told that on YouTube Cam Hanes and Joe Rogen would call bulls in and whatever else he had learned on YouTube. I understand people YouTube and do research and that’s fine but those guys have never hunted 16D 1st season. I will keep reminding you this is the 1st season and anyone who has hunted public land for true big bulls know that the big bulls aren’t stupid they know when the rut is they aren’t with the cows for a reason the little bulls will bush cows
Spencer wanted me to “ Challenge bugle” every time we would hear a bull even tho they are 100’s of yards away and the rut isn’t on.
As I didn’t do so and as I would explain how a “ Challenge bugle” worked and how you have to be closer to a big bulls cows he might come run you off but whatever that’s just my opinion but then he would ALWAYS say that’s what Joe and Cam would do it on YouTube! And like I said do research but please let me do my job you paid for that guide with experience. But also on day one we made a stock on a great big 6x6 and we got to 100 yards and I asked him what is your effective range his response was not F**ing a 100 yards! I obviously knew that I was asking because the next tree would have gotten us to 60 years but after that it was all open so I needed to know because if he wasn’t willing to shoot 60 we would have to wait for him to get in the trees where the cover was to get closer. I would never make a hunter shoot 100 yards I have seen to many wounded animals. Spencer was mad because I didn’t call the bull in and kept telling this spot and stock sh** isn’t going to work! Also in this stock another hunter moved in on us so we had to move with purpose so I took his pack and put it on my back to help lighten his load and I continued to pack his food and water for the rest of the hunt which I don’t mind doing but never had to do it for a 31 year old man!
We also had people spotting for us and by the way he never even thanked once at the end of the day. So by the end of day 3 I told them they could go to the other units where they would be the next hunt and scout because Spencer was ungrateful for all the extra help. On the morning of day 3 we had two great bulls lightly sparring 300yards down a pretty mellow hill below us so we needed to get there fast so we could get a shot off as they were chasing each other around and with the spotter up on the hill it was the perfect opportunity but yet again we couldn’t make the hike in time needing to stop for breaks Spencer just didn’t have the killer instinct it takes to hunt this way!! It was just 300 yards down hill we just needed to keep moving I didn’t even ask him to run like Most hunters would have done in that situation. So the spotter started calling from up on the hill as a last ditch effort thinking maybe call one of them back to us but no luck but he did call in a spike with two little brow tines which isn’t even a legal bull in NM so I told him to not shoot and that’s when (All heck broke lose) and he had the nerve to tell me he didn’t pay me to chase big bulls this was his hunt and he can shoot whatever he wanted with tears in his eyes crying which but me in and awkward spot Iv never had a grown man cry like that in the woods! We did see a bull bedded but with cows all around him mid day and yes he was a a good looking bull as a 3 or 4 year old 300” 6x5. Not a 320 and even if we wanted to kill him he had cows bedding all around him! It is hard to pass a 320 bull especially with a guy that definitely wouldn’t have made it to where they typically are but yet we had been on 7 bulls over 350 in two days in the easiest country in the unit it was truly the best hunt for quality of bulls I have ever been on and unfortunately it had to be with a guy like this.

 

[svivian]

 

[David Silva]

2nd HALF YES IT GETS BETTER!


He would constantly tell me at least 2-3 times a day how mad his wife would be if he didn’t kill one That told me right there they aren’t true hunters they think just because you pay for a guide it’s a guaranteed kill but no it is still archery hunting at the end of the day.
This is all after I told him on the phone before booking if you would be happy with a 300” bull he didn’t need a guide you could sit a tank for 10 days straight something would come in eventually. So to say he didn’t pay me to hunt big bulls was shocking and really what do you say to something like that? The bull I didn’t let him shoot was literally a spike with two brow tines on each side. That’s what you paid for? To kill something like that by day 3 of a 10 day hunt? This wasn’t said to him it was just what I was thinking at the time but as he was still crying He stormed off to the bike and of course he didn’t know where it was so I had to track him down and when I met up with him I guess that what he meant by me scaring him. So as we got back to the truck I loaded my four wheeler in the truck because I had been stashing it there since scouting in August mind you we had to leave camp at 3am to get there in time and was getting home at eleven or midnight and he asked why I was loading it.
I did tell him if you want to shoot a dink we can hunt the small 4x4s in town and wake up 10 mins before daylight and with a easy pack out.
As you seen he did say he paid me a lot of money and it is his hunt and he can shoot whatever he wants so I took him to a place where we would be able to call young bulls in.
But even then he would continue telling me how to hunt saying we had to get in the saddle in front of them then call him in so I did it just for him knowing the wind was wrong and one of the 50 plus cows would bust us so I set him up and I backed off 75-80 yards and would call. But then he would start calling as well.
So there goes that set up no shot I’m the bad guy. Every time I would do a light cow call to see if anything would sounds off so we could go after he would pull his call out and do a big calling sequence but by this time I just let him do whatever.
Like on the first spot where we had the big bulls he took my bugle tube out of my pack and started to “ Challenge bugle” like on tv so there I am fallowing my hunter knowing this wouldn’t work but he felt good knowing he tried. I filmed it because you can’t make this stuff up and I did post a clip of him walking alway with my bugle tube but you can’t tell who it is and never said his name so that really hurt his feelings and that is why he posted this on line 2 years later not when he first got home like what anyone else would have done! I have a lot of video from this hunt it was so unbelievable I had to film some of it. The best one was when he had a 370 bull at 20 yards standing straight away from us all we had to do was wait for him to quarter a little bit but no what happens??? I am being told to call him in! I said HE IS IN !! Stay ready to shoot and stop telling me what I need to do to much talking from us so the bull busted and that’s when I was told I am going to have to call them in spot and stock isn’t going to work.
I had some much time wrapped up with scouting in there I was just disappointed in Spencer’s attitude. But as we hunted out there he constantly complained about the rough roads and the truck was to rough then the 4 wheeler yes our roads are rough but I don’t know what to do about that but also he couldn’t walk in there so what do I do?
I never could satisfy him and midday when it was hot and nothing was talking he didn’t want to sleep on the rocks where as if something did talk we could make a move but no he wanted to go back to the truck on the rough road and nap where he had his air mattress and trash my truck bed with all the snacks and drinks he would have also the 4 breakfast burritos he would eat and didn’t tip the camp cook but sure loved her burritos and good hot dinners even when we got in at midnight she waiting for us to make sure his food was warm! Yes I did tell him a story as how my old boss would say he had a Magic truck as I’m standing in all his trash putting it in a trash bag mid day as he’s trying to nap. I told him a few stories about when I was 13 years old when my dad died and I had a year or two where I didn’t care about anything I would fight in school and chase girls I hated everyone. Was that the high light of my life? no not at all but it was just a story but ha had a few himself!
I was never a THUG. In reserve New Mexico a thug!! Come on really there’s 300 people in my small town and we have no “THIGS”. that being said I know everyone that lives here and have a good reputation in our small Community and a local guy stopped me at the gas station and asked if I would help him out by buying A cord of wood from him for a $100 bucks I told him I didn’t have cash on me but to go to the house and have my wife give him the money and as we were talking I did ask Spencer if he had $100 buck on him and I would pay him the next day but that was the day he left camp mid day because we can into camp after bedding a 350 class bull on a piece of private property I had permission to hunt. The bull was was going to come to the tank right before dark like he had been the past 3 or 4 days but that’s when Spencer woke me up from my nap even tho he slept everyday and said he was out he had to go sell a house back home so I took another buddy in there that day and got that bull killed off the tank.
As for the other hunters in camp I was asked by another outfitter if I had extra room to keep a few hunters. I said yes just cus it’s a huge house and I know how it is to need help and we are a small town and that’s just what you do around here. So I did have Spencer and one other hunter who wanted a certain size bull and didn’t kill but is coming back so that’s always a good sign when they want to come back. But to say my outfit went 0 for 4 that was not the case those other hunters were not our clients i was just helping a guy by letting them stay there.

I typically wouldn’t respond to something like this but this is how I provide for my wife and two daughters.

Ten days without a shot opportunity yes and you can see why. We have literally carried hunters up a mounting before but that’s with disabled veterans kids with cancer that I donate my time to every year not a 31 year old man who didn’t prepare for his hunt.

I hope Spencer tells all his friends not to hunt with us because I would never want to hunt with anyone like that again!

My name is David Silva I don’t live on line so please feel give me a call if any of you would like to chat about this hunt. I only seen this because people sent it to me I never check these sites plus it is hunting season and we killed 2 for 2 this week a 7x8 in 16D opening morning and a 7x7 in another unit his first day which was the 9th.


My number is 575 313 6643

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

These threads always deliver

 

[David Silva]

looks like you can review him on facebook too i would ding him there also. id make threads on other forums too I would be livid. Make it so whoever searches him finds out what kind of person he is. you shouldn't feel bad about it, as someone who works in hospitality/customer service a lot of times compensation or changes in practice don;t happen until there's a harm to their reputation. Just keep in short and concise. He was unprofessional (litterer, encouraging you to take long range shots), the odd behavior, he was lazy (napping instead of hunting) and he was condescending (wouldn't let you shoot what you wanted to shoot), and then to top it off made social media post making fun of you after you and the rest of his clients in camp went 0-4.

Please ready my response it’s worth a read sir.

Wow seems like a real pro. Thanks for posting.

well said:
the adventure of the hunt and who you share the hunt with (or don’t share it with) is worth so much more than the trophy

please read the response sir it is worth the read!

That sucks and that’s a huge bummer that you had to experience that. Stories like these keep me from booking much for guided hunts and definitely the expensive ones. Seems like there are way too many “outfitters” with poor behavior anymore. The trash thing sounds about right unfortunately. Too many people got brought up that way. Heck where I live the locals just go dump piles of trash on Forest rather than paying the $7.50 at the town dump.

please read my response sir it is worth the read!

 

[David Silva]

He would throw plastic water bottles and snack wrappers on the ground while out hunting constantly– presumably to not make any noise if you encountered elk.

All I needed to read, the guy's a total creep. I would have gotten in his face and demanded that he pick his sh!t up!

please read my response sir it is worth the read! I did set a plastic water bottle on a rock cus it was in his back pocket and we were 50 yards from a 390 class bull and it would make noise every time he moved. And we didn’t walk down the same ridge on the way out so I didn’t pick it up like I planned. I live here and would never trash the woods I grew up hunting. I actually pick up trash when I am out there.

 

[svivian]

Theres always two sides of a story and the truth is always somewhere in the middle. With that said any business owner who is willing to post a video making fun of one of their paying customers loses all creditability and respect with me..... Regardless of the circumstances

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Lol. Seems like the OP has some explaining to do.

 

[idig4au]

Bring on the memes

 

[HornPorn]

 

[David Silva]

Cheap shot at your expense, that shouldn’t ever happen. Not very professional but hey there’s lots of those “unprofessional” “unethical” guides over there so I’m not surprised. NM certainly has its way and unfortunately he’s apparently one of many with bad behavior. If you know you know.

please read my response sir it is worth the read!

Theres always two sides of a story and the truth is always somewhere in the middle. With that said any business owner who is willing to post a video making fun of one of their paying customers loses all creditability and respect with me..... Regardless of the circumstanc

Lol. Seems like the OP has some explaining to do.

You know sir I would never put anyone down like that I know ppl show up and aren’t used to the high elevation and I understand that but to say that it was all my fault that he didn’t have a shot opportunity who is a flat out lie he was in the poorest shape of any hunter that I’ve ever had especially at the age of 31 years old I expected a little more effort to get on these bulls I literally had to pack all his food and water everyday. But he knew more about it then me and questioned everything I did and I don’t even mind getting questioned as long as they’re willing to understand after why I do certain things at certain times but no would throw a big hissy fit and tell me I needed to call these bulls in. Everyone else I talked to on the hunt was struggling to find a decent bull and we were in a pocket of 7 bulls over 350 one was well in the 400’s and as we all know those bulls you don’t just call them in they are old and smart. It was just frustrating that we couldn’t get it done on a great bull after all the time that I spent scouting in the phone conversations prior he wanted a big bull and I was out there for weeks looking for big bulls then when he gets here and can’t really hike he’s willing to shoot a 3 x 3 so all my work was for nothing I could have been home with my family all august and taking him to the river in our front yard and shot a 300” bull but as a business we spend time out there scouting to ensure the client has a good hunt I have never dealt with this so that’s why it makes me mad knowing I have a good reputation in the hunting Community i guided a 370 bull opening morning this year and it was because of the scouting and a good hunter who got it done and was willing to hike off in the nasty canyons.

 

[accountantsanonymous]

 

[Deadfall]

That's unfortunate. Especially frustrating for a guy like me that guides professionally. We cant have this nonsense in the outfitter guide community, considering the day and age when everyone hates guides and outfitters. This only adds to tgat fuel. Hopefully this thread helps stop monkeys like that.

Hope this doesn't spoil you completely on outfitters. There are good ones out there

 

[svivian]

he gets here and can’t really hike he’s willing to shoot a 3 x 3 so all my work was for nothing I could have been home with my family all august and taking him to the river in our front yard and shot a 300” bull but as a business we spend time out there scouting to ensure the client has a good hunt I have never dealt with this so that’s why it makes me mad knowing I have a good reputation in the hunting Community i guided a 370 bull opening morning this year and it was because of the scouting and a good hunter who got it done and was willing to hike off in the nasty canyons.

Are you offering your services for free? Did you really say all your work for nothing? really building on this "good" reputation...

 

[HornPorn]

That's unfortunate. Especially frustrating for a guy like me that guides professionally. We cant have this nonsense in the outfitter guide community, considering the day and age when everyone hates guides and outfitters. This only adds to tgat fuel. Hopefully this thread helps stop monkeys like that.

Hope this doesn't spoil you completely on outfitters. There are good ones out there

Everyone doesn't hate outfitters. It just seems that way because of all the peons online who want to throw their negative two cents in. Mostly:

1. DIYers who want everyone to know that they are alphas
2. Residents who want to villify non-residents (and outfitters) and blame them for their perceived lack of hunting opportunities.
3. Hunters who were shopping for a budget hunt or did poor research in choosing a quality guide.
4. Hunters who had a bad experience (OP).

**It's kind of like watching the news and thinking that what they present is the state of things and how the nation feels, when in fact only a small vocal minority are making the noise.**

There are more good outfitters than there bad ones, and most clients out there who use outfitters will continue to do so, but they:

1. Remain silent because they don't want to be harassed by the masses.
2. Are busy working (to pay for hunting trips) and living their life, and don't use their time arguing with/trying to impress strangers online.
3. Don't work a desk job where they have nothing better to do than up their post count on forums.