Has anyone booked a hunt with huntnation?

[LFC911]

I talked to a WY outfitter that was very adamant if I talked to a broker, to tell them that I'd already talked to him, the outfitter first, so he didn't have to pay them their finders fee if we went with him. We ended up booking with another outfitter and never talked to a broker but it was interesting and he repeated it several times to make sure I got the message. Interesting dynamic for sure. I don't think I would book with a broker or outfitter w/o references but i understand how they're protecting their interests and have probably been burned in the past. I am also curious how the hunter that lost his $ with the outfitter turned out.

 

[Maddog58]

When I booked with Hunt Nation a few years ago it was for an antelope hunt in Colorado. The hunting, guide,food and lodging were better than could be expected. I booked that hunt with Brian. I used him to book another antelope hunt last year but unfortunately didn’t draw the tag. Looked into other hunts also and Brian has always been a big help. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Hunt Nation

 

[huntnation]

Not sure what outfitter you were booked with and as the owner of Hunt Nation this is the first I'm hearing about this allegation. We rigorously vet all our outfitters, Ph's and captains and have hunted and fished with almost all of them. Unfortunately, we can't always control how an outfitter conducts his business and if he/she breaches their contract with us, we terminate the business relationship. We drop outfitters based upon negative post trip reports from clients, poor harvest rates, unskilled guides and similar criteria. 99% of our outfitters enjoy the volume of clients we send them so in many cases, acting as an advocate on clients behalf, we are able to resolve most issues/concerns. I urge you to contact me and provide some additional details so as to see if I can provide a remedy for you.

For those of you following this thread, it's critically important to me to maintain the flawless reputation of Hunt Nation so I'm sharing the email from the outfitter which clearly depicts how the client(s) failed to follow through with submitting required paperwork to the outfitter.

Hi Butch, Just got in from Admiralty Island.
We had all great clients and had a great spring taking 6 super good bears, 5 were in the 9' class and great boars.

This whole deal with the Jed Walker group has been strange. Jed Walker was in some way manipulating his "friends" and it didn't work out for him to pull it off so he's made up this whole story line of how I tried to charge them more, etc...etc... to cover his manipulative intentions. The whole story about me trying to charge them 10K additional on my contracts was Jed trying to manipulate my contracts to get more money from his friends. Contracts which he says he didn't receive! Jed can't keep his lies straight.

On day one of this booking you told me that Jed Walker told you that he did not want me to contact any of his party members and to deal directly with him.

He continues to say they never got my packets and yet he turns around and says that in my contracts I tried to charge them more.....daaaa! Contracts were in the packets.
Of course Jed has been 100% unresponsive in communications including all informational packets and email requests.
Jed has held back information from his "friends" for whatever reason. I think he was trying to get them to pay for everything regarding his part of the trip.
Dave Johnson has been the only party member to contact me. (Dave says they received the packets.....Jed claims they did not, guess who is a liar!)

Jed has only contacted me to tell me they wanted their deposit back. He ignored 3 separate USPS priority packets with 4 packets each for each individual party member.
He refused to answer phone calls and emails.

7-10-20 In an email which I received from a Jed Walker party member Dave Johnson, Dave says they received the information packets and would be making their overdue final payment which was due June 1st, 2020.
Of course I never received anything from them. And Jed claims they never received anything ...... Dave says they did! Jed is deceitful and a liar.
They had requested that their trip be moved due to Covid to 2021 which I graciously did for them and gave them new dates for 2021 but also informing them of the requirement of their payments due to secure their trip for 2021.

11-10-20 In an email sent to all I requested that their payment which had been due June 1, 2020 (but which they had ignored) would be due November 30, 2020 as a deposit for a 2021 trip. I told them that this payment was due November 30, 2020 to hold the dates for 2021 since we were entering our booking season and needed their financial commitment. (Again I received nothing from them).

SO, With the track record of Jed Walker and company and not receiving any returned booking packets (all self addressed and stamped) and not receiving any DUE payment from either the June 1st or November 30th, 2020 payment deadlines (and no returned emails to my requests). I had no choice going through our December to March booking season of holding any real hope that these guys were for real for 2021. So with no payments or contact from them I moved them forward to 2022.

We incurred about a 30% expenditure in preparations for the 2020 season for the Jed Walker group. This capital outlay from deposits for 2020 or any season is pretty normal for any and all outfitters no matter what the venue.

As you know deposits are taken in order to prepare for trips. I graciously extended the Jed Walker groups dates to 2021 and then when they did not make payments or contact me to 2022 in order to best facilitate them.

I'm happy to cancel the Jed Walker group. Normally cancellations are 50% which cover costs of trip preparations and guest replacement. In this situation I will absorb some of the losses for them but not all that they have caused due to their own issues and group dynamics.

I will take some of the loss for their expenses incurred and the trips they've cancelled and refund them all but 15% for our part and our losses incurred on their behalf.

Let me know and I will send you directly a check. I will not return monies to Jed Walker directly since he has proven to be less than honest with us as well as his "friends".

If you need more information I'm glad to send you copies of all my emails directed to the group as well as the emails I received from Dave Johnson admitting that they received the informational contract packets, etc....

Best Regards,

Justin J.

 

[AJR]

Not sure what outfitter you were booked with and as the owner of Hunt Nation this is the first I'm hearing about this allegation. We rigorously vet all our outfitters, Ph's and captains and have hunted and fished with almost all of them. Unfortunately, we can't always control how an outfitter conducts his business and if he/she breaches their contract with us, we terminate the business relationship. We drop outfitters based upon negative post trip reports from clients, poor harvest rates, unskilled guides and similar criteria. 99% of our outfitters enjoy the volume of clients we send them so in many cases, acting as an advocate on clients behalf, we are able to resolve most issues/concerns. I urge you to contact me and provide some additional details so as to see if I can provide a remedy for you.

 

[AJR]

I have been booking hunts, and fishing with hunt nation for about 15 years and never once have I been disappointed. The communication with hunt nation right from the onset has been spot on. Their wealth of knowledge has saved me thousands of dollars of making mistakes over the years. Their billing process is flawless. If there was a disappointment it would have to be they put me with a quality outfitter, and I got the results that I went after too quickly. That’s not a bad thing.

 

[LFC911]

I have been booking hunts, and fishing with hunt nation for about 15 years and never once have I been disappointed. The communication with hunt nation right from the onset has been spot on. Their wealth of knowledge has saved me thousands of dollars of making mistakes over the years. Their billing process is flawless. If there was a disappointment it would have to be they put me with a quality outfitter, and I got the results that I went after too quickly. That’s not a bad thing.

Welcome to RS!

 

[shader112]

Looks like Ole ripple turned tail and deleted his whole account
Must have been worried his comrads were going to find out he was scamming them for a free hunt

 

[elc016]

At 81, I have dealt with my fair share of booking agents and outfitters. When booking directly with outfitters, I made poor decisions far more often than when booking through agents. Agents have resources and means to thoroughly vet outfitters, and better agents personally hunt with outfitters before they book for them. I first booked with HN, then known as Manasse Outdoor Adventures, in 2013 for a January 2014 MD and Coues hunt in Sonora, Mexico. I had the good fortune to hunt with the head honcho of MOA, Butch, who planned the trip to evaluate a new outfitter. I was informed from the beginning that the outfitter's operation was unknown, but I went ahead and paid the outfitter's full price, minus MOA's small booking fee, for an unknown adventure. Hunting trophies exceeded my expectations, and any agent could have used pictures of our smiling faces and trophies to easily sell hunts with this outfitter. But operations as a whole did not meet Butch's standards. I was impressed by Butch's ethical decision to decline to represent this outfitter. Since that first experience, I have booked hunting and fishing expeditions in the US (including Alaska), Mexico, and Central and South America every year with HN. The booking process is straightforward, and clients are provided with detailed information about payment terms and conditions, the outfitter's operation, preparation instructions, and ongoing updates. (Except in rare circumstances, it is standard business practice for agents not to reveal the outfitter's contact information before booking.) I know of specific conflicts between clients and outfitters where HN worked diligently with both parties to resolve their disagreements. Unfortunately, there are instances of bad faith beyond the control of HN. Based on 10 years of experience, one word sums up my opinion of HN: Integrity.

 

[LFC911]

At 81, I have dealt with my fair share of booking agents and outfitters. When booking directly with outfitters, I made poor decisions far more often than when booking through agents. Agents have resources and means to thoroughly vet outfitters, and better agents personally hunt with outfitters before they book for them. I first booked with HN, then known as Manasse Outdoor Adventures, in 2013 for a January 2014 MD and Coues hunt in Sonora, Mexico. I had the good fortune to hunt with the head honcho of MOA, Butch, who planned the trip to evaluate a new outfitter. I was informed from the beginning that the outfitter's operation was unknown, but I went ahead and paid the outfitter's full price, minus MOA's small booking fee, for an unknown adventure. Hunting trophies exceeded my expectations, and any agent could have used pictures of our smiling faces and trophies to easily sell hunts with this outfitter. But operations as a whole did not meet Butch's standards. I was impressed by Butch's ethical decision to decline to represent this outfitter. Since that first experience, I have booked hunting and fishing expeditions in the US (including Alaska), Mexico, and Central and South America every year with HN. The booking process is straightforward, and clients are provided with detailed information about payment terms and conditions, the outfitter's operation, preparation instructions, and ongoing updates. (Except in rare circumstances, it is standard business practice for agents not to reveal the outfitter's contact information before booking.) I know of specific conflicts between clients and outfitters where HN worked diligently with both parties to resolve their disagreements. Unfortunately, there are instances of bad faith beyond the control of HN. Based on 10 years of experience, one word sums up my opinion of HN: Integrity.

welcome to RS as well...my first impression here is HN is asking guys to join RS to do damage control. Not saying this is the case but just my knee jerk reaction.

 

[william schmaltz]

Not speaking on this booking agent specifically, but seriously why use a booking agent in this day and age when the world is at your fingertips?

I can think of probably a dozen outfitters/guides using booking agencies that basically under no circumstances would I send a friend to hunt with. These are “vetted” outfitters who have apparently gone through a vetting process nowhere near my standards. Conversely, if you asked me to list the top 3-5 outfits for each species; not a one of them is even needing to advertise, they rarely post on social media (if at all), they don’t bother with shows, and they sure as hell don’t have other people book their clients. A good tell when booking with an outfitter is if they are interviewing you back to make sure it’s a good fit, and not just asking for a check. No quality outfitter would give up that power. I’ll actually take an outfitter off my short list if I find out they use a booking agency.

 

[CGSwimmer25]

Booked Wyoming Antelope and Mid-Asian Ibex in Kyrgyzstan with Hunt Nation. No issues with them at all. Currently looking to book an Ibex hunt in Spain with them. And I didn’t just join Rokslide to post that!

 

[Dawg In Montana]

Not speaking on this booking agent specifically, but seriously why use a booking agent in this day and age when the world is at your fingertips?

I can think of probably a dozen outfitters/guides using booking agencies that basically under no circumstances would I send a friend to hunt with. These are “vetted” outfitters who have apparently gone through a vetting process nowhere near my standards. Conversely, if you asked me to list the top 3-5 outfits for each species; not a one of them is even needing to advertise, they rarely post on social media (if at all), they don’t bother with shows, and they sure as hell don’t have other people book their clients. A good tell when booking with an outfitter is if they are interviewing you back to make sure it’s a good fit, and not just asking for a check. No quality outfitter would give up that power. I’ll actually take an outfitter off my short list if I find out they use a booking agency.

That’s a very broad brush stroke bc not everyone has the same standards. Are there some that use crappy outfitters? Sure, and there are some I won’t use anymore. But I’ve had great luck with some booking agents and they are worth their weight in gold.

 

[bojangles808]

I have been booking hunts, and fishing with hunt nation for about 15 years and never once have I been disappointed. The communication with hunt nation right from the onset has been spot on. Their wealth of knowledge has saved me thousands of dollars of making mistakes over the years. Their billing process is flawless. If there was a disappointment it would have to be they put me with a quality outfitter, and I got the results that I went after too quickly. That’s not a bad thing.

welcome to the forum lol!

 

[BaylorBowhunter]

I booked a Kyrgyzstan ibex hunt with HuntNation recently. Been on Rokslide for years. We have a party of 4 going several years out. Booking process has been very smooth and Derek shared references no problem. I’m meticulous about the details and so this is first hunt I’ve ever booked through an agent.