Is there anything you can do when you have a bad experience with a guide/outfitter?

[Rich M]

John Lewis said it best when he said, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” At this time I'm trying to decide what are the options and it doesn't look like there are many to choose from and none of them sound satisfying. However, I keep hearing - you have to do something.

Your time to do something was during the hunt. You done missed the opportunity to make things better.

 

[PNWbowhunter]

I feel your pain. I experienced a similar situation and eventually had to chalk it up to a "lesson learned." I decided to just let it go and focus on the next hunt. Word of mouth (from people you know and trust) is the best bet; at least that has been my personal experience.

He fooled you once, don't let him fool you again.

 

[Mojave]

Your time to do something was during the hunt. You done missed the opportunity to make things better.

I don't feel as though you can always do that.

I had an experience in Namibia in 2005, and I was offered to be dumped in Aroab if I didn't like the outcome.

What exactly are you going to do if you are in bush Canada or bush Alaska and the guy tells you to walk home?

You need to vet your outfitters really well. There isn't much of a choice.

Not that WTA is the best booking agent on the planet, but a lot of their North American and Canadian outfitters they own. So they have control over the outfitter.

 

[freddyG]

It’s just like everything else in life. Just because someone does something for a living, doesn’t mean they are good at it. Extensive research beforehand usually pays off.

 

[Rich M]

I don't feel as though you can always do that.

I had an experience in Namibia in 2005, and I was offered to be dumped in Aroab if I didn't like the outcome.

What exactly are you going to do if you are in bush Canada or bush Alaska and the guy tells you to walk home?

You need to vet your outfitters really well. There isn't much of a choice.

Not that WTA is the best booking agent on the planet, but a lot of their North American and Canadian outfitters they own. So they have control over the outfitter.

I can understand feeling unsecure in Nambia or some other foreign country. Not sure what your technique is for discussing stuff, but I'm not saying to be an a-hole and piss everyone off.

If you can't ask questions and make comments concerning your hunt, you really flubbed the "pick a decent outfitter" test.

 

[Mojave]

Any question that I had was dealt with as we can just dump you in town. I am a pretty easy-going kind a guy.

 

[doc holiday13]

You seem to know about these consumer protection laws, so I would start there. Probably more effective than asking a bunch of morons on an Internet forum.

did you just call me fat?

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Man I hate to say it but you need to remember the good and forget the bad. I got screwed on a 15 day moose hunt where my guide didn’t want to hunt and told me he hated his job etc each day. I saved over 10 years to do that hunt.
‘when people first asked me I was bitter and told them all the bad. It hasn’t even been a year and now when I think of the hunt I think about the adventure it really was. The scenery, horses, negative temps Etc was pretty awesome. I’m glad I went I hate who I went with.
Also the only time I heard back from out fitter was after getting on here just explaining what happen. He created a account to tell me I was childish and that was it. I had called and emailed him multiple times just wanting to talk about my experience.

I hope you can get back out there one day and make it happen.

That is way worse than the OP experience.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

For those that are saying the OP should have voiced his concerns with the guide, how many guides are receptive to clients telling them they are doing it wrong? That'd do as much good as calling the outfitter after the hunt to complain.

 

[CRJR45]

For those that are saying the OP should have voiced his concerns with the guide, how many guides are receptive to clients telling them they are doing it wrong? That'd do as much good as calling the outfitter after the hunt to complain.

^This ! I tried that with a guide I thought was a friend , and it did not go well . Lost him as a guide and a friend , for something I thought was trivial . I wish I had said nothing , I'd really like to go back to this guide again , but he won't take my calls or emails , sad really .

 

[dtrkyman]

I prefer clients get involved with me on a hunt, obviously needs to done respectfully, part of the fun in slow times is the banter back and forth, coming up with strategies. I don't pretend to know everything!

In 20 plus seasons of guiding I had one bad situation with a client, dude was just being a real dick, finally told him he was one more comment away from hunting from a 5 gallon bucket in the yard at the lodge!

Come to find out later he had missed sevaral shots at bucks in a couple days and took it out on me, seems as though I did my part. Crazy thing is he killed his best buck of his life with me the year prior and acted like my best friend up until then.

 

[Rich M]

For those that are saying the OP should have voiced his concerns with the guide, how many guides are receptive to clients telling them they are doing it wrong? That'd do as much good as calling the outfitter after the hunt to complain.

You guys really can't ask questions of your guides? Say I'd like to try this or that?

Get responses like: Gonna drop you in town if you say one more thing. Quitcher bitchin.

Just go and have no input on your $20K hunt that was messed up from the get-go. If that's how it works these days, it is better to just leave like Ramen Noodle Guy did. Then contest the charge on your CC.

 

[fwafwow]

If that's how it works these days, it is better to just leave like Ramen Noodle Guy did.

Love it. He may attain Alone Guy status.

 

[roadrunner]

Without reading all the replies, there's really not much you can do about it except come onto Rokslide hoping somebody will tell you to "go after them".

Bringing ethics into it when game laws weren't broken is subjective.

At least the guide didn't want you to shoot when the target bear wasn't confirmed as to what it was....

 

[Mojave]

I was trying to think back on guided hunts I have done. 100% of them have had problems. Some of them major.

Here is a short list of problems I have had with hunting outfitters:

1. They booked too many hunters for the amount of good hunting stands that they had. This was in Europe for roe deer, and I had 3 productive seats and spent 9 sitting periods in the forest watching squirrels and jays yell at one another. Killed two bucks, could have killed two other bucks if I would have been paying attention. You couldn't kill foxes, racoon dogs, racoons, or anything else even though it was open season. You could only shoot wild pigs if you were sitting in a field high seat and not a forest seat. Never saw a pig in the field. Saw pigs every seat in the forest.

2. Hunting didn't start until 8 or 9 or a couple of times once 10 in Namibia. Then the outfitter wanted to stop and fix fences every 2-3 miles. A couple of times they left me and went to town by themselves at night. Once the outfitter had work to do on another place so he dropped me off at his house. His wife was there, and she said she had already cooked lunch for the day and we got there late. They didn't really do breakfast. Just coffee.

3. On a European drive hunt, foxes, racoon dogs, and racoons and were off limits. Even though the season was open. Wasn't a bad trip, but the only two shots I had I didn't have a safe back stop. On a drive hunt you have to be sure of every bullet you launch (though you should do this on every hunt). A fox got really photogenic and spent a lot of time right under my stand.

4. On a hunt in West Texas the guide got super drunk. I was in camp with a "whale" and they spent the entire trip catering to the whale. Trying to get the whale to shoot more animals. They only had one guide, so we shared the guide. Food was amazing though.

Every hunt can be a shit show, and some can be a nightmare.

You should get what you paid for.