How would you feel if....

You went on a 5 day guided elk hunt and the first two days were with a guide that had[/b]NEVER[b] set foot on any of the land you were hunting?


More information to be shared at a later date...

I wouldn’t feel very good, that should be made clear upfront. I would want to be assured I am hunting with someone with experience in that particular area.

he better make up for this with some other skill or maybe luck

Wouldn’t like hearing that but if bulls were bugling everywhere and I shot a good bull might overlook it. If we never heard or saw a bull, wouldn’t be happy.

This will be key in a later post.....and it gets even worse than not seeing bulls.

We would All Feel Better if you stop with the suspense nonsense and just tell us what happened!

I’d be furious

I've only done 3 guided; 'fixin' to go on another in a week, plus a couple of DIY. I've killed two bulls, both on guided. From my very limited experience, I'd say the elk outfitters that have every detail covered, and covered well, are very few and far between. These guys don't run a business all year long, and finding a guide to work for you that doesn't have a job in town has to be pretty difficult. 'Not defending a poor hunting experience in any way. I can't say the outfitter that I killed the two bulls with was that great, we just lucked into them. First bull I had a young, hungover kid and I spotted 3 bulls, standing 60 yards to the left of us while he was drooped over his saddle horn. Second bull the owner of the same outfit guided me and he couldn't see or hear worth a $hyte, but he knew good look out points. After the kill, he was almost physically shaking to get back to the tent where, I assume, there was a bottle. (In his defense, his head guide had run off with this guy's wife less than a week before this hunt!) The third guided the outfitter (who advertised on here) didn't own enough horses for everyone to ride into camp and put us in solid blow down from the old fires. I watched a bull almost all day, but there's no way I could ever get to him.

It's still the wild west in them mountains. And now everybody can smoke pot legally. I doubt the situation will improve.

Put me in the furious camp

Where and who is the outfitter?

Two more questions and then I will tell whole story

Are you going name the outfitter?

Isn't a guide who has never been there before just a hunting partner whose company you pay for?

I would be upset but if the guide from day 3 to 5 was more experienced and had been on the land I would feel better. I would have talked to the outfitter that first night or soon as I could about what was going on. Did you not ask for references? Did you call any references you were given? Did you ask about who was guiding you? Did inquire about the land to be hunted and success rates? I do an internet search on any outfitter I am thinking about hunting with.

I definitely did not ask enough questions!

Success rate was said to be 80%

I did not call references because I figured I would only get successful hunters.

I fully admit I flubbed it up big time.

I wouldnt be happy but I tend to always look at it like there could be an explanation. If someone knew the country intimately and explained things to him with todays maps and apps and such and he was real good then he could be successful. Evidently from the tone of your posts, thats not gonna be the case.

Did he have "help" that had given him details on when, where, what? Hunted with a guide in New Mexico that never been on the property but this man guided all over the west and was A GUIDE. Other guides had given him the details of where we were. I did not kill a bull but not because of the guide. He put my brother on a bull that hunt and he and I were in perfect position to get a 7x7 when another hunter spooked him.

Didn’t you book that hunt off our forum? Sounds like you saved me, I nearly booked it. That thread got deleted but I thought several people on here vouched for the guy.

Yes.....booked here. Wish someone would have beaten me to it!!!!
😡

I could see paying for a guide in “new to him” territory if maybe he was an expert horseman and you were hunting Wyoming wilderness where you can’t legally hunt without a Wyoming resident. More or less a support system to keep you legal and help with the heavy lifting so you can hunt deep in the wilderness and have pack animals and an expert horseman to ensure the trip OUT was good as it can be.

But not just any old guy off the street and for sure not a guy that has no idea.

I REALLY hate how guys will give you this much info and leave out ANY PERSONAL DETAILS that might protect the rest of us in the future.