Hello All, After about 6 months of pondering, I have decided to share my experience with a very reputable “Outfitter” that is popular on this website. I won’t mention names, but I will say the hunts I was sold were on a private ranch in Huntsville UT. This will be the condensed version because there is just too much detail and information to write.
Last year I purchased 2 mule deer buck hunts for a ranch in Huntsville UT. The hunts were for my two kids, son 20 and daughter 16. The hunts were $6250 each ($13,500) plus the tags and licenses. This is a HUGE amount of money for me, but I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to have a once in a lifetime hunt with my kids. I felt this was the only time I would do this so it was worth it.
My two kids have been going out of state with me the last 4 years with no luck. But they have always got up every morning and evening and hiked along side of me for miles. Last year I said screw it and decided to pony up what I considered big money in an effort to get on to a private ranch and into the deer and see plenty of bucks.
I did some digging and reading and settled in on a very popular and reputable outfitter. I spoke with the outfitter’s family members on multiple occasions before I purchased the hunts. I made it abundantly clear that the type of hunt I was looking for wasn’t necessarily for big bucks (170 plus) but I wanted to be able to see multiple bucks a day. I was assured we would have multiple opportunities at “160” class bucks.”
The first sign something was wrong came about two weeks before the hunt. I was texted by the guide who was scheduled to take us. He texted me a couple of pics of the bucks he had seen on the ranch. Needless to say, the pics he sent were not impressive. In fact, we have killed much more impressive coastal black tail bucks in our home state of CA. I attached the pics of the two bucks to this post. When asked the guide if we would see more mature bucks than the ones he sent me, he said “probably”.
Well to cut to the chase, the hunt ended up being a complete waste of money and nothing at all like the description I was sold. We ended up hunting about 100 acres of steep mountain terrain of a 600 or so acre ranch. Basically we rode ATVs up a quakie covered mountain to a high point where we sat over a watering hole and glassed the 100 acres or so of canyon. On the second morning, my son did end up glassing up a 20” or so 3x2 on the neighbors ranch, but hunting that buck was pretty legally sketchy. We went back out the second evening to try and glass up that buck but no luck, so we decided to end the week early. In all we saw just the one buck on the neighbors ranch probably 5 does and 5 yearlings in two days/ 2 morning and 2 evening hunts. Yes we gave up early, but to be clear, it was painfully obvious that the bucks just weren’t there and the bucks that we were supposed to be hunting were really not worth hunting. We were all very disappointed.
I whole heartedly admit that leaving after 2 morning hunts and 2 evening hunts is cutting the hunt short, but at that point we were so completely let down based on what I was told by the outfitter when I purchased the hunts, that we just wanted to end the trip. It was obvious there were definitely not going to be multiple opportunities at 160” bucks.
I will add that after the first morning hunt on opening day, our guide asked us if we were going to “stick it out” for the rest of the week. I immediately thought that was an odd question, but it was obvious from the get go that the ranch and caliber of deer was just not there. I think the guide was used to hunters giving up early on this particular hunt.
We also had the pleasure of meeting the guide’s uncle at the house where we parked our truck to go hunt. The uncle was a nice man. While we were all discussing various hunts, the uncle made it clear that the hunting on the ranch was less than spectacular in recent years and said something to the tune of “there hasn’t been good bucks up there since the 80s”. This was another knife in our gut. It’s hard to describe the feeling I had, but it was one of disappointment and also embarrassment. I could not believe I was so naive to get ripped off. I had spent the last few months hyping the hunt up to my kids and my friends. I felt stupid.
I ended up sending a very detailed email to the outfitter detailing our hunt and the disappointment we had. The outfitter called me the next day and we had a pretty heated conversation. Basically the outfitter let me know that he felt it was our fault for giving up too early. He also suggested we should have hunted the buck we saw on the neighbors property. I countered with the fact that I was told we would have opportunities at multiple bucks a day and the bucks I was supposed to be hunting were far less than the caliber of deer one would expect for a $6250 hunt. I also argued the ranch was too small to be hunting and charging $6250 a hunter. I also did not like the fact that he was pissed we didn’t want to hunt the buck on the neighbors property. He did agree that the two bucks in the pics that were sent to me by the guide were less than impressive.
In the end , I asked the outfitter to replace the hunts with a better hunt, however they opted to refund us $4000 out of $12,500 and basically said good riddance to us. That to me was a slap in my face, but better than nothing.
The moral of my story is, there are reputable “outfitters” out there that will sell you hunts that aren’t worth even a fraction of what they charge. I’m sure the outfitters have access to better hunts they sell, but they also sell bad ones like the ones I bought near Huntsville UT. If you or anyone you know are considering purchasing a guided mule deer hunt near Huntsville UT, message me first and I will provide more details . I would absolutely hate to see any other hunters or dad’s get taken like I was.
Last year I purchased 2 mule deer buck hunts for a ranch in Huntsville UT. The hunts were for my two kids, son 20 and daughter 16. The hunts were $6250 each ($13,500) plus the tags and licenses. This is a HUGE amount of money for me, but I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to have a once in a lifetime hunt with my kids. I felt this was the only time I would do this so it was worth it.
My two kids have been going out of state with me the last 4 years with no luck. But they have always got up every morning and evening and hiked along side of me for miles. Last year I said screw it and decided to pony up what I considered big money in an effort to get on to a private ranch and into the deer and see plenty of bucks.
I did some digging and reading and settled in on a very popular and reputable outfitter. I spoke with the outfitter’s family members on multiple occasions before I purchased the hunts. I made it abundantly clear that the type of hunt I was looking for wasn’t necessarily for big bucks (170 plus) but I wanted to be able to see multiple bucks a day. I was assured we would have multiple opportunities at “160” class bucks.”
The first sign something was wrong came about two weeks before the hunt. I was texted by the guide who was scheduled to take us. He texted me a couple of pics of the bucks he had seen on the ranch. Needless to say, the pics he sent were not impressive. In fact, we have killed much more impressive coastal black tail bucks in our home state of CA. I attached the pics of the two bucks to this post. When asked the guide if we would see more mature bucks than the ones he sent me, he said “probably”.
Well to cut to the chase, the hunt ended up being a complete waste of money and nothing at all like the description I was sold. We ended up hunting about 100 acres of steep mountain terrain of a 600 or so acre ranch. Basically we rode ATVs up a quakie covered mountain to a high point where we sat over a watering hole and glassed the 100 acres or so of canyon. On the second morning, my son did end up glassing up a 20” or so 3x2 on the neighbors ranch, but hunting that buck was pretty legally sketchy. We went back out the second evening to try and glass up that buck but no luck, so we decided to end the week early. In all we saw just the one buck on the neighbors ranch probably 5 does and 5 yearlings in two days/ 2 morning and 2 evening hunts. Yes we gave up early, but to be clear, it was painfully obvious that the bucks just weren’t there and the bucks that we were supposed to be hunting were really not worth hunting. We were all very disappointed.
I whole heartedly admit that leaving after 2 morning hunts and 2 evening hunts is cutting the hunt short, but at that point we were so completely let down based on what I was told by the outfitter when I purchased the hunts, that we just wanted to end the trip. It was obvious there were definitely not going to be multiple opportunities at 160” bucks.
I will add that after the first morning hunt on opening day, our guide asked us if we were going to “stick it out” for the rest of the week. I immediately thought that was an odd question, but it was obvious from the get go that the ranch and caliber of deer was just not there. I think the guide was used to hunters giving up early on this particular hunt.
We also had the pleasure of meeting the guide’s uncle at the house where we parked our truck to go hunt. The uncle was a nice man. While we were all discussing various hunts, the uncle made it clear that the hunting on the ranch was less than spectacular in recent years and said something to the tune of “there hasn’t been good bucks up there since the 80s”. This was another knife in our gut. It’s hard to describe the feeling I had, but it was one of disappointment and also embarrassment. I could not believe I was so naive to get ripped off. I had spent the last few months hyping the hunt up to my kids and my friends. I felt stupid.
I ended up sending a very detailed email to the outfitter detailing our hunt and the disappointment we had. The outfitter called me the next day and we had a pretty heated conversation. Basically the outfitter let me know that he felt it was our fault for giving up too early. He also suggested we should have hunted the buck we saw on the neighbors property. I countered with the fact that I was told we would have opportunities at multiple bucks a day and the bucks I was supposed to be hunting were far less than the caliber of deer one would expect for a $6250 hunt. I also argued the ranch was too small to be hunting and charging $6250 a hunter. I also did not like the fact that he was pissed we didn’t want to hunt the buck on the neighbors property. He did agree that the two bucks in the pics that were sent to me by the guide were less than impressive.
In the end , I asked the outfitter to replace the hunts with a better hunt, however they opted to refund us $4000 out of $12,500 and basically said good riddance to us. That to me was a slap in my face, but better than nothing.
The moral of my story is, there are reputable “outfitters” out there that will sell you hunts that aren’t worth even a fraction of what they charge. I’m sure the outfitters have access to better hunts they sell, but they also sell bad ones like the ones I bought near Huntsville UT. If you or anyone you know are considering purchasing a guided mule deer hunt near Huntsville UT, message me first and I will provide more details . I would absolutely hate to see any other hunters or dad’s get taken like I was.
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