Hillbilly,
Great of you to chime in with a blanket statement about Outfitters and comparing us to a bunch of used car salesman. You are probably right in some cases. And even a good Outfitter might just say, ?the hell with it? after a while and turn into a bad Outfitter. Especially after dealing with what I call the 2 percent of clients. 98% of clients are good people who are honest and willing to hunt hard and will enjoy their experience in the high country wether they take an animal home or not. The 2 percent crowd is the guy that comes to camp feeling entitled. Because the 2%-er booked a hunt with an Outfitter he believes that he is entitled to be shown the ?monster? and to go home with it in the back of his truck. When he is in camp he forgets what the outfitter told him on the phone, ?we get 2 to sometimes 6 chances a year at deer of that class.? We would give it our all for him if he wanted to try. He might even be the guy that we show the 190 class deer to on the side of some 10,000 ft mountain peak and say to him ?thats the buck you came to kill, lets go?... That 2 % guy says, ?well if I have to hike up that, I'm not going, we are going to have to find another one?..... Like those opportunities happen every day or something. But be assured when he gets home he is going to blame the outfitter for not getting him his monster. It might even change into, ?The outfitter promised me I would have a chance to kill a deer like that....? I had a guy get home and tell other hunters that I promised him a chance at a 220 non-typical. In reality, what I said was ?we have killed deer in that class and they do exist....?.
This is a two way street, Hillbilly... I don't know if you are a 2 % client, but where is the Outfitter?s protection from them or you? You don't see Outfitters on this site bashing the 2 % hunters. Trust me, we could.... I'm sorry for your bad experiences. I even like having clients who have had poor experiences with other Outfitters on our hunts, because 98 percent of the time they are going to leave from their hunt with us with the satisfaction we did our job to the best of our abilities and, kill or no kill, they are happy. There are those few that no matter what we do, they are never happy. Are you one of those guys Hillbilly??
I can not speak for all Outfitters, but I got into this profession out of a passion for the hunt. I picked the area we outfit in because of the trophy mule deer and high country terrain. I enjoy chasing big bucks and the challenge they present. I like sharing that experience with people who also enjoy it. I put 110% into each and every hunt we conduct. I judge the success of our season not by the bank statements but by the successes of our clients and guides together. Those successes might be trophy animals or they might be the continuation or beginnings of a good friendship with our clients. I know we are doing a good job of this because of our return clients and the friendships we have built. I'm proud of the guides who make Non-Typical Outfitters one of the best in the business. I dedicate my entire year to the success of our clients. I really don't make very much money at it either. I spend a lot on wages, horses, optics, trucks, trailers and camps. The forest camps we operate are not cheap to purchase. If money was my motivator I would do things differently, for sure. I care about doing it right........ Sure there are some people who have come on our hunts who have left disappointed. But not because I didn't give it my all or my guides gave it there all. For the record I have never in my life promised a trophy mule deer to someone..... The only thing I have ever promised a hunter is to do our best for them from guides, cooks, scouting, horses, equipment and on and on. I sleep at night comfortably, knowing I have done my very best on every hunt!!!! That includes drop camps. All I have ever done is my best. It's amazing to me how easy it is for someone to come on one of these sites and bash outfitters. I used to give a little credit to what was said on these blogs but after a couple of years of reading I have come to the realization that all SOME of you want to do is bash someone or something.
As to the drop camp with Cory Parrent and John Kinney I did the scouting for the hunt myself. The area they hunted is without question one of the very best areas in region G . I have hunted and scouted that mountain for years, and killed some great bucks as well. Some are critical on how close to the road the camp was. If I stopped hunting areas that were in sight of a road in region G, I would not get much hunting done. I have walked that canyon in question from the road and it takes me 2 hours with just optics and lunch, when I reach the top I have rubber legs... it's a steep SOB. Some of you might get it done faster. Good luck doing that with a backpack and a weeks hunting supplies in less than 4 hours... The biggest problem with using this canyon to access the camp is not in the distance or the steep terrain.....every deer you want to hunt gets pushed over the top 1000 yards in front of you. So let's give me a little credit here boys for the longer route, lots of places I go the long way, so I don't spook all the game. But I'm sure you arm chair outfitters might see it differently. It was very hot and dry during that week Corey & John hunted, all the deer were anchored tight in the timber. We killed some great bucks with our guided hunts, but we worked very hard for every opportunity. I have no idea why Cory & John did not see even some smaller bucks. I could do a little bashing here on how they hunted or the phone call they left me after two days.. but why?? All of my messages get saved on my computer so I could play it for everyone... but I am not. One thing that I would like to point out, is that it is easy to blame the outfitter for your shortcomings. Our society in general is moving in that direction... ?If I failed, it can't be my fault, someone else must be to blame.?
One of the things we need to remember is that trophy mule deer are very challenging and humbling to hunt. If you're mentally not in the game on these hunts your going to have a tough time. I have had many hunts humble me over the years. That is why I love to hunt big mulies. I did make one mistake on this hunt. It was not in the area or the equipment... It was in who I had in charge of this hunt, representing Non-typical Outfitters, my packers. I could go on and BASH them but that is not how I like to do business. I do wish things would have turned out differently... not for my sake but for the boys on the mountain.
So, if you want to do some bashing at least now you can bash me for the truth... And if someone decides not to book a hunt with us over this thread we probably did not want to hunt with them anyhow......
Robb Wiley
Non Typical Outfitters