DIY Map by Bearpaw

[jpc]

 Hello All!  This is a review for a DIY deer map that I ordered from bearpaw.  I haven't seen anyone post a review so I thought it might help someone out if they were considering one.  I have only been hunting deer for a couple of years...with little success.  So some family members and I decided that we would go in together and order a map from bearpaw for deer in NE Washington.  The map was $295.  I laid out specifically what we were looking for in a hunting area and Dale (bearpaw) said he could deliver.  I ordered/paid for the map in the middle of July around the 18th.  I patiently checked the mail everyday hoping for the map.  I live in Spokane and the map was coming from Colville.  After a week or two went by and no response from Dale I began to wonder when I would get it.  Dale got back to me and said he had been on vacation, but I would get the map soon.  Well another couple weeks went by.  I finally got the map on August 19th.  I thought fine, it took much longer than anticipated, but if it was a good map then it would be worth the wait.  However, it wasn’t at all what I was expecting.  If you have ever seen Dale’s DIY map website page, you will see a detailed topo map with specific areas circled, etc...Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope and pulled out a cheap Colville National Forest paper map.  Worth, maybe, ten dollars.  I opened the map up and Dale has 5 areas circled, in highlighter, on the map.  He circled whole mountains and vast other areas.  It gets even better!  Next to these circled mountains, he had stuck a post-it note on which he wrote some info.  Things like "both kinds of deer in the north end of this circle," "could camp on side of road," and "mostly whitetail but also some mule deer...etc"  Not even close to the specific area that I asked for or was expecting.  Certainly not worth the nearly $300 that we paid.   Earlier Dale had asked if I wanted a pdf or a paper map.  I did requested a paper map, thinking it would still be a detailed topo map of an area (just like the website shows) and not a cheap paper map of the entire Colville National Forest.  His website claims he would also give info on a meat cutter and taxidermist stuff, etc but nothing like that was included either.  So I sent Dale an email and voiced my concerns about the map and that we wanted a specific map of "X" peak.  Dale obliged and said he would make a new one.  Long story short, we ended up asking Dale for one area and then switched it on him and asked for something else.  That was our mistake.  Eventually, I asked Dale for a refund.  So we agreed on $150 refund and went our separate ways.   
I am sure his guide services are probably good, but his DIY maps are a SCAM and definitely on the backburner in my opinion.  I will never do business with Bearpaw again and am telling everyone I know the same.  I know a lot of people like him and recommend him on here.  That was one of the reasons we decided to do it in the first place.  However, for us, it was a bad experience and not worth the money at all.  Definitely not professional.  Thanks for reading!       

[bowhunterwa87]

first bad review of his diy maps that ive ever read 

great first post and it looks like your out to make a lot of friends on this site 

[SCRUBS]

jpc, don`t know if you know but, Bearpaw (Dale) owns this site?

Not to detract from your experience with him or his services.

[go4steelhd]

JPC: Im not totaly sure what you expected
But if he gave you a Map of a whole area Highlighted. I think this is because there are deer thru out that range. I spend a lot of time scouting and could also cicrle on a map where to go in my hunting areas, but this does not mean that every time you go there that you will find deer. Some spots are best at day light, some are good for bedded deer in the afternoon, some right at dark. This hunting season in mid season I went into a spot i found last year and got my buck. I could go back ten more times and not see a deer.
If you want a guided hunt get a guide
Its sounds to me like he did his part, your expections were maybe a little high on what you would get. And if he gave you your money back souds like hes a stright up guy!!!

[hrd2fnd]

Tagging

[Payne]

Its sounds to me like he did his part, your expections were maybe a little high on what you would get. And if he gave you your money back souds like hes a stright up guy!!!

If you are interested I can tie a deer up for you and put an "X marks the spot" on a map for $500!... haha Jk... couldn't resist.

[mfswallace]

How about a photo of the map in question??

[blazenfish]

This I have to see also sorry. I need the black and white evidence myself..... maybe the interpretation of the request was miss spoke or miss understood... I have had that happen and sounds like he made things right within reason..

[idahohuntr]

Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope and pulled out a cheap Colville National Forest paper map.  Worth, maybe, ten dollars.  I opened the map up and Dale has 5 areas circled, in highlighter, on the map.  He circled whole mountains and vast other areas. 

Its not the map you're paying for jpc, its the experience of the person doing the highlighting.  If you live a ways from NE Wa, and have little familiarity with the area I suspect it could be of value to you.  Identifying hunting and camping areas, types of deer predominant in those areas etc...you would spend far more than that before you even had half of what that highlighted map with notes has given you. If you have decent knowledge of the area and were expecting a gps coordinate of a tree to hang your stand where a 150" buck is waiting...I can see where you would be disappointed.  Sounds to me like you wanted a personal guide for a diy map price 

[jpc]

Good input from everyone so far!  All you guys are right, maybe we expected more than he was willing to deliver.  I expected a specific map, with notes that say sit/glass here in the morning, this is a good spot in the evening, etc...  I do think our communication must not on the same page.  However, I don't believe that what he gave us was worth $300 and he was going to let it pass at that if we didn't ask for more specifics.  That bothers me.  Also, it took a month to get it (for ten to twenty minutes of work) and his responses to my emails went unanswered for some time, even though he was always posting on here.  In the end, I think Dale did us right and the half refund was fair.  I still think that for the money, the map we got was a scam.  I will try to post some pics soon.     

[Payne]

Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope and pulled out a cheap Colville National Forest paper map.  Worth, maybe, ten dollars.  I opened the map up and Dale has 5 areas circled, in highlighter, on the map.  He circled whole mountains and vast other areas. 

Its not the map you're paying for jpc, its the experience of the person doing the highlighting.  If you live a ways from NE Wa, and have little familiarity with the area I suspect it could be of value to you.  Identifying hunting and camping areas, types of deer predominant in those areas etc...you would spend far more than that before you even had half of what that highlighted map with notes has given you. If you have decent knowledge of the area and were expecting a gps coordinate of a tree to hang your stand where a 150" buck is waiting...I can see where you would be disappointed.  Sounds to me like you wanted a personal guide for a diy map price 

 

I guess I could understand, thinking the presentation of the info would look nice, but imo the info is by far the important part, not presentation of info... On the bright side if it's hand done then that probably means that he isn't selling this exact same info to 500 other people and sending you all to the same spot...

I'm really curious though, are you going to use the maps and hunt in the areas that he recommended?

[hughjorgan]

Good input from everyone so far!  All you guys are right, maybe we expected more than he was willing to deliver.  I expected a specific map, with notes that say sit/glass here in the morning, this is a good spot in the evening, etc...  I do think our communication must not on the same page.  However, I don't believe that what he gave us was worth $300 and he was going to let it pass at that if we didn't ask for more specifics.  That bothers me.  Also, it took a month to get it (for ten to twenty minutes of work) and his responses to my emails went unanswered for some time, even though he was always posting on here.  In the end, I think Dale did us right and the half refund was fair.  I still think that for the money, the map we got was a scam.  I will try to post some pics soon.   

What probably took Dale 20 minutes to mark on a map in reality probably took him years of scouting and hunting the area to know that the info he was sharing with you would be productive for you to hunt if you put in some work of your own before your hunt.

[SCRUBS]

Have you had a chance to check the highlighted areas out in person? Did you find the animals you were looking for based on the highlights on the map? I have considered purchasing one of his maps because, as others have said the gas alone for scouting would far exceed the map price.

Refunding half of the map price was a stand up thing for Dale to do IMHO.

[Quackwhacker]

I'll take that map and notes off your hands for $50. Then you don't have to ever look at it again.

[gr8whthunter]

Good input from everyone so far!  All you guys are right, maybe we expected more than he was willing to deliver.  I expected a specific map, with notes that say sit/glass here in the morning, this is a good spot in the evening, etc...  I do think our communication must not on the same page.  However, I don't believe that what he gave us was worth $300 and he was going to let it pass at that if we didn't ask for more specifics.  That bothers me.  Also, it took a month to get it (for ten to twenty minutes of work) and his responses to my emails went unanswered for some time, even though he was always posting on here.  In the end, I think Dale did us right and the half refund was fair.  I still think that for the money, the map we got was a scam.  I will try to post some pics soon.   

i dont think its a scam at all, i dont know Dale at all and im fairly new to this site but im not new to hunting, dont even bother posting pics i got a good visual in my head of what the map has on it and its all a map should have if it is going to a "hunter" he is and should not give you specific turn left here turn right here and glass this directions thats not hunting im sorry, maybe you should just stop hunting since you dont want to in the first place. hunting is about finding the spots, spotting the deer and hunting the deer, he helped you out by showing some areas that have a good amount of animals to harvest i assume. so take what knowledge he gives you and run with it, find spots within the highlighted area and hunt the animals that are there. like i saw earlier in this thread, would you like Dale to shoot you a deer and give you a detailed map of where the dead animal lay? would that be better? hey you could even take pictures of it and put it all over your facebook page!... before you get mad at a guy showing you good areas to hunt learn to hunt on your own how bout you try that on.