What do you think???

[Dustin07]

Yeah he may not be your ideal hunting partner, but you got a whitetail buck, a 4x4 no less, and were guided to the spot for a whopping $500. Sounds like you got a pretty damn good deal. You also got to explore a new area, and for a very cheap price, learned some things about what to ask your next guide.

[spur_ride]

another thing i noticed when i looked at one of his elk hunts on ebay was he said he was a consultant not a guide.

WE OFFER A CONSULTING SERVICE FOR ELK HUNTERS, WE SET YOU UP IN A MOTEL  AND PROVIDE MAPS OF OUR AREAS THAT ARE BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WE HAVE OVER 3000 ACRES OF PRIVATE AND OVER 12 SQUARE MILES OF PUBLIC LAND AJACENT TO  PRIVATE FARMS, WE HAVE NICE HERDS ON BOTH PROPERTIES. THERE IS A 6X6 AND TWO 4X4'S AND QUITE A FEW COWS ON THE PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND WE HAVE BEEN SEEING SOME NICE BULLS ON THE PUBLIC LAND, WE HUNT IN TWO DIFFERENT GMU'S THAT OFFER ANY ELK OR BULL ONLY OPPURTUNITIES THE ANY ELKK GMU IS ON OUR PRIVATE RANCH .  YOU USE OUR EQUIPMENT (BLINDS,TREESTANDS,4 WHEELERS) AND OUR PROPERTIES WE PROVIDED MAPS AND LOCATIONS AND SCOUTING REPORTS AND PICTURES. REFERENCES AVAILIABLE. THE BUY IT NOW PRICE IS FOR THE DEPOSIT OF $1200.00 THIS IS FOR 2 HUNTERS AND THE BALANCE OF $400.00 IS DUE WHEN YOU ARRIVE. WE WILL ONLY CONSULT FOR 2 HUNTERS MAX. THE RIFLE SEASON IS OCT 31-NOV 8TH AND THE MUZZLELOAD SEASON IS OCT 4-9TH THE MUZZLOAD IS DURING THE RUTT. ALL TAGS ARE OVER THE COUNTER. THIS IS FAIR CHASE HUNTING NO FENCES AND NO GUARENTEES, WE WILL HELP YOU RETRIEVE YOUR ANIMAL AND HELP YOU WITH ANY KIND OF MEAT PROCESSING.

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-DAY-ELK-HUNTING-TRIP-IN-2010_W0QQitemZ120491048008QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0dd37c48


its still a bum deal no the less. sorry to hear it

[Dustin07]

something to consider:

a. you are wiser now on picking guides, and you have questions you'll ask in the future.
b. he is not wiser, unless you tell him about the things that bothered you. If you communicate to him certain things, he may be able to improve. remember, he has 3k acres available to hunt and he will probably continue to do this for a while. This is an opportunity to help mold him into a great service provider.

[Galpster]

something to consider:

a. you are wiser now on picking guides, and you have questions you'll ask in the future.
b. he is not wiser, unless you tell him about the things that bothered you. If you communicate to him certain things, he may be able to improve. remember, he has 3k acres available to hunt and he will probably continue to do this for a while. This is an opportunity to help mold him into a great service provider.

Dustin, I like your approach to this. I agree that we as the purchasers should take steps a thru c to ensure we protect others out there.

[Dustin07]

I went on a guided snow goose trip to Missouri last winter. $135/day for pit blinds (cheap). the guide would meet you at the gas station and guide you out to the 1000 decoy spread with his ecaller, then afterwards you could clean the geese at his farm location and take back just the wing and meat to your hotel, he recommended a particular hotel.

When we get there, you can't clean birds at his location anymore, "feds came down on him".
which doesn't matter too much because the hotel he recommended was so disgusting, we gutted the birds in the room. The windows were broken and taped up with cardboard and duct tape. when you ran a tub the water backfilled and it was gross and grimey. The heater didnt' work so she wheeled in a free standing oil heater. The knobs on the tub were broken off and there was a bolt shoved through so you could still use it.

The TV didnt' work in the first room, so she moved us to this 'better' room, where the tv also did not work (or the heater, tub, window, etc).

Area gets hit by a unexpected blizzard, its -16F out, snow and ice, the hotel he recommended is 30 minutes away in good weather, so when we arrive to the gas station 5 minutes late at most, he is not there because "he doesnt' wait" (there was only 1 other guy in the guided hunt, would he have minded a 10 minute wait?)

the pit blinds are not being used all the sudden, so we are hunting layout blinds, with my 60yr old father in law, who was expecting pits, up on the peak of a hillside in -16F windchilled snow.

we break for lunch. on the way back, our "SUV" rental get stuck less than 1/2 mile from the blind in a new snow drift on the road that wasn't there before. I called the guide over and over and over on his cell. his truck could have easily pulled us out. he ignores his cell while hunting, they get more birds during the 2nd half of that day, then the full 3 days we were there combined.

I hike back, in the snow and wind, almost a mile, to the nearest farm house. the farmer has to charge his turbo diesel to get it running, but gladly pulls us from the miserable snow pile we've become. not wanting to risk getting stuck again, we call it a day and head back to the only open restaurant, a truckstop. I leave the guide one more voicemail telling him our rig is not going to make it back, we need an alternative hunt (the promised pitblind) or a ride or something for the following day.

He gives away the geese i had shot in the morning, including a mature blue i wanted to get mounted.

calls me back that evening and finally says we can hunt the pitblind we paid for.

we get to the pit blind, the guide is a different guide. an awesome dude, I really like him, but he is a sub contractor using the first guides gear... wontcha know it... the pits are filled with snow, and the electronic caller is broken. we spend the last day in the pits, finally, with broken gear. I did get another mature blue snow though, and should have it back from the taxidermist in a week or two.


All in all it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back. I'm trying to get someone else to go with me in Feb or March of 2010, but whenever I tell this story, nobody will go 

[300MAGNUM]

The $500 was a deposit.  The total price was supposed to be $850.  After I got there he informed me that I would also have to pay another $50 bucks for tax.  So now we are up to $900.  I had to pay for my own room at the Apple Tree Inn ($150 for 2 days).

I have "friends" who helped me to learn how to hunt, gut, and process deer.  I love passing this information on to other "friends" including the people on here who I probably will never meet.  This was a business deal.  If I have to pay him to hunt, then he should pay me to show him how to do it.  This guy even wanted me to show him how to operate HIS trail camera.

I almost feel sorry for him.  I just wish that he was upfront and honest about his abilities and the situation. If he had not done what I told him to do after I got there and assessed the situation, I would not have shot the buck that I did.

I feel lucky to have gotten a buck.  The prayers to our Patron Saint Hubert paid off well!

I wish to thank everyone here for their opinions.

Dennis

[Curly]

Seems like you left Ebay feedback too soon.  He has 100% feedback.

[Dustin07]

$900 is starting to get up there. Can you show me a guided deer hunt in washington with a 100% success ratio that cost less?

[Curly]

Just because 300Magnum had success doesn't mean that this "guide" has 100% success ratio.........

[Dustin07]

Just because 300Magnum had success doesn't mean that this "guide" has 100% success ratio.........

who said he did 

[Curly]

I guess I misunderstood what you were saying........

[Dustin07]

I guess I misunderstood what you were saying........

yeah i'm just giving you grief  I saw that he had 100% feedback (listed above) and perhaps made an inappropriate assumption.

even so. if someone can show me a guide that's less than $900 with 100% of the KNOWN customers showing success (haha) I'd like to see it. Big game guided hunts are pricey.

[Buckmark]

Some salt in 300Magnum's wound, the seller has a listing right now on ebay for a 2010 whitetail hunt and the pictures on the listing look like 300Magnum and his deer.
Looks like He's the poster child for this guy now..

[300MAGNUM]

Hey Guys,

Just to clear some things up.  He told me that I had to give him positive feedback in order for him to get the deposit from paypal.  I gave him the feedback the day I paid for the hunt.  I am no expert when it comes to ebay, or paypal.  He has the system figured out for getting 1 time customers.

My main problem was he didn't know what he was doing, and the fact that he misled, and lied to me.

I am now wiser in this area.

Warmest Regards,
Dennis J. Ortenburg

[Buckmark]

You know there are ways to dispute your feedback on ebay, contact them and see if you can if you want to.