Effords experiences

INgunner54

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There was another thread in which Effords was mentioned and someone had a negative experience there on a moose hunt. I am booked with him for 2020, and was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience? In the "father son Newfoundland moose hunt" thread Mlax said he was heading there to hunt but I never saw anything else. Just trying to figure out if I need to start worrying about trying to get a deposit back and find another outfitter. Thanks guys.
 

Kotaman

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For the most part, everything you hear on Efford's is positive. There are a few positive reports in the Outfitter Review section of the Bowsite as well. Every once in awhile you see a negative review on them though. That seems to be the case in Newfoundland in general. I've hunted Newfoundland several times (none with Efford's) and for the most part have had positive experiences. Go, enjoy the Island, the scenery and the people. It is a great place.
 

Trial153

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Mostly postive reviews for Eddfords, I think you will be fine. NF is an awsome place enjoy it. I am up next year to chase a woody with my bow. My last hunt on the rock with with my dad was great. Taking him back with me next year.
 

Tjwjr89

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I'm booked with Effords for 2019 and seen the same posts you probably did. I messaged alot of members on here and got positive reviews. I was originally booked for the lodge hunt but I am going to switch to the fly in. The only negative reviews I got we're guys that did the lodge hunt and consensus was that the success percentage was really skewed to represent the fly in and there was alot of hunting pressure on the lodge hunt.
 
Joined
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Mostly postive reviews for Eddfords, I think you will be fine. NF is an awsome place enjoy it. I am up next year to chase a woody with my bow. My last hunt on the rock with with my dad was great. Taking him back with me next year.
From what I gathered on my trip last week, was that this year is the last year for Woodland Caribou for a while. I could be wrong, but that is what I thought I heard when I was back at lodge of my outfitter. If it is still on, get at it while you can. It doesn't seem like a very stable situation with them right now.
 
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For the most part, everything you hear on Efford's is positive. There are a few positive reports in the Outfitter Review section of the Bowsite as well. Every once in awhile you see a negative review on them though. That seems to be the case in Newfoundland in general. I've hunted Newfoundland several times (none with Efford's) and for the most part have had positive experiences. Go, enjoy the Island, the scenery and the people. It is a great place.
You are spot on with the outfitter reviews. I would not give the outfitter that I hunted with a 'glowing review', but keeping everything in perspective it was a fun time. To be honest, I think the only concern that my outfitter had was making sure that their success rate was near 100% and not taking trophy quality into consideration. Perhaps a little bit of that is because I was in an area with little to no game around and the moose that were only have 4-6pts on them. Not what I would call a representative example of the species. However, I have a bunch of meat coming my way and hopefully a pretty cool euro mount. Like Kotaman said, Enjoy the Island, The Scenery and The People. They are all amazing!
 

Trial153

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From what I gathered on my trip last week, was that this year is the last year for Woodland Caribou for a while. I could be wrong, but that is what I thought I heard when I was back at lodge of my outfitter. If it is still on, get at it while you can. It doesn't seem like a very stable situation with them right now.



Could be. It been year to year for a while so thats no surprise.
 

Trial153

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I didn't think about it at the time, but I am wishing now that I had decided to hunt a caribou instead of the moose given the current climate for pending seasons.
This has been in the works for several years. If you read the biology perspective for the herd they are trying to keep the population stable and neither grow nor decline. Originally they felt that stopping the hunt would be detrimental to that end, if it allows a population uptick short term it will harm the habitat more then it already is. If I have the tag next year I will be happy, if not I will bowhunt for moose. Either way it will be great to fly back in there again.
 
OP
I

INgunner54

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Thanks for the replies everyone! Another question. What's the cost on getting meat back home? Did you guys check it on the plane, or have it shipped home?
 
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I ended up having my meat processed there. In fact, they are doing in the next couple of days. Then they are going to put it on a reefer with my euro mount and send it to Detroit. There are a number of airports that they drive too and it will save a lot on shipping versus having to check it on a plane. Then again, if you are driving it really isn't a big deal.
 
OP
I

INgunner54

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I believe it's a forty some hour drive to get there, so we will definitely be flying.
 

Mlax

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Virginia
Hey! We hunted with Effords in September. Great trip, no complaints. The weather was tough. 75 the first two days. Then the it dropped to mid-low forties with 30 mph sustained winds and heavy rain for two days. We hunted anyway, just brutally cold and wet. Saw 5-8 moose a day. Nothing with antlers till the last day. The weather finally settled down and on the last day we had frost in the morning, light wind and sun. Saw my first bull around 9, took about an hour and half to get to it. Shot was 325yds. Put it where it counts, reloaded added a second shot and it dropped right there. We gutted, quartered, de-boned and had the helicopter come get the meat. We were probably 6 miles out. Moose was a 4 pointer, not a wall hanger but definitely a fantastic trip. Buddy shot a 18 pointer with a 37" spread about an hour later. Camp was great, old log cabin with wood burning stove. Water was a spring coming out of the mountain and we had a full time cook. Food was great. Fresh bread and desserts daily. To ship the meat back is done by 50lb box. I think it is 190 for the first and 70 for each additional box. I had about 250lbs of meat. Buddy probably had more. My number one recommendation is to get in shape. I mean take what you think you will need to do and double it. Lots of stair climber or hike as many hills as you can with your pack. I thought is was good. The underbrush is thick and grabs everything. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
 
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I can’t say enough about Bob and his business. The trip was in a word, awesome! He did everything he said he would and more. We did a fly in hunt, and we were the second of three groups to hunt the area for the season. We went 3 for 3, 2 bulls. They were not trophies of a lifetime, but that’s not why I was there. I was there to moose hunt with my dad. I also had a bear tag, and even had a stalk for a bear. The cabin was wonderful, the guides were old but in better shape than half the continental US, and the food was excellent. We were 60 miles from the nearest road, and 100 miles from the nearest improved road. Bob does all the flying himself as he owns his own plane. You are picked up at the hotel by taxi and driven 3 hours to take off. The flight was 40 minutes and we were in camp. We hunted that afternoon after lunch. If there are any negatives, there was no hunting on Sundays until October and the fishing season was closed. We tagged out on moose by Tuesday. We saw moose everyday. We had decent weather and only had half a day rained out, but obviously most of that is out of his control. It was $350 to ship the meat to Green Bay, WI. I’m from Milwaukee, we had to pick it up. I would do it again. If you fly, be sure to give yourself a minimum of 4 hours for a layover to pass through customs.
 
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I can’t say enough about Bob and his business. The trip was in a word, awesome! He did everything he said he would and more. We did a fly in hunt, and we were the second of three groups to hunt the area for the season. We went 3 for 3, 2 bulls. They were not trophies of a lifetime, but that’s not why I was there. I was there to moose hunt with my dad. I also had a bear tag, and even had a stalk for a bear. The cabin was wonderful, the guides were old but in better shape than half the continental US, and the food was excellent. We were 60 miles from the nearest road, and 100 miles from the nearest improved road. Bob does all the flying himself as he owns his own plane. You are picked up at the hotel by taxi and driven 3 hours to take off. The flight was 40 minutes and we were in camp. We hunted that afternoon after lunch. If there are any negatives, there was no hunting on Sundays until October and the fishing season was closed. We tagged out on moose by Tuesday. We saw moose everyday. We had decent weather and only had half a day rained out, but obviously most of that is out of his control. It was $350 to ship the meat to Green Bay, WI. I’m from Milwaukee, we had to pick it up. I would do it again. If you fly, be sure to give yourself a minimum of 4 hours for a layover to pass through customs.

While I went with another outfitter, I think that everything you said above nails down the trip description. I was hunting on the penninsula, which has different topography than the main part of the rock. I decided to not get a bear tag, and that was the right call. It is just something that you will need to determine on your own. I did fly there and clearing customs in Toronto can be a bit of a hassle, so as previously mentioned, you need to allow for the extra time. I was absolutely AMAZED at the amount of luggage some of these people were bringing to Canada at customs. I am making an assumption, but my guess what that they were no planning on leaving. Crazy that!
I also had my meat shipped back to Detroit. I am glad that mentioned your cost of shipping the meat. I wasn't sure, but now I have an idea on what I need to allocate. A total cost of $650 to have a moose processed and shipped back to me here in Michigan. Not a bad deal at all!!
 
Joined
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Tulsa, Oklahoma
I'm on my way back from my hunt with moose valley outfitters. The best hunt I could have asked for. The guides, lodging and food were great. Most of all, the hunting was great. Saw multiple moose each day and took a 32"-8 pointer on Wednesday. I had a good experience going through customs getting into Canada but coming home the U.S. customs agents made life difficult for several of us. I had all my paperwork in order but several other hunters had the line backed up with paperwork issues.
 

Trial153

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I'm on my way back from my hunt with moose valley outfitters. The best hunt I could have asked for. The guides, lodging and food were great. Most of all, the hunting was great. Saw multiple moose each day and took a 32"-8 pointer on Wednesday. I had a good experience going through customs getting into Canada but coming home the U.S. customs agents made life difficult for several of us. I had all my paperwork in order but several other hunters had the line backed up with paperwork issues.
Did you hunt island pond? Dean has great outfit, we really enjoyed our hunt there. Cant wait to go back next year. Were any caribou spotted during the hunt?
 
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