I’m posting this review to give the community a little information for the greater good. I know it’s going to spur conversations about paying too much for a hunt or chastising me about not doing my research. I’m willing to take my lumps in order for the next hunter to not have the same fate.
My father and I booked a muzzleloader hunt with Horox outfitters (Josh Horrocks) for the week of Sept 30-Oct 4, 2019 for $21,000 per hunter. It’s 60,000 acres in a great unit in Utah, and those tags come with a hefty price tag. There were numerous issues with the hunt, but the biggest issue was the deception on the size of elk we were going to be hunting. My dad spoke to Epic outdoors and was told they have bulls 330-340 average up to 370, which Josh Horrocks confirmed on our first call. He told me numerous times that he had huge elk and that they get better every year. I specifically asked why his website states 285-340 with average 320 and he said it was old and he has much bigger bulls now. His exact words were “I’m going to show you the best elk hunting of your life”. He also told me on the drive up that he had a “couple of 350+ bulls lined up for us”. From the start I could tell something was off. For 3 days all of the bulls we glassed were 260-310 (2 hunters and 3 guides all working together). Maybe one was 320, but it was a stretch. There were many bulls on the property, but all little bulls with plenty of cows. I don’t expect to show up to a place and just shoot a 350+, but for that amount of money you should at least see something decent. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Horox decided to have a conversation with his team one night within earshot and I hear him say to his guides that they haven’t seen any 350 bulls ALL YEAR. I heard him talk about how worried he was that there weren’t any big elk or mule deer on the property and that he needed to “pull something out of a hat.”
For $21,000 you expect to see big elk. Not the small bulls we saw all week (260s-310s). In my opinion they have killed off all the mature bulls and he is still charging premium dollars for something that’s not there. When asking around I found that he books 16 gun hunters and 3-4 bow hunters every fall. Gun hunters all have around 100% success (but small) and bow hunters about 30%.
For that amount of money you also expect some basic amenities. I don’t expect to be fed expired food and leftovers for $21,000 (which I was). There are a host of other things I could nitpick over, but overall this was the most disappointing hunt my Dad or I have ever been on.
I reached out to Josh and told him the exact information I’m posting in this review. He simply stated (verbatim)-
“Was hoping you guys would have killed some bigger bulls we whacked a couple pigs after you left wish you guys would of held out for something bigger for sure” No apology, no explanation, simply dismissive.
I asked for pictures of these “pigs” and they were the same size bulls we had seen all week (probably a 300 and a 310). My Dad and I actually recognized both of them as bulls we had passed up.
After doing some research upon returning home, I realize this is not the first time something like this has happened with Horox outfitters. Hindsight is 20/20 and although my money and elk season is lost, I hope this review will save someone else the heartache. I don’t like to post a review like this, but I don’t want this to happen to another hunter. I also feel like we need to protect the integrity of the sport.
Feel free to PM me for all of our scouting pictures, pictures of what we killed, and what Josh Horror considers a “pig” elk for $21,000.
People with Igloos say the same thing about people with Yetis. There are cheaper and more expensive alternatives for everything in life that costs money. And that's why the OP is upset, because he spent that money and expected a top shelf opportunity based on the expectations set by the seller.
Wife likes to watch "Below Deck" on Bravo channel. It's about boats that take groups of 6 or less people around the Mediterranean partying for 4 days. The cost is around $250,000 US for the 4 day trip, and then they tip the crew with an envelope of cash around $30,000 US.
There are people I guarantee you, not me, on Rokslide who could pay for something like that and it wouldn't affect their bottom line more than me buying a happy meal at McDonalds.
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If I spent $20,000, I would have researched...
Come on, fellas. If you read the thread, the PM is a surgeon (a smart professional) and seemed to research pretty thoroughly. At some point you have to rely on the outfitter to some extent. You aren’t there doing the hunt until you do the hunt. And the outfitter appeared to misrepresent and tuck tail. A POS like many of the other Utah outfitters I’m aware of.
If a business starts letting go of their customer service for profits, the first few get burned and have to learn the hard way.
Agreed. Surgery isn't necessarily an easy schedule/life depending on the specialty. Some have set schedules and some spend 60-80hrs a week in the hospitals and don't have time to plan as much so they use tools like epic. He went through a good hunt planner and expected more then he got so he's trying to warn people so that it doesn't keep happening. Also he said bucketlist which a lot of people go all out on bucketlist items. I know i'd spend a lot on my dad to get on an elk. If you made 25-50k or more a month you wouldn't worry about 21k. But being avg income is about 60k everyone is freaking out. If you made 400k, 20k would be 5% of your income. If you made 60k a 3k hunt would be 5% of your income. I know a lot of doctors that fly to napa and spend 8k in 4 days 3-4x a year just on wine. Thank you for warning us.If I spent $20,000, I would have researched...
Come on, fellas. If you read the thread, the PM is a surgeon (a smart professional) and seemed to research pretty thoroughly. At some point you have to rely on the outfitter to some extent. You aren’t there doing the hunt until you do the hunt. And the outfitter appeared to misrepresent and tuck tail. A POS like many of the other Utah outfitters I’m aware of.
If a business starts letting go of their customer service for profits, the first few get burned and have to learn the hard way.
Disappointing how many people on here as well as bowsite take this as an opportunity to put themselves on a pedestal. "I would never spend $21K to....." Who gives a damn what you would spend your money on.....we don't care if you can DIY everything in North America. Good for you. Some people have more time than money, and others have more money than time. Whichever group you are in is a result of the life decisions you have made up until this point. Deriding someone in the other bucket makes you look ignorant, and jealous.
An expectation was set/sold to the client for a price. According to the OP, the seller admitted that the expectations set were based on lies. So he is warning people.
Very nice bull. Fences were a little lower on this place.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think anyone on here would rather be stalking a 350+ bull vs. a raghorn. If I wanted large antlers I can kill a 500" bull only hours from my house for less money. In my opinion, the cost of the hunt is to put ourselves in the areas that produce big bulls.