Should you recomend outfitters?

[JGood]

Flip side - We get guys on here trying to smear outfitters too. Just read one where it was painfully obvious that the guy read a couple online reviews and went with high expectations. He didn't do any actual research.

This is a brutal reality of the modern day. Lot of guys going out west and up north with unrealistic expectations. Unfortunatly buying a guided hunt does not guarantee an animal in the lower 48 or even AK these days.

@JacobM Why does you not hunting with the outfitter again have an effect on your decision? If you dont plan on hunting a Public Land spot again would you hot spot it on the internet?
I know people will say THAT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!!!! I agree, by why? To what extent is it really different?

 

[JohnJohnson]

Why does you not hunting with the outfitter again have an effect on your decision? If you dont plan on hunting a Public Land spot again would you hot spot it on the internet?
I know people will say THAT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!!!! I agree, by why? To what extent is it really different?

Public land does not have a family or a mortgage. People running an outfitting business do. You can tell yourself they're all flying around on private jets and buying third houses if you want but I guess I've just interacted with a very different tier of outfitter than you have. Which, again, I have not done some $15,000 sheep hunt or anything so that may very well be the case.

 

[JacobM]

This is a brutal reality of the modern day. Lot of guys going out west and up north with unrealistic expectations. Unfortunatly buying a guided hunt does not guarantee an animal in the lower 48 or even AK these days.

@JacobM Why does you not hunting with the outfitter again have an effect on your decision? If you dont plan on hunting a Public Land spot again would you hot spot it on the internet?
I know people will say THAT IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!!!! I agree, by why? To what extent is it really different?

Well for one public land generally doesn't cost too much compared to an outfitter. If im spending 5-10k i don't make enough to afford being screwed by a crappy outfitter and on the flip side id like to get the best bang for my buck so im going to generally choose the outfitter with the best reviews. Id like to pass on the information for people like myself weather it be good or bad. I'm going to do research on outfitters just like i would public land, you wouldn't just close your eyes and point at a map and hunt there. Besides if a man does a good job why would you not send business their way.

 

[JGood]

Besides if a man does a good job why would you not send business their way.

Same reason you dont give out the name of your kid's babysitter.

 

[wind gypsy]

Depends.. I used an outfitter on a Limited Entry tag once and felt like i found a gem. Said outfitter has a lot more hunters applying for the tag than they can take on any given year. I kept my mouth shut for the most part so there wasn't more possible customers vying for any openings or hunting the same ranch.

In some cases, you can definitely spot burn yourself. I don't have any desire to use a single outfitter a bunch of times though.. outfitted hunts make sense for one off experiences and not so much burning money to do the same thing over and over to me.

 

[JacobM]

Same reason you dont give out the name of your kid's babysitter.

LOL my MIL is our babysitter and shes not interested in watching your kids... But if she was id tell you about her, she does a great job.

 

[jimh406]

I think this is similar for every product or service. If you talk about it, other people may use it. On the other hand, if you don't talk about it, they may go out of business.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Cost of entry. Spot burning is a problem b/c it costs almost nothing to apply for a tag and reduce everyones chances of drawing. Outfitter has a >10x higher cost than applying for tags so the effect of publicity is smaller.

Also, there is a difference in helping someone that helped you. The recomendation comes from a 1:1 relationship with the outfitter rather than the 1:10,000 relationship with forum lurkers. This is kinda why PMs or in-person discussions work much better when discussing hunt unit details.

Taxidermists also fit into the same category as outfitters in this case.
And both will work hard to prioritize service for return customers, if you're a good customer.