It depends on what show you are at as to whether the highest quality outfitters will be showing up. The Dallas Safari Club Convention and the International Safari Club Convention (in Reno) attract many of the best (and often most expensive) outfitters from around the world. You can get (and will pay for) the greatest hunts available anywhere. The best ones have gobs of references, and many of their former customers will be hanging around their booths talking and booking future hunts too. Give the outfitters you mobile phone number and they can call you when former customers come to their booths. Then you can talk to those customers in person about the hunts.
Most of the SCI people are gun hunters. Many of them are also bow hunters, but of the bow hunters only a small percentage shoot trad bows. The outfitters cater to the people who actually buy their hunts, so naturally most of the outfitters guide gun hunters with a lesser number of compound bow hunters and very few trad bow hunters. The most common reaction I get to questions about trad bow hunting is that it will be very difficult to get within 30 yards, much less 20 yards, and the success percentage will be very low compared to the gun hunting. That may not be what I want to hear, but it is the truth, so I'm glad they are saying it.
I just watched Easton Bowhunting TV last night and saw Fred Eichler shoot a big Yukon moose on the second day of his hunt in the Yukon using what is think is his Palmer 54# recurve. It looked like a pretty long shot, but the camera lens can make the distance appear deceiving. The bull went down in about 60 yards, so obviously it was a very good shot. I am not the hunter Fred is, so I wouldn't necessarily have made the shot or had his level of success. Still, it is nice to see the possibilities. Those hunts are expensive -- like about $20,000, so if you book one, you sure want to have a good chance to actually take a moose.
What is it that I hate to hear most about a really good hunt? The PRICE!!!!!!!!! But on some hunts you either pay the money or you don't go. There is no DYI for US citizens in the Yukon. That part of the world is extremely remote. It costs the outfitter a ton of money to set up and equip his camps during the brief hunting seasons. He can only accommodate a few hunters every year. And he needs to make a profit so he can support his family and have the incentive to keep the hunting operation going. Those guys aren't making lots of money. They do it mostly for the lifestyle. Those hunts are simply very expensive for everyone, and the hunter has to pay to make it happen. The same is true for hunting in other remote areas of the world.
There are lots of much less expensive hunts, and some that are much more expensive than $20,000. The really good outfitters are often booked up far in advance, but even they have cancellations, especially in this economy. I have found that one of the best ways to get a good discount on a hunt is to get on the waiting list of a really good outfitter and then be willing and able to accept a hunt within two weeks of the day it starts. Not many people can do that, which is why the outfitter can give the discount. The hunter who booked the hunt will lose some or all of his deposit and the outfitter will discount things on his side too in order to defray his expenses.
The really good outfitted hunts cost a bunch, but there is no reason to save a little and get a crappy hunt that wasn't worth even what you paid for it. There are plenty of places to go for good, inexpensive "ranch" style hunts. They don't cost too much and are a lot of fun. Most of my hunts are just local rabbit, squirrel, deer, turkey, hog, varmint hunts with my buddies that don't cost much at all. But if you want a "hunt of a lifetime", a good outfitter who is going to be expensive is the best way to go for most of us. The big, expensive hunts are unbelievably exciting and provide an experience that will create memories and stories that will be with you as long as you live. But they come at a price that many will be unable or unwilling to afford.
Stinger and Tocs have it right on there being good outfitters at the best of the outdoor shows and conventions. Booking agents can also be a big help, like SSWV suggests. If anyone wants the names of some of the top booking agents (whose hunts are usually expensive, and for good reason) send me a PM and I will list a few of my favorites.
Allan
Topic: What are things you don't want to hear from a outfitter when booking a hunt (Read 848 times)
