Customer ReviewsforHunt-Nation

I’ve been hunting big game for more than 50 years, everywhere from Northwest Territories to South Texas. I’ve guided people 100% successfully on our four farms in Wisconsin. Last time we traveled to Colorado we went 9 for 10 on elk-(8 bulls one cow) on public land south of Cimmaron. There is no way I would’ve booked a hunt knowing there were going to be six hunters and 4 guides on 3000 acres. On June 27th, 2021 ***** ******, a hunt broker, from ******* **** ****** called me in my office. He stated that an elk hunt just became available because the ranch did not sell and the outfitter was trying to fill a few spots. The ranch was 3000 acres and we were led to believe that my son and I were going to be the only hunters as the deadline for leftover tags was 6/30/2021. We were going to stay at the lodge on the ranch. With only us on the ranch, we could even be selective on which bulls we shot and could also possibly get cow tags in addition. We wanted to verify all this with the outfitter, so my son and I sat in my office and called the outfitter, **** *****, owner of ***** *** **********. He repeated the same information. Of course, when we arrived in Craig Colorado we're quite shocked to find out that there were going to be 6 hunters and 4 guides on 3000 acres. Tony the owner calls me back. I tell him this is not what we signed up for. He says he never has just two people in camp. He says it is always between 6 to 10 hunters. Think about this my friends, that means he will have between 24 to 40 hunters during the four rifle seasons hunting on 3000 acres which only has about 1200 acres of good elk cover! Good Luck with that!

Hunt Nation regrets that Mr. D**** is unhappy with his elk hunt in Colorado. However, he neglects to disclose some key facts. Mr. D**** called us on day 3 of his 5-day hunt, to lodge a complaint. He was unhappy with his guide; he was unhappy with the property; he was unhappy about a perceived lack of elk and more. He said he was quitting the trip early. We indicated to him that we would immediately talk to the outfitter to see if something could be done. He refused, saying he was done- it was a waste of his time, and he was leaving early. He was told that quitting and running almost 2 days early would not be in his best interests as he would be denying the outfitter any chance to rectify the situation. He said he did not care and was leaving. We tried to help- he refused our help. Nevertheless, we Immediately contacted the outfitter. The outfitter is someone we have worked with for several years and have an excellent track record with. He is also a local Church Pastor, hardly someone prone to misleading people!! He also has dozens of happy clients, many of which we sent to him. We asked the outfitter to immediately contact Mr. D**** and he did that and offered to try and help; but MR. D**** wanted no part of it and left early anyway. It should be noted that Mr. D****, in his first conversation with us, complained about a lack of elk, however Mr. D**** failed to disclose and mention to us that his son had taken 3 shots at an elk, missing them all. In a subsequent conversation - after we learned from the outfitter about the missed shots, he admitted reluctantly to the 3 shots, but he blamed the failure to harvest an elk on the guide. He complained that his son was shooting off a backpack that was too low and the shots were deflected through the sagebrush. Deliberately shooting through brush is a serious safety violation as a deflected bullet could go anywhere and could easily have maimed the elk or harmed someone else. A hunter has an ethical duty to harvest animals cleanly. The fault lies with the hunter behind the gun. In that situation the hunter should either re-position himself or decline the shot. It takes only a few seconds to move to a better position, (such as sitting or kneeling) -- rather than risk wounding an animal. Or taking an unsafe shot. An experienced elk hunter would likely have harvested that bull. The outfitter gave us this summary of the hunt : “Out of 6 hunters 5 got off a shot and 3 of them got off multiple shots off. I told all of them before I left if they have a concern to please call me before it gets out of hand. I received NO call until you called me and told me their concerns”. It should also be noted that the outfitter never promised the ranch would be used solely by Mr. D****. Nor did Hunt Nation say that; and in fact, he was told we were “trying to fill in the remaining openings”. That is clearly not a promise of exclusive use. Leasing up a ranch is expensive, and this was a last minute, discounted hunt. And the hunt actually gave them a legitimate chance to harvest a bull elk. His son probably should have harvested that bull, had he thought to move slightly. He had time to do so -- as the 3 shots prove. As to the size of the ranch, yes, it is not large, but the outfitter indicated to us that over the years his clients had taken something like 30 plus bulls for around 40 hunters off that ranch. Size in total acres is not as important as where elk channel their movements. This ranch has a record of good elk movement transiting it. Having a chance to harvest a bull after hunting only a few days clearly proves that fact. It also should be noted that the outfitter has other ranches, but felt this ranch had the best opportunity for their success. Elk are very different from the Whitetails Mr. D**** is familiar with. Whitetails stay on the grounds they know, so too many hunters can have an adverse impact. But as a specie, Whitetails are homebodies; elk are a different specie; they often move vast distances in short time spans. A bull elk on that 3000 acre ranch today - could truly be 10 miles away tomorrow; conversely a herd could drop onto the ranch overnight. Over a couple of months of hunting, many elk would be on that property at various times; offering other hunters the same chances that Mr. D**** had. He purchased a discounted elk hunt; he was guided; he was placed where elk were known to be, and he had an opportunity to take a bull and missed; then left early refusing to consider any alternatives.

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians c5:11 I've asked for no monies to be returned, only that the truth be told. "Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing." I am a minister at three parishes, St. Peter's, St. Lawrence, and Resurrection. "For evil to triumph all good men need to do is nothing." Sir Edmund Burke. Fact, my son and I called the outfitter to verify that we were going to be the only two in camp. I have the phone records of that call. We were mislead. They stated, "he was placed where elk were known to be, and he had an opportunity to take a bull and missed; then left early refusing to consider any alternatives." Fact, my son had a shot. I did not. Totally false and misleading. They stated, "then left early refusing to consider any alternatives." Fact, with only a day and a half left to hunt, we wanted to hunt all day. We wanted to go the extra mile to put in the time and effort. It was 10AM. However, the guides were more interested in driving back to the house north of Craig to drink coffee. We were told "no" by the outfitter you can't hunt "because the wind is swirling." I called Butch at Hunt-Nation and he said he would have the outfitter call me immediately. I did not receive any phone call. After waiting three and half hours, at 1:30 we left--if we can't hunt--why stay? I called the outfitter and left a message. He returned my call hours and hours later--we were in the middle of Nebraska. He stated he left me a voice message. I never received any notification of a missed call or any voice message. Phone records verify this. I've owned a ranch in Oregon. In my experience, they don't like being chased by 4-wheelers. They did like the alfalfa on the neighboring ranch outside of Craig. My review is below. I hope it helps protect the flock. Peace to all. I’ve been hunting big game for more than 50 years, everywhere from Northwest Territories to South Texas. I’ve guided people 100% successfully on our four farms in Wisconsin. Last time we traveled to Colorado we went 9 for 10 on elk-(8 bulls one cow) on public land south of Cimmaron. There is no way I would’ve booked a hunt knowing there were going to be six hunters and 4 guides on 3000 acres. On June 27th, 2021 Eddie D*****, a hunt broker, from Butch’s Hunt Nation called me in my office. He stated that an elk hunt just became available because the ranch did not sell and the outfitter was trying to fill a few spots. The ranch was 3000 acres and we were led to believe that my son and I were going to be the only hunters as the deadline for leftover tags was 6/30/2021. We were going to stay at the lodge on the ranch. With only us on the ranch, we could even be selective on which bulls we shot and could also possibly get cow tags in addition. We wanted to verify all this with the outfitter, so my son and I sat in my office and called the outfitter, Tony B****, owner of ***** *** **********. He repeated the same information. Of course, when we arrived in Craig Colorado we're quite shocked to find out that there were going to be 6 hunters and 4 guides on 3000 acres. When we got in our pickup, my son and I both said this is not what we signed up for. In fact, there is no way we wanted to hunt with that many people on that few acres. But with already having traveled over a thousand miles, and spending over $12000, and working out all summer, we stayed. However, the lodge we were shown on the ranch was out and we were now staying miles north of Craig and would have to drive through Craig and 5 miles south to hunt each day. Of course, we were never told any of this information prior to arriving. Our guide would drive us to the ranch every day with music blaring and continuously working the action of his 9MM pistol in the front seat. Scary, dangerous, and unprofessional. On opening morning, everything was still and quiet-- except for the three UTVs that the guides drove down through the middle 2/3rds of the ranch. Essentially, at this point the 3000 acres was down to about 1200 acres. We set up on the “overlook” and proceeded to watch the elk (not one legal bull) all bolt across the valley about 800 yards south. My son and I both suggested to close the gap where the elk were crossing to get a good shot if a bull should cross. The guide said we couldn’t move. After an hour and a half, the guide gets a call telling him there is a small legal bull heading behind us. We move back up to the top and a young bull steps out. We were instructed in camp by the owner the night before that we had to use the guide's shooting stick so they know when we are shooting. Our guide hands my son the monopod shooting stick he bought the night before at Walmart. It won’t lock correctly. The guide throws down his backpack and starts breaking the sage brush to clear a shooting lane. The guide tells my son to wait until the bull turns sideways. Eventually the bull scrambles to his right,and of course the shot looks good through the scope while the barrel is still in sagebrush. Three shots through the sagebrush left the bull untouched. At this point, the guide was happy because my son had ”burnt some powder” and now “the pressure was off” he said. We each paid for a full hunt. On the second morning I spotted some elk at the top of the mountain going into the scrub oak. The guide said we would hunt them in the evening. In the afternoon, he told me to sit in a blind over a mile away. I questioned him about this as the best odds to kill an elk since the elk had bedded down on top. Others went up the other side and hunted the top. Four hours later, I have seen nothing. In the meantime, my son and guide wandered up and down the power lines with guide calling aimlessly never approaching where the elk were. Our guide can’t go anywhere without permission, we were told by him. The elk had been silent since opening morning. The guide continued to use his bugle and hyper hot cow call. Furthermore, the plastic bugle kept hitting the brush along with his new metallic shooting stick--making sure every elk heard us. It was useless. Every day, morning and evening, UTV’s are driving all over the ranch. No elk. Third day of the hunt, the realtor shows up with client and proceed to tour the ranch in UTV. We can’t hunt during the day but the realtor can drive all over. Fourth morning, my son and I are placed in box blinds again. The guide can’t find the blind for my son, walks all over and kicks the soda cans in the blind. Daylight is fast approaching as we drive the UTV to my blind. I tell my guide to be extra quiet getting into the blind as it is plastic and noisy. He makes all kinds of noise from the ladder and sees one elk bolting away in the fresh snow. He does his usual group text. Fifteen minutes later, another guide, Barry and his hunter are walking through the area we are watching. My guide proceeds to drop his Skoal tin on the floor of the blind and rolls around. More noise. Useless. After 45 minutes my guide is cold and shivering. He has no gloves, low cut wet hikers, khaki pants, and a long sleeve shirt. He wants to go see how my son is doing 800 yards away in the other blind. We start the UTV and drive back to my son. We sit for a while and watch. My guide says he sees three elk run across to the south of us. He does his group text. Barry and his two hunters drive up in the UTV directly across the draw. My son asks our guide “who’s shooting now? I thought this was my spot this morning.” Guide says he doesn’t know. My son says this is totally dangerous if those elk should run between us. No one else ever saw the elk. On the ride back, my son says he would like to hunt all day as we are running out of time. It’s 10AM. We have a day and a half left to hunt. My guide says he’ll ask permission when we get to the pickup trucks. Our guide says nothing and we leave back to the house north of Craig. We complain. He texts the outfitter owner, Tony, who’s been out of town since day one, to get permission to hunt during the day. We're told Tony says “No. the wind is swirling!!!” We decide if we can’t hunt we might as well leave. Barry comes out and tells us our guide said we were cold and wanted to come in. My son and i started laughing. We are from Wisconsin wearing down and wool jackets and ******* boots. I asked him if he had seen how our guide was dressed and who does he think got cold? In addition, shortly after our guide left, driving home to get some dry boots. He apologies for interrupting and disturbing our hunts this morning. This is the same guide who hazed the elk with the UTV so another hunter could get a shot. We are disgusted and frustrated. I call Bruce the owner of Hunt Nation. He says he will talk to the owner and have him call us back right away. We wait--nothing. I call Bruce again, the owner told him we got three shots and were into elk everyday. What a joke! I never got a shot, and never saw elk after the second morning. All the elk were on the neighboring ranch. I left a message for the owner to please call me. Several hours later in the middle of Nebraska, Tony the owner calls me back. I tell him this is not what we signed up for. He says he never has just two people in camp. He says it is always between 6 to 10 hunters. Think about this my friends, that means he will have between 24 to 40 hunters during the four rifle seasons hunting on 3000 acres which only has about 1200 acres of good elk cover! Good Luck with that! He said he had other ranches to hunt. Apparently, that is the 53 acre piece one guy hunted opening morning only. He apparently doesn’t remember he lost the lease for the ***** ***** ranch of 18000 acres. He is definitely an outfitter who is putting profits before people. Hopefully, we can help someone else avoid this nightmare.