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Hunter Comments

We booked a Moose hunt for 6 October 10th-15th. The hunts were all booked as 2x1 guided hunts. There was an issue with the number of guides available and guide assignments. I was given a 1x1 hunt and initially thought that would be an advantage. It was NOT. My guide was a 20 year old kid who told Me that He had an appointment on my first afternoon hunt. It was raining so I didn't really mind missing 1/2 of my first day too bad. The next morning my guide was a no-show. I had to hunt with another hunter who had been converted to a 1x1 hunt. His guide was 78 years old and I had to ride in the back seat of a two door truck all morning because We just rode the roads. That afternoon my guide showed back up and We were back at camp 1 hour before dark. The next day was the same. We rode 125 miles in a side x side ATV for two days as fast as it would run and were back to camp an hour before dark both days. The third day the owner showed up and realized that there were issues with the guides and He tried to make some changes. My last two days I got to go with one of the good guides (there were 2 of them) after his two clients had filled tags. Those two days were what I expected although I didn't tag a moose. One of my buddies took a cow moose just to get the hunt over. He was hunting with the 78 year old and all they did was ride the roads. The food was good but very plain. The cook was very good with what She had to work with. She actually saved the trip for a couple of us. The rooms were TINY with very little room for gear and you are doubled up in bunk beds. No phone service or TV. The website pictures are out of date and do not represent what you actually get. They have 2 very good guides and if you get one of those you should tag a moose. If you get one of the others, you are in for a long hunt. They claim that they have a chopper but the pilot works out of town and was not there during our hunt so that was not available. Two of our six hunters took good bulls. Two took very small bulls and one took a cow. One didn't take an animal. All were rifle hunters. There were mix-ups at the processor and meat shipper on funds and a ton of mis-communication and emails that were not returned. The owner Cog Pelly did offer Me $250 off a hunt if I come back but I will book with another outfitter if I go back. Cog was nice and offered apologies but the hunt was not what I expected and I don't feel like I got what I was promised. If you book with Island Safaries, demand that you get Danny or Nelson as your guide. They are hardworking honest guides that know what they are doing. Cog is a nice guy but is out of touch with his people. The cook was awesome but didn't have much to work with. Don't expect steak and Lobster like they show in the picture LOL.

Was the outfitter notified of problems? - YES

Outfitter's Response

Hi fellow hunters. in response to James's unfavorable report I would like to point out a few things.. they tagged 5 out of 6 moose, the hunter who shot the cow picked his guide himself, who by the way is not 78 years old ,he just turned 70 this fall and has killed more moose than all the rest of my guides combined!! we had no idea that hunter was a marathon runner that wanted to do 5 k a day. On one hand they didn't want older guides who have their own style of hunting which is called patience and then when we try to bring some new younger blood in( which is getting hard to find around here as most are going to the oil patch) they complain about that....it takes time to become a seasoned guide and while its frustrating for me as well it doesn't happen overnight and I had already discussed this with james... this is why I gave them 1x1 hunts. with regard to meals and accommodation our description on our web site is home style cooking and is far ahead of the hunts in other parts of North America where for 3 and 4 times the cost of nfld hunts you get a tent and a box of canned food with your guide. Its the same old story of course if they don't get an animal the pillow is too soft the bike is uncomfortable ,etc., etc. by the way the camp has cell coverage through a booster and I talk with them every day . The food was weak this year as some of the guides even complained. when I questioned them about why, it seems the cook had some personal issues I won't go into but she definitely wasn't up to scratch this year and had to be reminded continuously about her grocery list and I myself mentioned to her about the lack of vegetable or other garnish with the meals. When at risk of losing a tip sometimes I guess its easier to throw the boss under the bus when your not keeping up, however I do take responsibility for that,and it won't happen again. the shot about not being served lobster was a bit much. actually we have served lobster in season which is normally during our spring bear hunts. we did have fresh cod, as well as fresh and smoked makerel ( brought in by the guides as they love to share our Nfld bounty with all our visitors including taking them out to fish themselves after they tag out ) this along with the standard cooked meals, bagged lunches, full breakfast's with soups and chili for anyone who made it back to camp for lunch. I Did discuss compensation with James and offered him a discount on 1x1 hunt which would be aprox 1250.00 less then our reg. rate on top of the discount I had already gave him for the group hunt and as far as I was concerned he could come any time with any guide. Inclosing I would say the weather was awful the first 2 days when he was guided by the younger guide and he did see a number of moose during the week and I believe he did shoot at a nice bull under 80 yds and missed it. Normally on a 2x1 hunt the guys flip a coin to see who gets to shoot first... in an attempt to get these guys the best opportunity I could I gave them 1x1 hunts as I felt it would be better to have them out with an opportunity to shoot than sitting around waiting for someone else to shoot first with the option to hunt with another guide as they tagged out. Its seems like the same old story rings true your dammed if you don't and twice as dammed if you do.