HuntingReport.com
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Subscriber-Written Trip Report On Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters Hunts |
Below is one sample of such a Report which is made available to you FREE of Charge.
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DATE
AND PLACE OF HUNT |
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| Report
ID: |
6906 |
Weapon
Used: |
Rifle |
How
Hunt Was Conducted? |
Guided |
| Date
of Hunt: |
September 1, 2008 to September 7, 2008 |
| Place
of Hunt: |
Canada British Columbia Chilcotin Mountains - Management Unit 332 |
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OUTFITTER,
GUIDE AND BOOKING AGENT DETAILS |
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| Outfitter
(or safari company): |
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters. Gun Creek Road; Gold Bridge; British Columbia; V0K 1P0; Canada; Tel. 250-238-2274; Email: info@13species.com; Web www.13species.com |
| Personal
Guide (if any): |
Kevin Bracewell |
| Booking
Agent (if any): |
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Trip
Arrangements
(if self-guided): |
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| License
Required: |
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GAME
DESCRIPTION |
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| Major
Game Animals Taken: |
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| Game
Sought But Not Taken: |
Deer, Mule - Availability: Failed to connect on long shot. |
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| Game
Condition Comments: |
Spotted a good number of bucks, a few good shooters. Grizzly bears twice spooked bucks while stalking into shooting range. Abundant wildlife spotted, not only mule deer, but black bear, grizzly, and mountain goat, and grouse. |
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SERVICE
RATINGS (excellent, good, fair or poor) |
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| Quality
of Outfit: |
Excellent |
Guide/PH
Ability: |
Excellent |
| Condition
of Camp: |
Good |
Condition
of Equipment: |
Good |
| Quality
of Food: |
Good |
Trophy
Care: |
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| Name
of Airline: |
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Airline
Service: |
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COSTS |
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| Hunting
Fees: |
Purchased at 2008 GOABC Auction. |
Amount: |
$0 |
| Trophy Fees: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Permits/Licenses: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Commercial
Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Charter Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Other Costs: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
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SUMMARY
REMARKS |
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| Problems
of Hunt: |
No problems. |
| Highlights
of Hunt: |
Magnificent country; pushing myself to meet the physical and mental demands of this hunt. It was every bit as physical as my mountain goat and sheep hunts!! |
| Equipment
Recommendations: |
good boots, quality clothing/rain gear. Be ready for all seasons in a short period of time. Get into horse riding shape and like always the better your physical condition the more opportunity to get onto game. |
| Would You
Recommend This Hunt to a Friend? |
Yes |
| Why? |
These are great folks who work very hard to make the hunt a success. I cannot say enough good about my two guides Todd and Jeff, above and beyond the call of duty was their standard of care. |
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HUNTER
INFORMATION |
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| Hunter
Name: |
Tim Vining |
| Contact
Information: |
Tel. 509-882-1161 - PO Box 626, 1121 Wilson Highway, Grandview, WA 98930 E-mail: timvining@msn.com |
| Hunting Experience: |
My eighth BC hunting trip, as well as three trips to Africa, local and Alaska lifetime hunting experience. |
| Physical Condition: |
Good. |
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IMPORTANT
NOTES (actions taken if hunter unhappy with hunt) |
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| Notified Outfitter? |
Notified Personal Guide? |
Notified Booking Agent? |
| Seeking any
kind of restitution or other settlement from agent, outfitter
or guide? |
| If Seeking Restitution, What is Sought? |
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ADDITIONAL
HUNTER COMMENTS AND/OR OUTFITTER/BOOKING AGENT REBUTTAL |
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For hunters seeking a great challenging hunt for high mountain mule deer. I hope to go back next year.
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Subscriber-Written Trip Report On Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters Hunts |
Below is one sample of such a Report which is made available to you FREE of Charge.
|
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DATE
AND PLACE OF HUNT |
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| Report
ID: |
6700 |
Weapon
Used: |
Rifle |
How
Hunt Was Conducted? |
Guided |
| Date
of Hunt: |
October 16, 2007 to October 22, 2007 |
| Place
of Hunt: |
Canada British Columbia Big Creek |
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OUTFITTER,
GUIDE AND BOOKING AGENT DETAILS |
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| Outfitter
(or safari company): |
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters. Gun Creek Road; Gold Bridge; British Columbia; V0K 1P0; Canada; Tel. 250-238-2274; Email: info@13species.com; Web www.13species.com |
| Personal
Guide (if any): |
Kevan Bracewell |
| Booking
Agent (if any): |
Gary D. Strasser; Northwoods Adventures Worldwide Safaris, Inc.. PO Box 20; Deerbrook; WI; 54424-0630; Tel. 715-623-3800; Fax: 715-623-4798;Email: northwdadv@aol.com; |
Trip
Arrangements
(if self-guided): |
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| License
Required: |
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GAME
DESCRIPTION |
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| Major
Game Animals Taken: |
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| Game
Sought But Not Taken: |
Moose - Availability: We had missed the rut by two weeks or more. |
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| Game
Condition Comments: |
Among the three of us in our group only one person had seen a bull moose in the five days of actual hunting. |
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SERVICE
RATINGS (excellent, good, fair or poor) |
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| Quality
of Outfit: |
Good |
Guide/PH
Ability: |
Good |
| Condition
of Camp: |
Good |
Condition
of Equipment: |
Good |
| Quality
of Food: |
Good |
Trophy
Care: |
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| Name
of Airline: |
Air Canada and United Airlines |
Airline
Service: |
Good |
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COSTS |
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| Hunting
Fees: |
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Amount: |
$6500 |
| Trophy Fees: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Permits/Licenses: |
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Amount: |
$630 |
| Commercial
Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$850 |
| Charter Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Other Costs: |
Pick up fees. |
Amount: |
$200 |
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SUMMARY
REMARKS |
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| Problems
of Hunt: |
Was billed as a rut hunt, 100 percent per Strasser and Bracewell. We missed the rut by at least two weeks, saw only one bull. Upon conclusion of hunt we were offered to hunt free for 2008 except for new hunt license and tag. Bracewell reneged with an offer to hunt the three of us for the half price of his normal hunt. |
| Highlights
of Hunt: |
Saw and hunted in beautiful surroundings, guides did their best to find moose. Camp was well run. |
| Equipment
Recommendations: |
Do lots of horseback riding before hunt. Very demanding conditions. |
| Would You
Recommend This Hunt to a Friend? |
No |
| Why? |
Only if you can tailor the hunt to the actual rut instead of after their summer horseback and camping trips end which extends through the main rutting season. This hunt is scheduled after their camping season. |
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HUNTER
INFORMATION |
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| Hunter
Name: |
Cal Shinyama |
| Contact
Information: |
Tel. 808-870-3378 - 181 Ahaaina Way, Kihei, HI 96753 E-mail: shinyama@hawaiiantel.net |
| Hunting Experience: |
Have hunted in many lower 48 states, deer, elk, birds. Also South African plains game. New Zealand, Australia, Alaska and here in Hawaii spanning some 40 years. |
| Physical Condition: |
Above average. |
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IMPORTANT
NOTES (actions taken if hunter unhappy with hunt) |
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| Notified Outfitter? Yes |
Notified Personal Guide? Yes |
Notified Booking Agent? Yes |
| Seeking any
kind of restitution or other settlement from agent, outfitter
or guide? No |
| If Seeking Restitution, What is Sought? |
Some honesty in selling of these hunts by Gary Strasser and Kevan Bracewell. |
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ADDITIONAL
HUNTER COMMENTS AND/OR OUTFITTER/BOOKING AGENT REBUTTAL |
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The three of us booked this hunt based on a very strong recommendation by Gary Strasser who had related going on this hunt twice himself successfully. Upon speaking with both Gary Strasser and Kevan Bracewell I was told that this hunt is a 100 percent hunt. Quoting Bracewell, the hunter can be as picky as he wants to be when selecting his trophy. He had indicated that this remote area contained a big selection of bull moose because of very light hunting pressure by him. Bracewell also informed me that all of his guides were very experienced with the most seasoned having been guiding with Bracewell for some 16 years and his least experienced having been guiding with Bracewell for 6 or 7 years. On the hunt, we had a guide that had never guided before; she was a horse wrangler for Bracewell's horseback camping trips. Over the five days of actual hunting, only one bull moose was seen on the very last day by one of group member but could not get a clear shot. In the end Bracewell offered to allow us to return in November of that year for free and the following year as long as we paid for the new license and tags. I tried to arrange to return that November from Hawaii but was told later that I couldn't since there were no guides available to take me. Then in ending of December Bracewell offer us another hunt for $3,500 half of the cost of his regular hunt to hunt again in 2008 completely reneging from his offer to the three of us albeit verbally. After this hunt I did some research and found that the optimum rut is the middle of September to October 1 then it tapers off. I blame myself in not doing more research instead of taking the word or two sales men. It ended up being a very expensive horseback ride in some very rugged and beautiful country. ________________________________________________________ Rebuttal Comment from Agent:
Thank you for our opportunity to answer the critical hunt report.
Our outfitter is aware to the hunt report and will answer you or has already done so.
He is Kevan Bracewell.
If that is not enough for you please call if e-mail me. I have been busy doing shows and don't get a chance to check e-mails often.
Please call me when you email me.
I am sure that you will be able to get all of your answers from Mr. Bracewell.
I am sure if you look at the report you will see that we at Northwoods did everything possible to give these great hunters a proper hunt. Historically this is a good time to hunt but I understand the weather did not cooperate.
All of these hunters hunted *VERY* hard and were gentlemen hunters and were enjoyed by all the staff. Mr. Bracewell is willing to offer them a greatly reduced hunt in the future and did offer them a free hunt if they could return the same year at a later date but they could not work it out with their schedules.
This is called hunting and there are no guarantees and they were sent to an area where I have sent clients before with great success.
I hope that these hunters will take advantage of this offer and I am sure great care will be taken and another plan can be made so that they will have a successful adventure.
Thank you again.
Gary D. Strasser President Northwoods Adventures Worldwide Safaris, Inc. _____________________________________________________ Rebuttal Comment from Outfitter:
Thanks for the opportunity to add and respond to the hunt report Cal Shinyama sent in to be published.
I offered all three to come back for free in November 2007. Gerald and Ritchie couldn't come because of another trip to the mainland. Cal was going to come alone in November 2007. But in the end the dates didn't work for Cal when we had a spare guide. He couldn't make it.
I offered all three to come moose hunting in 2008 at the same camp as last year as requested, for $3500 (all included - licenses, transport, taxes etc. -> less than 50% of the total hunt package cost). It sounded like the hunt was a go; they just had to check on conflicting hunt dates with another hunt and would get back to me.
We called to follow up and complete the paperwork one month later and were told they were not coming. We expressed our disappointment and said we were surprised over that decision, and would be glad to have them back.
To address the issues Cal stated in his report in Hunt Report:
* we only book rut dates Oct 1 to Oct 22 each year - this is the Fish and Wildlife designated season * it seemed the rut was ending early last year and the weather was hot and dry which reduced our opportunities and which we had no control over * I offered them a free hunt in Nov 07 which didn't work out because of their schedules * we would be glad to have these guys back on a special deal any time because of their good attitudes and participation.
We hope this rounds out the Hunt Report.
Sincerely,
Kevan Bracewell
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters
Additional comment from Cal Shinyama:
Thank you for the fax of the response that you received from Mr. Kevin Bracewell of Chilcotin Holidays and booking agent Gary Strasser about my negative hunt report. Interestingly neither Mr. Bracewell nor Gary Strasser responded to the sales pitch they made to me about being able to be "as picky as we wanted" when selecting a bull moose to shoot as they both touted the amount of game that this area held. Bracewell also failed to comment about the inexperienced guide who guided another in our hunting party, it was her first hunt. After our group returned we did some checking calling several other outfitters in BC who offered rut hunts and found that their hunts start in the middle of September and goes into the first week of October (which is the peak rut time) and not October 1-22 as stated by Bracewell. Bracewell offers two rut hunts the first is October 7th to the 15th and the 16th to the 22nd, the first hunt is already into the tail end of the rut period and the second is completely past. We were sold the October 16 to 22nd again both on Strasser's and Bracewell's strong endorsements. This period as we found out later came after the last of their trail ride tour groups had left which made available the livestock and personnel to take our group hunting.
Mr. Bracewell's version of the offer he made to myself and to my two other hunting companions again is not accurate, as it was agreed by everyone in that office that if we returned in 2008, that "all we would have to pay for would be the 2008 hunting license and tags". There was no mention about paying half the hunt price, and not until we were contacted during the end of December 2007 did Bracewell say anything about having to pay half of the hunt cost which did not include the cost of the 2008 hunting licenses or tags. Further there would have been two in our group that would have returned had there been available guides to take us in November and not as Bracewell contends that we were not able to return due to conflicts on our end when an earlier date was suggested.
It is coincidental, that another member of your Hunt Report also had negative comments about the Chilcotin Holidays hunting operations mirroring those of mine two years before our hunt; that there was a lack of game in the area and lack of experienced guides available and the hunting operations took a back seat to the trail ride/camping groups that came during the summer and early fall.
In closing I applaud your efforts to bring both the favorable and negative comments made by others in our hunting fraternity to light about the outfitters that they have encountered. My experiences have taken me from Africa to New Zealand, Alaska to Texas enjoying the sport of hunting. I have dealt with dozens of outfitters and have found that all of my experiences with the various outfitters have been largely positive and up until now have never had to resort to lodging a negative hunting report about any of them until now.
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|
Subscriber-Written Trip Report On Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters Hunts |
Below is one sample of such a Report which is made available to you FREE of Charge.
|
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DATE
AND PLACE OF HUNT |
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| Report
ID: |
4512 |
Weapon
Used: |
Rifle |
How
Hunt Was Conducted? |
Guided |
| Date
of Hunt: |
November 13, 2004 to November 20, 2004 |
| Place
of Hunt: |
Canada British Columbia Gold Bridge |
|
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OUTFITTER,
GUIDE AND BOOKING AGENT DETAILS |
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| Outfitter
(or safari company): |
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters. Gun Creek Road; Gold Bridge; British Columbia; V0K 1P0; Canada; Tel. 250-238-2274; Email: info@13species.com; Web www.13species.com |
| Personal
Guide (if any): |
Brad, Kevan Bracewall, Sylvia Waterer |
| Booking
Agent (if any): |
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Trip
Arrangements
(if self-guided): |
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| License
Required: |
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GAME
DESCRIPTION |
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| Major
Game Animals Taken: |
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| Game
Sought But Not Taken: |
Deer, Mule - Availability: Animals scarce, did not see any legal mule deer in five days of hunting. |
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Lynx - Availability: Hunted for one day for lynx with dogs. Dogs lost trail. Animals scarce. |
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Bobcat - Availability: |
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| Game
Condition Comments: |
See comments. |
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SERVICE
RATINGS (excellent, good, fair or poor) |
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| Quality
of Outfit: |
Good |
Guide/PH
Ability: |
Fair |
| Condition
of Camp: |
Excellent |
Condition
of Equipment: |
Good |
| Quality
of Food: |
Fair |
Trophy
Care: |
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| Name
of Airline: |
American Airlines. |
Airline
Service: |
Good |
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COSTS |
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| Hunting
Fees: |
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Amount: |
$4500 |
| Trophy Fees: |
|
Amount: |
$0 |
| Permits/Licenses: |
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Amount: |
$300 |
| Commercial
Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Charter Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Other Costs: |
SUV Rental. |
Amount: |
$300 |
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SUMMARY
REMARKS |
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| Problems
of Hunt: |
Lack of game animals. |
| Highlights
of Hunt: |
Nothing much. |
| Equipment
Recommendations: |
Normal equipment. |
| Would You
Recommend This Hunt to a Friend? |
No |
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HUNTER
INFORMATION |
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| Hunter
Name: |
Bernard Sippin |
| Contact
Information: |
Tel. 203-261-3668 - 234 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468 E-mail: bernie@sippin.com |
| Hunting Experience: |
Five continents, 40 years. |
| Physical Condition: |
Fair. |
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IMPORTANT
NOTES (actions taken if hunter unhappy with hunt) |
 |
| Notified Outfitter? |
Notified Personal Guide? |
Notified Booking Agent? |
| Seeking any
kind of restitution or other settlement from agent, outfitter
or guide? |
| If Seeking Restitution, What is Sought? |
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|
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ADDITIONAL
HUNTER COMMENTS AND/OR OUTFITTER/BOOKING AGENT REBUTTAL |
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This particular hunt was for two friends and me. I have given a gift subscription to the Hunting Report to one of them by the name of James Weinberg. My friends hunted two on one, and I hunted one on one. That condition was made known to the outfitter. The outfitter also indicated there would be no more than four people hunting during the week we were there. When we arrived, we found two hunters on a moose and deer hunt and eight other hunters, including ourselves, on the mule deer hunt. On one day, they were so short of guides that the woman who is the controller for the company, by the name of Sylvia Waterer was given to me as a guide. I don't believe she had a guide license and she certainly didn't know anything about hunting. One of my friends did take a fairly decent Rocky Mountain mule deer that green scored about 160. My other friend shot a mule deer but did not recover it. Of all the other people hunting in that camp, there was only one other person who got a mule deer and one got a moose.
This was supposed to be a seven-day hunt but I only hunted five days. Of my two friends, Brian shot his deer on the third day and did not hunt any further and the person who shot a deer and did not recover it, hunted for six days but did not see another animal legal to shoot.
Four of the hunters left after six days of hunting and did not hunt on the last day. On the last day, Saturday, there was one person left who had a deer license and two other hunters who had licenses for deer and one more moose. We're not sure if they got them, although I have to assume they did not, as the locals fill up the area hunting on the weekend.
The hunting took place from vehicles and on foot. The country is extremely steep in that area and I consider it a hard hunt. The biggest problem was relevant to the number of hunters and the game available during the week we were there. It was misrepresented to us by the outfitter. When I spoke to him about it during the hunt, he indicated that most of those hunters had changed their itineraries at the last minute and there was nothing he could do about it. Since I did not hunt the full period of time, I did not feel I had a complaint about not obtaining my game animals.
It is also my understanding this particular company caters mostly to non-hunters; hikers, horseback riders and many eco-people and has numerous comments from people from England who are not exactly crazy about hunters. All the hunters felt a little uncomfortable there. As a matter of fact, one of the girls working in the kitchen belonged to Green Peace.
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Date: January 1, 2005 To: The Hunting Report From: Kevan Bracewell of Chilcotin Hunting Adventures RE: Rebuttal to Report by Bernie Sippin
Thank you for making us aware of Mr. Sippin's Hunt Report sent into you. We thought Bernie Sippin was a wonderful fellow, and everyone enjoyed his many stories about his long lifelong adventures.
We were very disappointed Bernie did not get all the chances at good bucks the others had. In spite of the challenges of the week (ie. Adjustments to last minute schedule changes of the hunters, lack of snow), all of the hunters who hunted the full seven days either took a buck, wounded a buck, or passed up a legal buck.
Bernie only hunted deer four days, and the two hunters he brought only hunted five days, so this reduced their opportunity by about 40 percent. Regardless, one of Bernie's hunters bagged a monster mule deer, and the other wounded a large buck. We were not able to find the buck.
We discussed this with Bernie and he was content with this reduced opportunity. It was unfortunate that his physical limitations restricted his opportunity, but we were all aware of this in advance. I even guided him personally on one day, and Sylvia Waterer the other owner - and the best game spotter in the country who has held a valid guide license for the past 15 years - guided him on another day. We just did not have luck in our favor in finding Bernie a nice buck.
It is worth noting that Bernie states, "I don't believe that Sylvia had a guide license..." Suggesting that a guide does not hold a valid license has serious legal implications. If you wish, we will supply a copy of her license to confirm that all legal requirements were met.
We are fortunate to be in a game rich area with accessible mountains that allow us to diversify our business so we can operate year round. This keeps staff employed the full year. Many of our guides have been with us for 6-10 years, so they have much experience in the seasonal habits of the animal, the population trends and the trophy quality. All of this is a big benefit to the hunt clients.
We hope to see Bernie Sippin back again for a spring black bear hunt. This hunt is less strenuous as it is all by 4 X 4. He can take a black and a cinnamon bear, and he like the fact that 50% of our black bear are cinnamon color phase.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DOCUMENT ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: January 5, 2005 To: The Hunting Report From: Bernie Sippin RE: Rebuttal from Chilcotin Hunting Adventures
This is my answer to the letter Kevin Bracewell and Sylvia Waterer, of Chilcotin Hunting Adventures sent to you...
It's amazing that they use that particular headline in their letter to you because in all their other brochures and website there is nothing that says "hunting" at all. Even when you drive into their camp in British Columbia, the name "hunting" is not there. I made mention of it to them and it seems they are more of an "eco" outfit than they are of anything else and do not want to upset their other clients. It is like they only want the hunters for their money in the fall when they collect more money per client. They get a number of people from England, other tree huggers coming with them hiking, horseback riding and camping during the rest of the year and you know how they feel about hunting. Not only that, one of the girls working in the kitchen belongs to Green Peace. That created a bit of a stir amongst us hunters.
They have a seven-day hunting program. I was told when the three of us set up the hunt, that there would only be one other hunter in the camp during that total week. That was not so. When we came, there was one other hunter still there that had not gotten anything and, to my knowledge, he hunted seven days and left after being with us for four of our hunting days. At the same time that we were there, there were two other hunters from Massachusetts. They hunted, to my knowledge, for six days; saw nothing shootable, and went home. There was also a father and son who hunted. The father took a decent size mule deer. The son still hunted but had not gotten a deer by the day we left. I am not sure if he got a deer on the last day, Saturday. Two hunters came from Mexico for mule deer and moose. They took one moose, and did not take any deer unless they got it on Saturday, when we left. On Friday we could see the locals coming into the area to hunt and assumed they would be there in force for the weekend.
In Kevin's letter, he says quote "they were disappointed Bernie did not get all of the chances at good bucks that the others did." That is not so. I have been hunting mule deer for the last 30 years, and this is one of the scariest hunts I have ever seen for a legal mule deer. All the other hunters were hunting on a 2X1 basis. I was hunting 1X1 and paid extra for my hunt. With regard to my hunting for only four days, I had three different guides on three different days. Would you like that? Kevin said they found some lynx tracks, and I told him I would like to go on that hunt with dogs instead of the mule deer hunt but if we ran across some mule deer, we would still hunt them. So, I really did hunt for five days and then quit as I and others did not see any legal mule deer.
With regard to Sylvia Waterer having a guide's license - isn't it funny. When we were driving around in their pickup truck, which is just about what we did all day; she said to me, and I wish I had put it on tape, "Since you've done so much hunting, I'm glad you're with me, you can tell me what to do and how best we can find a deer." So much for her knowledge of hunting! Just having a guide's license doesn't mean you're a good guide any more than having a driver's license means you are a good driver.
There were some good and bad points about this hunt. The accommodations were good, the food was so-so, if you like veggie stuff as they cater to the Eco crowd as I mentioned earlier. If there had been just the four of us there, as had been originally scheduled, we would have had a better hunt. I brought two hunter friends with me on this hunt. One got a decent mule deer and the other wounded one. His deer went down but when the guide went over to the shot deer, it got up and took off. The hunter could not take another shot at the deer, as the guide was in the way. The deer got away and was not found, even though there was a considerable amount of blood on the ground. Even though I did not see or get a mule deer, I was satisfied, as my friends were taken care of. I can't begin to tell you how much ground all of us covered over and over again by driving around the same area.
I'm 75 years old and there is a limit about how much hiking I can do, although I went just about every place they took me to. I can assure you, there were some younger hunters on this hunt, who hunted hard and did not see legal, shootable bucks. These are the facts. When we left on Friday, and after six days of hunting for most of the hunters, there were two mule deer shot, one mule deer wounded, one moose shot and that is all that 10 hunters got. Not very good odds. Also, I am a Boone & Crocket Measurer, and none of the animals that were taken made book. That doest not mean they were not worth taking, but they were not exceptional.
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Subscriber-Written Trip Report On Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters Hunts |
Below is one sample of such a Report which is made available to you FREE of Charge.
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DATE
AND PLACE OF HUNT |
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| Report
ID: |
3576 |
Weapon
Used: |
Rifle |
How
Hunt Was Conducted? |
Guided |
| Date
of Hunt: |
May 20, 2003 to May 26, 2003 |
| Place
of Hunt: |
Canada British Columbia Chilcotin Mountains |
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OUTFITTER,
GUIDE AND BOOKING AGENT DETAILS |
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| Outfitter
(or safari company): |
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters. Gun Creek Road; Gold Bridge; British Columbia; V0K 1P0; Canada; Tel. 250-238-2274; Email: info@13species.com; Web www.13species.com |
| Personal
Guide (if any): |
Todd Christie |
| Booking
Agent (if any): |
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Trip
Arrangements
(if self-guided): |
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| License
Required: |
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GAME
DESCRIPTION |
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| Major
Game Animals Taken: |
Bear, Black - Availability: Abundant - Trophy Size: Both 7 foot and dark brown. 20 1/4 inches and 19 6/8 inches SCI. |
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| Game
Sought But Not Taken: |
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| Game
Condition Comments: |
Best place for brown phase black bears in North America. Three hunters took six bears (four brown and two black). Three over 17 feet. Excellent trip to take wives on. Taking nine hunters next spring. |
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SERVICE
RATINGS (excellent, good, fair or poor) |
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| Quality
of Outfit: |
Excellent |
Guide/PH
Ability: |
Excellent |
| Condition
of Camp: |
Excellent |
Condition
of Equipment: |
Good |
| Quality
of Food: |
Excellent |
Trophy
Care: |
Excellent |
| Name
of Airline: |
Drove in private vehicle. |
Airline
Service: |
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COSTS |
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| Hunting
Fees: |
7 day black bear hunt. |
Amount: |
$3000 |
| Trophy Fees: |
Second bear free. |
Amount: |
$0 |
| Permits/Licenses: |
License $120, bear tags $90 each, royalty fees $45 each. |
Amount: |
$300 |
| Commercial
Airfares: |
Non-hunter $150 a day. |
Amount: |
$1050 |
| Charter Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Other Costs: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
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SUMMARY
REMARKS |
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| Problems
of Hunt: |
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| Highlights
of Hunt: |
Saw nine different grizzlies. 50-60 black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, moose, courting grouse. More deer than you could count. |
| Equipment
Recommendations: |
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| Would You
Recommend This Hunt to a Friend? |
Yes |
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HUNTER
INFORMATION |
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| Hunter
Name: |
Jim August |
| Contact
Information: |
Tel. 503-293-4868 - 5509 SW Garden Home Rd., Portland, OR 97219 E-mail: augusttaxidermy@comcast.net |
| Hunting Experience: |
Approximately 30 different big game species, four African safaris. |
| Physical Condition: |
Excellent. |
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IMPORTANT
NOTES (actions taken if hunter unhappy with hunt) |
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| Notified Outfitter? |
Notified Personal Guide? |
Notified Booking Agent? |
| Seeking any
kind of restitution or other settlement from agent, outfitter
or guide? |
| If Seeking Restitution, What is Sought? |
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ADDITIONAL
HUNTER COMMENTS AND/OR OUTFITTER/BOOKING AGENT REBUTTAL |
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Subscriber-Written Trip Report On Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters Hunts |
Below is one sample of such a Report which is made available to you FREE of Charge.
|
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DATE
AND PLACE OF HUNT |
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| Report
ID: |
6026 |
Weapon
Used: |
Rifle |
How
Hunt Was Conducted? |
Guided |
| Date
of Hunt: |
December 26, 1997 to December 30, 1997 |
| Place
of Hunt: |
Canada British Columbia Gold Bridge |
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OUTFITTER,
GUIDE AND BOOKING AGENT DETAILS |
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| Outfitter
(or safari company): |
Chilcotin Mountain Outfitters. Gun Creek Road; Gold Bridge; British Columbia; V0K 1P0; Canada; Tel. 250-238-2274; Email: info@13species.com; Web www.13species.com |
| Personal
Guide (if any): |
Kevan Bracewell and Leo Ouellet |
| Booking
Agent (if any): |
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Trip
Arrangements
(if self-guided): |
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| License
Required: |
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GAME
DESCRIPTION |
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| Major
Game Animals Taken: |
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| Game
Sought But Not Taken: |
Lion, Mountain - Availability: Area overrun with wolves - none in area. |
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| Game
Condition Comments: |
None see at all. Heard wolves but saw no game. |
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SERVICE
RATINGS (excellent, good, fair or poor) |
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| Quality
of Outfit: |
Poor |
Guide/PH
Ability: |
Poor |
| Condition
of Camp: |
Fair |
Condition
of Equipment: |
Poor |
| Quality
of Food: |
Poor |
Trophy
Care: |
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| Name
of Airline: |
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Airline
Service: |
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COSTS |
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| Hunting
Fees: |
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Amount: |
$4500 |
| Trophy Fees: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Permits/Licenses: |
Canadian. |
Amount: |
$500 |
| Commercial
Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Charter Airfares: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
| Other Costs: |
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Amount: |
$0 |
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SUMMARY
REMARKS |
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| Problems
of Hunt: |
Meals were sparce. Running off road. Staff vehicle going over cliff. Hostile camp staff and many misleading statements by owners. |
| Highlights
of Hunt: |
Getting out of there. |
| Equipment
Recommendations: |
Gas mask and deodorant. |
| Would You
Recommend This Hunt to a Friend? |
No |
| Why? |
The was not a hunt, it was a scheme to collect hunters money. |
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HUNTER
INFORMATION |
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| Hunter
Name: |
Don Nardi |
| Contact
Information: |
Tel. 907-373-5390 - PO Box 870861, Wasilla, AK 99687 E-mail: dnardi@audioservicescorporation.com |
| Hunting Experience: |
Extensive - Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Europe, Argentina, Canada, Alaska and 14 US States. |
| Physical Condition: |
Excellent - 32 years old at the time, work out and run everyday. |
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IMPORTANT
NOTES (actions taken if hunter unhappy with hunt) |
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| Notified Outfitter? Yes |
Notified Personal Guide? No |
Notified Booking Agent? No |
| Seeking any
kind of restitution or other settlement from agent, outfitter
or guide? Yes |
| If Seeking Restitution, What is Sought? |
A cash refund of 70% of money paid to Kevan Bracewell as I was only able to hunt two of the seven days I paid for. |
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ADDITIONAL
HUNTER COMMENTS AND/OR OUTFITTER/BOOKING AGENT REBUTTAL |
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Although this report is old I just joined The Hunting Report and felt it needed to be told to protect other hunters. I booked this hunt with Kevan Bracewell after seeing an ad in SCI's magazine and speaking with him. I did not check references... my mistake. He told me his camp would be a great place to bring my wife and 1 year old baby in the middle of winter. As it turned out his place is very remote and no place to be bringing a baby as driving was extremely dangerous. My wife was scared to death with good reason. After many hours of treacherous driving I ran off the road and needed to leave my wife and baby in the car at night as I went out into the wilderness to find help. By the grace of God, I was only 1/4 mile from his house and the first door I knocked on turned out to be his. The next morning his housekeeper slid over the same cliff over a 100 foot fall with Kevan's boy and another child, one of the boys made it out and went for help. The other boy and the Housekeeper needed to be hospitalized. So much for a great place to bring my family! I then had to drive Kevan to the hospital on the same roads to see his son as he told me he was not legally allowed to drive so he couldn't just use my car. The second day of my "hunt" was spent sitting on the side of the road in a truck with an alternate guide, Leo, whom I was told after arriving I would be hunting with as Kevan did not have and never had any dogs. I sat in the truck all day while his sons rode around on snow machines looking for cougar tracks. The worst part about it was Leo had apparently not showered in weeks. The overpowering stench of his dirty underware was so bad I had to stick my head in my own armpit to prevent from throwing up. It was 0 degrees out so staying outside for long wasn't an option. The entire day Leo went on and on about what idiots Kevan and Silvia were. That they did not have a clue about hunting and they're real interest was courting eco-tourists, campers, and bird watchers. Both Kevan and Silvia also made that abundantly clear to me as well, that hunters would pay the bills until they had enough granola munchers that could. My wife was left alone in the house all day as Silvia would lock herself in the private residence side and watch TV, while there was nothing for her and a 1 year old to do. No TV is on the guest side, and no staff, nor Kevan or Silvia whom were home all day ever came to visit. She tried to not let on to keep me happy but I could tell she was miserable. After another day of the same thing, sitting in the truck with a putrid smelling man while his boys rode around on snow machines for 8 hours, listening to him tell me we would never find a cat because there were none in the area since Kevan would not hunt wolves in his area and they had eaten everything, and coming home to a miserable wife, I finally had enough and decided to leave. After letting Kevan know I was displeased and that he should have not told me to bring my wife, he said he would "make it right" with me if I would return. He did refund a couple hundred dollars (the observer fee) that was unused but said the rest would be made up at a later date. The next season upon contacting him, Kevan said "well our rates went up $500 this year, but we'll only charge you the same as last year". His idea of making it right was for me to re-pay the entire amount and get a new hunt. What a guy. He also had many, many sheep hunters that paid $15,000 and never saw a single sheep. So much so that I felt it was unfair for him to lead people to believe they had a chance at all. Fortunately a booking agent saw my photo in Chilcotin's flyer and asked me what I thought of them before he sent 4 sheep hunters there. This is the worst experience I have ever had hunting and would encourage anyone reading this not to go with this outfit. I actually am amazed that they're still in business doing this to people.
Rebuttal from Chilcotin Holidays
Thanks for the email and fax regarding the above hunter's report. We did not receive the report in January of 2007, so we appreciate getting it now. Regarding our response. Please see the following: We are reading this report 10 years after a hunt, and we question why your magazine would print such a report 10 years after a hunt took place. We also question why a hunter writes such a report 10 years after a hunt took place. I am a third generation Guide Outfitter with 40 years of active guiding myself. Our outfit is viewed by the industry as one of the most progressive, and is a leader on many fronts. For example, we have a Licensed Guide Training Programs that incorporates Guide Tests into the curriculum. We have written procedures for the entire operation, and all of our staff are Licensed. We sit on many provincial committees with government to help set government policy for the benefit of the guiding industry over all Our present guide territory - which we have owned ourselves since 1990 - has been in existence since 1880, the oldest in British Columbia. This area still produces the quality of trophies it did 130 years ago. The game numbers are as high as or higher than when the first European hunters hunted here We have many guides that have been with us over 12 years and they are referred to by our hunters as "the cream of the crop". Numerous hunt reports in NAHC will confirm this We are a year round guide outfitting operation that takes out hunters 10 months a year. This is not a part time or seasonal business for us Our Cougar hunts are highly successful and make SCI and some B&C Dan Nardi's report is hostile and aggressive Mr. Nardi is particularly aggressive towards non-hunters His references are inflammatory, and present a negative picture of hunters. He says of his guide: "The overpowering stench of his dirty underwear was so bad I had to stick my head in my own armpit to prevent from throwing up" Incorrect information is woven throughout the story (ie. the cost of sheep hunts) Mr. Nardi does not mention that he took a beautiful bobcat on the second day of his 3 day hunt It is important that Mr. Nardi take responsibility for himself. Regarding the drive here. In our literature, we specifically advise that our guests should not drive at night. We recommend that hunters take advantage of our own Licensed Motor Carrier that transports between Vancouver and our Ranch, but Mr. Nardi choose not to take this. Also included in our contract is a paragraph on the importance of not departing early given that this reduces the chances of success. Mr. Nardi left on day 3. In effect, he reduced his chances for success by almost 60%, then does not even mention that he was successful in taking a nice Bobcat It appears that Don was not ready for a cougar hunt at that stage of his hunting career. We offered him a reduced rate hunt which he chooses not to take and now after 10 years is asking for money as compensation. If any one would like a reference from our hunters - both successful and unsuccessful - we would be happy to provide them. Kevan Bracewell Owner/ Manager
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