Some years ago, local hunter Bob Troup and several members of his extended family hired a Montana elk hunting outfitter they had met at a Pennsylvania hunting/fishing show. The charges ran more than $15,000 for the foursome, and the outfitter turned out to be a total bust.
In several days of hunting, none of the clients - all of whom had decades of hunting experience - saw an elk. To make matters worse, the food they were supposed to be served while staying in the man’s camp was so bad that the guys were ready to revolt.
Such things happen.
Among the many fine western outfitters we sometimes read about in national magazines, there also are fair numbers of scoundrels who deliver little or nothing during expensive hunting trips.
Now comes the Women’s Outdoor Wire with a similar tale about hunter Billie Ann Norman, who undertook a 16-hour drive so she could do a trophy deer hunt with her bow. She paid an Ohio outfitter to make sure she and a few friends got a shot at a decent whitetail. It didn’t turn out that way.
Norman, who runs a commercial wild-hog operation - and should recognize certain warning flags - later said, “They have a nice Web site, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. They said we’d have 2,000 acres to hunt. We got 129, with [only] 100 that we could actually hunt.”
Instead of being assured the area had not been hunted for weeks, all Norman said she saw were other people and nearby houses. Some of the promised deer stands were not where they were told they would be. They never saw a deer.
Then they had to put up with ATVs running through the area and hunters who carried guns - which is not recommended for people who want to be alone in a spot where a bow can be used.
What can a hunter do? For starters, ask lots of questions before sending your money. Ask for references and see whether the state where you will be hunting has an outfitters association. Verify the reputation of the outfitter and/or guide. Also, get everything in writing before agreeing to an expensive hunt.
For new women’s goose hunters - The Maryland Department of Natural Resources invites women to a goose hunting clinic Jan. 2-3 on the Eastern Shore. It’s part of the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. The workshop is designed for women who are new to hunting or women with limited goose hunting experience.
Jan. 2 will be spent at Bridgetown Manor in Caroline County. Classroom instruction includes safety, regulations, hunting skills and waterfowling techniques. Participants also will shoot sporting clays; a retriever dog demonstration is included, too. On Jan. 3, the group will travel to Blue Stem Farms in Queen Anne’s County to participate in a real Eastern Shore guided goose hunt.
The fee for the workshop is $185, which includes registration, lodging, instruction, meals, a round of sporting clays and shotgun shells. All participants must have a valid Maryland hunting license, a migratory game bird stamp and a federal migratory bird hunting stamp. For more information, contact Patty Allen at 410/260-8537.
Boating navigation class - If you’re new to boating and want to learn how to handle your craft in all types of water, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 72 offers a coastal navigation course. The class will meet Monday and Wednesday evening for seven weeks starting Jan. 7.
Among the subjects covered are compass use and adjustment, chart reading, dead reckoning (planning your voyages), tides and currents and aids to navigation. Registration will be held the first night of class at 7 p.m. at High Point High School in Beltsville. The cost is $50 for books and charts. You can preregister after 9 a.m. with Steve, 410/531-3313 or tsktsk10@hotmail.com, or call Jean, 301/261-7735.
cLook for Gene Mueller’s Outdoors column Sunday and Wednesday and his Fishing Report on Thursday, only in The Washington Times. E-mail: gmueller@washingtontimes.com. Mueller’s Inside Outside blog can be found at www.washingtontimes.com/sports.
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