was informed by outfitter one till there week before arrival that there were no 170 point bucks on the two ranches we hunted, i was asked if i was flexible and said lets wait till there is,i should have cancelled the hunt right then and there. three days before arrival i talked to the outfitter again and asked what the game plan was, he said come on out everthing will be ok, it was not. if i saw 10 bucks in five days that was a lot,mostly small bucks and the same ones several times. Saw one deer in the 170 class on the third day and had one blown stalk on him. only stalk i had in 5 days. I asked for money back or a reduced price hunt next year. The outfitter said he would think about it and well I guess he is still thinking about it. Yeah right!
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - YES
Ken, before your hunt started I had called you to let you know that we had not found a ‘shooter’ buck on any of our ranches. We were concerned we might need to postpone your hunt. This is something we have always done in order to maximize the success of our clients. When I got you on the phone and told you about our failed scouting trips (to clarify we had seen 3 shooter bucks – just none with any consistency) you seemed to understand and appreciate the call. We agreed that if we didn't find a buck worth hunting within the week, that we would postpone your hunt until we did.
Two days before we needed to make a decision to cancel your hunt I found a big shooter buck. I was even able to get footage of him! Both Rob and I agreed that this buck was certainly a shooter and you should come hunt him. A couple things played into this decision, one is we have hunted this ranch for 7 years and when we find a buck late in August our track record of killing him is very high, the other was that we recognized the buck as being a resident deer that also lived on the ranch last year. So we were confident he was comfortably working his home range.
The call was made for you to come. You were right, we didn't have 5 shooters, we had one but he was definitely worth hunting and we were excited for you to get here – especially after we saw that buck several more times and our confidence only grew.
The plan was for me to guide you and for Rob to guide Pat Lefemine. But that plan went out the window when I received an emergency call on August 28th that my dad was being flown on life-flight to Salt Lake. We learned later that he had suffered a spinal stroke just like Tred Barta and lost feeling and control of his legs. Being my dad was in severe pain, and not knowing if he was paralyzed for life, I was barely thinking about deer, elk or hunting at all. My only thoughts were for my dad and his condition.
When we sat down that evening for our first meeting with you and Pat, I explained the situation my father was in and Pat immediately stated that he would be fine going to Rocky Mountain National Park and taking pictures if I needed to go see my dad.
Your response was much different, and it left Rob and I staring at each other wondering what to do? The best we could come up with was for me to guide Pat since he was OK if I needed to immediately cancel the hunt, and Rob to guide you since it was clear that you were not as flexible. After that conversation I walked out of the Hotel with concern but was confident that you would have a positive experience as Rob knows these ranches well.
While I was ready at a moments’ notice to cancel Pat’s hunt, our family who was with my Dad kept asking me to hold off since he was in terrible pain and seeing me would make everyone more emotional. So Pat and I continued to hunt until I was called away. I saw you several times over the course of those days and you made it very clear that you weren’t pleased with me. You even told me in no uncertain terms that your expectations were not met and you were very disappointed. In all honesty Ken, your deer or Pat’s elk were just not that important to me due to my Dad’s condition, but Rob was busting his butt to get you onto that deer. After your hunted ended you called and asked either for a refund, or for another hunt. I did say that I would think about it and I have still been thinking about it.
After talking with Rob, I agree that your hunt was tougher than we would have liked and tougher than we advertise and that conversation is needed after our season ends. Our normal protocol is to figure out how to retain clients, be proud of the service we provide, and never sell out our integrity for money.
We have just finished the best mule deer season that we have ever had and I am really proud of our success, I will be calling you (although I’m not looking forward to it) to discuss a fair resolution. My intention is to make it right. Your hunt was tough, but we did everything we could. Much of hunting is out of our control but I am confident that we maintained our integrity and we will continue to do so. Below is the hunt account of what happened according to Rob:
Wes Atkinson Atkinson Expeditions
Ken,
As we discussed on multiple occasions during your hunt, I thought deer patterns and movements had shifted due to the amount of moisture we had received in the summer and spring. We did have trouble locating deer throughout your hunt, but the end results were that we did find that big deer you were hunting. I sympathize with your comments of having more mature bucks to chase, but that’s hunting and we can not control the movements of free range animals. As Wes stated above, I had located 3 other bucks during my pre season scouting that met our / your criteria for your hunt (where those bucks ended up during your hunt is anyone’s guess).
Day one started and ended fairly slow with deer being spotted, but nothing we would consider a first day shooter (2 bucks in the upper 150’s to low 160’s). Day two had similar results and it wasn’t until day 3 that we had found one of the bucks we were searching for. Unfortunately a stalk could not be made that day due to other activities on the ranch out of our control that caused the deer’s movements to be less than desirable.
Day three was a good day with the relocation of the buck from day two. He was with 2 other bucks and in a decent position for a stalk. We were able to get to within 35 yards of the bedded deer, but sometime during our stalk the buck we were after slipped out and headed to a different bedding area. But I was able to find the buck again that afternoon just 100 yards to the west of where the other two bucks had bedded. With daylight fading we made another attempt on the buck and got within 35 yards of him again. Unfortunately, he caught our movement before we saw his and he left the area during the night.
Day four was probably our worse day finding deer. No stalks were made and no opportunities were had.
On day five you decided that one of the lesser bucks (that we had at 35 yards on day three) would be okay to hunt. I was able to locate both bucks at first light and was able to find the smaller of the two bedded not far from where I had seen them that morning. However, we were not able to locate the larger mid 160’s deer for a stalk that afternoon. At the end of day five you mentioned your discontent multiple times and I told you that Wes is a stand up guy and would entertain the discussion of making things right with you and your hunt (as he stated above).
Bottom line: there are no guarantees in hunting free range animals. We do all that we can to have good land with healthy numbers of animals to hunt. 2009 proved to be a little challenging for the early season archery hunts, but ended as one of our most successful seasons on record. I realize that is little comfort to you. I did, and still do feel bad that your hunt ended unsuccessfully. I take it personally when a client leaves camp without the trophy he/she came to Colorado for. I had the best mule deer season I have ever had with clients this year. I went 10 for 11 which is outstanding in my opinion (1:1 in muzzleloader / 2:3 archery / 7:7 rifle). Our clients’ success is our success and the Atkinson Expeditions, website is proof of that. We are very proud of what we have and the service we provide to our clients. Hunting is not a guarantee, regardless of how much money was involved. If a guaranteed hunt is what you wanted, then a free range hunt was not for you. Thanks for hunting with us in 2009 and again, I apologize for you being the only one of my 11 clients this year to not get their deer. Feel free to contact me anytime you want to discuss the outcome of the hunt in more detail.
Robert E Amidon Atkinson Expeditions, llc..
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