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Attached is a copy of the actual letter I sent to the outfitter on October 13th 2009. I have since called no less than 3x and have only gotten a single response - "I will call you as soon as the season ends. I ended a month ago and I have never heard from them.

Dear Sirs:

This letter is a further effort to address numerous problems that arose during the above-caption hunt. This hunt originated when I was the auction winner of a donated hunt by Colorado Hunting Expeditions at the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Bow Hunters Chapter of the Safari Club International Annual Dinner in February 2009.

This letter is in furtherance of discussions with Bob on the 12th, 16th and 19th, [of September 2009] and with Mark on 19th of September, 2009. Each of the referenced discussions was to coordinate plans for the combined elk and mule deer hunt to be conducted on Sept. 16th - 20th. These discussions were also to address a number of significant problems and material misrepresentations of fact pertaining to the hunting operation, including but not limited to logistical failures, the lack of organization, overcrowded hunting conditions, highly pressured hunting areas, the apparent discrepancy between the amount of acreage represented as being available to hunt and the actual amount of acreage being hunted and fundamental hunter safety.

The referenced discussions are in addition to months of coordination, planning and discussions with Mark [Wooley] between February and September 2009, during which Mark described in detail the type of hunting we would do, the amount of avalible acreage, camp policies regarding hunting parties per piece of leased acreage, the status of guide experience and other important logistical issues.

I would like to give you a final opportunity to address my concerns. As I have previously indicated to each of you, for the reasons set forth herein in detail, I am completely dissatisfied with the captioned hunt. Paul and I are particularly surprised and offended by the fact that Colorado Hunting Expeditions did not coordinate the hunt as planned and made no effort to cure the problems once I brought them to your attention. Bob even obstructed my own efforts to self-help the situation when I tried to arrange a trespass fee to hunt an adjacent property were elk and mule deer were consistently present.

Bob and I had a specific conversation over the weekend prior to the beginning of the hunt, as well as the evening that Paul and I arrived in camp, at which time it was decided that Paul and I would be guided on a one-on-one basis for at least two and a half days, consistent with my payment for an upgraded hunt. Those opportunities never materialized. More specifically, on the evening before the first hunt, I made specific arrangements with Bob for Paul to hunt a waterhole at the Leddes Ranch bordering the State of Utah while I was to hunt mule deer ranch with Greg Weaver, the guide assigned to us for the week.

On the first morning of the hunt, Greg told us that Paul and I would both be going to hunt at the Bayless Ranch with Greg. We were told we would be hunting the upper section of the ranch and another group of hunters would be hunting the lower section, entering from an access road on the bottom side of the ranch. Prior to the hunt, I was expressly told that there would not be more than one party hunting the same property at the same time.

It turns out that there were not two, but in fact three groups of hunters on the Bayless Ranch, hunting at the same time. We spotted a feeding cow and nice bull in a meadow around 8:00 am. The bull was working well to the call but spooked when two other elk ran through the meadow. About 10 minutes later, after we quietly moved around a small patch of buck-brush, still hunting for deer and looking for additional elk, we heard a loud humming noise the quickly closed in on us. It was another guide, driving his client through the middle of the area we were assigned to hunt.

When we asked him what he was doing there, the guide indicated that they had not seen any animals and began to drive off in the direction we were hunting. We had to actually stop him and ask him to leave the ranch, which he eventually did.

We continued hunting until approximately 11:00 a.m., all on foot, until we returned to our vehicle for lunch and to regroup for the afternoon hunt. Within an half and hour or so, the guide and clients assigned to hunt the lower section of the ranch drove throughout the lower section of the ranch, up through the middle portion that we were planning to hunt in the afternoon and out through the area of the ranch that we had been hunting. Greg immediately recognized that that ranch had been fully spoiled for that day and verbalized his "no confidence" vote in that property.

Consequently, we made the approximately hour long drive back to the house to regroup for an evening hunt. There was complete disorganization among the guides and no direction from Bob whatsoever. Paul and I discussed the options with Greg and decided that we would hunt a mule deer property known as Oliver's Ranch where an elk had been killed approximately two days prior. We choose that area because it had been rested for about a day and a half. Since it was near the house, we waited until approximately 3:30 - 3:45 to go to the property. Just as we were about to leave, one of the guides, not Bob, told Greg that we could not hunt that property because a group had been in there hunting all day and was still hunting there. Bob was completely unaware of where his guides were hunting.

The fact that Bob did not know where his guides where taking hunters, and the lack of radio or cell phone communication devices, and tree stands without proper anchors, ladder-attachments or safety harnesses created serous hunter safety issues, which I discussed with Greg and then related directly to Bob.

On the first day our only choice was to return to the same area that we had previously hunted, where we focused on a small 300 +/- acre basin that took approximately an hour to drive to. Consequently, by the time we adjusted our arrangements, we had no more than an hour of hunting time available.

On the way back to camp Paul and I asked Greg how the camp was run, when the guide meetings occurred and how Bob chose which hunters would hunt a particular property. Greg described a process were the guides would work it out on there own, based on some hierarchy of when the hunters arrived in camp, or, if Bob choose to intervene, then based on whatever permission Bob would grant the guide to hunt a particular area. There was clearly no organization whatsoever.

At dinner that evening, the client who was with the guide that drove through our area at 8:00 in the morning told us he and his guide were within a few yards, or feet, of a small bull that they elected not to harvest. He said the bull spooked and ran with a cow in our general direction. The extra guide and hunter clearly spooked a good opportunity on a bull elk working to our calling position. It was the only encounter we had with a bull elk on land leased to Colorado Hunting Expeditions during the entire week of the hunt.

The second morning we were told that we could hunt Oliver's Ranch for mule deer. We arrived well before daylight. Greg placed us in two different locations and backed out of the area while we stand hunted the morning. Shortly after daylight, I realized that I was sitting just off the edge of an abandoned plow field behind some broken down farm equipment. Around 8:00 a.m., Paul, Greg and I could all easily hear the property owner's wife berating her husband for his sloppiness and other general misconduct around the house. The ranch in no way represented the remote mule deer country that we were advised we'd be hunting. It was the backyard of a local farmer with an apparent tendency to fight with his wife in the mornings.

There were no trail cameras or regular guide reports from the ranch indicating that the mule deer were adhering to any feeding or watering pattern; and in the alternative, it appears as though the property was being hunted on an almost daily basis with hunters moving through not only the feeding areas but also the bedding cover such that the animals clearly were not present on that ranch while we were able to hunt it.

On the evening of the second day, we hunted the area known as the "Schoolhouse Section," a one square mile area of private land bordering national forest on one side and private property on three other sides. We had a unique encounter with a herd of elk on the opposite mountain slope on property that we could not hunt. Multiple mature bull elk were on that property heavily bugling and tending to cows. There was virtually no fresh sign on the Schoolhouse Property that we were hunting and several of the guides had previously commented about seeing the elk on the far hill slope, known as the Major's Ranch.

It was readily apparent to Paul, Greg and I that the property we were on, while aesthetically gorgeous and clearly holding the potential for animals, had been highly over pressured and the elk had moved on to another property.

At dinner that night a guide indicated that that Major's Ranch was not actively outfitted but could be hunted on a trespass hunt basis. I inquired into the owner/outfitter's name and the possibility of contacting them and paying a trespass fee to hunt. I was told by Terri Luna that Bob said that the property was not available for trespass hunts. The next morning, Greg confirmed hearing the same information and indicated that the property was available for trespass hunting. I asked Greg to return to the lodge during lunch to obtain the contact information. Meanwhile, Paul and I were assigned to hunt water holes on the Leddes Ranch.

When Greg returned at lunch, he told me that Bob would not give me the telephone number of the outfitter who arranged the trespass hunts on the Major's Ranch. Greg also told me that Bob said I was free to hunt there next year if I wanted too but not while I was staying at his house. The implication was very clear, Bob would not allow hunters from Colorado Hunting Expeditions to contact or hunt on neighboring properties even if we did it on our own, paying our own fees. It remains a mystery why Bob refused to allow Paul and I to make alternative arrangements to obtain better hunting conditions at our own cost.

On that third day we were hunting the Leddes Ranch, touted by Bob as a high success trophy bull elk ranch adjacent to the Utah border. We went to the Leddes Ranch and were advised that we were required to maintain our stand positions over waterholes and were not permitted to move about the property at all. The concept was that Bob did not want the elk to be over pressured. It had been raining nearly every evening for 3 or 4 days so water was plentiful and the concept of waterhole hunting made little sense.

I was assigned to hunt water tank 1 and Paul was assigned to hunt water tank 3. Upon arrival at the ranch, we found another hunter at water tank 2. He was hunting with a muzzleloader. Again, it was clearly represented to me that there would not be more than one hunting party per ranch; certainly there would not be muzzleloader hunters on the same property as archery hunters. I heard one elk bugle in the morning and because of the restrictions placed by Bob, I was unable to move from the position, make any calling or make any stalking attempt on the elk.

After the day was over we discussed our options with Greg and he indicated that we would hunt the Leddes Ranch again the next day because Greg saw an Elk close to the area Paul was in. Paul did not see the elk. In Greg's opinion the Leddes Ranch was the best chance for a large bull elk encounter. Everything seemed to be in order and our gear was packed and we were in the truck waiting to leave for the Leddes Ranch. Just prior to leaving, Greg told us that Bob insisted we hunt at the Schoolhouse Section. The reason given was that my mule deer tag was not usable at the Leddes Ranch.

After the first day of complete disorganization and the realization that no pre-planning had been done to accommodate a mule deer hunt with a bow, I told Bob and Greg that I was not concerned about my mule deer tag because the ranches were clearly not pre-scouted for mule deer, mule deer were not being consistently sighted at any particular water source or food source, and the only way we were hunting them was by haphazardly hoping to bump into a trophy mule deer buck while hunting elk.

Nevertheless, Bob denied Paul and I the opportunity to hunt the Leddes Ranch again. We also found out that during the day prior to our hunting that ranch, the hunters had heavily moved about the ranch to try and locate elk and further, that Bob told the hunters going to Leddes Ranch that day to set up decoys and hopefully call elk into bow range. Those hunters would also be able to pursue bugling elk. There is no explanation for why we were denied a reasonable opportunity to pursue bugling elk. I cannot say if the elk I heard was on the property or not but I never had the chance to find out.

Paul and I were again relegated to hunting the Schoolhouse Section. We made the hike in before daylight and spent the entire day hunting a 640 acre single tract. There was no fresh sign in the area that we were hunting and it had been hunted the full day before. However, because of the number f other hunter in camp, we had no other alternative areas to hunt. Therefore, we were required to stay at the Schoolhouse section for 14 hours. There was no activity in the early morning and there was no activity in the evening other than other hunters that had come in from the opposite side and further pressured the elk out of the area. The entire day was a complete waste of time.

Prior to going out hunting on that fourth morning I was approached by Terri, who had done the cooking, for payment of the hunting fees for the hunt for Paul. Special arrangements had been made for the cost of that hunt through Mark, who was always held out to me as the bow hunting outfitter, and who was coordinating the entire hunt. I indicated to Terri that I had the money with me and would pay Mark as soon as I saw him, but further, that I did need to speak with Mark regarding some of the problems associated with the hunt. She would not allow us to leave the ranch and instead insisted that I speak to Bob. On multiple occasions, I told Bob that all my business dealings had been with Mark and therefore felt it only appropriate to discuss these matters with Mark.

Bob became extremely agitated, actually belligerent, and insisted on discussing my issues of concern. I made several attempts to avoid a direct confrontation with Bob because other hunters were standing just outside the bedroom where Bob was sitting. Over my objection Bob engaged me in an argument regarding the facts and circumstances of the hunt. The door to the room we were in was wide open and the full discussion was audible to the other hunters and guides in the lodge, creating a very awkward situation for all parties. Bob was not responsive to any of the issues I raised and all he was concerned about was his money.

I gave him the money, in cash, just like I said, and I specifically asked him to list for me the properties he had available to hunt. After we completed hunting for the day, I received a call from Mark who seemed upset about my concerns and indicated that there had been no other problems at that ranch. Mark expressly stated that even my hunting partner, Paul, was happy with the circumstances. Paul was anything but happy with the circumstances of this hunt and Bob obviously embellished that point in his discussions with Mark since Bob never spoke to Paul. Bob did not speak to Paul before the hunt, he did not speak to him before our discussion that morning and did not speak to Paul after that discussion in the evening.

I contacted Mark again by voicemail and indicated that, given the fact that I still had a day left to hunt and there was likely little to be done, that I would prefer it if we could avoid any more controversy at the camp and asked him to call me when I got back home. Nevertheless, Mark did call me at approximately 10:00 p.m. and we discussed the matter for approximately an hour. Initially Mark was defensive but upon presentation of the facts, seemed to indicate that he would try curative measures at least for the last day of the hunt.

Among other things, I specifically told him that despite the representations of having over 35,000 acres to hunt, throughout the entire week we were relegated to hunting three different areas; the Leddes Ranch (1,800 acres); the Bayless Ranch and McClennans (approximately 6,000 acres); the Schoolhouse section and an adjacent open field (~1,000 acres); and Orville's Ranch (approximately 300 to 400 acres). I also know there is a 2,800 acre Ranch in Pagosa Springs, CO that was too far to hunt and because of landowner restrictions we were not able to hunt that property even if it were within driving range.

I have been able to account for about 12,000 huntable acres of property, less than 9,000 of which was available to Paul and I to hunt. I specifically asked Bob and Mark to allow Paul and I to hunt one or more of the other ranches that make up the 35,000 acres under lease on that last day of our hunt and Bob refused to identify any properties. At the conclusion of my discussion with Mark, I thought we agreed that Paul and I would be hunting a new property on the fifth day. Instead we went back to the Bayless Ranch.

I told Mark that my problems associated with the hunt were all items under the control of Colorado Hunting Expeditions and were not issues caused by weather, game movement or factors beyond there control. Specifically, I advised Mark of a complete lack of organization. I told Mark there were no guide meetings, either the evening before, or the morning of the hunts, and because of that, on repeated occasions we were advised that we would be hunting a particular ranch only to find out at the very last minute we were going elsewhere. The areas we hunted ranged from 10,500' high Aspen mountain hunting to 5,000 to 6,000' high desert stand hunting. Changing hunting locations after preparations were made repeatedly forced to change gear and sometimes miss critical parts of the hunt.

I also told Mark that there were issues associated with hunter safety. The ranch apparently had no way to track the location of hunters, evidenced by the fact that on several occasions multiple parties were on the same property, muzzleloader hunters were commingled with archery hunters and we were sent to hunt a small ranch that had hunters on it all day. There were no radios or other methods of communication and no system in place to deal with a circumstance if hunter did not make it back to camp. At least twice we arrived at camp after all of the other hunters and both Bob and Terri were asleep. No one would know we were missing or potentially where to look for us, until at least the next day. We were told of the location of tree stands to hunt over water holes at the Leddes Ranch and the School House section. We found the stands but found that in some cases there were no harnesses, or that the ladders were not properly attached to the trees, and we found several box blind stands that were not anchored to the ground and had guide wires made from non-barded sheep fencing in place of suitable cable supports.

I also told Mark that the properties that we were hunting were being heavily over-pressured, showing classic signs of over pressure in that elk were visible, but predictably present on adjacent properties where we were unable to hunt.

As a separate issue, I spoke to Mark about the fact that there had been no pre-planning or pre-scouting for mule deer. In early to mid-September with a bow, it is common knowledge that mule deer must be patterned to a water, food or to bedding cover. Instead, I was told that we would hunt mule deer coincident with elk on a spot and stalk basis during the course of the day.

Despite representations of high quality trophy mule deer in the area, which induced me to pay an extra $1,000 for a landowner voucher to obtain a mule deer tag, we saw only one immature single fork buck during the entire five days of hunting. Colorado Hunting Expeditions did nothing to prepare for or promote a mule deer hunt.

On the 4th evening Mark told me he would speak to Greg and Bob in the morning and at least attempt curative measures. He did talk to both men but nothing was done.

The fifth day began late because Greg had to spend 30-45 minutes first discussing the matter with Mark and then separately with Bob. Greg told Paul and I that when Mark asked him about the circumstances of the hunt, he described them substantially similar or identical to those points described herein.

Greg's only job was to guide us on the hunt and he carried out his duties without complaint. Greg is an accomplished guide and good woodsman. Greg has excellent knowledge of elk behavior and how to hunt them. Greg was also a pleasure to hunt with and was an all around good guy. I told Greg to stay in touch as I would like to hunt with him again if he elects to hunt elsewhere in the future.

We did encounter a number of bugling bulls with cows in the western-most small basin of the Bayless Ranch on the fifth morning. It was a very exciting encounter. There were several mature bulls in the distance and 2 immature bulls visible in the meadow just below us. Cows and calves were very near us. The fact remains that the elk we encountered on that fifth day were not on property we could hunt. Even though they were relatively close, the several cows, calves and two immature and illegal to hunt spike bulls were actually on adjacent property where it would have been unlawful to take the animal.

During the course of due diligence about the hunt, I spoke with Mark often. I specifically asked him about the experience of the guides on his ranch. He indicated that his guides were relatively long standing guides with years of experience on those properties. When we arrived, three of the five guides in camp were new to the hunting operation this year.

Greg openly acknowledged the over-pressured nature of the properties that we were hunting and expressed his lack of confidence in several areas. Notwithstanding the lack of confidence, we hunted them as hard as we could to try and make the best of the hunting situation to obviously no avail.

The food that was prepared was usually very good at the time it was cooked. However, most of the time, because the hunting areas were up to 1 and ½ hours from the house, hunters often came in several hours after dinner was cooked to find cold food on the stove covered in foil. On one occasion we came back to camp to find about 6 cold ravioli stuck to the bottom of the pan with leftover breadsticks and whatever cold vegetables were available. While the food probably started out good, we often ate it when it was cold and less than palatable. That was entirely a function of poor planning and solely under the control of Colorado Hunting Expeditions.

Neither Mark nor Bob ever mentioned that we would have to spend upwards of 3 hours per day driving to and from the hunting areas. It was a significant omission that downgraded the quality of the hunt.

I have been hunting for about twenty-four years. I have been on multiple guided hunting and fishing trips throughout the US and abroad. Although I do not have an exact count, I have harvested more than 40 big game animals in my 24 years of hunting and caught countless fish. The camps and lodges that I have stayed in range from low budget Canadian bear camps to very expensive fishing lodges in New Zealand and Central America. I have never before been unhappy with the accommodations or quality of services, even at the lowest budget bear camps, because I have always received the services and conditions that the outfitter/guides represented.

Colorado Hunting Expeditions is unfortunately and by far the worst outfitter experience I have ever had. The worst part is that every problem we encountered was the direct result of outfitter mismanagement, overcrowding, hunting pressure, hunter safety and organization. These factors are all under Colorado Hunting Expeditions control.

The elk season began on August 29, 2009 and by the week ending September 20,th approximately 25 hunters had hunted approximately 10,000 - 12,000 acres of property. There was no organization, hunters and guides were left on their own to try and figure where and when to hunt and often conflicted with each other. The mood is camp was poor, presumably for the same reasons outlined herein, and when I brought that to Bob's attention, he told me I was the only person to assert a complaint. He even cited my hunting companion Paul as a pleased client. Paul was at least as upset as I was and other guests were verbally complaining about the same circumstances around the dinner table. Even the guides were supporting the conclusions of the hunters regarding camp operations. I provided Bob with specific instructions on what I expected to be done regarding the one on one versus two on one hunting for the first two and a half days of the hunt on the weekend before I arrived as well as on the day of arrival. I was completely ignored. I brought that to his attention on the evening of the first hunt and again nothing was addressed. I brought several matters of significant concern to him on the morning of the fourth day of the hunt and no curative measures were taken. I spoke with Mark on the evening of the fourth day of the hunt for over an hour with the expectation that Mark would make some effort at curing the problems; and despite a telephone call to Bob and Greg that delayed the start of our fifth day hunt, nothing was done. We hunted one of the same three properties on the fifth day.

I have been back home for more several weeks, and despite a specific request for contact, I have not been contacted by Mark or Bob to discuss a resolution of this matter. I should also note that we left camp at 6:30 am on the 20th and when we did, all of the lights had been turned off and there was no one where to send us off. I provided Colorado Hunting Expeditions with several opportunities to cure problems while I was there and you ailed to do and have thus far failed to follow up with me.

It's my personal belief that Colorado Hunting Expeditions does not have 35,000+ acres available to hunt. It is my opinion that Colorado Hunting Expeditions is engaged in a pattern and practice of false and deceptive advertising and should be investigated for its practices by the applicable authorities with jurisdiction over such matters.

However, before I take any further steps I am herein providing you with a final opportunity to provide recourse for the deficiencies of the hunt.

I have no confidence in your hunting locations; and as a result of the significant acrimony and verbal dispute that arose between Bob and myself, I would not entertain returning to Colorado Hunting Expeditions. I do not think it is a good idea as the acrimony would likely affect the enjoyment of the hunt for me and it would create unwanted tension that would adversely affect all of the other hunters in camp. In the alternative, I propose the following:

So that Colorado Hunting Expeditions is not financially harmed, you should retain the amount of money paid to Greg for guiding us for five days (according to Greg, he was paid $500 for the hunt). I also propose that you retain a reasonable amount of money representing costs for food and use of the lodge (which I value at approximately $100 per day). After deducting for those direct costs and expenses, I ask that you refund the balance of our hunt costs. I also expect you to refund the additional amount I paid for the landowner voucher for the mule deer tag. Although that is a direct cost to you, I was induced by what I believe to be your misrepresentations of fact to purchase that voucher and it should therefore be refunded.

After making the adjustments just mentioned, please refund $3,250 to me at the address above in certified funds.

I am aware that you have indirect costs associated with operating an outfitting business. However, Paul and I also had substantial additional costs for air fare, rental cars, lost time and ancillary expenses. I am not seeking any compensation or redress for those costs. I simply and respectfully request that you return to us the money we paid for the hunt on the basis that you failed to provide substantially all of the services and failed to meet substantially all of the expectations that you represented in support of this hunt.

I hope that this matter is solely the result of Mark's conflicts between clients at the Pagosa Ranch and his duties to clients at the Colorado Hunting Expeditions Ranch in Dolores, Colorado and is not a repetitive occurrence. I hope that for the sake of other hunters you implement curative measures, discontinue what I consider to be a pattern of false advertising and deceptive business practices and provide the hunts that you are actually capable of providing.

I would appreciate your response in writing accompanied by certified funds in the amount of $3,250 to resolve this matter.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me during business hours at the telephone number above.

Was the outfitter notified of problems? - YES