No cook, no breakfast, 25 hunters that week instead of the 10-12 stated when we signed up. Only 3 of 25 killed a buck over 140. Only 1 of the 11 at our house, as we were not in the advertised lodge, which did have a cook. Mark Clifford counts smaller bucks taken in his success ratio. Guides actively encouraged hunters to shoot smaller bucks. Dinner was bad takeout picked up by the guides. Up at 3am each day for the hour long drive to where we hunted. Back at 7-7:30pm. Two guides for the 10 at a time hunters in our group.Guides did not gut the one good buck taken till the next morning!! Two days neither of us saw a deer.each saw 7 bucks in 4 days, all small.
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - NO
Wow!!! First I would like to say I hate that Mr Smith felt like he did not have a good hunt and at no time during his hunt were myself or my son made aware of his dissatisfaction. We try very hard to make every hunters experience a rewarding one. It is impossible to please everyone all of the time when you run a business.
In 2012 Premier outfitters added another lodge, a 5,500 sq ft home that very comfortably accomadates 10 hunters, it is advertised on our website that we have two lodges!!! that will sleep 12 hunters. Mr Smith requested a private room for himself and his hunting buddy because he did not want to share a room with anyone else, our other lodge has two private rooms that were already spoken for so he was assigned a private room at the new lodge. The lodge that he stayed in is bigger has more bathrooms and has just as many amenities as our first lodge. I dont know why anyone would complain about that lodge.
Mr Smith was right about not having a lady to cook at the lodge ( She was admitted to the Hospital ) none the less everyone that was at the lodge Mr Smith stayed at was fed very good food for dinner that was picked up by myself from a local restaurant considered to have the best BBQ and home cooking in Ky, The Wood Shed. At both lodges breakfast consist of fruit,danishes,hot and cold cereals,juices,milk and coffee before hunters go to the woods. Hunters that elect to hunt all day are given bag lunches the ones that come in at 11:00 am are fed a brunch. the mornings that Mr Smith requested to be picked up for breakfast he was taken to the the restaurant where he ordered what he wanted from the breakfast menue.
As far as Mr Smith saying that only three hunters out of 25 killed bucks over 140 NOT TRUE!!! first off there were only 10 hunters at both lodges and I didnt know he was at both lodges with his tape nor did he have contact with anyone from the other lodge. The four days Mr Smith was in camp some very nice bucks were harvested, one being a high 160 inch buck killed on the same farm he was hunting.Any one that hunts knows that everyone is not going to see monster bucks, that is real hunting. Some hunters passed shooters waiting for bigger, some killed, some missed and some saw monster bucks as they do every year. At no time do any of my guides encourage hunters to take small bucks. That is ridiculous. What we do encourage is that you not pass a shooter if you have to kill a buck to make your hunt satisfying, because you may not get another chance.. We have hunters come in every day telling stories of the bucks they pass hoping for a booner. There are different types of hunters, serious trophy hunters that know booners are not behind every tree and have the patients to wait for a great buck and accept the fact that they have a pretty good chance of going home empty handed because of their goal, hunters that are happy to have the opportunity to hunt at a place that has plenty of good deer and if they harvest a nice buck it is icing on the cake, and hunters that have to see and kill a monster buck and if they dont their trip is deemed a bust. We want every one to have a great hunt and do our very best to help our hunters harvest a good buck but everyone can not kill one or see a BOONER.
By the way the buck that was not field dressed until the following morning was hung in the shed in cold temps at the hunters request so he could get pics the next morning.
Five of the hunters that were in camp the week Mr Smith hunted have rebooked, guess they were happy.
There are two sides to every story this is mine. I wish Mr Smith many successfull years of hunting in the furure.
Mark Clifford
Clear,sunny, upper 30s to low 60s.
