My hunting partner Mark and I met Bryan Dawes at the Harrisburg show in 2018, and after some discussion with both he and his wife, we became very comfortable with their personal and down-to-earth attitudes and straight-laced philosophy. This was Mark's first guided hunt, and my first in 20 years. We had an excellent hunt overall; I saw approximately 50 deer including 8 different bucks during the 5-day hunt. Pat was our guide, his first year with BFO but he took complete ownership and allowed us the opportunity to be driven to stand or walk in to minimize impacts to the animals. He pushed for us to move after a couple days, not seeing a "shooter" buck. I had seen several deer including a few bucks by day 2, but nothing of much size. On day 3, Pat placed me into a stand known for several large animals, and at 7:45 am, I sailed an arrow just over the back of the largest buck I've ever seen in the wild. The buck was caught on the trail cam and after reviewing the pictures, it was a 12 point that per guides probably scores in the mid 150's range. I saw several other bucks in the last couple days but no other shooters in range. Bottom line, I was given the chance at the buck of a lifetime for me, that's all I could ask (As much as I'd love to have one of these big boys, I'm not looking to shoot a pen deer or for guarantees). Accommodations were great, food was all home-cooked by Bryan's wife Julie (1st evening) and Amy (rest of week), very, very good; they also both went out of their way to accommodate my gluten allergy (greatly appreciate that ladies!!!). The personal attitude and hearing stories of the several hunts and circumstances helped us confirm that this is not a firm more interested in making money than to build trust in clients. At this time, we are just back home and have already re-booked for next year. Enough said, check them out, you won't be disappointed! Shoot straight :-)
Thanks for the kind words, Rob. I appreciate your positivity in camp. Already can’t wait for next season!
Full moon, most days decent, last one had some rain, deer starting to move.
