I have booked hunts for our clients throughout the US for the past 10 years and have used several hunt brokers.
I have to say that Bow and Arrow Adventures is the worst broker I have ever used. I recently booked a hunt with Scott Alberta for whitetail in South Dakota.
Scott seems to have a problem meeting commitments and I was shocked with his attitude about not meeting them, he was surprisingly candid and unprofessional making excuses that all that mattered was my hunters would see plenty of deer. Scott did not live up to a single commitment he made and in fact flat out lied when asked questions about the lodging.
I would be happy to discuss what we experienced with any hunters interested in using this broker.
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - NO
While everybody is entitled to their opinion and rightfully so, Dan is not exactly being honest with this review. There are many facts missing in his statements. So I will address them on his behalf. Dan Orona booked this hunt as a promotional trip for his high end clients as a thanks for doing business with us gift. This was a great idea and I was happy to try and help Dan accomplish his goal. He was provided every possible tool to make a decision on whether or not to do business with us. After deciding that he wanted to move forward we booked the hunt for his group. There was a very detailed invoice on what needed to take place for this hunt to happen as far as booking and the proceeding payments leading up to the hunt. There was also details that each and every client would need to fill out a hunt contract for both my company ( Bow and Arrow Adventures ) as well as our outfitter. From this moment on Dan became very complicated to deal with. He would blow off the protocol of our agreement and accused me of only being concerned about money when I contacted him about the second payment being WAY PASSED DUE ( as in almost 2 months ). He also proceeded to tell me that I did not need or deserve the contracts for my company as it was unnecessary. Apparently Mr.Orona thought that was open for negotiation. I actually wound up getting that from one of the hunters in the group that took it upon himself to provide that. This guy was excellent and a pleasure to deal with for the record.
Mr. Orona is basing this negative post and his thread off of two separate items.
1. Lodging - Our outfitter had plans to construct and finish a newer lodging situation for his clients in 2013. Things were on pace and looking good and for a couple of unforeseen reasons ( like arguably the most severe blizzard in recent South Dakota history ) he was not able to complete the new lodging arrangements and hunters stayed in the older lodge. This lodge is definitely not the Taj Mahal. It is however clean and comfortable and more than gets the job done for a week away from home. Dan held both the outfitter and myself over the coals about lodging. He just had to have it his way and that was unfortunately not in the cards. Both the outfitter and myself told Dan that things would be good and safe for his hunters and hopefully the lodge would be done in time and not to worry that things would be just fine. Dan even mentioned to me that he knew that the new lodging most likely wouldn't be done on time as he actually went out to South Dakota to visit with the outfitter and make sure that things would be adequate for his hunters. He saw it with his own eyes and new very well what was likely going to happen. Yet he is now talking like he was hugely mislead and lied to attacking both my character and my outfitters. For the record I have had detailed information from this trip and the hunters that were actually there had no problem with the lodging accommodations. This was told to myself, the outfitter, and the guide. Keep in mind Dan was never in camp on this hunt and has literally no idea how things unfolded. So that is the lodging situation in a nut shell.
2. Trail cam pics - Believe it or not this is Dan's other huge gripe. Yes I did tell him that we would have trail cam pics that he could use to show his clients as we went through the summer and early fall to keep his clients excited and looking forward to the hunt. Unfortunately this did not happen. I can't force big deer to show up on film and say cheese. Also our outfitter was faced with 2 very unusual circumstances in 2013 that are not normal to his area. First was a tremendous amount of standing corn. We all know that when left up the deer live in it so that made normal deer movement very complicated. Second was the Blizzard. There was unfortunately far more important things to do like count dead cattle and assess damage to the ranch, livestock, and agriculture. Dan felt that his clients experience was ruined due to lack of trail cam pics. Again none of this is adding up is it.
I can understand the fact that Dan Orona wanted the very best for his clients and rightfully so. He is spot on with regards to me telling him to focus on the BIG PICTURE which was his clients coming out to hunt and having a great week. He actually proceeded to tell me that this was not as much of a priority as him not getting the pictures and the lodging finished. That is truly a shame.
A few closing facts and remember that Dan made no mention that he was not in camp for this hunt. There in itself implies some level of deceit.
Fact 1 - Dan's clients went 4 for 5 on Whitetails with everybody encountering mature Whitetail bucks. We have the pics to prove that !!
Fact 2 - Based on what I have been told by those that were involved in that week. Nobody had an issue with any aspect of the hunt. So for Dan to fill out the graph part of this review with everything from trophy quality to game, lodging guides etc, and mark them all low is ridiculous !!!! Keep in mind he wasn't even there and has literally NO FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE of what took place.
Fact 3 - Mr. Orona is just flat out manipulating what took place into this unfortunate review. His clients were treated like GOLD, had a great trip. Even though conditions were not perfect with all the standing corn the guides worked incredibly hard to do everything they could to provide a successful Whitetail deer hunt. That my friends is exactly what happened.
In closing after this is all said and done Dan is definitely entitled to his opinion of this hunt and my company. I am also entitled to state the facts and defend my company which has had an incredible year for our clients in 2013. We have had numerous success across the board from Elk, Muledeer, Whitetail, Antelope and many more. Several of which have posted not only reviews but threads on their experiences with us and our outfitters.
Unfortunately Dan is out for blood over his clients successful hunt. Am I the only one that see's that as a bit odd ??
My clients have posted several outfitter reviews on this site in several States. Look them over and see what type of track record you find. Draw your own conclusions and if you are ever in the market for a quality guided hunt then please look me up.
I can be at peace now with the Orona experience. Consider the evidence at hand and way it out. I am happy to provide emails, texts and hunter references on this exact trip if you need them !!! I am so sorry that you had such a horrific experience with my company Dan.
Best of luck to you in the future and well GOOD BYE !!!
Scott Alberda - Proud co owner of Bow and Arrow Adventures
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