stockton outfitters
MontanaWebsite Address posted for sponsors only
I hunted with this outfitter in both 2019 and 2020. After the first year I wanted a different guide so when I booked for the second year ( a year in advance ) I asked for a specific guide which the outfitter said I could have no problem. A day and a half before I was to be in camp the outfitter called me and said there was a problem and that he couldn't give me the guide I requested and he said I could have but instead I would have to hunt with the guide I had the previous year. If I had been totally happy with the first guide I wouldn't have requested a different guide the second year. Now I was stuck, here I'm driving thruogh South Dakota on my way to Montana, the outfitter has been fully paid and the dead line to get my money back has passed. And as it turned out the outfitter gave new clients the guide I requested while as a repeat customer I had to settle for what was left. I did see animals both years but never got a shot. Turns out they hunt the same four square miles every year even though they claim to hunt two zones which are 500 and 600 square miles respectively. So naturally I wasn't too happy near the end of the week when my guide made the statement that we had covered all the areas they hunt and he wanted to know where I would like to go next. Some places we hunted did show some recent sign but most places had very old sign. The outfitter advertises his hunts as seven day hunts but the first and last days you only hunt a few hours the rest of the time you are either traveling to camp or leaving camp returning to town. I know bow hunting is a low percentage success proposition and I can accept that and all I want from an outfitter is an honest assessment as to either success or shot opportunity but when the outfitter claimed 90 percent shot opportunity I was dumb founded knowing from having hunted with him and having talked to the guides it's more like 5%.
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - NO
Mr. Meyer,
We thank you for your business in both 2019 and 2020, and would like to remind you that on both occasions you were provided a 1:1 hunt at an extremely discounted 2:1 rate (total savings of $2,500.00). Our staff greatly enjoyed your company on both hunts. Unfortunately circumstances as they existed in 2020, left Stockton Outfitters extremely short handed as one guide was injured, others unavailable and another sidelined due to COVID 19 quarantine.
Stockton Outfitters tries its best to match hunters and guides by levels of physicality. Your personal physical limitations versus that of the other clients in camp, combined with an unanticipated staff shortage led to, Mr. Greg Miller MT-OUT-GUD #34158 being your guide. When spoken to prior to your hunt, you expressed no concern. The two of you had hunted together in 2019 which led to your rebooking for 2020. You at no time expressly asked not to be placed with Mr. Miller.
You were provided numerous opportunities during both of your hunts to bring forward any dissatisfaction regarding Stockton Outfitters' service, but contrarily,it had appeared that you were having dramatically better luck than the other parties in camp when you told tales of your days events. You were personally addressed multiple times before your departure where you neglected to mention any problems which could have been rectified at that time. A client evaluation form was mailed directly following your departure from camp requesting your personal input to which no negative reply was made.
Stockton Outfitters hunts greater than 120,000 acres of permitted public land (BLM & Forest Service). We could have easily expanded the reach of your hunt, but again, no request nor dissatisfaction was expressed by you until you posted this report.
Stockton Outfitters' advertising and your signed hunt contract very accurately depicts our offering and makes absolutely no guarantee regarding shot opportunity nor success. Our only guarantee is 100% effort by our staff. Now whether you received that effort is another matter entirely and obviously a matter of perception.
Simply put Mr. Jerry, I wish you would have communicated your concerns when asked rather than slander a reputable organization online. Stockton Outfitters would be pleased to have a personal conversation as to how we can remedy this situation. Thank you again for your business.
In 2019 I hunted the second week of the archery season and we had on and off rain for four days. In 2020 I hunted the last week of the archery season and most of the time it was around 70 degrees or maybe a little higher.
