Okay, here are a few. Sorry for the long post in advance. First off it is a controlled hunt in 120 acres of timber (not thrilled about the high fence stuff but a few guys who went with us are City boys of the 1st° and it is the only outdoor activity most of them do all year). Our group had six people last year and we felt slightly crowded, but safe.
Like I mentioned we went last year and had a blast, stayed in a really nice lodge and hogs were all over. We had the entire place to ourselves. The guides went above and beyond to make sure everyone had a great time.
We showed up this year and I pulled up to the lodge and there was a large group of five or six hunters unloading. I thought that was strange but was hoping they were there for another reason. I was the first from my party to arrive and went to unload in the nice lodge part we stayed last year. One of the guides mentioned that the other party was staying in that part and we were in the new addition. The new addition comprised of a garage with a light and electricity and six single beds most of which did not have a pillow. I was obviously taken aback and went back outside and waited for the rest of my party.
When the rest of the crew showed up we had a quick conference and decided that we needed to get in touch with the owners to find out what was happening. We called and left four voicemails and had one of the outfitters try them as well. After driving seven hours, we decided to give it a go because we had so much fun last year, and after all it was about hanging out with buddies with some Coldies... Not about staying in a fancy lodge. We weren't thrilled about sharing the small area with another group of hunters we didn't know, but again last year we saw enough hogs to ensure everyone would have great opportunity. The two guides broke the property in half for each party.
There weren't enough stands so most of us had to double up, which again was fine but not ideal. The first night we saw a total of five hogs between six of us. Two smaller ones of which were killed.
This place only does hunts in the evening, so last year the guides took us around the rest of the free range property and let us shoot guns, fish, whatever we wanted to do. The high fence part was strictly off-limits so it did not impact that evenings hunt. Long story short, we stayed out but come to find out the other guide did some drives with the other group in our assigned section. We were driving back from their target range and saw them dragging pigs out.
Once again, we thought that was strange but stayed to ourselves and decided to give it a go our second evening. That night between our group we saw one single hog. Three guys on the trip did not see a hog all weekend. We also found out that that other party only booked a few weeks in advance and have been going there five or six years hence the preferential treatment.
When we approached the guides and ask what was different from last year, they said "not a thing". Come to find out from one of their employees they only had about 20% of their average population. I guess a few days before we showed up some of the owners friends showed up and slaughtered them with automatic weapons. One guide told us he found over 20 dead hogs after they left.
On top of sharing the property with another group of hunters we did not know, One of the guides dad had a birthday and they let him hunt in the same small controlled section.
The whole thing was a mess, everyone we talked to that worked the place had a different story but we could sense something was going on. For example, they ran out of gas for their UTV's and had to scrape change to go buy gas.
All the while, the owners of the place never returned our call. Those who killed a pig decided to obviously pay the full price, but the three guys who didn't even see a pig obviously wanted to have a conversation.
There are about 50 other little micro stories that I could share but I think you get the point. Before we paid we demanded to talk to the owner. The Manager finally got a hold of them and refused to work out a deal with the three guys. They also said that they never received calls and we should have got in touch on Friday when we arrived. My buddy that he in the guides left a total of five voicemails for them, then the owner accused my friend of lying. My buddy took a screenshot of the four calls each that had a duration of 35 seconds and texted it to him. The place promised no kill, no pay... But that obviously isn't their true policy. They give "zero" care about their clients.
So again, I highly recommend you stay away!
