Outfitted Hunt from Hell in Kansas! Please read

[DirtNap647]

ashame you can hardly trust anybody anymore sorry to hear about your bad experience

[zeke632]

I stopped by a Lodge in western Ok a few years ago with a buddy of mine who had worked there during a prior deer season. There were pictures on the lodge walls of several "Pro Staff" groups that are famous for their calls, camo or TV shows.  It was the day after turkey season was over and the outfitter was doing some work on the lodge. He was a really nice guy and runs a successful  operation. However, after listening to their conversation about how many turkeys were killed and how they hunted, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Not only with the outfitter but also with the "pro staff" guys who were and are names that everyone who turkey hunts would recognize.
All of the hunting was done around feeders placed throughout the properties. They didn't actually hunt over corn but they positioned guys where the turkeys were either going to or going away from the feeders. 

I guess my point is that if you are going to hunt with an outfitter you really need to get some references and ask a lot of questions about how they operate.

[hookedspur]

I hate to hear this as well we booked a hunt with them ,4 of us next year .
I hope thing are better !!!

[hunter22]

I would advise you to go as early as you can before his property gets overhunted. You also need to check his success rates on number of tags purchased and number of tags filled by his hunters. I bet it is well below 50% which is horrible for an outfitted hunt. It is bad to pay $750 for a hunt and never see or hear a mature gobbler in three days. I will never go there again for sure. But on the positive side Jeff is a good guy and tries real hard and our food was good. 

[Tail Feathers]

I've hunted with the same outfitter in another state three times.  Two three-bird limits in prior years and this year I barely eaked out one bird and one guy in our group got skunked.
But the outfitter warned us when we got there that the numbers were way off on kills and the birds were acting like he'd never seen.  No breeding, tons of hens still out at end of season and few longbeards answering calls.  He was absolutely right.
I KNOW he has birds, heard lots of gobbling but killing was a different story.
Sometimes it's how the outfitter presents it.  It helps going in knowing that he's straight up.
Sorry you had a bad hunt but thanks for the warning on the guy.  Sounds like he's pretty shady.

[Ben Owen]

I hunted hickory creek about a week and a half ago. I tagged out the second morning. The birds were there and very vocal. They were very hened up for late season. But the birds not being there wasn't an issue! The lodge was nice and on a really nice piece of property! I also can not complain about the food! I would recommend Jeff's outfit 100%!

[WV TURKEY THUG]

Sorry to hear that. Just remember what goes around comes around. And I can't believe they advised u to trespass. Some people don't take it lightly when u trespass I was hunting with my buddy and my buddys buddy on his land. And on the second weekend or rifle season we were sitting there talking and we saw some guy in blaze orange tresspasing so the owner picks up his rifle and shoots a tree about 2 yds in front of him he ran like a bat out of hall.

[bpfarm]

This guy obviously has different lodges and accommodations elsewhere. Apparently we were at the " spike camp" with canned goods and over hunted property. Funny how our " guides" even told us Jeff was over hunting the property. They told us first thing that we wouldn't fill all our tags!  Jeff may have good hunting ground elsewhere, but I was paying just as much $$ as the next guy. Why do they get the better opportunities?

[hickory creek]

Hate that my first post is defending myself on a open forum. Yes this is Jeff Brondige owner of Hickory Creek Outfitters. I've been guiding in Kansas for 15 years and from what I see I may have 3 poor reviews. This being one and hunter22's account being #2. But hunter22 left out the fact that 3 seasons ago he called me at the end of the season trying to find a good hunt in Kansas after his "other" Kansas outfitter provided a bad hunt earlier in the season. So I made room for him the last 3 days of May. He came in the afternoon the day before his hunt was to start. I tool him to jump in the truck and we will get him in the woods! By 6:30pm he had his first bird and less then 12 hours later he had his second Tom. And when he got back to the truck we heard a bird gobbling across the road and I asked if he would loan me his gun and try to call him up for me. Second to last day of the season and no other hunters coming in. The bird came in on a string but I missed a 30yd shot. Had fun though...
I guess them birds weren't overhunted or in freezer bags!

Just some stats for this season.

1. 52 hunters over 8 weeks (archery,youth,gun)
2. 37 kills   2 wounded birds(unrecovered) 8 archery misses
3. 30,000 acres spread out over 3 counties.
4. Two lodges

I'm not here to get into a pissing match with anyone specially (bpfarm)
But seems to me that you and your group would have been farther ahead if you would have called me when things weren't going the way you thought that it should go. Yes, we have poor cell service in this area but I'm pretty sure you could have got ahold of me. I always try to make things right with my hunters but I cant do that if I'm not told till after the hunt. We killed 27 birds before you came and we killed 10 more after you left. Same birds, same properties, different day, different hunters !!!! As far as overhunting concerned we had land that was never even hunted. I think more often then not it's the hunters overhunting the land not the outfitter, 90 % of the birds killed this season were killed with patience, not running all over trying to get birds to gobble. We had a late spring and the toms were henned up for most the season and with all the storms i'm sure there was some renesting too. Toms just weren't gobbling like they normally do. But that doesn't mean they weren't  there. Just had to hunt them differently. Don't know a outfitter out there that doesn't get payed before the hunt. And as far as my prices are concerned anyone who has done any homework on outfitted hunts knows $750 for the Opportunity  to take 2 birds/food/lodging is very reasonable. I do the grocery shopping for both camps and CANNED food was NOT on the menu...Baked chicken, smothered pork chops and spaghetti same thing every 3 days for two months so I don't know and wasn't told of anything different a far as your camp is concerned. The other 4 hunters in camp with you rebooked for next season so they must have seen the potential !!!  I'm done defending my operation, you guys can sit behind your keyboards and scream overhunting, no birds and anything else you can dream up. But real hunters know it's hunting not killing and when you know that, you will enjoy the experience that much more.

 

[sself]

Hate that my first post is defending myself on a open forum. Yes this is Jeff Brondige owner of Hickory Creek Outfitters. I've been guiding in Kansas for 15 years and from what I see I may have 3 poor reviews. This being one and hunter22's account being #2. But hunter22 left out the fact that 3 seasons ago he called me at the end of the season trying to find a good hunt in Kansas after his "other" Kansas outfitter provided a bad hunt earlier in the season. So I made room for him the last 3 days of May. He came in the afternoon the day before his hunt was to start. I tool him to jump in the truck and we will get him in the woods! By 6:30pm he had his first bird and less then 12 hours later he had his second Tom. And when he got back to the truck we heard a bird gobbling across the road and I asked if he would loan me his gun and try to call him up for me. Second to last day of the season and no other hunters coming in. The bird came in on a string but I missed a 30yd shot. Had fun though...
I guess them birds weren't overhunted or in freezer bags!

Just some stats for this season.

1. 52 hunters over 8 weeks (archery,youth,gun)
2. 37 kills   2 wounded birds(unrecovered) 8 archery misses
3. 30,000 acres spread out over 3 counties.
4. Two lodges

I'm not here to get into a pissing match with anyone specially (bpfarm)
But seems to me that you and your group would have been farther ahead if you would have called me when things weren't going the way you thought that it should go. Yes, we have poor cell service in this area but I'm pretty sure you could have got ahold of me. I always try to make things right with my hunters but I cant do that if I'm not told till after the hunt. We killed 27 birds before you came and we killed 10 more after you left. Same birds, same properties, different day, different hunters !!!! As far as overhunting concerned we had land that was never even hunted. I think more often then not it's the hunters overhunting the land not the outfitter, 90 % of the birds killed this season were killed with patience, not running all over trying to get birds to gobble. We had a late spring and the toms were henned up for most the season and with all the storms i'm sure there was some renesting too. Toms just weren't gobbling like they normally do. But that doesn't mean they weren't  there. Just had to hunt them differently. Don't know a outfitter out there that doesn't get payed before the hunt. And as far as my prices are concerned anyone who has done any homework on outfitted hunts knows $750 for the Opportunity  to take 2 birds/food/lodging is very reasonable. I do the grocery shopping for both camps and CANNED food was NOT on the menu...Baked chicken, smothered pork chops and spaghetti same thing every 3 days for two months so I don't know and wasn't told of anything different a far as your camp is concerned. The other 4 hunters in camp with you rebooked for next season so they must have seen the potential !!!  I'm done defending my operation, you guys can sit behind your keyboards and scream overhunting, no birds and anything else you can dream up. But real hunters know it's hunting not killing and when you know that, you will enjoy the experience that much more.

You might as well give my a free hunt for next season, so I can come and post a good review of your lodge, in order for you to redeem your customers... 

[bpfarm]

I'm done with this post. If anyone would like to talk about my trip, please call me 318-787-8070. I know of 4 guys from Alabama who also will not be rebooking. They were all real turkey hunters and awesome men to have met.  Jeff, not saying you don't work hard or have successful hunters. But I know you could have offered us more than 2 goose guides who told us they didn't know much about turkey hunting or where the birds were. Point being, I'm not supposed to have to call you whining about a bad time.

[hookedspur]

Hate that my first post is defending myself on a open forum. Yes this is Jeff Brondige owner of Hickory Creek Outfitters. I've been guiding in Kansas for 15 years and from what I see I may have 3 poor reviews. This being one and hunter22's account being #2. But hunter22 left out the fact that 3 seasons ago he called me at the end of the season trying to find a good hunt in Kansas after his "other" Kansas outfitter provided a bad hunt earlier in the season. So I made room for him the last 3 days of May. He came in the afternoon the day before his hunt was to start. I tool him to jump in the truck and we will get him in the woods! By 6:30pm he had his first bird and less then 12 hours later he had his second Tom. And when he got back to the truck we heard a bird gobbling across the road and I asked if he would loan me his gun and try to call him up for me. Second to last day of the season and no other hunters coming in. The bird came in on a string but I missed a 30yd shot. Had fun though...
I guess them birds weren't overhunted or in freezer bags!

Just some stats for this season.

1. 52 hunters over 8 weeks (archery,youth,gun)
2. 37 kills   2 wounded birds(unrecovered) 8 archery misses
3. 30,000 acres spread out over 3 counties.
4. Two lodges

I'm not here to get into a pissing match with anyone specially (bpfarm)
But seems to me that you and your group would have been farther ahead if you would have called me when things weren't going the way you thought that it should go. Yes, we have poor cell service in this area but I'm pretty sure you could have got ahold of me. I always try to make things right with my hunters but I cant do that if I'm not told till after the hunt. We killed 27 birds before you came and we killed 10 more after you left. Same birds, same properties, different day, different hunters !!!! As far as overhunting concerned we had land that was never even hunted. I think more often then not it's the hunters overhunting the land not the outfitter, 90 % of the birds killed this season were killed with patience, not running all over trying to get birds to gobble. We had a late spring and the toms were henned up for most the season and with all the storms i'm sure there was some renesting too. Toms just weren't gobbling like they normally do. But that doesn't mean they weren't  there. Just had to hunt them differently. Don't know a outfitter out there that doesn't get payed before the hunt. And as far as my prices are concerned anyone who has done any homework on outfitted hunts knows $750 for the Opportunity  to take 2 birds/food/lodging is very reasonable. I do the grocery shopping for both camps and CANNED food was NOT on the menu...Baked chicken, smothered pork chops and spaghetti same thing every 3 days for two months so I don't know and wasn't told of anything different a far as your camp is concerned. The other 4 hunters in camp with you rebooked for next season so they must have seen the potential !!!  I'm done defending my operation, you guys can sit behind your keyboards and scream overhunting, no birds and anything else you can dream up. But real hunters know it's hunting not killing and when you know that, you will enjoy the experience that much more.

Glad to see you on old Gobbler and  ,its a great place to hang out tween seasons.
4 of us are coming to hunt with you late April next year, me and a Father and his two sons ,
and these Brothers are as turkey as you can get . See you then,    Steve M

[hickory creek]

 (bpfarm)

Point being , I'm the owner and the man you paid ,so I would think you would call me whining about your bad hunt . Johnie has guided for turkeys in Kansas ,Texas. He said he knew how to kill turkeys, but like a lot of hunters he thinks covering ground is the answer. Around here it takes patience not boot leather. Caleb and his group are coming back next spring and we cant wait to redeem ourselves and show them a good hunt !!!

Later

[mudhen]

FWIW, at the very least, I stay in text-touch with every outfitter while in the field. 

This had been working for them & us going on 15 years, so I guess we'll keep doing it....

Those numbers look pretty good, so does the price.  I'll check it out for 2014 and beyond...

mudhen

[hunter22]

Another forum member, West Augusta, went with me on my trip. You may want to ask him what he thought about the hunt. And he did kill a bird, the only gobbler the three of us saw in three days of hunting.