Does anyone have experience with Trophy Outfitters in Colorado? The website just gives a P.O. Box for Pueblo Colorado. Im asking specifically about Cow elk on the ranch. Apparently its about 100,000 acres.

I wouldn't hunt with anybody that doesn't give their names on their website.

Shady deal IMO

Did some Google-Fu and have found Richard Sears associated with the "ranch" number that was listed on an ad for farm equipment with the number on their website.

Run far, run fast and DO NOT LOOK BACK is Richard Sears if associated with this outfit! If he is, don't expect them to be honest with you about it

http://www.9news.com/news/stor...yid=145846&catid=188
http://www.jesseshunting.com/f...amp-deer-hunts-in-NM
https://forums.cabelas.com/showthread.php?t=22523

My friend, if Drummond's info is correct - LOOK OUT! Richard "Rick" Sears, is simply the biggest crook that the outfitting / hunting industry has ever seen in the west, EVER!!!! Just some additional FYI.

As soon as I saw the name Sears mentioned in Drummond's post I thought the OP better look out, LOL! Seriously, if you do a thorough search on that guy he is one shady operator that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole!

Proof once again that AR is an incredible wealth of information.

Did some more digging and found this...

http://www.guidingamerica.com/...ges/newmexicoelk.htm

This lists Jim Hill as the General Manager and he is associated with Rick Sears. Jim Hill is a douche bag IMO. He was the front man for Sears and they screwed me on a lease deal at the last minute a few years back. They doubled up my bid to get the lease then couldn't afford the lease which was no surprise. They submitted a bid under Jim Hills name so the landowner wouldn't know it was Sears trying to get in there.

These guys are BAD NEWS

Investigators take aim at Parker hunting guides

"That's a sure sign you've pushed everyone to their limit, including the federal government," said hunter Vardell Taylor who hired the outfitters in 1999.

Richard Sears and his wife Erna have been providing elk and deer hunting trips for almost 20 years and have racked up multiple complaints, according to state records and hunters. The couple charges $5,900 for a 5-day rifle elk and mule deer trip.

Taylor and his friend say they gave Sears a $4,000 down payment to guide them on a deer hunt in South Central Colorado in 1999. Once Taylor learned that Sears' outfitting license had been suspended by the state, he asked for his money back. But he says Sears refused to refund it.

"It's just an example of the old 'buyer beware,'" said Taylor. "You have to be sure you're not giving your money to a crook. We should have dug a lot deeper before we trusted him, but we didn't."

Richard Sears put the business into his wife's name after he surrendered his license in 1995, according to state records.

Erna Virginia Sears' license is on probation until May 9, 2011. She was disciplined after hunting on private property without permission and for hiring a guide who did not have first aid credentials, according to state records.

Judgements and lien filings show the couple owe more than $150,00 to the IRS and other creditors.

The Colorado DOW and IRS did not comment on the ongoing investigation.

Richard Sears did not return a call for comment.

If you have any news tips, please e-mail Investigative Reporter Deborah Sherman at Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com.

What's amazing is that this crook has been able to duck and dodge the law since at least 1990......I see how he's done it by hiding behind various names and entities. Sounds like a real despicable dog.

http://www.courts.state.co.us/.../2008q2/06CA1922.pdf

The reason I made my first post is because he screwed a buddy of mine on a CO deer hunt quite a few years ago and wasn't the least apologetic about doing it. The guy and his wife should have been locked up and the key thrown away 15 or 20 years ago!!!

The guy I talked to on the phone said he name was Steven something don't remember the last name. The way he talked like he had recently bought the place. I don't know how to verify this.
Website is ElkElkElk.com

quote:

Originally posted by Jarrod:
The guy I talked to on the phone said he name was Steven something don't remember the last name. The way he talked like he had recently bought the place. I don't know how to verify this.
Website is ElkElkElk.com

It seems as though the above posts haven't been enough to steer you into another direction. I'd say you've been forewarned! Time to look another direction, IMHO!

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:

quote:

Originally posted by Jarrod:
The guy I talked to on the phone said he name was Steven something don't remember the last name. The way he talked like he had recently bought the place. I don't know how to verify this.
Website is ElkElkElk.com

It seems as though the above posts haven't been enough to steer you into another direction. I'd say you've been forewarned! Time to look another direction, IMHO!

Seconded, LOL! If he wants to keep going on this he should at least contact CO and find out who is licensed under the #2084 that is showing on the website.

The responders have done all that good conscience and honor require. If he ignores you, that's his fault. He is not alone being a person that can only learn the hard way. I've been down that street myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Jarrod:
The guy I talked to on the phone said he name was Steven something don't remember the last name. The way he talked like he had recently bought the place. I don't know how to verify this.
Website is ElkElkElk.com

I'm sure that's the story! They will get a new front man that will deny Rick Sears is associated

What I did is google a number listed on the bottom page of his hunt menu page. That number is 303-518-4177. Here is a picture of that phone number on the elkelkelk.com page


Look at the google search that's purple in this picture and tell me what you see



Do yourself a favor and lose that number. Trust me

QUOTE]
Seconded, LOL! If he wants to keep going on this he should at least contact CO and find out who is licensed under the #2084 that is showing on the website.[/QUOTE]

I looked up that license number on the Colorado Dept of regulatory Agency website #2084 belongs to Stephen Flowers of Pueblo CO.

Rick Sears obtained an Outfitter license in 1989, lost it in 1991 due to a violation in 1990 his wife currently has a license with an Admonition on it.
If I were the original poster I would run run run from these guys.

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:


I looked up that license number on the Colorado Dept of regulatory Agency website #2084 belongs to Stephen Flowers of Pueblo CO.

Rick Sears obtained an Outfitter license in 1989, lost it in 1991 due to a violation in 1990 his wife currently has a license with an Admonition on it.
If I were the original poster I would run run run from these guys.

Stephen Flowers is also associated with Rick Sears



Again, lose the number.

http://www.huntingreport.com/h..._details.cfm?id=2955


Hunter Loses Deposit Over One-Sided Contract For New Mexico Elk Hunt

Published: August - 2012

Subscriber R. Towry is unhappy with the way his booking for an elk hunt in New Mexico was handled by Stephen Flowers and Richard Sears of Private Land Bucks and Bulls. He says he walked away from a deposit due to the hunting contract he later received and the manner in which Sears and Flowers treated him when he objected to the wording.
"The outfitter took my deposit and then refused to deliver a contract for weeks. When I got the contract, I could see that it was very one-sided," says Towry. "If a 16-year-old kid showed up drunk to guide me on private land that they did not have access to, they would have fulfilled their contract. When I suggested some modifications to the contract they yelled and cussed at me and called me names." Towry says he walked away from his deposit to avoid "sending good money after bad."

We sent a copy of Towry's complaint to Sears and Flowers but have never heard back from them. Here at The Hunting Report our advice to hunters is to demand a written agreement for services to be rendered at the time a deposit is provided. Read the entire contract and note what the operator agrees to provide and what you will be required to do. Make sure you understand everything, including the terms for cancellation. Only then should you turn over your money.

Honestly, I cannot begin to express to you how bad these guys are.

quote:

Originally posted by drummondlindsey:
Honestly, I cannot begin to express to you how bad these guys are.

***The shame of it all is that there is always someone for people like that to prey on that think just because we're talking hunting that everybody is an angel!!! There are more and more crooks out there everyday that you have to look out for and the ones I find most disgusitng are the ones that prey on the elderly.

With all of the information for vetting outfitters available on this site alone, it should be nearly impossible to get burned anymore.

I think ive heard all I needed to hear. Thank you all.
If I do a short cow elk hunt next year I will look elsewhere. Im mainly looking for elk meat but don't want to shoot one in a pen

Look around, there are good guides/outfitters that offer various cow elk hunts that are legitimate and will do a good job for you.

If you are going to spend the money, do so with a reputable operator.