Steve's Outdoor Adventurs? Anyone booked a hunt with him?

personally I wouldn't trust anybody that was on TV

I booked a hunt through him in the fall of 1999, I believe; I spoke with Steve directly numerous times, and booked a (supposedly) trophy mule deer hunt, admittedly at the last minute, for an outfitter in Southwest New Mexico. Steve represented to me, in his words " this is a TROPHY hunt, don't shoot the first buck you see" and also that I would be staying at the "outfitter's own lodge with a trophy room"... The hunt proceeded as follows:
-lodging was at the home of the outfitter and his family, who seemed to be a good guy; there was no trophy room, which was not really a big deal...
-I noted that he was a houndsman, as evidenced by multiple dog cages all full of baying hounds
-the hunt was entirely on public land, mostly consisting of walking all day, a little glassing, and a fair amount of road hunting; no advance scouting was done, and the outfitter and his brother, with whom I hunted exclusively for 3 of the 5 day, as the outfitter himself had to work
- I did take a 300-400 yard shot at the only buck we saw, a 20" 3X3 on the 4th day, after it became glaringly obvious that this was NOT a trophy deer hunt. This outfitter knew very little about deer hunting and how to go about it, and as the days progressed and as I looked at photos at his home, it was apparent that he was primarily a bear-and-lion hunter, hence the hounds...

I called Steve at the conclusion of the hunt, but received no return call; in his defense, I seem to remember that he was going through some difficult personal times (his words) that may have precluded any response from him, but the fact remains that I never did hear from him again.

It was a good learning experience for me, as in the ensuing years I have gone on many more guided hunts with reputable outfitters, and the cost, at the time, of $2500 for this hunt should've been the first red-flag, especially in conjunction with the fact that SW New Mexico is hardly a hotspot for trophy mule deer...

Some of the blame is mine for failing to perform my due diligence in booking the hunt, and it seems that Steve's Outdoor Adventures has grown exponentially since my hunt, but I'd sooner outsource the security of my home to the UAE before I'd book with him again

Regards,

Craig Nolan

quote:

Originally posted by Craig Nolan:
but I'd sooner outsource the security of my home to the UAE before I'd book with him again

Regards,

Craig Nolan

Thanks for the honest input!

quote:

it seems that Steve's Outdoor Adventures has grown exponentially since my hunt, but I'd sooner outsource the security of my home to the UAE before I'd book with him again

I can now leave work with a smile. That was a goodie, guy!