quote:

Originally posted by infinito:
To Danie:

I told you this when you used to work for me as a PH. Do not ever discuss the business dealings of your Outfitter, with HIS clients (not yours) while you hunt with them. This also rings true for other Outfits and Outfitters. To badmouth anyone in this industry to gain your own traction OR to Honeypot someone because you might, or do have an interest in his operation, bodes nothing well for anyone......it will bite you in the ass. I speak of experience. The good thing is if you keep the moral high ground you gain the respect of your peers.....and vice versa. Do your own thing and shut up. The industry will sort the apples into the different baskets they belong. There is no such thing as the perfect hunting business. It is how Outfitters handle "sticky" issues that sets them apart. Most of the times GREAT PH's do not make GREAT Outfitters....AND vice versa of course. I hope you finally get the message?

As to the rest of this threat. Caveat Emptor.....

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Vining:
What I think would help with the issue is an escrow service. A licensed and bonded escrow agent holds the fees until both the hunter and outfitter confirm the animals that have been taken. Escrow fees are typically modest.

quote:

Originally posted by Webster:
Saeed,
How many different outfitters have you hunted with in the last 10 years ?
Some of us don’t hunt with the same people repeatedly and like to jump around for different experiences, possibly different countries, so a booking agent will have hopefully vetted the outfitter and give the hunter some assurance of a decent hunt.
Sometimes that’s not the case though.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
AR is the website frequented by many hunters who have hunted far and wide, "been there and done that" on whom you, the prospective client, can glean valuable information on any aspect, so take advantage of this open and free source of information and stand a better chance of not getting burnt.

There are those clients whom have had a negative experience and will openly call a spade for what it is while others may not wish to expose themselves publicly but are very likely to come forward through a PM and provide all the gory details.

quote:

Originally posted by bcap:
I guess it comes down to if your willing to give some one a chance if you have read about problems they may have had in the past. If you feel they are better now and made the past problem better

quote:

Originally posted by bcap:
I guess it comes down to if your willing to give some one a chance if you have read about problems they may have had in the past. If you feel they are better now and made the past problem better

quote:

Originally posted by CanadianLefty:
Thank you Saeed. I rarely post anymore but actively read and enjoy your forum and have been for over 20 years.

Saeed, I love that you do not have any monetary incentives or vested interests (that I am aware of) in the industry directly yet are a passionate hunter within the hunting conservation ecosystem. You call the shots as you see fit and have the life experience and this platform to back it up. I agree with most of what you shared here in this post and I know that even if I didn't, it wouldn't keep you from expressing your point of view. You provide a valuable service and insight that many people would (and do) benefit from.

Sadly, this whole thread remind me of two African safaris (one in Namibia, one in South Afirca) that I went on, where I got very burnt. Both were auction hunts years ago where the outfitters were very resentful of SCI and took it out on my wife and I even though we shot more animals on a trophy fee basis. Many things went wrong; here are some of the salient ones: Charging us more than contracted for all services, saying that prices had gone up and then having their large and tall son show up for dinner on the last day to practically strong-arm us into paying (which we did) by describing previous scenarios of clients not paying what they needed to. Squeezing us in at the end of their season and not telling us so, not taking us to their advertised concession (but to one that had already been overhunted and culled for game meat), telling us to hunt with their tracker (illegal in RSA, at least at the time) since they had chores to attend to, putting us up in a small farm house and not their luxury accomodations (closed for the season) as had been advertised, was brutally racist with staff etc. In Namibia, the outfitter had told their PH that he had a quota to get me to shoot at least $6500 in extra animals; the PH, drinking and smoking heavily that night, felt badly about it while at the same time instructed me to shoot what he said were outsized animals ("we must go after that one, that's over a 44" Gemsbok!" when he knew or should have known that it was much smaller- it turned out to be 36"; to which I had set a goal of a min. of 40" and I was happy to pay for extra days in the free range desert). Turns out, simple math: Extra days are not as profitable as more trophies in fewer days... Staff stole several hundred dollars in cash from our suitcase while we were out hunting yet Outfitter demanded we pay 15% in tips at the end- saying that they didn't believe us, we never received our trophies from Namibia despite having paid $2550 in advance for dipping, packing, transport etc. When I said that I would report them (which would have cost me $500 each with SCI at the time), they said that they had photos of me with the trophies and would share them online - a fear that I had discused with them- so that they would not share the photos- because I was concerned that my former employer's corporation would retaliate against me. To this day, I still regret not sharing the outfitters's names but I know I was not the only one who got screwed so I felt that word would get out- eventually. Turns out, both still advertise with SCI and still occassionally offer up auction hunts. One of the booking agents that advertises on AR had at one point posted a hunt for the same Namibian outfitter and I just bit my tongue...again, so long as money is exchanged, some things are overlooked at the expense of the hunter.

I have learnt a lot since then. I never buy auction hunts anymore- you usually get what you pay for; albeit, one outfitter was fabulous and I would highly recommend them. I also want to speak with the outfitter directly (not from an auctioneer or agent) so that we can mutually evaluate our compatibility. Secondly, do as much due diligence on a hunt as you can. I also look at references very differently.

On a positive note, there are many very good outfitters that post on AR and whom I've met over the years at Conventions etc that I will hunt with in the future or that I would recommend.

quote:

Originally posted by bcap:
I guess it comes down to if you feel he did things on purpose or just had some bad luck with things coming together in time.

Guys I have talked with and even his agent at the time only had good things to say. Maybe he started before he was really ready or trusted all would be in order by the hunt. Tough one to figure out for me to be honest.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by bcap:
I guess it comes down to if you feel he did things on purpose or just had some bad luck with things coming together in time.

Guys I have talked with and even his agent at the time only had good things to say. Maybe he started before he was really ready or trusted all would be in order by the hunt. Tough one to figure out for me to be honest.

What difference does it make when the hunter suffers?

I am sure he did not plan this to happen.

But he did not PLAN enough to make sure it did NOT happen!

quote:

I also look at hunting as any other type of business.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Lozano:
I agree with Dukxdog, this as gone overboard.
I also hunted with Hasheem in 2019.
He is not a crook.
He is a new outfitter hunting in a new area.

I did pay a deposit on the trophy fees. This was the first time i was asked to do this. The check went to the agent in the states. This was not a problem because i shot well over the deposit. When i returned home i sent the balance to the agent.

I believe everyone makes mistakes when starting out in business. I know i did.
As long as a man learns from the mistakes, that is all that matters

You can carry on now

quote:

Originally posted by dukxdog:
It seems to me as Hasheem has put in an effort to give guys a good experience. I don't feel he deserves the treatment he has received in this thread.

There are at least three well known AR guys who have done recent hunts with him. All give good reviews in their posts or reports. Two being Bwanarm and GunsCore.

Sometimes mistakes are made and a good person will correct them.

It doesn't sound to me he is a chronic crook.

Geesh!