Outfitter nightmare…. Advice needed

[archer36]

1 hour ago, Bucksnbows said:

Sounds good until you fly to said state to file a claim and then fly back to chase him in small claims court. You’ve just spent more on airfare, hotels, meals, and car rental than he fleeced the OP for.  

Agree. Years ago my In-Laws had to sue a siding contractor. He started the job and disappeared. We had his address and filed a civil suit. The Investigator/subpoena server said that he lived in a small, low class apartment building and was seen having lots of visitors and partying. Well they won the case but never got a penny. If they wanted to continue to pursue it, it would just continue to rack up legal expenses. 

You can't get blood out of a stone. 

You do your best to vet outfitters but things can go sour any time. 

One thing I have NEVER heard is anyone getting ripped off by an African Safari operation. You don't even see people expressing dissatisfaction. But, on the contrary, lots of scams and disappointments with North American Outfitters and hunts. 

I have done a few U.S. out of state hunts and one Canadian and was satisfied with the outfitters. I consider myself lucky. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by archer36

[Sako76]

If you want to get even, lien both his businesses and home, see if that gets his attention.

[CJ3a]

Archer36, you are not looking hard enough.  African trips do go bad as well.  Have you read about the cost on getting trophies back? 

[archer36]

45 minutes ago, CJ3a said:

Archer36, you are not looking hard enough.  African trips do go bad as well.  Have you read about the cost on getting trophies back? 

Really don't know what you mean. Cost of getting trophies back has nothing to do with the Outfitter. It was a global shipping issue. It has calmed down a bit. I got caught in the height of it but that's the price of doing a overseas hunt. If you had to ship the same number of trophies across the U.S. or from far reaches of Canada or Alaska it would be no different. 

You hunt North America, it's usually a one animal hunt. You hunt Africa, you usually have about a half dozen or more heads shipped. 

I have been on Africahunting.com Forum for over ten years and I can't remember one person saying they got ripped off.  Ripoffs and dissatisfaction is rampant with outfitters in U.S. and Canada. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by archer36

[Zipper]

Justice in this life or the next.

[trapoholic]

Make the trip out there and nock on his door.

[tcook8296]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:43 PM, CatchinDeers243 said:

So I tried every angle but was shut out. I received a letter saying sorry we have no more monies to refund. The outfitter is IMB outfitters and the owner is Darrin Bradley. Funny he has his own Christian ministries Bradley Ministries where they reform inmates smh.
That brings me to Today I turn on Facebook and they’re selling Missouri deer leases under Midwesttrophyfarms.com and advertising it on the imb outfitters Facebook page. Is there any legal recourse I have?

At this point it’s not about the money I just don’t want to see him scam anyone else

Post their name on every hunting site you come across. 

Anyone that does the proper research will come across your dealings with the outfitter eventually on a Google search. 

I would personally never give any outfitter that I don't know any money until I know I'm able to draw. 

Iowa is a draw state and the norm for a bowhunt is 5 points now. 

So until you have 4 or 5 in your pocket, don't send your money. 

I have 5 points myself and hoping to draw a bow tag this year. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by tcook8296

[Buckeyes11]

Quote

 

This is why I don’t trust outfitters. That being said I have been to Lily pond creek and had a great experience. But now I would rather kill a spike on public ground than give an outfitter 4-5 k for a hunt. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Buckeyes11

[archer36]

1 minute ago, Buckeyes11 said:

This is why I don’t trust outfitters. That being said I have been to Lily pond creek and had a great experience. But now I would rather kill a spike on public ground than give an outfitter 4-5 k for a hunt. 

Trophy hunts in North America are a crapshoot. They are usually over promised and overpriced. Combine that with the chance for bad weather and you have a recipe for disaster. If you don't have the money to go on a top end hunt, then you are spinning the roulette wheel. 

[Booner]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:43 PM, CatchinDeers243 said:

So I tried every angle but was shut out. I received a letter saying sorry we have no more monies to refund. The outfitter is IMB outfitters and the owner is Darrin Bradley. Funny he has his own Christian ministries Bradley Ministries where they reform inmates smh.
That brings me to Today I turn on Facebook and they’re selling Missouri deer leases under Midwesttrophyfarms.com and advertising it on the imb outfitters Facebook page. Is there any legal recourse I have?

At this point it’s not about the money I just don’t want to see him scam anyone else

I hunted with them years and years ago. The owner Darrin is just the money guy. Can surely play the game over the phone. Only time I met him was the night we landed at the bed and breakfast. 

He walked in said hello, put his hand out and wanted the balance. He also introduced us to the " guide " that was going to cater to us. A 17yr old kid and local of the area ( Darrin lives in Missouri  ). Nice kid. But at 17.....  not the most seasoned guide. 

I will say the first morning I passed two legit 150's. And I did see a legit 190"+ that I have on video. 

The property we hunted was good. Service absolutely sucked. And the bed n breakfast we stayed at??? Well the owner was vegan. I found out at about 10am in the tree when I opened my lunch sack to find a wheat roll with mustard and bean sprouts. 

No meat was served there. Pasta was the goto. If I would have know the BnB was like that I wouldn't have gone. 

But the old lady was super nice. 

I'm not surprised at all IMB took the money and ran. Darrin is a holy Holly roller I came to find out. His mission is to help people. And by people I mean him

[archer36]

2 minutes ago, Booner said:

I hunted with them years and years ago. The owner Darrin is just the money guy. Can surely play the game over the phone. Only time I met him was the night we landed at the bed and breakfast. 

He walked in said hello, put his hand out and wanted the balance. He also introduced us to the " guide " that was going to cater to us. A 17yr old kid and local of the area ( Darrin lives in Missouri  ). Nice kid. But at 17.....  not the most seasoned guide. 

I will say the first morning I passed two legit 150's. And I did see a legit 190"+ that I have on video. 

The property we hunted was good. Service absolutely sucked. And the bed n breakfast we stayed at??? Well the owner was vegan. I found out at about 10am in the tree when I opened my lunch sack to find a wheat roll with mustard and bean sprouts. 

No meat was served there. Pasta was the goto. If I would have know the BnB was like that I wouldn't have gone. 

But the old lady was super nice. 

I'm not surprised at all IMB took the money and ran. Darrin is a holy Holly roller I came to find out. His mission is to help people. And by people I mean him

Well a " guide" on these deer hunts is nothing but a chauffeur. Drives you to your stand and picks you up. Don't need much knowledge for that. 

[tjfslaughter]

23 hours ago, Bucksnbows said:

Sounds good until you fly to said state to file a claim and then fly back to chase him in small claims court. You’ve just spent more on airfare, hotels, meals, and car rental than he fleeced the OP for.  

I guess I see it through a different lens.   My wife is an attorney with over 190 cases in 26 states...  Most claims can be done online and with most cases being handled virtually you could disrupt the outfitters day with ease. 

 

 

[tjfslaughter]

17 hours ago, archer36 said:

Trophy hunts in North America are a crapshoot. They are usually over promised and overpriced. Combine that with the chance for bad weather and you have a recipe for disaster. If you don't have the money to go on a top end hunt, then you are spinning the roulette wheel. 

Well.  I don't have the money for top end hunts.  That said I have a list of guides that work their butt off to get you on ELK (my favorite).  It's always one on one.  And they don't take a deposit until you have your tag.

[tcook8296]

Do your homework, don't go without references. 

I come on here and post legit hunts on good properties and get nothing but my balls busted from a lot of guys. 

So go figure

[tcook8296]

I offered a gun hunt a few months back that had several 

150 160 and a 190 taken in the last 3 years. 

A 200 was supposedly seen last year. 

From past experience,you don't just book a hunt and expect a huge whitetail. 

It's a free range animal,

But certain guys here kill nice deer quite often, they offer hunts, if your smart, you could use these hunts as a starting point and build relationships and knowledge and put your time in. 

Also S Africa is no comparison to a free range trophy whitetail. 

S African ranches are huge, they are fenced and they are stocked. 

No comparison. I've been there

Edited April 29, 2023 by tcook8296