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Hello Everyone. I just wanted to get the word out on a recent black bear hunt I went on in Quebec. The name of the outfitter is Wayne Tanner, Tanner Forestry, Inc. This will be a bit of read but I hope to keep someone from spending money on this guy. Here's the story.
One month prior to arrival to the bear camp, we paid the balance of the money due for the trip. Which was 80% of the total for the trip. The day of the trip, 2 of us got delayed by the airlines and we were re-booked to arrive in Canada the next day. Upon arrival we were picked up at the airport and everything went good until we got to the lodge. It wasn't what was pictured on the website. Ok, things change. I can roll with that. Accommodations were good so I couldn't complain. We met Wayne and he said he would be happy to extend out hunt the extra day to make it a full 6 day hunt that we paid for. I asked if he was willing to pay the fees that airlines would charge us to change flights. No was the answer. Ok, would he be willing to refund some of our money since we would only be hunting 5 days instead of 6. No to that as well. Ok, I guess that's one thing.
The next morning we went to the nearest store to purchase our bear tags. The owner of the store is a relative of Wayne's. I go to pay for the license with a credit card since I knew that the bank would automatically make the conversion from Canadian dollars to American. The young lady behind the counter said the card was declined. I had no cell service at the time so I couldn't call the bank. I asked the young lady if they would accept US Dollars, she said yes. I asked her what the conversion rate would be. She said there wasn't one. Well, ok, that's slightly irritating but it's the beginning of the trip, let's get things rolling. We paid $186 us dollars. I get back to camp where I could use a landline. I called the bank to see why the card was declined. They said that it wasn't declined by the bank, the transaction was cancelled at the store. I found out the amount that I would have been charged would have been $150. Note there were 6 of us and we all paid $186 us rather than $186 Canadian. I know some of you might be thinking, well at least they accepted US currency and didn't make you go exchange some money. I was happy they accepted US currency, I was not happy that they didn't even try to compensate for the exchange difference. I would have even been happy to pay a little extra for their troubles. Nope, they didn't even want to play that game. I brought this to Wayne's attention. He gave me a song and dance about sometimes the US dollar is worth more and sometimes its worth less but they always accept US currency just like Canadian currency. So we got blown off.
All this going on, I just bit my tongue and kept going. The hunt starts and stops without me seeing a bear. The first 4 days there was not a sign there was a bear in the area. They haven't hit the bait at all. I mean the bears, not the raccoons. The raccoons are having a feast. There is only enough bait put out each day to feed one raccoon. When the raccoons were finished, the bait would be completely gone. The 5th day of the hunt, it was apparent that a bear had finally been to the bait site. But alas, I didn't see anything the last day besides the friendly local raccoon and unfriendly black flies. Ok, well, it's called hunting and not shooting. Regardless, I wasn't impressed with their baiting methods. It didn't look like there was a bear even remotely interested in the baits until day 5. Do tracks, no scat, no trampled foliage around the baits.
Months later, I get a phone call from Wayne saying that he never deposited the check that I sent him and when he tried to deposit it, it didn't go through. He asked me to send another check. This was the last straw. I vowed to spread the word about the guy in hopes no one else would end up dealing with this crook. I have a copy of the check from the bank showing that the full 80% that I owed him was indeed taken from my account before I even arrived.
Come to find out, the reason why the accommodations were different than what was on the website was because Wayne had run afoul with the Revenue Department (Canadian IRS) and he had to sell off the lodge to pay for whatever problems he had.
In conclusion fellas, stay away from a Tanner Foresty, Inc. and Wayne Tanner.
sorry about the bad bear hunting but why would a outfitter pay for airline changes . Im lost on that part it was not his fault your plane was a day late.
How did you find this guy?
Certainly a litte fishy that the dude would ask you for another check. But all you gotta do is say hell no, here is my cleared check.
Doesn't sound like he is much of a bear baiter, but otherwise don't know what more you would expect if the accommodation were similar and the rest of the hunt was as described. The lisc deal seems odd, but probably not the end of the world either, MAYBE you guys got screwed out of $35 each, but I don't know...
Sorry for your troubles, but many guys come off a lot worse. For bear outfitters to with a BS sponsor and I'm sure you will do much better. I would be happy to give you some recommendation for the next hunt, as I'm sure many guys here would as well.
--Jim
Sorry for the foul luck but, the store and the airline wasn't the outfitters fault. I realize you probably know that and, it is just fuel to an already bad fire. But, it appears that you have plenty of reasons for being upset with Wayne. So, leave the emotional non-relevant stuff out of it. It solidifies your story by doing so. God Bless
please clarify! why would you want the outfitter to refund money for the one day or pay for the airline fees?
webfoot
It's not the outfitters fault your flight was delayed. Did you call your card company prior to the trip and let them know you'd be traveling out of the U.S.? Again, that's still not on the outfitter.
you might of set the stage by pissing him off!
my 2 cents
webfoot
A airline issues are not the,outfitters responsibility, nor is paying the difference for your return trip. You got ripped at the store because you did not know the exchange rate and probably should have. As far as no bears, well that happens and as you said it's hunting. How did you find out about. This guy and did you research the outfitter and talk to past clients? what was the cost of the hunt? Sorry it didn't go well for you but I bet it's the last bad bear trip you go on.
I guess I have a little different take on this. I'm in agreement that the outfitter doesn't have any responsibility for the airlines. But sounds like everything after that was a rip off. From the lie told about the card being declined, the no bait at the hunting site, ( might have started baiting the day before with too little ? ) to the attempt at double billing. I would be pissed off too !
Dittos " Drycreek" I would never do business with an outfit like this. Add insult to injury this dirt bag tried to double charge on the check. Across the border transactions make things difficult dealing with a check! Always use a credit card so you have some recourse! For one I would have made them get the credit card transaction right or I would have just made my way to a land line to figure it out. Things are so stupid I never leave it up to me to figure it out.
Sounds like a shady guy, yeah, but you sound like a guy that may have a hard time blowing the dust out of his wallet. How much was the hunt?
Like others, I can't figure out how you could even ask the outfitter to compensate YOU for extending your hunt....
Was this your first outfitted hunt?
Tough luck for sure, but the only fault that would appear legit to me is the lack of bears.......probably not baiting soon enough. Did you ask the airlines to refund some money for them causing you to be late? Certainly not guides fault. I'd guess there's a good explanation for the second check request.
Maybe I have a different take. You don't seem to be a very good client to have in camp. Complaining about everything. Why in the world would you think the outfitter should give you some money back or offer to pay to have your flight changed? It wasn't his fault your flight got delayed. He offered to let you hunt an extra day without an additional fee. Seems pretty generous and nice to me! The whole issue with having to pay US dollars for your licenses without getting an exchange rate has nothing to do with the outfitter. A long time ago when I hunted Ontario we ran in to situations everywhere where Canadians would accept the more valuable US currency at face value and then give us change in the less valuable Canadian currency. With regards to not seeing a bear and the whole operation not running too well...maybe just maybe you did not do you homework in selecting a guide with a good track record for producing bears. Looks to me like there is a lot of blame here to spread out in all directions.
I'm not taking sides but would like to contribute some info.
A long time ago I went deer hunting in Virginia while visiting some armwrestling buddies of mine.
When they brought me to the store to buy my hunting license the owner outright refused to accept my Visa card to pay for the license and tags.
He said that the percentage he is charged on the transaction is more than the few cents he makes on the sale of the permit.
A few years later I asked a friend that owns a sports shop in Quebec how it was there. He confirmed the same thing.
I am sorry to ear of your experience. Hunting often becomes a greed driven sport
This guy has signed onto multiple forums today to provide this report as his first post. He clearly is angry and has an axe to grind.
This supposed outfitter has a horrible website, no social media updates in over a year etc etc
RESEARCH PEOPLE
heck at least u saw raccoon i have sat there for days and not even a bird when we book a hunt it a roll of the dice
PS in Quebec one dosent need a outfitter to hunt bears in certain areas
So I am wondering if you would have gotten a bear would that have changed anything? Maybe even seen bears as well would that have changed things? His IRS problems aren't your issue either I don't think unless you really wanted to discredit him more same as the media does.
Not saying you shouldn't complain but I wonder just how much research did you really do? There's plenty of great outfitters out there with long lists of satisfied hunters why go to an unknown or someone who isn't a sponsor even.
We all learn hard lessons but thanks for the heads up should this ever come up or inquire about them.
Still waiting for skybox to let us know what he paid for the hunt? That will say a lot about what he experienced. Come on sky, get back with us.
He asked skybox to pay a extra 80% saying the check didn't clear when it had. Has everything to do with the Canadian IRS and him trying to get extra money by lying. DANNY
Did you call him to advise of the day delay? Or he drove 1h30 mins each way waiting at the Airport and went back home, and did the same road the next day?
Some guys don't do many outfitted/guided hunts and get taken advantage of and have unrealistic expectations. I know that I sure messed up a few times early on. Whether or not he did his research is irrelevant to what happened. He might (possibly) share some blame but even if he does, this "outfitter" didn't do right by him. Let's not be so hard on a guy who is hurting. We all learn lessons and most of us learn the best the hard way.
Six of you bought licenses....how did the other five do?
Different camp some years ago, but been there, done that, although not quite as bad. Expensive lesson. What tacklebox said. RESEARCH.....DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE SPENDING A DIME. US OR CANADIAN!
Canada is beautiful no doubt but I've seen very few differences in both bear activity and size between Ontario , new brunswick, and northern maine. With all the new border regs. I've been going to the allagash wilderness in maine with great success. Unless of course your talking Alberta or sask. Not worth the extra bs. Just my 2 cents
Did he have a bear quota permit for that property?
More importantly TD, did his bear have a name?
--Jim
