Huntin Fool...Epic Outdoors
Elk
I'm not a Huntin Fool member so not real familiar with their staff. Today, I got a flyer in the mail from "Epic Outdoors Magazine and Hunt Consulting" and Jason Carter is one of the staff members. Wasn't he with Huntin Fool?
Sounds just like HF and the same $100/year subscription.
Competing with Huntin Fool. Non-compete clause must be over:)
+1 C-man
I was thinking that also.
I signed up for a year just to get a look-see as I have always enjoyed Jason and all. I am pretty set on my States/Species/Unit of choice so I don't feel I need it but I don't mind supporting our local business's at all.
Good luck, Robb
Yes non-compete is over They were running epic with jason and former staff but must not have able to have a publication until now
Great! One more "Outdoor whore" company to ruin hunting in the west.
I get the hatred for these publications.... as they have turned areas I could draw every year [20 yrs ago] into spots that i'm lucky to ever get the tag!
It is what it is....I just re-upped with HF for 2 more years. I like it.
Sure its a lot of the same info every year...but its pretty comprehensive. I also use it to know which units they don't recommend...and I have a better chance of drawing! Its a bummer, but a unit I really like in certain a western state and was drawing regularly has now become one of their 'go to' units. Time to look at some others....
I liked the family operation...but I have to say I like it more now that its run like a business, whomever the guy in charge is; he is on it!
I keep thinking on adding a go hunt subscription to my mess...
anyone know the difference in "go hunt" , "Huntinfool" and "Epic Outdoors?"
Quality of info, relevance of info, details, etc.?
I did GoHunt, not real impressed but I did get a $150 flatty. They're still on 2015 for Wyoming Elk odds and the 2017 NR Elk draw opens in a month. They have the std data all in one place, bull/cow, weather, ect. They don't give unit recommendations though. Lots of articles and stories.
Isn't Jason's Dad still running huntin fool? What kind of son starts up his own business to compete w/ his own father who got him started?
Sivart, no his dad (Garth) is not involved at HF.
Everyone had to know this was coming.
Jason was buying the business, then he's gone and garth was back in control, then garth sold it. If I remember correctly he started Epic as soon as he left but it was consulting with no print media.
Can't speak to Epic Outdoors as I don't have a membership, but I do have one at Go Hunt and Huntin' Fool. Go Hunt has much more information on every unit in the west. Draw odds, unit quality, weather info, etc on every unit out there.
Huntin' Fool basically takes this information and distills it into recommended units.
Long story short, a lot of people take HF advice as gospel and you can guess which units they apply for. Go Hunt gives you much more info to do research and find a unit that may be more of a diamond in the rough (they don't provide any recommendations).
They both have their place and contain good info.
HF also maintains a list of previous hunters that contacted them as members when drew a specific tag. If you draw that same tag then they share names and phone numbers of some of the prior hunters. I have requested list for about 20 tags I have drawn and they had one or more names for 17 of those tags. Got very good information on about 10 of those tags. A few of the phone numbers will be out of service, etc, on most lists. Wish they had emails listed.
Since I usually am a non-resident showing up as the hunt begins the then value to me of information about where to camp, get fuel, water, where animals were seen, etc is significant to me. I generally draw some hard to get tags (below 3% odds usually) so that may encourage prior hunters to want to share information since is unlikely they or a buddy can draw that tag in the next few years. If you are drawing tags that residents can draw over and over then I expect you will get less information unless reach a non-resident on the list.
I think the non-compete applied to Grath only, as he owned Huntin' Fool and it would rare for a non-owner employee to have a non-compete.
Adam's a good friend and at his request, I'll have an article on my WY sheep hunt it the new magazine in one of the first two issues.
You'd be hard pressed to find a better man than Adam Bronson anywhere. Honest to a fault, hard working, and totally genuine. I bought my membership as soon as they became available.
What Halibutman said x 2.
I usually learn something every issue with HF, and that ain't too bad for $100 in order to not be swamped with ads. Getting more commercial, but such is life. Obviously oriented to rifle, but the articles they do feature are informative. Sometimes in my quest to hit all the deadlines I just grab their recommendations and go. The worst thing is to apply for a garbage district/time and draw (did that once in AZ - ouch), and paying attention to HF advice avoids this. Don't think i'm a $200/year guy for basically duplicative info, but might try to peek at somebody's Epic mag to check it out.
Anyone get their Epic magazine yet? If so, what's your first take?
