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Elk Outfitter

So i have a dilemma about an outfitter i posted a review about last fall. Cody Carr`s Hunting Adventures. The people that know me and the many people I have hunted with know me and my personality. I always try my best to post my experiences on hunts, whether outfitted or DIY. After my rifle elk hunt with Cody Carr last November, i decided to post a review on Bowsite. I thought it out and did my best to describe exactly how the hunt unfolded. It took Cody a long time to reply. He called me a couple days ago to discuss the review and asked me to delete it and rewrite it more favorably. He even offered to refund part of my hunting costs. I declined on both counts. One, i will not post a review that is not true. I feel anyone looking for a review should get the truth. Secondly, i have never asked nor taken any refunds on an outfitted hunt. I just take it as a lesson learned. Unfortunately, after the phone conversation with Cody, he took it upon himself to write a reply that was extremely inaccurate. The information he posted does not match my review and is mostly outright lies. I am posting this to help anyone on a google search that may find this post. It is a shame that outfitters can just post any sort of mistruths and nothing can be done about it. If anyone would like to discuss my elk hunt or would like information about Cody's operation, feel free to call me at 828 674 6752. Here is a link for the review and his reply.

https://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/OUTFITTERREPORTS/detail.cfm?reportid=6882

What really is a shame, is that one of you two grown @ss men is a complete liar. I don't have any idea who it is, but it's pathetic and all too common these days.

OFFHNTN, i agree that it is pathetic. And thats the reason i decided to put this post out there. I am far from a whiner, and just want to save the next person from the same mistakes.

Did you get a shot off at 180 to 200 inch Buck ? And still a. Negative review?

Jax2009r, yes i did get a shot at a 180" muley buck. As i stated, i hit it high in the backstrap. It fell and slid off the back side of a ridge in the snow. Zero chance for a follow up shot. It jumped up and ran within seconds of hitting the ground. We tracked it in the snow for about a mile. This was in my review. I went back the next day and hunted on the same mountain hoping to see the buck again, or a bull. This was an elk hunt, with deer as a happen stance. I made this clear in my review as well as to Cody when i booked the hunt. Also, seeing one buck in 6 days of hunting, and the only mature buck spotted by 10 hunters in camp, does not constitute a great hunting area. He replied that i saw 100+ deer and 100+ elk, when in reality i saw the one buck and a few does in a group with him. I saw 12 cows the next morning on the same mountain while hunting alone. I never saw a bull the entire hunt, despite what he replied. This review as exactly as my hunt transpired. Also, there was not a case of "many" bulls tracked in the snow. My hunting partner was with the guide one morning driving roads. They cut 3 sets of tracks in the road they thought may have been young bulls. They tracked the 3 for about an hour before giving up.

sounds like the OP was "guiding the guide". I believe the outfitter on this one.

Interesting that you say that. Would you mind elaborating? It was the guide who separated me and my hunting partner daily on the hunt. We would get dropped off on gated roads in different areas to be picked up later. The guide would then glass elsewhere and take us to a different area in the afternoon.

I always enjoy these threads. There's three sides to all of these stories! Who's got the popcorn?

It would be good to have your hunting partner weigh-in on here to corroborate your version of events.

I used to guide rifle elk hunters. Sometimes the animals are there, sometimes not. Sometimes the hunter's perception of the hunt was dramatically different than what actually happened in the woods. You had an opportunity at a world-class buck and blew it. That isn't the outfitter's fault. I wonder how your review would have been had you done your job?

Apparently there is a video of the mule deer encounter that I suspect would greatly help clear up who is telling the truth.

Let’s go to the videotape...

Jaquomo, I assure you, my hunting partners corroboration would be more negative than my own. He never saw an elk at all until the last afternoon of the hunt. It was 771 yards and he missed it. I was not present for this as i was hiking up another mountain in the snow trying to glass up a muley or hopefully some elk. It was the last day of our hunt and the guide suggested we split up to improve our chances. Me and the guy i was with are good friends. As you can see in the review, it appears i tried to throw him under the bus. LOL. This is something i would never do. I rarely use outfitters, and unfortunately, i probably wont use one again for elk anytime in the future. Again, i know most dont know me on here, however, a few do. Those that do , know my dedication to friends and to hunting. I have the video of the shot on the buck. i will try to get it posted.

Here is a link. I just uploaded to youtube. Guide took this with a very shoddy handheld camera. 11 seconds transpired from the time the buck hit the ground until it was out of sight. I was prone and guide was standing. I could not see the buck once it fell. By the time i was on my feet , the buck was over the ridge. I realize is grainy and out of focus but still tells the story.

Yup, not much chance for a follow-up.

How many positive reviews does this outfitter have? If not many then why would you call the hunter a liar?

I bet he has an opening kentuckbowhnter.

wytex, looks like the outfitter has 18 very good reviews and 6 negative ones on Bowsite.

Why does it seem like every couple months this same outfitter is being discussed here? I suspect within the next few posts there will be guys on here saying how great Cody is and how great his operation is.

I've never used an outfitter or plan on doing so. It's like anything else in life when you do a Google search on something and half the reviews are bad and you still buy it. Well that just means you aren't the brightest bulb in the box.

The outfitter has enough negative reviews that I would believe the OP on this one. I would not book a hunt with Cody Carr.

It was an elk hunt....the muley is inconsequential.

That`s like going on a moose hunt with a wolf tag and then saying the moose hunt was a success because he shot a wolf.

His reviews suck for the most part. Sound like he runs a lot hunters through that place. If one out of three hunters is giving it shitty reviews there is more then likely a hell of lot more that thought it was shitty hunt and didnt bother to review him.

Understand, Franklin, but people pay more to hunt a 180" buck than an average public land bull. Here in north-central CO it can be 2x the cost.

That said, I'm sort of with Scrappy on this one. Any public land hunt from roads (unless it's a super-premium unit) is going to be hit-or-miss, especially during later rifle seasons. If the elk aren't there, they aren't there. The hunt may well have gone down exactly as the OP described. Archery season may be a whole different deal, which could explain the 18/6 review difference for bowhunters on here.

Trial, I agree. Too many red flags.

The negative posts are almost all elk hunts...that would be red flag #1. Cody`s response to the OP`s review is red flag #2. Not sure I have seen a more unprofessional response from a businessman to a negative review.

We all know hunting is a crap shoot and there are always bad weeks. This is just 1 review and Cody should of wrote it off and moved on. IMO his response did more damage than the review.

I had something similar happen to me. I purchased a "hunt plan" to start out west hunting. I got me started and for the most part glad I did. The guy asked us how we did. I told him we (my hunting partner and co plan owner) how we did. I said we each shot bulls. And then I asked a couple questions about our plan. He replied back that I should put up a nice review about his hunt plan, didn't answer my questions, which are part of his contract. I responded that we didn't find any elk in his hunt plan area and we found them on our own, I would not give a fake review. Have not heard back from him since. Not to hi-jack your thread but I believe what has been stated about this outfitter. He is mad because of the negative review. Thanks for posting you review KHNC

One bad review is one to many.

Thanks guys, this type of situation is not the norm for me. When i used to go with outfitters regularly, they were usually positive, whether or not i shot anything. I do believe this area is a better archery area, per what i said in the review. I went based on a friends recommendation from a prior archery hunt. There were not many sources of info on this hunt from November rifle hunters. I am a confident hunter and not afraid to cover miles if elk are accessible. If i had wanted a trophy muley hunt, i would have went to another place i had been before. In my opinion, seeing that 180 class buck was like a unicorn. Big elk and big bucks are taken each year in NW montana. It is possible to encounter an animal like that anywhere. I only paid 1000 extra for the opportunity to shoot a muley and it was the rut. Deer population is pretty low in the area too. I just posted this to possibly help future inquiries not make my mistakes. Go during archery or do a lion hunt. I think he runs 100% on lion hunts. Or find a different outfitter if you must do a rifle hunt.

Does he have coffee? hehehehe

Possibly time for a follow up shot.....but I sure didnt hear any celebrating going on like the outfitter states happened.

Never heard of a customer not being allowed to come back to an outfit because of a light tip.

I met and hunted with the OP last September. I’d just say that we had a great hunt, left as friends, and he’s welcome back anytime in my camp. I was actually a little concerned one day that the area I showed him wasn’t as great as I had suspected (the bulls were quiet, and the terrain was tough) ... but found that he remained quite optimistic, more than me, and — wouldn’t you know? — he got a bull and I didn’t. I try to stay out of stuff like this but the OP is a good guy and good hunter. Must’ve been a heck of piece of work to get him to write that review.

Kenny, if deertick says you're straight up, you're straight up. And killing a bull in one of those crappy deadfall hells he took you to gets extra props.

Bummer about your experience with this outfitter.

I also have a negative review from this year on the bullsh**ter Cody Carr. His response back is also all lies. I wouldn't take his call because he called my partner to work on me see if I would remove the review for another elk hunt.....no thanks. He also made me out to be a spoiled hunter if I didn't harvest an elk. My review is not to bad mouth the outfitter but to make sure another Bowhunter doesn't waste his hard earned money on an elk hunt with Cody. Notice how after a bad review a bunch of good ones show up! Cody must be burning up his cell phone calling guys to put in a positive review. I believe his bear hunts and Mtn lion hunt are pretty good....elk hunts are horrible.

I went on a guided hunt in 2003 and the guys I called were so excited to talk about their hunt I was on the phone for an hour with some of them and they all said they couldn’t wait to draw a tag again and go back. With that kind of excitement I knew it was a good place and it was .

Thanks for the positive remarks guys. And deertick is a great dude! I had a great time hunting the deadfall hell holes last year. It was tough area, but i was hoping to draw it again and didnt. lol. Maybe next year. I was pissed last week when i started this thread. I have since calmed down. I have a short temper at time. Imagine that. lol. I agree PREZ, maybe this will save a few people from making the wrong decision on an elk hunt that we did. I do believe he does have great success on lion hunts as well. But that hunt doesnt really interest me.

I can't image being an outfitter and not doing top drawer work. It would be painful mentally for me.

Six negative reviews(30%) for an outfitter is enough for me, Now way I'm booking with that operation.

Smart decision LB!

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