Cody responded typically
Elk
Cody responded in his typical fashion. Bashing the clients as they are all liars, out of shape and have no idea how to hunt mountain.
were you the hunter(s) who did the review?
...I can only assume this was written by Pam.
Ok that is kinda funny
Huh.....I would have guessed his wife's name was Karen. :-)
I wonder if she demanded to speak to Cody's manager
lol, i wasnt the hunter that did the review. Pam found my number online and called after the week long hunt at Cody's. Her description was drastically different that what his reply stated. Per the usual response that he has to negative reviews. However, this is the first time he has mentioned predators ever having an impact in his NW Montana area. Usually he denies them making any difference on the amount of game. No elk or deer were shot at or killed the week Pam and Neil hunted with him.
ok, now I understand. thanks for the heads up
He wasn't doing too bad in the outfitter response, until he wrote: "I wish Neil and Pam the best and hope they find a hunt with high enough fences to keep them happy".
As far as offering a free hunt and/or partial refund, i am confident he has never actually followed through on that.
If she was bad mouthing our president he should have locked her in a cabin! ;)
Well, went and reviewed codes outfitter page and out of 26 reviews, 7. We're bad. One per season with the exception that 2 were in 2018 I believe. The question should be asked, did Pam do her homework on outfitters? just because she didn't kill she slays the outfitter? Sounds like she wasn't a very nice person to begin with and if true you can never satifsfy someone like that. Lots of happy 5 star reviews on his page and even from some who didn't kill. Lots if guys go in hunts and dint get a kill, that's hunting. The fact that Cody offered a free hunt, if the client doesn't take him up on it then that's thier problem. I don't think an outfitter should be slayed becuase one client didn't get to kill the targeted animal. Regardless of outcome there are so many factors that are out of the outfitters hands and as long as they are busting thier humps to try and get you an opportunity that's all one can ask for or expect. Pam should stay down u der and shoot Roos, plenty of those.
I just wish Cody would come on the forum and respond to one of these threads. :)
Are you saying Pan or Pam?
I think I can help with this Pam Pan thing.
It's like "comb", P-A-N-M. N-N There's two N's.
Cody offered me a FREE Mountain lion hunt....ONLY IF I TOOK MY REVIEW OFF OF BOWSITE . He called me non stop to take my review off. I would not do it. Why let other Bowsite members go get bull shitted by Cody.
I am not sure how offering a free hunt to make you satisfied enough to not want to bash him online is a bad thing. Seems like a generous olive branch to me???????
If I took it in the ass from Cody, and he offered to screw me again if I shut up, I wouldn't shut up. Screw me once, shame on you, screw me twice, shame on me!
I guess I see a long ways between a hunt not living up to expectations and taking it up the ass. Any and all business are going to have customers that are not satisfied at some point. I think most of those time neither party was out to screw the other. When the business owner offers something of more or less equal value to what you were not satisfied with to satisfy you. I would guess his goal in the beginning was not to screw you.
Oh look at brotsky being a big speller!!! Clap,,applause......
I'm assuming a hunt for elk with this outfitter is 5-7 k? If he offers a free hunt to make things right how is he screwing people, sounds pretty good to me .
I love fair and objective opinions based on facts. Period. Thanks for putting them out there LBshooter.
Brotsky that there is Fn funny.
I don't know this Cody fella. His response seemed reasonable. A free hunt to make up for a bad hunt sounds ok to me too if that is the full story?? If someone had a bad hunt with Jim Shockey and he offered a free one to make it up....that would seem like a fair effort by him to make things acceptable. Maybe we're not getting the full story. FWIW....where the brother lives in NW MT.....no one he knew got an elk or deer either. He did shoot at a cow and didn't get it. He said sightings were very low and weather poor.
What am I missing here? This was a November rifle hunt, and it sounds like Ms. Panm got cold and possibly out of shape, which restricted where they could hunt. Plus, they arrived expecting to kill "trophy bull Elk".
November. Montana. Weather. Wolves. Unrealistic expectations. Delicate hunter with a bad attitude. Tough week to find animals. Hmmm. I've guided rifle hunters in a great elk area, on a private ranch with no wolves, and even then it could be sucksville if only a couple variables came into play. Sorry, but I'm leaning toward the outfitter's side on this one, especially after reading between the lines in Panm's review. Maybe a HF operation would be more suitable for her/them.
How many of you defending Cody Carr would hunt with him? Go back and read the reviews. This isn't an isolated incident, many negative reviews. Oh, maybe poor Cody just gets all the whiny hunters. I would probably hunt with Whitetail Heaven before I'd hunt with Cody.
Sucksville... my vocabulary has increased over the years I’ve known you Lou.
Cody Carr has a lot of good reviews on bowsite. However out of 16 elk reviews 7 are 1 star. Nearly 50% 1 star tells me all I need to know. Every year it’s the same story with this guy. I wonder how many of the 5 star reviews are ones he and his buddies have put up. Seams like he has no problem getting dream reviews for predator hunting. The only place a 57% satisfaction rating is good is in politics.
PECO, no I would not hunt with Cody. However I am a firm believer in many outfitter reviews there are 3 sides to the story, the hunter's version, the outfitter's version, and the truth.
Pedro, out of 26 reviews there are 7 that are negative. If you look at the year those were reported it like one per season. You said you were screwed by Cody, let's hear about your experience. Did you shoot a 8x8,7x6, or 3x3? Were you offers a free hunt?
LB 26 5 star predator reviews says nothing about his elk hunting. 7 of 16 1 star elk reviews says a lot.
Pedro, out of 26 reviews there are 7 that are negative. If you look at the year those were reported it like one per season. You said you were screwed by Cody, let's hear about your experience. Did you shoot a 8x8,7x6, or 3x3? Were you offers a free hunt?
LBshooter, if you are talking to PECO, he said "if" he was screwed. Let me explain. If I was one of these many elk hunters and had the experience they claim, I would feel like the next "free" hunt would be the same B.S. and would not accept the offer. Like stated above 7 of 16 elk hunts are 1 star. They weren't just crying because they did not kill a trophy bull. Have you or would you hunt elk with Cody Carr based on the reviews here? If I ever book with an elk outfitter, I would look elsewhere. Just sayin.
How did the other outfitters do in the same area at the same time(s)?
Who cares? If they did just as bad that doesn’t make his elk hunting business any better, if they did better it still means he sucks. I don’t see a silver lining with this one.
I'm with Brotsky that there are always three sides. But I saw some red flags in Panm's report that made my antennae perk up as a former guide. If Cody truly offered them a free hunt, that's about all he can do. No outfitted free range hunt is a 100% money-back guarantee if you don't score.
I've only been on one outfitted hunt that was bad. That was because the camp manager was a total jerk, and lied to us when the owner made an offer to fly us out to a different camp with more animals. Even though four of the six of us killed a nice representative caribou and the other two guys missed, the outfitter, Alain Tardiff of Leaf River, gave us a 1/3 off hunt the following year after he heard our story. (He was not in camp that week).
I'm sure the camp manager's version was strikingly different than ours, but Alain did what he felt was the right thing, we accepted his offer, and on the next trip the manager treated us like royalty.
Lou, would you pay Cody for a hunt, or recommend him?
This whine would be better on Facebook where it would fit in. And you can bash all kinds of people and get "likes".
Interesting. The complaint by Pam/Pan was that there were too many predators in the area for good elk hunting. If you look at Cody's reviews for bear/wolf/lion it looks like every hunter gives him 5 stars.
"Are you saying Pan or Pam?" I can help you with that...it's like calm.
I find it funny that there are a couple good reviews that are posted just after a bad review is posted. By design, I think so.
Slipshot it would be interesting to know how many of the positive elk reviews are legit with pictures of bulls his clients shot? I bet in reality after tossing out the fake reviews he’s somewhere above 80% 1 star on his elk hunts. Is there any long time members currently on this site that can vouch for Cody’s elk hunting?
Ive hunted some of the same areas Codys clients are hunting. I ran into his clients a couple different times. All i can say is that theres not alot of elk in his units, but there are some really big bulls. It seems like everyones hunting the same area of whats left of the elk. Every once in a while they pull a good one out of there.
Link, I don't know but there are more than enough bad reviews on his service that there is no way I would hunt with him. Just for the record, I have never been on a guided hunt.
PECO, I wouldn't do a guided elk hunt. But before I booked anything I would talk to a bunch of successful amd and unsuccessful hunters to get an overall feel, rather than simply relying on online reviews.
Like I said, I've seen both sides. If anyone posted a review of me, some fat guy with no motivation who expected to show up and shoot a trophy bull without giving the effort we all know is needed, he might say I was a crappy guide, didn't show him any animals, and give me one star.
I doubt half of his elk clients are fat lazy hunters from a particular state or A-holes from a different particular state.
The reason some would still consider an outfitter with some bad reviews could be because they are suspect of the reviewer's versions, they want to hunt a specific area, they want the type of hunt a certain outfitter provides or they did a lot of due diligence and decided it was a good fit for them even with some poor reviews
I guess we better just settle it once and for all y’all pool your money buy the hunt n I’ll take one for the team go hunt with him then report back to y’all. Lmao
I'm still waiting for one, only one of you who are supporting him, to say you would book and pay for a hunt with him, or recommend him. OK, you probably know someone you don't like and would recommend him.
"{I just wish Cody would come on the forum and respond to one of these threads. :)"
Man, this would be awesome!! However, Cody will not be confronted. He is a major liar that hides behind the "IMMA Christian" cover. He can not be trusted.
Lou, Cody has NOT offered a free hunt or partial refund that he has ever followed thru on. He offered me a refund if i took my review down on Bowsite in 2018. When i refused he posted the reply full of lies. I have explained before why i hunted with him. It was on a referral from a friend that had archery hunted 5-6 years prior and was into lots of elk. I was a skeptic just prior to going, but i had already drew and paid.
As for Pam, I do not feel she is lying on her review. As i stated, she found my number online and called me the day after her hunt ended to discuss it. She was sick about the fact she didnt do her homework and discover my number sooner. I make it point to tell ANYONE who will listen, the true story about CODY CARR , and Cody Carr's Hunting Adventures. I figure if i stop 1 or 2 people a year from going, it will be a positive for other hunters out there. It's not just about no game in the area, it's about the lies he openly tells everyone prior to the hunt. His predator hunts are almost always successful. Lions and Bears i mean. That is where nearly all of his positive reviews come from. Its rare to see a negative review from a successful hunt of any sort. However, he steals money from MANY more elk and deer hunters each year. I am hoping for the day he loses his Outfitter license or just flat out has to close the doors because of the way he lies to potential clients. I will probably never use another elk outfitter as long as i live, and he is part of the reason. Fortunately, i know enough about hunting and have a great elk hunting partner, that i dont need an outfitter.
And if you notice, Cody NEVER agrees , even partially to a negative review. Its always the hunter was lazy, out of shape, didnt know what they were doing, on Meth , or something to blame the client for.
I don't know if you are throwing me into the supporting him camp or not. The point I am making and I think most are making is it does not look like the guy as you so elegantly put it is trying to screw people in the ass. It sounds like the hunting in his area is inconsistent at times and you are going to need to hunt hard to find elk a lot of times and people are expecting more than that. I have that type of elk hunting already so no way I would pay for a hunt like that. With that said, sounds like the guy tries to put people on elk yet comes up short at times. It is obvious his reputation is important to him to the point he will offer free hunts to protect it. I'd guess the guy does the best he can with what he has to offer to give people a good hunt. I'd also guess his area is marginal for a good guided elk hunts.
His area is very marginal at best. That is not the main problem. If you were to call Cody to ask about a hunt, you would see first hand how he does. He told me " This is not a New Mexico trophy bull hunt with elk all over. However, it is better than ANY OTC area you have ever been too, and i have hunted all over!" Me: "Great, so we should see some bulls then?" Cody: "Yes, shouldn't be an issue to pass a few bulls til you see a good one, we have PLENTY of elk" That's just the tip of some of it. He went on to blame the unsuccessful hunters for not being in shape and unable to get into the backcountry where the "big bulls" are. Once we arrived in camp, he told me right away there would be NO backcountry hunting as all the elk are close to the road. What???????
Peco, if I were going to spend 5-7 k on a elk hunt I would do the ground work before booking. I would not book a hunt at a outdoor show where everyone is hyped up and in the hunt mode, I have a feeling the complainers signed up at a sports show and that's all they did. I would require many names from the potential outfitter of both successful and unsuccessful hunters from Multiple years. I would also call and talk with the local biologists in the area and ask question about the herd etc.... The point is if your spending g large sums of money do the work and know well before you arrive who your hunting with. I use to take people out musky fishing and one day we would hammer musky the next none. The folks who got none went away alittle soured vs the ones who caught fish, it's natural, but, there's a reason they call it fishing instead of catching, same with hunting.
Well I will chime in. I live not far from Cody area. Hunt it most ever year. Elk live there and there are some great bulls. But the country is huge and the wolves have the elk on edge. Deer wise some of the biggest whitetail in the state are killed there . It is tough country to hunt but holds plenty of game. Always 3 stories to ever story. Always. Hunt
Geez, Thomas, my ex-girlfriend only found 22 things wrong with me!
How in the world do people continue to hunt with that outfit. I suppose most outfitters have an occasional unhappy customers. But this outfit has quite a few and I presume there are others that have not left a review. Makes no sense to me.
LBshooter, so is that a yes or no on hunting with Cody Carr? Is that a yes or no on recommending him to family, friends, or others?
I can't say whether I would recommend him without calling at least a dozen of his previous hunters, successful and not. I tend to want more info than online reviews provide.
I'm busy making a pronghorn stew with coffee and red wine base, and don't have the time or inclination to research.
Interesting, I would not even consider him for "research" based on the many negative reviews here. I'll leave it at that.
I'm having a hard time understanding how Peco feels concerning this topic.
Peco, I think I did answer your question, retread my last post slowly, the answer is right there.
A good friend grew up in that area and knows the outfitter in question. After talking with him I won’t even waste my time reading reviews or looking at his website.
I'm really trying to be done with this conversation.
LB, I can't read any slower. All you did was say what you would or wouldn't do then talked about muskie fishing. So I'll ask different. If you were looking to book an elk hunt or recommend an outfitter, based on the reviews of Cody here on bowsite, would you even consider him and begin your vetting process? It's a yes or no question.
Pan/Pam just posted a picture of her dog...
Pecorino, did you hunt with this outfitter in question? Do you have first hand experience with this guy. I don't recall reading about your bad experience. As I said, I would do the research on any outfitter I might book with. I would not recommend anyone go or not go if I didn't have first hand knowledge with. If I haven't hunted with someone I would not comment good or bad based on others experience. It's not upto me to tell someone where to,spend thier money if I don't have first hand info. Like I asked before, did you hunt with this outfit?
A decent outfitter will call off a hunt when game is as scarce as described in this review. I would not book a hunt with this guy if the price was cut in half.
"A decent outfitter will call off a hunt when game is as scarce as described in this review".
Never heard of an elk outfitter doing that, ever, in my 46 years of hunting elk. I've been in late season elk camps where we didn't see an elk for five days, and then a migratory herd of 200 shows up in the night.
This year, guiding my girlfriend on a late season rifle elk hunt, it was grim. Very few elk around anywhere. Temps in the single digits and 14" of snow. Seventh day of the season there were elk everywhere, bulls bugling, amazing hunting. All the other hunters had become discouraged and left and we had the mountain to ourselves. She killed her first elk a couple hundred yards from where we parked, and we listened to bulls bugle while we processed hers. If I was outfitting there the first six days, (public land, OTC) the hunters would have all given me zero stars.
Went on a guided hunt many years ago with my dad. Hunted “The Bob” the one elk we saw, I shot. Terrible hunt as far as seeing elk. Great scenery and an outfitter who worked his tail off all week. No way was he even thinking about calling off our hunt due to scarcity of elk.
Well I hope if the outfitter calls off the hunt he refunds your money lol
Kenny...... Did you look at his reviews here before you booked the hunt with him ?? Were all those negative reviews there when you booked the hunt ??
In my experience elk are normaly scarce if my outfitter gave up I’d be pissed!
Fubar I have hunted one of the highly pressured Colorado units that’s going to the draw system twice and elk have never been scarce. I don’t know why anyone would choose to pay a guide for an area like that holds few to no elk without being lied to? I think that’s one of the points the guided hunters are making.
LB, I have not hunted with this outfitter, or any other outfitter. If I ever decide to do an outfitted hunt, I would not even consider this outfitter based on the many bad reviews. It's that simple. Notice I said based on his many bad reviews, not based on his low success rate. Yes I would thoroughly vet a number of outfitters before making a choice. I just would not wast time on this guy, anymore than I would waste time on Whitetail Heaven.
A decent outfitter never gives up. They just work harder. It truly blows my mind how differently the world of guided hunts looks through the eyes of hunters who have never guided.
Guys who can’t handle scarce game sure the hell better not book a moose hunt or any hunt where you’re looking for “the one”.
Let’s look at it as a deer hunt which lots of people are much more familiar with. If you booked a 5 day true trophy hunt in a top state or province looking for a minimum 170 buck and in the first 3 days you didn’t see anything over 140 would you go to the outfitter and say well the big boys are scarce so let’s just call it good and pro rate the 3 days? No! You’d do what deer hunters do and say to yourself tomorrow could be the day.
Why should elk or other game be any different? Especially an animal with a huge home range that can also be migratory.
I'm wondering why we don't get a new thread for every other outfitter that gets a negative review, only Cody Carr gets that treatment?
BIG BEAR :Kenny...... Did you look at his reviews here before you booked the hunt with him ?? Were all those negative reviews there when you booked the hunt ??
I hunted there in 2018. SO, not as many as now. I have explained several times why i hunted with Cody. It was due to a reference from a friend that archery hunted 5-7 years earlier or so. Mine was rifle hunt and my friend was a friend of codys at the time. I had not reason to think the elk population had been hammered by predators as bad as it had been by 2018. Neither me ,nor my friend, had a clue about the level of lies cody is willing to tell regarding his operation currently. I even started a thread about it in 2018. I will do what i can from now on to spread the word about cody and his business.
Sounds like the OP is obsessed with this outfitter. Here's my advice and I won't even charge for it. Get over it and learn to hunt on your own. You'll be a much happier person. I'd love to know what the OP does for a living and if there is a complaint box for Everytime he screws up that would affect his livelyhood. Get over it already and focus on becoming self reliant and NOT having to rely on others to kill stuff for you......
If I had to hunt with Cody or share a camp at another outfitter with better reviews with KHNC would be a tough call. I got a feeling for a week I'd here nothing but Cody Carr.
I'm with Trophyhill. Go DIY, then you have no one to b!tch about other than yourself.
Matt
Trophyhill , your reply is laughable at best. I DO hunt on my own. Matter of fact, the one hunt with Cody was the only time i have ever rifle elk hunted with an outfitter. Its funny to me how people just throw out dumb comments without having any idea who i am or the places i have hunted, all over the US and some of Canada. 90% with no outfitters. I will do everything i can to let as many people as possible know to stay away from Cody. BUT, I will only post about it when someone asks, or if it is relevant. I dont waste effort on talking about idiots like him when i am hunting, or fishing.
JohnMC :If I had to hunt with Cody or share a camp at another outfitter with better reviews with KHNC would be a tough call. I got a feeling for a week I'd here nothing but Cody Carr.
Well, you wont have to worry about sharing a camp with me at any outfitter.
"I dont waste effort on talking about idiots like him when i am hunting, or fishing".
I can vouch for that. I've hunted with Kenny for 7 years, never heard a whisper about Cody Carr, until I saw it here on Bowsite.
Best elk hunting partner you could ever ask for, Kenny is the real deal...anybody would be blessed to share a camp with him.
Anyone who books a hunt with an outfitter with so many negative reviews is not very smart.
I don’t waste time playing “private investigator” when I see that many red flags. Period.
Thanks Jeff! (EMG) I have fingers and toes crossed for us to get a good draw again this year buddy!
Would be interesting if Cody came on here and defended himself. Surely he has seen the reports....The review rebuttals are only one sided and stop there. Obviously wouldn't be the case on a thread. Would still be interesting to see how he handled the "discussion"
Maybe Its time to let Cody go, and only when asked should you comment. Buyer beware is the only thing that fits, do the research and protect yourself, and if not you have nobody to blame but the guy in the mirror. It sucks to pay big money and take a screwing by the outfitter, but chaulk it up to a lesson learned.
Jaucomo. I was present when Wes Atkinson called a client and told him not to come due to there being no elk on his summer depredation hunt on his old ranch near Saguache CO.
Ok guys this horse is cold and stiff!
Hell the coyotes are gnawing on the bones lol
LOL, Coincidentally , a new review just popped up about him. A wolf trapping hunt. Now there is a niche he could get into successfully. Probably more wolves than elk in that country. Wouldnt have to lie about anything. Wolf trapping, good food and nice lodging.
https://www.bowsite.com/bowsite/OUTFITTERREPORTS/detail.cfm?reportid=7467
Just in case there is anyone left in the States that would actually book a hunt with cody
Probably are still people. He had a booth at the huge NRA show in Harrisburg Pa. 9 day show. I bet he sold some hunts
here is the cut and paste for simplicity
Stay away find someone else!!!!! Before the hunt all I heard from Cody was what’s your weight and height. I told him not to be concerned as I would not be the limiting factor. When I arrived I was informed we are being sent to a different camp. That Cody was on a personal hunt in Wyoming. Buy the way he did kill a bull very unprofessional. To brag about his hunt while we were seeing very little to no elk. My guide for some reason wanted to be in the lodge in the middle of the day not sure why. I was their to hunt. On one afternoon I was left in the lodge while my guide went on an anniversary dinner. They amount of elk was poor at best. Cody called apologizing for my experience.
Then said he would text me at the show by my house. Never received a text call or anything. I made a comment on a Facebook post and what do you know out of the blue a text to see how I’m doing.
Then nothing after a few back and forth text. I will be very interested in seeing his reply to this as o believe he has less than zero interest in guiding he wants to start his online business. Thank you Doug
I see a pattern here. There is NO WAYYYY! I'd go with him in any capacity, much less PAY to go with him.
Thanks , i always forget where to put links.
What trapperkayak said. Seriously, after reading this thread and the reviews by clients, there is quite a pattern.
Some outfitter business models simply have to be building a clientele of one timers who don’t bother to check references
Almost got sucked in by this fellow too. Quite a salesman. A little miss can't be wrong.
Where did all of the defenders go? Crickets.
I was never a "defender", just saying as a former elk guide that there are always multiple sides to every story. It is interesting that most who gave him a bad review for elk were later season, first time rifle hunters who seemed to expect that they were paying to kill an elk, not hunt them in a tough area. Also interesting that those who gave four or five stars seemed to have a totally different attitude.
I wouldn't book with him either, but mostly because he outfits in a bad area now.
Anyone that would hunt with him at this point is not deserving of much sympathy....
The fact that cody blatantly lies about his area and elk numbers is the main problem. I wouldnt say its because of a bunch of first time hunters. That is the case for some of them im sure, but definitely not all of them. I think the majority of them realize its tough terrain in the first place. I dont care how tough it is, i will hunt it if it has elk to hunt. If not, I will not waste my time. I have covered many miles to get to elk i have spotted from one side of a canyon to another before. Many miles were covered in montana for nothing. Barely even crossed an elk track in 7 days. Saw a group of cows 3 miles from the trailhead one morning.
Two excellent reviews after a bad one. Coincidence?
