George doing it to a client is one thing but to a blogger / writer not too smart!

Bernie, not very good for you, but far worse for George, but you really should know better about how things work between a good outfitter.

Is that the same George from Newhart?

I know you are good friends with this George and he definitely was not honest and above board with you on many things, but I don’t understand how you plan on a trip of a lifetime and don’t take the time to check what the season dates are before you go or how much the tags are going to cost. Maybe I missed something there but I’m not sure all the blame goes on George. Just my two cents.

Watch the video again, lol. What was a “promotional” trip turned into a scam for the most part. An expensive scam at that.

Don’t trust anyone....

This story from Bernie.....is “ The land Version “ of the “ Perfect Storm Movie “.

The more he talked, the worse it got. Had me cringing!

Thats what happens when you get a bad babysitter,lol.
Should hunt on your own.

I knew a bear outfitter here had bunkbeds 3 high in the camps-guys could barely roll over,lol
Everybody went home with bears though one way or the other.

You might not have gotten a story about killing a moose and a bear, but you can write an article of "cautions when planning a guided trip"..
You handled the situation way better than most would have...

Makes me feel better about my far less desire or need to have the need to do things at those levels. I can get lots of satisfaction and fullfillment walking the woods hunting grouse, still huntng common whitetails. I am thankful you were willing to share and it does show some of the pitfalls of putting trust and management etc. into the hands of people we may not know as well as we may like or need to.

Bryce

That is two weeks of your life you are not getting back any time soon.

how many pins does it take to make a balloon go pop ?

Although it sucks, I think you did/are handling it in a classy way.

I think if that if you missed that hurricane blow, you might have been able to overcome the outfitter’s shortcomings. Hunting anything in high wind is tough, but it really makes calling moose an exercise in futility.

I’ve seen those September storms mess up a lot of Newfy moose hunts. Ferry runs cancelled in high seas, hunters get to camp on Monday night. ( miss first day ). The six inches of rain draining out of the back country swell all the streams and rivers.Roads and bridges washed out. Can’t get anywhere to hunt with Argos. Seen camps go 0-12 a couple times with those storms. Lots of unhappy hunters.

That's got to be one of the worst trips anyone could experience . My respect to you for handling it with such class and dignity

It might seem like there's no value in what you went through, and I don't mean to be pollyannaish, but what you demonstrated is what it means to have integrity. The fact that you cut the trip short because you couldn't mislead George with false expectations, even if you happened to get a moose by the end of the trip, is a powerful message all by itself.

It certainly struck a chord with me. Thanks for sharing this.

I'm assuming this was tribal lands/ tribal tags/ tribal seasons, but don't they at least have a website with seasons, tags, etc listed?

I was looking into a Res hunt in the mid '90s, and was told I had to have ( hire) a " tribal partner" as a " guide".
Was also told some would bust their butt to get me on an animal and others would not get out of the truck and would probably get lost, lol

I’ll keep watching but I personally wouldn’t spend $5k and not know the season dates…….

The guide was not being honest with you on several levels, don't feel guilty about exposing him.

However, you get what you pay for. I have no idea how a "$4500 to $5000" could even begin to buy you a 14 day combination moose/bear hunt. Especially considering all you included in that $5000; travel expenses, license and tags, lodging, food, and the guide service. If $3000 of that $5000 was for the tag alone the guide had to be working for nothing. Just doesn't make sense.

the guide was working for the advertisement

If you paid attention to the video....most of Bernie’s hunts are somewhat free....in Exchange for Advertisement of said outfitter on Bernie’s You Tube Channel and Write ups in magazines. So Bernie brings more clients and more money into said outfitter. Kind of a trade off.