Boulder Creek Outfitters

note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.

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outfitter review submitted by: Steve Griffey on Jan 4 2008

Species Hunted: spring bear

Game Quality: none

Accommodation Quality: none

Camp Condition: good

Food Quality: great

Guide Experience: good

Other Personal Experience: fair

Overall Impression: very poor

Recommend: no

Reviewer Comments: This is a letter I wrote after our hunt to the owner..... Tim, I have delayed this letter with the hope that you would contact me or Bill Isley. However we haven’t heard from you so I thought I’d go ahead and write to you. First of all I wanted to find out what was going to become of Bill Isley’s trip money. We spoke several times about Bill not being able to make the trip and you assured me that you would work something out that was fair for him. Well, it’s been over 2 months and he hasn’t heard anything. I wanted to say a couple of things concerning how fair you will be with him. We had 6 hunters and 3 guides in camp our week. You told me it would be 2 hunters per guide. So if Bill would have come, who would have been his guide? By what you told me, you would have had to have another guide in camp. Also it took 2 full loads on the plane to get everyone in. If Bill had come, another plane would have had to come in and out. Our tent was full with the 6 of us so where would he have slept? Just keep in mind these things as well as little things like the food he didn’t eat! Bill’s phone number at work is xxx-xxx-xxxx and at home is xxx-xxx-xxxx I also wanted to bring some things to your attention concerning our week of hunting. Please keep in mind nothing I’m about to tell you has anything to do with the fact I didn’t kill a bear. I have hunted for 20 years and do not expect to kill an animal every time I go hunting. I believe a lot of things played a role in the fact I didn’t kill anything. Weather being the biggest factor, if you remember we had rain, rain and more rain. The first and one of the biggest disappointments was almost as soon as we got on the ground in camp. Wade informed us that there was only 1 bowhunting stand in place. You knew from day one that Rob and I both were coming to bowhunt. Rob and I worked it out from a coin flip who got to bowhunt and who was going to gun hunt. Even your web site states: "Because of the rugged terrain, tree strands overlooking baits is by far the most successful method and we strategically place the stands to get you the best opportunity possible". However, no one was hunting out of tree stands. All the rifle hunters were expected to hunt from the ground. So were we not given the opportunity to hunt using the most successful method?! Later in the week another stand was put up. I was surprised to see not only the location it was in but how noisy it was. I told John, our guide that if I was trying to deer hunt out of the stand that every deer that approached would have either seen me or heard the stand creaking and squeaking. Again your web site states: "Our gear is of the best quality and our staff and guides are very knowledgeable and experienced to insure both your safety and success while hunting." John informed me that this stand was the first one he had ever put up! The next thing that became evident was how the baits were set up. You told me on more than one occasion that there were markers at the baits to judge how big the bears were. There were no such markers. You also told me we would be supplied with radios to contact the guides. The guides told us they don’t give hunters radios. One of the funniest things you told me was not to shoot a bear the first night. Bring your video camera and film all the ones that come in you said. Then show the film to your guide and he’ll tell you which one to shoot. It sure sounded good when we were on the phone, but come on……………………. Our biggest disappointment came later in the week when we found out that you and the Buckmaster guys were coming to camp. The disposition of the guides changed so dramatically, we (the guys who paid to hunt there) really didn’t understand what was going on. The night you all got to camp we were all very surprised that you didn’t even come over and say hello or come to ask how things were going! After all, we all spent about $2000.00 with you; a little courtesy hello would have been much appreciated and may have helped our moods. Anyway back to the Buckmasters! Wade had been mine and Robs guide for the first 3 days of hunting. We had really got along great with him and appreciated all he had done for us. Rob and I were both somewhat upset when we were told that he was now going to guide the Buckmaster guys. So Rob and I were split up and would be hunting with other guides. Wade had taken me into a bait that I really wanted to hunt again. Instead I was put on a bait that didn’t look like it had been hit for a long long time and it didn’t look like it had even been baited for a long time. Also we now had 3 hunters per guide…except the Buckmaster guys. The last day of hunting found us again wondering what was going on. Wade finally came up to us and told us we would be hunting with the other guide again. I insisted on going with him to the bait I wanted to hunt the night before. I could tell he didn’t want to take me to that bait, but he did anyway. Wade took me to within a 30 minute walk of the bait and turned me loose with a sack of bait. The rain never let up for almost 3 hours and I finally had enough of being wet and not seeing any bears. So I made my Peace with the mountains, accepted my defeat and headed out to where Wade had told me to meet him. I was a little more than surprised to hear Wade tell me that the Buckmaster guys had killed a Pope and Young class bear. Not only because I had hunted my ass off all week, but because they did it from the ground. Do you remember meeting me on the air strip that night? I walked the whole way out because I was so disappointed. The following morning while waiting for the rain to lift so we could get out. I tried to make conversation with the Buckmaster guys. I was shocked to learn that they did not kill that bear from the ground, but from a tree stand. (Hmmm remember when we were told there was only one tree stand in place for bowhunting?) One of the main purposes of this letter is to let you know how wrong every one of your PAYING hunters thought it was the way we were treated after Buckmasters got to camp. I understand why you would want them to have a good hunt to put on film. Not that those guys care…but for future paying hunters that you lure in with the videos that they sell with your name all over them. Tim, you really misled me on several different things concerning how the trip would be, as I pointed out above and I am really whized that I was lied to about only having one bow stand. I really don’t understand why you would need to feed me the lines like you did. You already had my deposit money and most of the money for the trip. Why would you need to try to sell me on the trip some more? I’ve since heard the story of some other PAYING hunters from Kokomo who came out to hunt with you. They had a worse trip than we did. I really had a hard time believing how bad their trip went. Maybe I just made the wrong choice in outfitters. I don’t know. One other thing that all of us felt bitter about was the cost of the flight in. I know it’s expensive to run a camp like yours. But we all felt like there was more concern on getting as much of your stuff in the plane than the hunters and their gear. I'm pretty sure if we were only paying to get ourselves and our gear in, the cost of the flight would have been substantially less. If you care to rectify all of these feelings, I’m all ears. Just remember I’m not the only one upset. If you contact Dixon, Bob, Jeff or Rob you will get the same response. Arnie is the only one who was in camp with us that didn’t voice an opinion of the way things went. So in closing, remember, I am an experienced hunter and I want nothing to do with canned hunts. I’m not upset that I didn’t kill a bear. I only wanted what I paid for, the best chance I could have to take a bear. Not to be pawned off on a stale bait or to be lied to. I also want to add, I completely enjoyed being in camp with Wade, John, Jarred and Bob. They were all very personable and worked hard for us. Sincerely, Steve Griffey

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outfitter review submitted by: Rod Bradley on Dec 28 2007

Species Hunted: Cougar

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Excellent

Camp Condition: Excellent

Food Quality: Excellent

Guide Experience: Excellent

Other Personal Experience: Excellent

Overall Impression: Excellent

Recommend: Yes!!

Reviewer Comments: I hunted with Tim in December of 07. Conditions were perfect with new snow on the ground. On the second day of the hunt we turned the dogs out on a track and in no time they were barking treed. When I arrived at the tree, what I saw was an absolute monster of a cat. After going over the specifics with the guides, I was able to harvest a cat that scored 15 14/16" which will be placed very high in the record books. What an unbelievable hunt! The guides were excellent, the dogs worked flawlessly and I would highly recommend Tim and Boulder Creek Outfitters.

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outfitter review submitted by: Joe McMurry on Nov 13 2007

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Game Quality: Poor

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Good

Guide Experience: Poor

Other Personal Experience: Fair

Overall Impression: Poor

Recommend: No

Reviewer Comments: A friend and I hunted with Tim Craig last September on a five day bowhunt. This was the worst bowhunting paid hunt I have ever been on. There were 9 hunters in camp, and apparently only 9 treestands set up for us to hunt. Scouting for bowhunting was very poor. Out of 9 hunters in five days, only one hunter managed to take a buck. He was on the only water stand on the 9000 acres we had to hunt. Tim and his son left camp after two days, and left in adequate guides to help out with the hunters. There were 2 guides left for 9 hunters. We had to pretty much guide ourselves on a place we knew little about. I was riding with the guides one night after the hunt in a four seater Kawasaki Mule to go pick up one of the hunters from New York. The guides got lost, and we rambled around on the mountainside for 2 hours. The hunter had laid in the road waiting for hours to be picked up after dark. We arrived back at camp very late, and irritated. Once again, this was the worst waste of my hard earned money that I have ever experienced. If you have checked into the hunt, you will know that Tim's hunts are not cheap. Save your money if you are hunting with a bow! I'm sure that you can kill a big buck with a rifle while riding the roads in the canyons in their truck, but what kind of hunt is that?

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outfitter review submitted by: Vince Ripepi on Oct 30 2007

Species Hunted: Mule deer

Game Quality: slightly above average

Accommodation Quality: fair

Camp Condition: fair

Food Quality: just fair

Guide Experience: basically didn't have one

Other Personal Experience: average

Overall Impression: just O.K.

Recommend: maybe (see below)

Reviewer Comments: October, 2007 A group of 11 of us "booked" the whole camp, with the promise we we have the camp to ourselves. It WASN"T the case. There were 3 guides for the first 1 1/2 days (booked and payed for as a 2 - 1 client to guide ratio (see website) then 4 guides for the rest of the time. My brother and I basically went "self guided" for our deer and we also "guided" our friend to his (neither of us are professional guides). But we did get deer. There were a couple of nights that we didn't get back in time for dinner, and it was all gone. Also the "packed lunches" were lunches that you made yourself the morning you were going out. If you wanted a high success deer hunt, where you will definately see alot of very average deer, with the CHANCE getting something very good (not excellent but very good), and are willing to put up with the other "stuff", then this is the place to go. You will see deer and will get a shot at something, but you are paying a just above average price for more than likely an average deer.

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outfitter review submitted by: Tom on Oct 9 2007

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: good

Accommodation Quality: fair

Camp Condition: fair

Food Quality: good

Guide Experience: thin

Other Personal Experience: good

Overall Impression: poor

Recommend: no

Reviewer Comments: Spent a lot of money to be flushed through a camp with 6 other guys and we only got 2 bulls or all of us. What was booked as a one on one turned into a 2 on 1 and one day a 3 on 1. His attitude sucked and had no desire to make things right. The guides were hard working young kids who made something out of nothing. They were the only good thing about this hunt. Back Country turned into an 8 hour horse back ride that we were told was 3. Put them through as fast as you can. I am sure he would rather just have the ranch hunts, charge more and drive around in the truck all day. Really did not like being his guinee pig for this area.

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outfitter review submitted by: Mike Perkins on Jul 9 2007

Species Hunted: Black Bear

Game Quality: Excellant

Accommodation Quality: Very Good

Camp Condition: Very Good

Food Quality: Good

Guide Experience: Excellant

Other Personal Experience: Very Good

Overall Impression: Great

Recommend: Highly

Reviewer Comments: Guides and staff work very hard to get you on bears. Numerous baits set and checked daily to move you to baits that are being hit. Beautiful country. Great with young people and you feel like family by the time you leave. Spent 8 days hunting tree stands and ground blinds. Saw several bears and most people in camp got bears. Finally harvested a beautiful 19+ inch 300+ lb bear with a huge white blaze on his chest. Only problem is he was so nice I had to get a full body mount done. Two bear area in great country. Can't go wong with Boulder creek.- Mike Perkins

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outfitter review submitted by: Travis Mehn on May 9 2007

Species Hunted: Elk

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Excellent

Camp Condition: Excellent

Food Quality: Excellent

Guide Experience: Excellent

Other Personal Experience: N/A

Overall Impression: Excellent

Recommend: Absolutely

Reviewer Comments: I hunted with Boulder Creek Outfitters this past fall for Archery Elk and had probably one of my most exciting hunts ever. I've hunted with numerous outfitters before and found not only my guide (Wade) to be phenomenal, but the entire experience. We were within bow range of 350+ bulls on almost a daily basis. There was not one day we weren't into the elk! I would recommend Tim and his outfit to my closest friends and family any day.

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outfitter review submitted by: Mike Cochran on Mar 3 2007

Species Hunted: black bear

Game Quality: average

Accommodation Quality: good

Camp Condition: good

Food Quality: excellent

Guide Experience: my guide poor/others good

Other Personal Experience: great

Overall Impression: good

Recommend: yes, but see comments

Reviewer Comments: My son and I hunted 1st week of Sept. 2006. The weather was NOT conducive to a good hunt. Temps. in 90's,full moon,wildfire smoke. This was no fault of the outfitter. My son and I both shot ave. size sow bears the 4th night of a 5 day hunt. Both sows were cinammon color. Camp, cook, other hunters, and 2 of 3 guides were great. The negatives were that the area wasn't advanced scouted prior to our arrival. We spent 2 1/2 days just looking for bear sign. Our guide hadn't been on this ranch for 2-3 years[50,000 acres], and didn't know where he was at 1/2 the time. Plus there was a personality conflict between my son and the guide, and he was getting to me after 4 days, and I'm easy to get along with. My son and I shot our bears on the 4th nite of a 5 day hunt, spot and stalk, by ourselves in a canyon. Overall, the country was beautiful, and had the weather been better, I'm sure we would have seen more bears. We shot the only 2 we saw. I would hunt with BCO again, but would have a serious talk about the quide/advanced scouting. Mike

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outfitter review submitted by: Bill Miller on Dec 29 2006

Species Hunted: Mountain Lion

Game Quality: Good

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Okay

Guide Experience: Fantastic

Other Personal Experience: na

Overall Impression: Good

Recommend: Yes

Reviewer Comments: I went on a Mountain Lion hunt with Boulder Creek outfitting. You hunt with Jason and Wade who I believe are great at what they do. They have treed numerous Lions and killed some nice ones! They encourge you to shot big Toms no little females or small toms. They put in long hours to find you the Cat you want. The only trouble i had was getting hold of Tim the owner he is so busy guiding that I had hard time getting my concerns and questions answered. If you want a Cougar give these guys a shot you will not go away disappointed they work hard for you!

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outfitter review submitted by: Luigi Gaglia on Dec 21 2006

Species Hunted: whitetail deer

Game Quality: excellent

Accommodation Quality: very good

Camp Condition: very good

Food Quality: very good

Guide Experience: very good

Other Personal Experience: very good

Overall Impression: great

Recommend: without a doubt.

Reviewer Comments: I ve been on whitetail hunts in Kansas and Illinois and I never seen the quality of game on those two hunts combined as I did on this hunt.Bouldercreek is a top notch hunting guide with plenty of quality game and service. Luigi Gaglia N.Y.

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