Circle KBL Outfitters
Circle KBL Outfitters
Rated 2.5 out of 5.0 based on 8 Outfitter reviews.
Contact: Scott Boulanger
Location: Darby, Montana
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Shiras Moose
State(s) Hunted: MT
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Submitted by: Michael R
Review Submitted: Apr 11, 2013
Hunt Date: Oct 1, 2012
Species Hunted: Black Bear, Mule Deer
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 2000-2999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Mule Deer ?
The owner, who we never met, should put money back into Circle KBL. The Wall Tents were not cleaned. The "Stove" used for heat was so old that a fire lasted less than an hour and it was 18 degrees at night. There were bees & wasp nests in the tents. The mattresses were torn & dirty. And there was no light in the outhouse which was 30 yards away. The Bear Bait was not refilled daily and the makeshift "Blind" where you sat in a lawn chair was terrible. The generator & water pump at one point didn't work so showers were not an option. The Guide, Jesse, was a good guy. The horses were great. But I never saw a Bear, Elk, or Mule Deer. My Hunting Partner shot a Small Spike on the last night. And other than squirrels that's all that he saw. It's a shame, the Bitteroot Valley was stunning. This place should be a gold mine if the owner would fix it up. I have no problem with roughing it but we would have been better off sleeping on the mountain in sleeping bags!
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Submitted by: Dale Hanlin
Review Submitted: Jan 13, 2013
Hunt Date: Jan 13, 2013
Species Hunted: Black Bear, Mule Deer
Days Hunted: 0
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Any
Method: Rifle
Price Range: Any
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Red Flags
There is no possible way I could ever recommend Circle KBL to my fellow hunters. Why I didn't see the RED FLAGS then as I do now is beyond me. First RED FLAG should have been when my hunting tags got left at Circle KBL main office in Darby MT. Second RED FLAG our guides arrived in camp the same day we did. Now let it be said the guides and the camp cook were wonderful, they did a great job. But, arriving the same day as us, well how could they have any clue. Third RED FLAG, no documentation of the animals of our hunt. Any outfitter I've hunted with usually has a wall dedicated to the trail cams and timers, not here at Circle KBL. Fourth RED FLAG. The first day on my bear blind I learn that there hadn't been a kill off this blind in almost two weeks. Fifth RED FLAG, that there hasn't been any beating done prior to our arrival. Sixth RED FLAG we learn that the total kill for some thirty hunters, and almost four weeks of hunting, 5 animals. WOW, now if you read the web sight these numbers and information don't seem to line up. So, the accommodation, well it was a back country hunt but the tent cabins leaked like the titanic, and hadn't had a good sweeping out in who knows when, dead flies and hornets everywhere yes even in the dining hall. The shower, oh it was hot but a garden hose would have more pressure. As a businessman you have to put money back into your operation so people can see that you care about your clients. I feel the clients of Circle KBL are nothing more than cash flow. RED FLAG NUMBER 7. No I can't recommend, nor will I ever recommend, or return to Circle KBL, as for the Bitter Root Valley, the country is beyond words, so I did enjoy the sights. Disappointed, and wish now I would have seen the RED FLAGS
Submitted by: Tim Buffington
Review Submitted: Dec 31, 2012
Hunt Date: Sep 15, 2009
Species Hunted: Elk
Days Hunted: 7
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 4000-4999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
The worst outfitter I have ever hunted with
The only time we saw Scot B was when he collected the money for the hunt. We were then turned over to a guide for the horseback ride to camp. The stock was rank (the guide was bucked off once and several of us barely managed to stay on when the horses would shy or crowhop.) It turned out that the guides had never been in the area until the day they rode in with us. The food was terrible and if we hadnt killed a deer and some grouse we would have run out of food. The worst part was that with 21 hunting days total exactly one elk was seen. Sadly, the day after we rode out he was taking another group of hunters into exactly the same place to hunt.
Submitted by: Terry Larson
Review Submitted: Jun 28, 2012
Hunt Date: Jun 2, 2012
Species Hunted: Black Bear
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Bow
Price Range: 2000-2999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
spring bear bow
This outfitter is not set up for bow hunters. They use impromtu ground blinds set up within 20 yards of the bait with swirling winds in the timber. Not suprisingly I didn't even see a bear.
Submitted by: Mike Bryant
Review Submitted: May 30, 2011
Hunt Date: May 23, 2011
Species Hunted: Black Bear
Days Hunted: 7
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Bow
Price Range: 2000-2999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
We left out of Darby on Sunday about noon. The pass into Idaho was closed to most traffic. They took us in to the base camp at Paradise by four wheel drive Toyota specialty vehicles. Spent Sunday night at Paradise then packed into the camp at Cooper by horse and pack mules. Were able to hunt from Monday afternoon to Friday night, then packed out on Saturday. My son took a nice cinnamon color phased black bear on Tuesday night of the hunt. My stand was hit three nights, but didn't have any bears hit it in daylight shooting hours. It's bear hunting, not bear killing. We thought we were in good enough shape for a bear hunt, but found out we weren't. Can't say enough about the guides and accommodations. The guides, Mike, Adam and Terry worked and did their best to get us our best chances at taking a bear. Mike took Josh's bear back the twelve miles to Paradise so it could be frozen to keep the hair from slipping then came back for the hunt late that afternoon. I was very impressed with everything to do with Circle KBL Outfitters. If you don't want to pack in by horseback, you can hunt out of the Paradise camp. Normally you can drive to the Paradise camp if the pass is clear. The Paradise camp had a kitchen with cook. The meals at Cooper were frozen, vacuum sealed and heated up in boiling water. I was amazed, the food was very good, but portions were way too much. Vacuum sealed pancakes, heated by boiling water that you couldn't tell weren't fresh made. If and when we go back bear hunting, it will be with Circle KBL Outfitters out of Darby, MT.
note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.
outfitter review submitted by: Roger Houdersheldt on Nov 30 2005
Species Hunted: Elk& Deer
Game Quality: excellent
Accommodation Quality: Excellent
Camp Condition: Excellent
Food Quality: very good
Guide Experience: very good
Other Personal Experience: not applicable
Overall Impression: Excellent
Recommend: Yes, unequivocally
Reviewer Comments: Best outfitter we have hunted with, by far. Camp condition and stock were very good and Guides worked hard to get us into animals. This is the way a camp should be run.
outfitter review submitted by: William R. Wolfe on Nov 27 2005
Species Hunted: Elk
Game Quality: good
Accommodation Quality: good
Camp Condition: good
Food Quality: great
Guide Experience: great
Other Personal Experience: excellent
Overall Impression: Awesome
Recommend: Absolutely
Reviewer Comments: My buddy and I hunted with KBL the week following the 9/11 disaster, what a trip! They did everything they said they would, a very clean effecient camp and 100% honest! Don't worry about getting a line of bullshit from this guy, he tells it sraight up! I'd go back without thinking twice, its rough territory but you get what you put into it. It was the best hunting experience I have ever had!
outfitter review submitted by: KENNY SNYDER on Nov 14 2000
Species Hunted: ELK
Game Quality: ONE LEGAL BULL
Accommodation Quality: VERY GOOD
Camp Condition: N/A
Food Quality: EXCELLENT
Guide Experience: KNOWLEDGABLE OF AREA
Other Personal Experience: N/A
Overall Impression: GOOD TRIP
Recommend: YES
Reviewer Comments: A LOT OF THE AREA WAS IN THE BURNED SECTION OF THE STATE. SLIGHTLY WARM WEATHER AFFECTED GAME MOVEMENT. THIS WAS A BROWTINE BULL AREA AND WE ONLY SIGHTED ONE LEGAL BULL ( 2 RAGHORN AND 1 SPIKE REMAINDER WERE COWS/CALFS). SAW SOME GOOD WHITTAILS (8PT EASTERN) AND A LOT OF SMALL MULE DEER BUCKS. OVERALL GOOD TRIP WITH NO GAME HARVESTED.
Contact: Reece Bergeron
Location: Brashear, Missouri
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Turkey
State(s) Hunted: MO
Alberta Hunting Information
Alberta is a large, diverse province with rolling prairies, farmland, river bottoms, Boreal forests, and large expanses of the northern Rocky Mountains. Many species of big game, waterfowl, upland game and predators inhabit Alberta. Long known for monster whitetails, Alberta also is home to big mule deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, black bear, cougar, Canada moose, and bighorn sheep. In fact, 7 of the 10 largest bighorn sheep in Boone and Crockett record book are from Alberta. In addition to big game, Alberta offers some top notch bird hunting. Serious waterfowlers know about the large flocks of ducks and geese that call Alberta home or migrate through.
British Columbia Hunting Information
British Columbia is an excellent hunting destination that offers a wide variety of game species. Vast wilderness areas and pristine coastlines provide world class adventure hunting for those seeking that trip of a lifetime. BC is arguably best known for big coastal black bears, Canada moose, grizzly bear, mountain lion, Dall sheep and Stone sheep. Hunters can book a hunt with an outfitter and avoid the license drawing process common in most U.S. states.
Quebec Hunting Information
Quebec is probably best know as an excellent caribou hunting destination. Hunters from across the globe travel to Quebec to hunt their big Quebec-Labrador caribou migration. In addition to caribou hunting, Quebec offers black bears, Canada moose and whitetails.
