Five Star Trophy 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: John Wiker on Dec 5 2009

Species Hunted: WHITE TAIL DEER

Game Quality: POOR

Accommodation Quality: (WINNER\\\'S FAMILY) EXCELLENT

Camp Condition: OK

Food Quality: (WINNER\\\'S FAMILY) EXCELLENT

Guide Experience: (WINNER'S FAMILY) EXCELLENT

Other Personal Experience: (WINNER\\\'S FAMILY) EXCELLENT

Overall Impression: OK

Recommend: NO

Reviewer Comments: Well, here is how my experience went. I found a site (sjoutfittersunlimeted.com Tracy Laws) this is the gentleman that directed me to this place, he told me how great I would be treated and how many big bucks we would see and pass up. he himself would be there with me.(no regrets)Guess what? He never showed up and I doubt he ever was coming to start with. I would not recommend this (booking agent)to nobody he is not concerned for the paying client his concern is for the outfitter who he can make $ off of by sending people too and make his commission. Nobody even heard of him at the lodge. I was like oh no what did i get myself into? Remember this was my very 1st Ohio deer hunt in which i was looking forward to, not neccesarily shooting a deer but the complete package experience!(I just got back from an Alberta hunt (northstaroutfitting.com) with excellent results not just shooting a 154" buck which was the icing on the cake but the whole experience of the hunt,you get the picture right? There were 3 of us (gun hunters) i say that because we got the impression joel does not care that much for gun hunters,he would never come to the camp where we stayed to see how we were doing if there was anything we needed or if we had any concerns. Basically he just didn't care! He left the whole burden on the farm owner and his family.(This was the 1st time this family has hosted a whitetail gun hunt)I felt the stress and pressure this gentleman was carrying. He and his family were 5 star if i ever saw 5 star. The food was out of this world! Their sincere concern for us was over whelming. Truly a wonderful family and i would recomend this family accomodations to the KING! (so to speak)I feel that this family would be much better off to offer their own services on their own without being affiliated with (JOEL SNOW of 5 STAR TROPHY OUTFITTERS)Because we saw the Wonderful side of such an experience and we saw the BAD side!..I believe Joel has a special place in his heart for the BIG name TV Host show hunters who Bow Hunt,who can film and put that in front of a huge audience on TV. Because clearly his actions this week proved he had no concern for myself and the other 2 paying clients!Yes that's right we are PAYING for your services Joel not there for FREE!..So to sum things up I was Very Happy with the Winners Family where we stayed Super Great People!..But the 5 Star Trophy Outfitters NEVER AGAIN!.If the (Winners) family ever decided to go on their own i would book another hunt in a minute along with many of my friends and i know for a fact they would have repeat customers ever year! This was my 1st OHIO deer hunting experience it was bitter sweet for sure,but it was good to see their are still some good/honest people in the world like the Winner family their name fits them well because they are a WINNER in my book!...

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outfitter review submitted by: Tracy Laws on Feb 11 2009

Species Hunted: Whitetail/Turkey

Game Quality: average

Accommodation Quality: great

Camp Condition: great

Food Quality: great

Guide Experience: great

Other Personal Experience: great

Overall Impression: awesome

Recommend: yes

Reviewer Comments: I have had the pleasure to hunt with many different outfitters across the country and Joel is the hardest working and most knowledgable outfitter that I've ever hunted with. I visited Joel three different times during Turkey season with my six year old son harvesting his first bird. It takes me 8 hours to get to Joel's place and I wouldn't take the time and funds to make this many trips if it wasn't worth it. Then I spent a total of 4 weeks their during the deer season only hunting four days total. I harvested a 130" buck which was the biggest deer of my life and seeing several deer in the mid 140 while I was there. Guys that have bad things to say about 5 Star are probabably not going to be sastisfied anywhere. Free range hunting is not always going to work the way a hunter wants, but Joel's hard work and dedication for his clients are all any hunter can ask for, the harvest of an animal is a bonus.

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outfitter review submitted by: B Robinson on Jan 31 2009

Species Hunted: Whitetail/Turkey

Game Quality: OK

Accommodation Quality: OK

Camp Condition: OK

Food Quality: Exceptional

Guide Experience: OK

Other Personal Experience: OK

Overall Impression: Great

Recommend: Yes

Reviewer Comments: I hunted with Joel in the spring of 08 for turkey and we had bad weather almost the entire time. We were able to get on a couple of turkeys between rain showers but they never came in close enough for a shot. I still had a great time. I booked a whitetail hunt for mid october and did not harvest a deer. I saw a couple bucks in the 120" range that will be great deer for 09. The small bucks were moving alot but the big bucks seemed to still be nocturnal and the rut had not quite kicked in. Out of the 5 hunters that week only one deer was killed and one missed. All hunters reported seeing numerous deer and a few large bucks were sighted but not within range. I booked again this year for a November rut hunt. The accomodations are OK; we were staying in the basement of Joel's house. While I was there he was finishing some additional rooms with baths in his building that were really nice. The meals are exceptional. Dee made 12 different homemade desserts for us to eat. Joel went out of his way to try and help me get a turkey and a deer on my trips. The guides are locals who have alot of knowledge of the area and are avid hunters. Even though I didn't harvest an animal either time I had a great time and made new friends. I am looking forward to going back in November.

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outfitter review submitted by: Jay Parsons on Dec 15 2008

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Game Quality: Fair

Accommodation Quality: Fair to Good

Camp Condition: Ok, Poor for gun hunters

Food Quality: Good

Guide Experience: No real guides, just drop off

Other Personal Experience: No other personnel available

Overall Impression: Pretty dissapointed for the money spent

Recommend: No not for gun hunting

Reviewer Comments: Must say, I did not harvest an animal, but this is not the reason for the poor review. All 6 hunters in camp agreed before weeks end that we all felt like we did not recieve our moneys worth of "an outfitter hunting experience." I, and the others I spoke to, felt like we were more of a burden than of clients. We were up in the morning, taken to a stand,(driven right to it with a truck or ATV/ kind of strange hunting for smart older bucks) and picked up for lunch if wanted, or evening for dinner, then TV before bed. An actual attempt to make something happen for the hunters didnt happen till the last day of the hunt, and by that time most were so disappointed that we were not interested. The pre hunt, advertised gun stands with rest, but we got bow stands with no rest. It also stated food plots, but I only hunted one day over a corn feed area, and then another day by a feeder which had not been ran for at least six months by the looks of the rust on it. I have always been taught that food plots were like green fall vegitation such as biologic or Tecamate, but nothing here. Well like I said, if you have lots of money and a world class experience does NOT matter to you, than this is a place for you, "big bucks if you can see them", but if you are someone like me who wants value in what you spend, then this place is not for you. No world class experience here, sorry to say. Oh, only 2 bucks taken in the one week gun season by 8 hunters. (You know I go on deep sea fishing trips all the time, and even if you dont catch anything, they at least try as hard as possible to get you on fish. This wasnt so here with deer)

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