Gateway Guiding and Outfitting
Gateway Guiding and Outfitting
Rated 1 out of 5.0 based on 2 Outfitter reviews.
Contact: Mike and Shirley Vanning
Location: Veradale, Washington
Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear, Dall Sheep, Grizzly Bear
State(s) Hunted: AK
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Submitted by: Brody Johnson
Review Submitted: Jun 18, 2011
Hunt Date: Jun 8, 2007
Species Hunted: Alaskan Brown Bear
Days Hunted: 10
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Foothills
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 11K-15K
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?
Done
This hunt was in the fall of 2007...I had booked with Mike after doing some research and my Father did a Dall Sheep hunt with him. When we arrived in camp we were told that the same young gentleman (About 20) that had been with my Dad on his Sheep hunt would be taking us bear hunting. I was under the assumption that we would each be going with a guide but I like hunting with my Dad so no worries..make the best of it. After hunting for about 4 days and not moving from our tents and only seeing one bear way off (1 Mile or better) I asked the guide about a possible move. He continued to get very uncomfortable until finally asking us to come into his tent and explaining that he had never done this before. This was his first bear hunt too......As you can imagine I was a little peeved but tried to make the best of it and hunted on. The wind on the peninsula gets crazy at times and one night it pretty well broke the tent poles and destroyed much of the tents.....I asked about a back up plan/tent and the guide looked at me and shrugged. He said he had no way of contacting the pilot but after listening to us vent a little he came clean that he had a satellite phone with limited minutes to call his girlfriend(Not supplied by Mike). He also told us he was quitting as soon as our hunt was over..I called the pilot and got a ride out......After I got back I emailed Mike after leaving messages that were not responded to and explained how unhappy I was. He got back with me and said he would make it right by having me back on a free make up hunt...all I would have would be travel expenses. Sounded pretty fair to me. In 2009 I went back (2 yrs to get another tag). I did notice on the way up that he booked me for the second week of the season not the first like the year before...again, I decided to try and make the best of it. When I arrived in Anchorage I experienced a problem..I passed out/fainted waiting on my plane to King Salmon. I tried calling Mike before I left but could not raise (He was never this hard to get a hold of when he was calling about deposits..lol) him....my Dad left a message about my problem and he called back immediately...imagine that. The Dr. at Providence Hospital checked me out and said it was due to dehydration and checked everything out and told me to go hunting. I called Mike and he told me he would be happier if I would wait until next time after going home and being checked out by my Dr before doing the hunt. Mike said he would feel better knowing I was okay....He then said he would honor the same deal if I would do this for him. It made sense so I agreed. He said He would mail me a new contract immediately and thanked me for holding off. When I returned I waited on the contract but it never showed...I started sending emails and left a few messages but no return. After kicking it around I finally decided it was time to find a new outfitter and let this one go....The hunt would probably be a miserable unorganized mess like the previous one and would end up costing me more money. It's a shame that a hunt like this was handled worse than any $500 antelope hunt I have been on....... I hope my report can save someone from experiencing a bad hunt with Gateway Guiding.
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Submitted by: Perry Elliott
Review Submitted: Jun 16, 2011
Hunt Date: not provided
Species Hunted: Alaskan Brown Bear, Dall Sheep
Days Hunted: 10
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 20K+
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?
Sheep Hunt
After 3 years of saving my trapping money I got the chance to go on a hunt of a life time. I then ran, and biked to get in shape for 4 months. On this hunt I only hunted 3 total days. The other 4 days I was there I was left in a cabin that had not been cleaned for who knows how long. It was also full of mouse and rat droppings.It had no running water and no bathroom. I was taken to a restaurant twice a day for meals that I paid for myself. On my third day of hunting I shot a Sheep. This ram was judged by my guide at 40 inches but it turned out to be not legal. I was given a ticket that cost me more money and my sheep was confiscated by the local trooper. The outfitter and guide fabricated a false story to tell their trooper "friend"and were not given a ticket"small town." It was so bad I left after 7 days as I was abandoned and not any plans to finish my Brown Bear hunt I had paid for. Since then I tried to get some of my money back for services not provided all I have got are more lies and their attorney This nightmare complete for the low low price of $23,000. The outfitter and guide will lie without reservation. They are only concerened about the money.
Contact: Gene Smith
Location: Olive, Montana
Species Hunted: Mule Deer
State(s) Hunted: MT
Illinois Hunting Information
Illinois is widely known as a top trophy whitetail destination. Illinois also has some great waterfowl hunting, especially in southern portions of the state.
Manitoba Hunting Information
Manitoba is known as a top destination for avid waterfowl hunters. Huge flocks of ducks and geese can be found from the Arctic coast of Hudson Bay to the prairie potholes on the southern border of this Canadian province. There is no legal requirement for non-resident waterfowl hunters to use a guide, but many are available and a high percentage of non-Canadian hunters utilize them. In addition black bear, Canada moose and whitetails are hunted throughout the province.
Utah Hunting Information
Utah has recently been outstanding for trophy elk, but the best tags take many years to draw. Utah does have conservation tags available for purchase that allow hunters to bypass the drawing. Given the high demand for these premium tags prices can be high. In the past Utah has been a top trophy mule deer state but recently only a handful of units consistently produce B&C caliber deer.
