Savage Encounters Inc

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: Josh Swenson on Jul 23 2003

Species Hunted: Bear and Wolf

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Very Good

Camp Condition: Very Good

Food Quality: Excellent

Guide Experience: Very Good

Other Personal Experience: Excellent

Overall Impression: Awesome

Recommend: Yes, and I already have

Reviewer Comments: I have hunted with Savage Encounters twice in the last year, and I am planning on more hunts in the future. I can't find anything negative to say about their operation so I will discuss the good things. My good friend, Travis Peterson, and I went Black Bear hunting with Savage in May of 2002. Even though we had terrible weather, both of us took nice sized bear. It was a great hunt and the accommodations were great. They really make you feel at home with a very nice hunting lodge, good food and great company. In January 2003 I went on a wolf hunt at Savage Encounters. Savage had done a lot of hard work setting bait piles and hunting shacks up. I saw 14 coyotes and 1 wolf by the 4th day of the hunt. I shot a black colored wolf on the 4th day that weighed approximately 140 lbs. This wolf ended up scoring as the # 15 wolf skull in the world (SCI scoring system). This was the most exciting thing that I have ever done hunting. It was unbelievable!!! I have been in many newspapers and magazines with this wolf, and even wrote a story about it for a magazine. I have always wanted to be in magazines, etc. and Savage Encounters helped me get there. The best thing that Savage Encounters did was on the day after I shot my wolf. We took almost a full day to get to a scenic location with the mountains in the background so I could have some great pictures. The pictures are awesome, and make me think of that day whenever I look at them. A couple of my friends went on a Black Bear hunt in May of 2003 and came home with 2 bear, and one was over 400 pounds. They were very thrilled with the hunt, and plan on a return trip to hunt with Savage again. Savage Encounters is a great operation all the way around. If you are a serious hunter and want to find a serious guide you should check Savage Encounters out.

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outfitter review submitted by: Bob Robb on Jul 23 2003

Species Hunted: Whitetail/Mule Deer

Game Quality: Very Good

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Good

Guide Experience: Good

Other Personal Experience: Good

Overall Impression: Very Good

Recommend: Yes

Reviewer Comments: Chad Lenz is a very serious hunter and runs a great camp! His area has lots of deer, and he has permission to hunt quite a bit of private ground exclusively. Although I did not kill a deer on this hunt I saw several very nice bucks and had I gotten a break or two would have had a chance to arrow a dandy whitetail buck. I'll be back!

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outfitter review submitted by: Gene Raynor on Jul 23 2003

Species Hunted: Whitetail and Mule Deer

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Modern, comfortable lodge

Camp Condition: Excellent; up to date

Food Quality: Outstanding

Guide Experience: Excellent; local, B.C. & AL

Other Personal Experience: Way above average

Overall Impression: Awesome

Recommend: Absolutely

Reviewer Comments: I had a great week. It was an unforgettable hunt of a lifetime. I was able to harvest an almost perfectly symmetrical eight point whitetail. I made some great friends. In fact, I'm going back again this year with one of them. I saw game every day, including: whitetail, mule deer, elk, and moose. I have the pictures posted in my office and reccommend Chad and Savage Encounters to everyone. Guides, camp staff, accomodations were all top notch. Can't wait to go back.

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outfitter review submitted by: Mr. Stacy D. Green on Jul 9 2003

Species Hunted: Wild Boar, Bear, Wolf

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Very Good

Camp Condition: Very Good

Food Quality: Very Good

Guide Experience: Excellent

Other Personal Experience: Very Good

Overall Impression: Very Impressed

Recommend: YES!!

Reviewer Comments: WOW! What a great way to take a vacation! Both myself and my best friend have hunted with Savage, and let me tell you... Things could not have been better for both of us. Adam (my best friend) hunted with Chad (Savage) Lenz in May of 2003 for black bear. With more than 40 sightings over 2 weeks, and as many as 15 bear spotted in one day Adam was able to take his first big game species at his liesure. He was able to really enjoy his hunt as a true vacation and adventure. As for myself, I chose to hunt wild boar. Taking a 220lb San Diego "Razor Back" after 6 hours of stalking. Chad (our guide) was incredible, he led us through some very difficult forest and swampy areas, but delivered. As president of "Big Game Canada" (www.biggame.ca) I can assure you that Chad and his company "Savage Encounters" are outfitters with integrity. I've visited his outfit on many occasions to gather film footage for some of our projects. I've seen many hunters go home with bragging rights as well as empty handed, but none could honestly go home feeling short changed. Chad makes no false pomises, and delivers exactly what he claims. "A quality hunt, with quality guides and quality accomodations" Just a side note... Recent reviews on this website were submitted which suggest that Savage Encounters is less that the best choice for an outfitter. Interestingly enough, I happened to have been present during those gentlemen's hunts (we were filming hunts for a video project) and I find it interesting that both of the hunters who submitted the reviews failed completely to mention the incredibly poor weather during their hunts, but are quick to mention "hunting pressure" and "Private Ranches". In fairness, there ARE NO PRIVATE HUNTING RANCHES in Alberta which offer native big game. In Alberta it is illegal to hunt captive big game which are native to the province. As well, it is illegal (in Alberta) to extend "exclusive access" to individual hunters or outfitters on private land. I KNOW for a fact, that Chad Lenz has NEVER claimed exclusive access to "Private Ranches". And like any reputable Outfitter, Savage Encounters does NOT guaranty hunts. No one can. I find it truely amazing that someone can claim so many negative things without being fair. Truth be known, both of those hunters got more than they were promised, and far less BS than they claimed. I know, because I was there with my video camera.

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outfitter review submitted by: Wes Reagan on Apr 10 2003

Species Hunted: Whitetail/Mule Deer

Game Quality: Poor

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Excellent

Guide Experience: Good

Other Personal Experience: Good

Overall Impression: Less than satisfied

Recommend: See comments

Reviewer Comments: Chad runs a good outfit, with good guides. To me the biggest problem was not having enough private land to hunt. Myself and a friend had to deal with local hunters on numerous occasions, riding ATV's by, walking by, conducting drives in the bush that we were hunting, etc... Chad advertises 100% shot opportunity at a 140 class deer. This was not true while I was hunting with him. In the 9 days that I was there, 2 whitetail bucks were killed, both about 130 BC. This was out of ten hunters. I have no doubt that there are big deer in some of his area's. For the amount of money it cost, I expected more and better quality of deer.

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outfitter review submitted by: Dale Kompelien on Dec 8 2002

Species Hunted: Elk, Mule Deer, White tail, Bear, Moose, wolf

Game Quality: Elk Very Poor

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: OK but limited

Food Quality: Very Good

Guide Experience: Fair

Other Personal Experience: OK

Overall Impression: Very Poor

Recommend: Not for Elk, not for trophey h

Reviewer Comments: I wish I could be the first to post a good review on SEI but, sorry to say, I cannot. My primary goal and desire for the hunt was to score on a nice bull elk. Chad Lenz, owner of Savage Encounters, Inc. (SEI) offered a good deal for my desired elk hunt and gave me every indication that he could provide the hunt I was looking for. He said I could expect to see elk daily and have a couple of opportunities to take a 5 or 6-point bull elk of good size (advertised 100% success expectation). He stated that I’d be hunting on private ranches for most of my hunt. Almost nothing could have been further from the truth. What I experienced was a very poor hunt with very few cow/calf elk sightings on only the first 2 days of an 8-day hunt. I never saw a legal bull. And, I encountered many other local hunters applying very heavy hunting pressure on all public and so called private hunting grounds. The hunting terrain was very mundane with section roads and flat lands covering most the zone I was hunting (nothing remote). This elk hunt was a total disappointment and I feel I was strongly deceived by SEI, and cheated. On one lucky day of the hunt I did score on a nice trophy mule deer. My guide, Stacy Powell was great and worked hard but couldn’t produce an elk that wasn’t accessible. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Don’t be mislead by SEI. A guided hunt on heavily hunted public grounds is what I sadly experienced. Check out the full story at SavageEncounters.FreeServers.com

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