Sherman Creek Outfitters

Submitted by: Bill Covintgon

Review Submitted: Jan 21, 2011

Hunt Date: Oct 2, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Muzzleloader

Price Range: 3000-3999

UNPROFESSIONAL OPERATION

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE save your money. If you bought your hunt on ebay, file a paypal dispute RIGHT AWAY! Joe and Jodi could care less about you. You are on a canned hunt on public land and they just go through the motions. I was promised a 1-on-1 guided "gurantee trophy hunt." All the guides quite just before I got there and I didn't get a single 1-on-1 guide opportunity, I was in a stand most the time. Your money is well spent elsewhere.

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Submitted by: Bill LaBeau

Review Submitted: Oct 31, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 14, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 6

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

Sherman Creek - Joe & Jodi Rassmusen are Dishonest

Sounds like a disgruntled hunter, Iam, does not change the facts supporting this claim. At least 5 of the 11 in camp were sold a day of Elk hunting for a day in which the season was closed. For 3 of us that represented an extra day of hunting that we purchased for hunting Elk at $400 each. When confronted the duo told us that we bought a combination hunt - I gues what ever it takes to rip off hard working poeple that actually expected a hunting experience. Our safety was also in question since we had to get our "guide" (never Elk hunted and very limited general hunting experience) off of the mountain 2 days in a row. The day I went up he ran us as hard as he could, it was windy and wet, the "Guide" had cotton BDU's and a cotton long sleeve T and an electronic elk call. It was not long once we reached the top that he was soaked and shivering quite noticably. He had no compas, knife or safety gear. You will survive on the food but not what was represented on thier website. This was to be my first Elk Bowhunt, I still look forward to going on my first Elk bowhunt. Joe did not talk to us much at all, no preparation night before, no weather reports. Met some good people in the other hunters and an assistant the Joe hired from Craigs List, the only one to have an actuall set of elk calls. 3 "guides" including Joe all with electronic calls of questionable quality. Nothing close to a hunting experience. Garbage recepticles of all kinds were overflowing from dumpsters to the ones inand around the cabins. The day of arrival we met the other hunters (best part of trip) and watched a rat run around our gear and the cabin we were standing by, one of who knows how many he was raising for thier Reptile busines. Expect to eat under the stench of the reptiles and dogs housed in the saame quarters that you will be eating in so don't worry about scent control. No such thing as the 1/1 guide service, 4 hours of total windshield time each day and dinner typically between 10pm and midnight. 5 of us left on the 3rd day which kept our sanity, increased cost and succedded in putting more profit in the dihonest couple pocket. Could write a short story on this experience not much of any of it good. Beware of these scam artists!!!!!

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Submitted by: Jason M

Review Submitted: Oct 25, 2010

Hunt Date: Oct 20, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Mule Deer

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 1000-1999

Avoid This Outfitter at all costs

1. When booking the hunt and confirming with multiple follow up communications, I mentioned we did not want to sit in stands and we were primarly interested in Mule Deer. We sat in stand on multiple occassions of the hunt and did not see a legal mule deer buck which is not what was agreed upon. We also felt forced by Joe to sit in the stands due to his outfitting and guiding all 4 hunters at the same time, which we did not agree to in the purchase. 2. I mentioned I was concerened about the zero on my rifle as I was flying in from Philadelphia...you asked me to be in camp at 4 p.m. We arrived at 330 and you all did not arrive until near dark. I did check zero with perhaps 5 mins to spare however was not comfortable with the non chalant attitude to my concern. Additionally, I purchased an out of state license and tags which coupled with an expensive flight from Pennsylvania, representing a large investment in your business which I have not receive the advertised service or advertised and represented proper outcome. 3. It appeared that none of the stand sites were prepared. All 4 hunters commented that there seemed to be no deer activity during daylight hours in or around the stands. On the first 2 days of the hunt, there were 4 people in 4 different stands for 4 hours. In a total of 64 person hours, the only deer seen were a doe a fawn and a spike buck which are not legal to shoot. Joe only baited when we complained and still required us to sit in stands, which we asked not do to prior to booking the hunt. 4. The Mule deer property had deer however it was not as prepresented in booking the hunt and Joe made no effort to guide us. We saw many doe however no buck until a very small buck was seen while not in legal shooting light. Furthermore, when Joe mentioned he had seen eight 30 inch mule deer buck the week before, he did not guide us to find them nor did he know where they might be bedded or even a good place to begin looking which he was not willing to do. He did not want to "guide" at all. He did not guide at all and on one morning and while with me, he headed straight back to the truck at 9 a.m. without seeing any legal deer, bringin me with him. 5. On that same morning, when James did not arrive at the truck at the 10 a.m. meeting time, Joe did not show any concern. Joe had suggested we split up that morning when I had asked if I should hunt with James. Joe had us split up and was happy to fall asleep in the truck while I went to look for the potentially lost hunter. Not until the Game and Fish officer arrived, did Joe make any effot to find James. Both times, I had to walk in on my own and try to locate James. As the outfitter and guide, Joe should have taken this role as James safety is his responsibility. 6. Joe appeared to employ an unlicenced and inexperienced out of work contractor, John, as a "guide." John did not even have knowledge of the "public" logging roads Joe had us walking on to find deer and further split up the hunters who had no knowledge of the area; allowing one hunter to travel on his own. In my opinion, very unsafe and irresponsible. Our safety was further in jeopardy on multiple occassions due to Joe falling asleep while driving. All 4 hunters made mention of this type of event during the hunt and there were times when James and Dave offered to drive for Joe as he could barely hold his eyes open while driving, swerving unsafely. 7. In 5 days of hunting, none of the hunters had a shot opportunity at a legal deer. Two of the hunters in camp did not even see a buck at all during the entire hunt. The hunter named Dave angrily left the camp early due to the lack of deer and the ambiguity of Joe to make any effort to assist us. 8. James and I agree that Joe's actions displayed no effort to make the hunt successful. Although this is a fair chase hunt, I feel Joe as the outfitter and guide, was negligent in fulfilling his portion of the contract and made no effort to make our hunt successful. He disreguarded our needs and was not prepared for the hunt, which is the main reason hunters hire a guide. Furthermore I feel that Sherman Creek Outfitters misrepresented the hunt and the potential for results which lured us as buyers to purchase the services. Sherman Creek Outfitters also compromised our safety. 9. Lastly, Joe made no apology nor did he offer any explanation or condolences upon our leaving camp. It seemed Joe was looking forward to our leaving more than making any effort to make the hunt successful

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Submitted by: Mike Smith

Review Submitted: Oct 1, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 15, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

scam elk hunt

this place is a JOKE,11 hunters and 2 guides,enuff said.joe and his wife smoked us for 24,000 dollars.5 guys left after the 3rd day,way over hunted and he only owns about 120 acres,all the rest is public.the camp is a mess,7 dogs and there waste all over,dumpsters full of rotten garbage and reptiles in the house wear u r to eat.stands were not baited till we got there and 75% of his trail cams were dead.couldnt wait to get the heck out of there,nobody killed anything except time. this place may have been a good spot to hunt years ago but that is over with now.please aviod the place and save your money.

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Submitted by: Michael Smith

Review Submitted: Oct 1, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 15, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

elk hunt

11 hunters hunters in camp,2 guides...enuff said,what a joke.smoked us for 24,000 dollars.a real shit hole,dogs all over the camp and reptiles in the house wear we ate at .5 hunters left after the 3rd day,i was the only one to see a bear,to dark to shot.we r takin legal action to c what can be done.please stay away form this dump.all they want is your money.

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Submitted by: Adam Gabel

Review Submitted: Sep 25, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 7, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Bow

Price Range:

Waste of Time Hunt!

Just reading some reviews from this outfitters FROMthis year. I see we all had the same BAD hunt. I would stay as far away from this outfitter. It is all lies!!! The guides are all leaving as well. I am glad to see Drury took them off their outfitter page. BEWARE OF THEIR SCAM!!!!!

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Submitted by: Adam Gabel

Review Submitted: Sep 24, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 24, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Praire

Method: Bow

Price Range: Any

Been On mutiple guided hunts. By far the worst outfitter I have seen. If I were you, don't waste your money and buy tags and plane tickets. Save what money you can. They could care less about their hunters. Just going to be upset if you waste your time at their camp. I left early and so did the guides. They where embarrassed of what joke that the place has become!!!

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Submitted by: Jeff Peterson

Review Submitted: Sep 21, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 14, 2010

Species Hunted: Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

A complete scam operation!!!!!!

The 1 on 1 guide elk hunt ended up being an 11 on 1 Joke. No animals, food sucked, a total scam. No guides except Joe, sat in stands under a grain pile for elk during the rut. I went by myself and by the 3rd day 5 of us had tickets home. He is scamming hard working guys that love to hunt. Please don't waste your time.

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Submitted by: Paul Ovadal

Review Submitted: Sep 21, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 15, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 6

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

Outfitter should be run out of business

I've been on serveral hunts and guided hunters myself since 1989 and I have never been on a hunt that was anywhere close to this bad. 11 hunters in camp and most were suppose to be 1 on 1 guided and there was only Joe, who new what he was doing, but then he was done by 8 or 8:30 each day. There was a kid, who had hunted deer with a gun a couple times and a guy who had hunted there before but never guided. The kid used an electronic caller that sounded terrible, got us lost a couple times, we had GPS's or we would still be out there. 5 out of 11 guys left after 3 days of hunting it was so bad. You can survive on the food, if you like a donut for breakfast and noodles for lunch. Very few stands and you sat on them no matter the wind direction. Most of the time I sat on stand was a waste of time as the wind was blowing towards the bait and that was the only shooting lane. The stands were not baited till the day before we arrived, so nothing was coming to the bait. We were also bear hunting and found out when we got there it is illegal to hunt over bait for bear in WA. Joe didn't care, said no one will know. 11 hunters saw a couple does, one bear and two guys heard an elk bugle. Stay as far away from Sherman Creek as you can, he is just taking your money and you will end up mad and extremely disappointed.

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Submitted by: Donna Sharp

Review Submitted: Aug 25, 2010

Hunt Date: Dec 5, 2009

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

Out of Business????

Gosh, I don't know where to start. We purchased this hunt as a guaranteed hunt. My husband and I hunted 5 days each from daylight to dark (so 10 days in the field) We saw no elk and 2 bucks. Since we were unsuccessful we were offered a free hunt opening weekend which was good news. Now here is the bad news we are ready, plane tickets purchased and we can't get them to even call us back. There toll free number is not working. I have emailed them, I have emailed there website person. For the last 7 days I have left several messages on Joe and Jodis mobile I have heard nothing... I know they are there because I just emailed a guy who purchased his hunt off of Ebay, He was in bear camp with 10 other guys. No bears killed, and only 1 guy even seen a bear. So I guess I am out my $4050.00 for the hunt and $800.00 for plane tickets. I have went on many guided hunts and have never had an experience like this one... Very dissappointing. Don't let this happen to you... Beware

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

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