Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Another Newfoundland Moose Hunt (photo heavy)

Enjoyed the pics and the recap! Sounds like a good assessment of the outfitter! Congrats on taking a fine trophy and making the best of a tough situation.


My experience finding quality outfitters at the Harrisburg show has been better. There are some good ones!



Thanks for sharing!

Thanks much! I'm certainly sure there are some really good outfitters at the Harrisburg show and this was not meant as any disparagement of the show or the fine state of PA. If folks have a chance to visit the Harrisburg show do it. Even if you don't spend a dime it's a full day of looking at neat stuff and things to do. The NRA taking it's operation over has been a huge benefit and it's a much bigger and better affair than ever before.

The truly good NL outfitters do not do shows like that in Harrisburg. They are usually booked out 2-3 years ahead with very high repeat percentage.
I hunted with another outfitter in NL in September. Was surprised to see Effords fly in midweek with groceries and another guide. Then we got rained in an extra day, so lost access to the chopper for the return, and our outfitter had Effords pick us up. Apparently he was doing a lot outside of paying attention to his own clients.
Out trip was interesting for a bunch of reasons. We hunted with Art Ryan, Mountain Top Outfitters. As we got to the rock a day early, we gave a quick call to let him know we were in the neighborhood. His response was to tell us to come on out, we could chopper into the camp a day early. As I said before, we spent an extra day on the end as well. No extra charge.
We hunted the 2nd week of the season and ran 4/4 on bulls. On Wed afternoon, after our tags were filled, I could see 5 moose in the surrounding hills, with my binocs. Believe Ryan ran close to 99% this season, and has been doing so for years. I think Ryan has 13 camps scattered around, but that should be confirmed.
I shot my moose on a day the guides were pretty certain was poor, poor conditions(monsoon rain going sideways). But, the guides said we had to try. The gods were with us an I took a young bull with my 1899 300 Savage.
Our cook could have been a little more energetic, but, no one went hungry.
While Ryans camps are closer to spartan than 5 star, he provides everything you need, and nothing you don't. Top to bottom, it was a hard working bunch.
Finally, there are many good outfitters in NL. I see no reason to consider on that has poor reviews. Move on.

Pugs, I enjoyed your report and pics. Great job.

Thanks for the report and info regarding Efford's. I've wanted to hunt NF for many years and am building a short list of outfitter to call. Efford's won't be on it. Congrats on the bulls you did get!

Great read! thanks!

Pugs: You guys should consider sending your issues with the outfitter to The Hunting Report...

Thanks for the report and pics, and congrats my friend. As someone else said, good on you guys for making the best of a potentially altogether crappy situation. Having been on the wrong end of the shytestick more than once on a guided outing, few things make me more angry than being lied to and taken advantage of by supposed fellow outdoorsmen. In a situation like yours, the reality is that once you've paid and arrive you're all in, and your host has all the leverage, especially if in a remote area.

Holy balls on your one night hotel bill, BTW. Once again, the over-the-barrel situation. Knowing how stubborn I am, I'd likely have slept on a pile of pine boughs or inquired with the local LE to ask what offenses could be committed where penalties included a night in the drunk tank and could be settled with paying a fine without having to see a judge...

Awesome pics & story here. Sorry to hear about the poor experience w/ the outfitter that’s disheartening but definitely cool ya made it as good as it could be!

I’ve always wanted to hunt NF as well. That’s some cool looking country!

Thank you.. Make sure you send them a email with this link in it.. So they can see that word of mouth is the best and worst thing that can happen to an outfitter.. I and my 3 buddies will NOT consider these guys.. At least you did not get skunked..

My son and his Godfather are going this Sept. with Arluck Outfitters this coming Sept. I hope for their sake it’s a better hunt for them.

Experiences like the OPs give a lot of outfitters a bad name/ rep. That becomes a hard thing to overcome in the internet age with anyone that does their DD.
Arluck looks like a quality outfit. My son talked with 8 different clients and all were positive in regards to Arlucks.

I was considering a hunt with these fellas, but not anymore.



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Looks like y'all had a heck of a hunt to me. Sounds like the outfitter is definitely a little sketchy, but had good experienced guides that went way above what they had to. I'm surprised that Sandy character was allowed to hunt after wounding - missing a bull at point blank range. I guarantee all our hunters a shot at a nice buck, but I don't let them use them for target practice.

Congrats. Looks like a good time.

Hunted with Effords about six years ago on a fly in hunt. My buddy and I both managed to get small bulls even though the guides wanted to start late and come in early.
All of their equipment was in piss poor condition- outboard motors, quad etc.
Efford, on the plane, never said hello, thanks for coming or goodbye.
Never again

I am booked with Efford's in 2023 and will be my third hunt with them. 1st was Caribou and 2nd Moose all successful. Hard hunting guides, excellent camp cooks. On the second day of the moose hunt one of the Can Am ATV's would not start while retrieving meat. In an a few minutes with my Leatherman I got it started. At Christmas I received a nice card from Bob with a big thank you.

The Hunting Report hasn't operated since about 2017. Barbara Crown works for SCI.

I hope your future experiences are as positive as your past hunts.



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Me, too.
I have been on two guided hunts in my life that didn't go well, but made the best of it.

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