Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Integrity questions on Blair Worldwide Hunting

This is a thread from AccurateReloading that I thought hunters here should be alerted to:
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3411043/m/3471078051/p/1

An extremely sad event. Keep us up on progress please.

Well, if the guy thought Blair was the best in the business and trusted him to the tune of $70,000, I guess he learned a valuable lesson.

Must be old money.

Why don't people book directly with the outfitter? Why the middle man?

Calvin,
For the same reason people don't go to the farm to buy their potatoes, or they don't build their own cars, or...
BBerg

That's a ridiculous analogy.......I can see the need logistically if one is heading around the world for Asian Ibex or something......but here in the US? Why?

Fraud.....

i had a trip booked thru blairs to go to africa a few years ago.
all paid in full.
mother in law comes down with cancer.
it was eating her up quick, so about 3 months out, we canceled, (she died the week we would have been in namibia) we wanted to book another time, but blairs tells me they couldn't book the hunt i was supposed to go on, so i ended up buying the hunt and didn't go.

cut n dry, he said no money to be refunded.

so i lost out on it, and other money put out.

I'm one of the guys he calls out of the blue, every so often. Can't wait for the next call...

One thing I noticed on the AR thread (and some of the stories here) is that apparently many people never bother to buy trip insurance, even when shelling out tens of thousands of dollars. Trip insurance is cheap, and covers you when things go south.

It also appears that quite a few people don't read the contract they sign with a booking agent or outfitter.

well said - for me anything over $4K gets insured!

How does the payment work on an outfitted hunt like Blairs? Do you pay Blair and then he pays the guide?

Still not sure why you don't just send you deposit to the guide, and deal directly with him. But, I've never gone guided, so I might now be sure how the system works.

Most of the people who use booking agents do so because agents normally have a variety of hunts available.

Let's say you want to hunt elk. You can either contact a bunch of elk outfitters, or use a booking agent who works with a dozen different outfitters. The agent should be able to hook you up with a hunt in your budget range, with the features you want: tent camp vs. ranch hunt; any bull will do vs. a really nice bull. It's sort of like being an independent insurance agent, who works with a lot of companies and can find a plan to fit your needs.

Since the agent is getting a small cut of the total price, the money is sent to the agent. This may or may not cost anything extra, since a lot of outfitters find it worth the cost to use an agent. It saves them hassle and gets them more hunters.

The really good agents know their outfitters well, often hunting with them beforehand, or having one of their friends hunt with one of the outfitters. Some do not, however. I have encountered some bad agents, but there are some very good ones out there, who will not only book the hunt but help with all the other details.

The only agent I've used is Atcheson, so I don't know how others compare. Keith has always given me the name and number of the outfitter to call and ask questions and make sure every thing is how I want it before any money or paper work is done.

I have used him four times. Three were great hunts that were as advertised. The other hunt was a Scottish stag hunt that was canceled because the outfitter went out of business. Keith called me the day he found out and sent a check that week refunding 100% of my money.

Keith Atcheson (and all the other Atchesons) are top-notch. His dad started the business, and it is still run the same way, on hard work and honesty.

We had a client cancel 2 weeks before the hunt, the outfitter refunded everything, including the deposit. Just one of the reasons he gets so much repeat business.

Don't these agents/consultants supposedly weed out the trash so the hunter doesn't have to worry about the outfitter's reputation/dependability ?

I still don't get why someone would pay the booking agent, instead of the outfitter. Aren't you just asking for trouble? I say pay a deposit to the outfitter, and pay in full when you are there and everything is good and you are going hunting.

Crap like this is the reason Im still researching my first safari, goin on 3 yrs now.
I aint rich, and will not absorb a 50 thou boot in the a$$ from a bunch of thieves.

Gunner