Folks,

Sorry for the giant pics - All my editing in Imgur didn't help and even photoshop didn't solve some issues.

Not an exhaustive trip report but certainly an exhausting hunt! Roof (joe) and from the campfire and two other friends hunted with Bob Effords Hunting Adventures outfit in Newfoundland in October and I wanted to pass on some of the story, some successes and some warnings. I’ve taken a bit to put this report up as a courtesy and you’ll see why at the end.

We did a lot of research after our last moose hunt in 2014 and decided for this one we wanted to do a fly-in camp with the thought being more game sighted and a more wilderness experience. Lets say we batted .500 on those goals. I visited at least a dozen moose outfitters at the Harrisburg outdoors show and built a matrix before we agreed on Effords.

Flew Dulles to Toronto to Halifax into Deer Lake on Air Canada and it went pretty well. Customs and taking care of the guns in Toronto was OK, albeit we stood there for 15 minutes and watched the Canadian customs having coffee and chatting and nothing happened but made the connection pretty easily. You do have to recheck your bags and they want to put new tags on it with ammo warnings in the bags (your ammo needs to be separate from the guns going into Canada. At least my 10-year-old Canadian currency got a nice “I miss our old money” comment from the cashier. Rifles made it to Deer Lake but the bags had to catch the next plane out and arrived at 0100.

There were many folks heading for the seaplane base and they had local taxis shuttle us the couple hours down there. Gratuitous Beaver shot from the fly-in



Flight in was perhaps 20 minutes to the lake down in the SW lobe of the island. Arriving at camp we met the guides and cook and found the first surprise. We were contracted to be one guide to one hunter. We had been very specific in seeking this out and it was clear talking to the guides that they had tossed the one extra guide out 5 weeks prior and there were no plans for replacement, let alone two extras to fulfill the contract.

Camp was a pretty standard north woods affair. Sledded in over the snow, woods stove, plywood bunks but it did have a propane hot water heater so a hot shower was a great luxury.

The first day dawned foggy and we didn’t get started until about 1200 when you could see your way across the lake. We split up and headed out across and started hiking for an initial jaunt. It is very different terrain from our last moose hunt. Much boggier and you feel it right away. There are no full steps and plan on ending up to your crotch in bog and falling over a few times a day. We hiked perhaps ¾ of a mile to a knob and settled in to glass a bit. We had picked the last hunt of the camp in the hopes the rut was on and we could call a bull in.

Camp from across the lake




We didn’t sight anything and strolled down another path and back to the camp about 1900, the latest you could really hunt and be able to see the rocks on the trip back across the lake.

The next day we started with the longer hikes. I won’t go into all the details but no moose were sighted until the third day for Sandy and me. At that point we were about 3 straight-line GPS miles from where we dropped the boat. Joe and William were much further and I’ll let Joe pipe in with his details.

Sandy and I hunted up behind the camp two mountains the third day. It started foggy and then cleared up a bit (but no bogs!). Sandy spotted a moose way below in a bog, perhaps 1200 feet below and 1000 yards. The guide called and the bull started our way. We hustled up the hill to a good rock. Within a few minutes I saw a dark shape moving in the very thick black spruce. It came out ¾ facing us at what I thought was about 75 yards but in reality was closer to 125. Sandy was up for the shot and on his shot the moose spun left and disappeared (.338-06) I had been watching through my scope and it looked like a hit between the top of the shoulder and the bottom of the hump. We looked for two hours, no sign of blood and no moose.

We hiked back down in 40 degree rain.



Back at Camp that evening one of us commented “well at least we have four days left to hunt” Um, No the guides pointed out we fly out of camp on Friday not Saturday. This was in direct conflict with e-mails I have from Efford’s that had us flying out of Camp on Saturday and departing Deer Lake on Sunday. We had not arranged any lodging for Sat pm and Deer Lake wasn’t rife with possibilities.

On to the hunt! The next day we hunted long and entered a new valley that no one had hunted before. Joe and William went the opposite direction and did the same but they were closer to 7 miles straight line where Sandy I hiked almost 4.

We took a post to glass on a knob spread out with us about 20 yards apart. We hadn’t been there for 5 minutes and a dark spot perhaps 1000 yards away moved. Through the 8X binos I had I thought I saw antlers and the guide was sure. He called (just using his mouth) and the wind was right. The moose’s head went up and he immediately started our way. Along the way he dropped out of sight a couple times. It was my shot and was sitting in some low black spruce and propped my pack up to get at least some rest. He popped out at about 200 yards directly facing me and stopped. I knew we had good cover and the wind in my favor and he would likely come closer but no reason to wait. I shot him in the middle of the chest (.300 H&H 180 gr AB at 3000 fps) and he spun right and took two steps. I shot him in the lungs and his back end sagged. He stepped behind some birch and came out the other side and I shot him in the shoulder. No reason to carry out ammo and I sure wasn’t going to stop shooting if it was on it’s hoofs. No bullets passed through and the shoulder shot hit about 2" below the ball and sheared the leg in half. The first shot took the top of the heart off and he still went 30 yards.

A pretty typical Newfie moose at 34” and the guide estimated a 2 ½ year old bull so some great eating to be had. I was spent and this moose was not going to get passed up I assure you.




Effords has contracted with a helo outfit so you break the animal down and it goes into white fiber bags. When you get back to camp you Sat phone the pilot and he comes and picks it up and then drops by camp to pick up your paperwork and cut sheet. Very efficient and apparently they have not suffered any depredation to bears.



Sandy and the guide continued to hunt up the mountain and I strapped the antlers to my pack and headed back to the boat. They did see a cow moose (we had either sex tags) but alas, Sandy squeezed on an empty chamber and she quickly decided enough of this foolishness and left.

Back at camp we found that Joe and William had scored on two very nice bulls. Joe’s was the same spread as mine but with much better palms and points and Williams was a monster 51” that was the biggest to come out of camp that year. They had earned them too with their phone mileage and GPS apps saying it had been a 14 mile round trip from the boat.



The next day was actually a loss with gale force winds and low ceilings so it would have been a no hunting day anyway. We did fly out on Friday as the guides said and found a couple hotel rooms in the Holiday in Express thanks to a cancelation. Alas there was some Canadian teenage Christian youth group in that decided that 0100 was time to have lots of fun in the hallways. I was nice the first time and the 2nd I used all my sailor words and shocked them into silence. This was an additional $1000 that we did not expect to have to spend according to the contract and my e-mail with Effords.

The next night were at the place we planned at Lush’s Cottages (https://lushscottages.ca) and they were excellent. Highly recommended and they included the shuttle to the airport the next day and were some really nice folks.

Some not favorable observations on the Effords Hunting Adventures.

Effords communication is awful. We were not the only group to comment on it. Getting ahold of them is hard and it took at least 3X times on every e-mail and phone calls did not get returned.

The lack of guides in camp was a breach of contract. It was clear they never had enough guides and after they sent the third one home they did not intend to live up to the contract.

The wrong date to fly out of camp was inexcusable. This resulted in us spending another $1000 and for that we simply got lucky to get a room.

We composed a letter documenting these issues and asked for a $1000 each back from the hunt. This would have put the cost of the hunt in-line with other 2 on 1 hunts. I sent this to Canada via registered mail and Efford’s received it almost six weeks ago. We all feel we have given them adequate time to respond and I wanted to do that before I posted anything negative. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into running an operation like this but these three aspects are unsatisfactory. I cannot recommend Effords if you’re searching for a moose outfitter.

Some good things about the camp.

The guides we did have were excellent and clearly had been in the business a long time. They worked really hard and deserved the tips and gratitude. This also applies to the cook. Great guy who had come into camp as a substitute and didn’t have near what he needed (we were the last camp of the year) but he did a great job feeding us. When you’re wet, cold and exhausted there is no substitute for a hot meal

Overall

Spectacular country. It’s wild and untamed with weather and terrain that is a challenge to hunt. We had expected a fly-in hunt to have game closer to camp and that was certainly not the case. Clearly the previous hunts had affected that. This is tough hunt and Joe commented that except for the climbing it was every bit as tough as his Canadian Mountain goat hunt.

It was very cool to see lots of Caribou. The woodland Caribou have been having some issues and they seem to be returning. A true northern animal I had never seen in person.

I took the wrong rifle. A pre-64 M70 super grade is not what you want to haul around in the bogs and mountains despite my strong romantic hunting notions. Next time it’s plastic and stainless.

The trip home.

US Customs at Toronto is a morass of incompetence and indifference. I spoke to the Major in charge. She did not care one whit and said “this is how we do it”. Two planes of hunter arrived and they only slowed down. I watched them roll multiple gun cases off the baggage belt and slam them to the ground It took more than 2 1/2 hours for the four of us to clear. She said plan on 3 hours. I will never fly commercial into Canada with a gun again and the shame is it’s not Canada it’s our own government doing this to 4 people who spent time and effort to have global entry cards. For shame.

A few more pics that didn't fit in the first post.



Dawn





Ingwe was here?

Great trip. Grats

Beats what we had going on! Nice.

Sad about the situation with the outfitter but glad you scored! Thanks for the warning though!

Loved the story, and thanks for the heads up. Great pics, and congrats on the moose. I'd love to do this some day.

Great report, Pugs. That is really too bad about the outfitter and hopefully some here will take notes and choose someone else. Can't wait to taste that moose and we have the Big House for Jagerfes (hint) Memorial Day weekend...

I've been on a number of guided hunts myself and I as of yet I have not had one where everything you were told by the outfitter came to pass. Weather, animal movements are all part of "hunting" but the contractual services of the hunting operations must be met. Thank goodness for sites such as this where some of these less than stellar outfitters can be exposed. I did go to Newfoundland 2 years ago and hunted with Pius Besaw of Besaws Log Cabin Outfitters. They did do a good job and provided a good hunt. I was satisfied and although everything wasn't perfect it was good. I would rebook with Besaw's for a return trip if they offered caribou but they don't.. I actually thought about Efford's for that return trip to hunt a Woodland Caribou but they are now at the bottom of my list. One thing I learned and will never do is book a hunt at a "show" based on their fancy booths, photo albums, and sales pitches. Only way I'll do it now is by having a reliable reference from someone I know that has been there and done that.

Ditto on the reliable references from someone I know and trust. My first outfitter I booked was from the Harrisburg show and not a good experience.

My Dad got a bum hunt from the Harrisburg show too.

Great photos!!
Many thanks for the honest review, a Canadian Moose has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I am glad to hear straight stories of outfitters and guides

still looks like you had a great trip- even if it was not what you expected

Pugs--I hunted with Effords in 2015, he's a liar, thief and pussy! We booked a drive in camp in Gander, he sold that camp and never told us, a couple of his clients told us. He put us in his seaplane camp that was loaded with local hunters. We had a 3 hour drive to the hunting area each way and road hunted all day, the guides would hardly get out of the truck. Everytime we turned down a road, 2 or 3 trucks just came out and we had 2 or 3 trucks following behind us. I never saw a moose, I had a 1x1 hunt, 2 guys out of 5 shot moose off the road. When we told Efforts wife we wanted to talk to him, he never showed up at camp. Two of the guys went to talk to Effords at Harrisburg, he got smart with a member of this site and the member poked him in the chest and bounced him off the back of the booth. The other guy grabbed him and got him out of there. Effords screwed us plain and simple, he didn't want to give us our $18,500 back ($3700x5 hunters) so he just stuck us in a [bleep]-y area, he needed his nose wiped! I've booked 3 hunts at Harrisburg and all 3 sucked! Effords, Cherokee Outfitters in Colorado (he no longer has an outfitters license, Chuck Baker) and Virginia Guide Service. Go see Effords at Harrisburg and let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing looks like an amazing good time.

Pugs, Thanks for sharing! The pictures look great! I’m sorry to hear about your outfitter. That just plain sucks, but it looks like you did an excellent job of making the best of it.

Excellent write-up Allen.I can't add much but will post some pictures later.

+1. What you overcome during the hunt, is often the best part of the hunt. Bully to you (pun intended) for coming out of it with meat.

Just the same, I hope your next outfitter is top notch.



FC

Excellent story, Allen.

(And I'm here to tell y'all that Pugs' moose is pretty tasty too! He can cook a moose as well as shoot it!)

Thanks for sharing! Great pics and great insights!

Guys I hunted with in Africa stopped going to Harrisburg. Not that I look for guides much, but I’ll be very leery about them and really look for references.

Great, honest write up. Glad you had some success and some good times and managed to persevere through the rest.

Good write up Pugs! Glad you got your moose, and glad you got the word out on sketchy outfitter and flying with guns into Canada...

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.



P

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.



P

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

Tag

This NF moose deal has been near the top of my bucket list for a few years now. I'm just not sure I'd take the vax just to go hunt Canada. My problem, but it is what it is.

Thanks for posting in such great detail. Reading this report certainly nullifies the day to day we have to occupy our time today. Congratulations on a good hunt, despite the apparent incompetence of the outfitter.

Thanks for the report and the pic’s Pugs. I just don’t understand folks who can’t keep their word in regard to the services they say they will provide. But most irritating are our petty border agents who are either angry about being there, or have an exaggerated sense of their self-importance.

Good write up. Never hunted with a guide- probably never will - but putting the word out good or bad, is a service to all.

Getting your quarry under adverse conditions is a plus....

I've not dealt with any other than border crossing folks Canadian, in transit. I have a higher opinion of them than ours.

Nice writeup. I have read too much bad about them, to ever hunt with them. I went with Portland Creek in 2010 and it was a blast. Everything went perfectly and I could not have been happier. We drove (three days each way), as I was not going to mess with trying to fly my meat home. Canadian Customs back then, was great, both going and coming home. We went out through Maine and they never even looked at our rifles.

All four in camp got bulls, but mine was by far the best. It was a great hunt and I brought home 300 pounds of boned-out, vac sealed meat.

Thank you for sharing your experience and pictures.

Thank You for taking this time to write this up.... I have a fly~in moose hunt on my list.. Seems Africa is snake-bit at this point.... Great job and I am glad you got meat... BTW how does your buddy like the 338/06 ? Who made it ??

Sandy's .338-06 is the Weatherby Mark V, stainless synthetic ultra lightweight. He's been really pleased with it and it's kind of his all purpose rifle.