Post by bowtech on May 20, 2006 20:57:20 GMT -5
Recently Roger and myself visited high ridge hunting preserve with my buddy Rodger on a Russian boar hunt.
This PA. preserve has been advertised alot and seemed to be in need of a review since many may be thinking of going on a preserve hunt for the first time.
Here is the review as seen by myself and Rodger.
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The experience was a bit frustrating at first contact.
The owner seemed complacent and very non-committal when I spoke to him over the phone.
That is not to say that he was unpleasant but rather that is to say the conversations were cool and short.
Concerns and questions were answered as if business was of no real concern at the moment.
This was the impression I carried for 4 months during the wait to go.
2 weeks before the date , the prices jumped and the range for those prices changed.
I cant fault that since gas prices drive the market and all things are tied to that.
What I didn't care for was the elimination of the weight scale pricing (which did not apply to me but was a great thing) in as much as you could almost know the cost of the hog by the size ....$2. per. pound averaged was the past cost average.
When I called about this I was told that they no longer did the weight pricing.
The trophy boars were $650+ and when I asked how the + was determined, he said it depends on what it weights
I guess old habits are hard to break
So everything was finalized and we headed out
Upon arriving we were greeted with a small 1 level rustic T1-11 sided building and a narrow area in which to park. It was semi-remote and very quiet..(except for the Emu's "drunning".)
The place was absent of anyone although I had called them earlier to inform them of my estimated arrival time.
It was run down looking and I wasn't getting a good vibe from the condition of the building but upon entry I was pleasantly surprised to find it clean and comfortable.
It consisted of a den type living room with mounted animals of different types on the wall. Two very comfortable couches (pull out beds), a recliner, TV & VCR & fireplace.
Three bedrooms with double bunks to accommodate 16 and 1 cot. Also, a full kitchen stove, fridge and microwave and washer and dryer. Lots of extra towels and blankets furnished and 2 full bathrooms with showers.
That was the first good experience so far!
On the prior call (during that day) I had asked if we might be able to get out that afternoon due to the weather , which was fore casted to be miserable for the next day.
Now I called to say that we had arrived and was told that we would be met in the morning and nothing was said about my prior call.
Not even a comment.
I could understand that they couldn't do it but the lack of any response put that cold feeling in my stomach again.
(However, he did tell us to make ourselves at home and relax.
We had full access with everything being unlocked.)
None the less , Roger and I had a good time checking our bows out and doing a little walk back through one area checking out some of the animals then later going out for some food.
The next morning we were up and waiting when the guides arrived and thankfully they were good guys because by now I was on the short side of my Irish fuse.
They got it off right with their good down home attitudes and willingness to make our day a good one
Before heading out we were treated to a breakfast cooked by the guides which consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, juice and coffee
Later the owner stopped in to give us a run down of the day and what was to be offered along with what was to be expected of us.
He was much better in person!
In the field the guides were top notch and worked pretty freely as to what we required of them...in fact they asked us how we wanted to do it
Some guides will attempt to force the issue as to what will work without the consideration of what the client wants to do.
There was a bit of this in their strategy but it was so slight as to be considered helpful suggesting rather than an order of attack.....I liked that.
The day went great and these guys worked themselves hard because the hogs forced them too.
The guides went in the brush after the hogs 5 or 6 times and attempted to keep them on the move for us.
Without them it would have been a pretty poor hunt I am thinking
The hogs were a great strain and provided a real challenge for the bow hunter and the guide ~ LOL!
All of the hogs were wild and showed no signs of being anywhere near tame and offered quite a few choices on the size. Stalking was difficult for the most part on these hogs as They spooked easily at 25-40 yards
The area to be hunted was not large but the layout was good and therefore a challenge.
The area itself offered a mix of thickets, fields, open woods and rough rocky terrain....not all exactly easy walking!
I would say that the west portion of the property is the best and would support 6 hunters comfortably.
There was a lack of freezers and a walk in cooler but a decent in-ground cooler came in the form of a old converted potato cellar with a concrete floor which served us well.
The guides were very adept at taking care of the hogs for us! They field dressed them, loaded and hauled them back to "camp" on ATV's, hung and skinned them, quartered them, cut out the loins and put the meat in our coolers all for $20 extra.
At this point I would like to point out that if you want archery targets...bring your own!
One cube (not in the greatest shape) was it and a limit of 25yrds was all.
After the hunt , when it was time to total up the owner did give a $50. reduction on the cost of the second animal which he says is standard practice.
Although the billing was honest , make sure you get everything in writing in case of last minute price changes
I can generally rate a place by how much I feel like tipping the guide afterwards and this was one of the $40. days.
My own tip range in the North east is $20. - $100.
This PA. preserve has been advertised alot and seemed to be in need of a review since many may be thinking of going on a preserve hunt for the first time.
Here is the review as seen by myself and Rodger.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The experience was a bit frustrating at first contact.
The owner seemed complacent and very non-committal when I spoke to him over the phone.
That is not to say that he was unpleasant but rather that is to say the conversations were cool and short.
Concerns and questions were answered as if business was of no real concern at the moment.
This was the impression I carried for 4 months during the wait to go.
2 weeks before the date , the prices jumped and the range for those prices changed.
I cant fault that since gas prices drive the market and all things are tied to that.
What I didn't care for was the elimination of the weight scale pricing (which did not apply to me but was a great thing) in as much as you could almost know the cost of the hog by the size ....$2. per. pound averaged was the past cost average.
When I called about this I was told that they no longer did the weight pricing.
The trophy boars were $650+ and when I asked how the + was determined, he said it depends on what it weights
I guess old habits are hard to break
So everything was finalized and we headed out
Upon arriving we were greeted with a small 1 level rustic T1-11 sided building and a narrow area in which to park. It was semi-remote and very quiet..(except for the Emu's "drunning".)
The place was absent of anyone although I had called them earlier to inform them of my estimated arrival time.
It was run down looking and I wasn't getting a good vibe from the condition of the building but upon entry I was pleasantly surprised to find it clean and comfortable.
It consisted of a den type living room with mounted animals of different types on the wall. Two very comfortable couches (pull out beds), a recliner, TV & VCR & fireplace.
Three bedrooms with double bunks to accommodate 16 and 1 cot. Also, a full kitchen stove, fridge and microwave and washer and dryer. Lots of extra towels and blankets furnished and 2 full bathrooms with showers.
That was the first good experience so far!
On the prior call (during that day) I had asked if we might be able to get out that afternoon due to the weather , which was fore casted to be miserable for the next day.
Now I called to say that we had arrived and was told that we would be met in the morning and nothing was said about my prior call.
Not even a comment.
I could understand that they couldn't do it but the lack of any response put that cold feeling in my stomach again.
(However, he did tell us to make ourselves at home and relax.
We had full access with everything being unlocked.)
None the less , Roger and I had a good time checking our bows out and doing a little walk back through one area checking out some of the animals then later going out for some food.
The next morning we were up and waiting when the guides arrived and thankfully they were good guys because by now I was on the short side of my Irish fuse.
They got it off right with their good down home attitudes and willingness to make our day a good one
Before heading out we were treated to a breakfast cooked by the guides which consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, juice and coffee
Later the owner stopped in to give us a run down of the day and what was to be offered along with what was to be expected of us.
He was much better in person!
In the field the guides were top notch and worked pretty freely as to what we required of them...in fact they asked us how we wanted to do it
Some guides will attempt to force the issue as to what will work without the consideration of what the client wants to do.
There was a bit of this in their strategy but it was so slight as to be considered helpful suggesting rather than an order of attack.....I liked that.
The day went great and these guys worked themselves hard because the hogs forced them too.
The guides went in the brush after the hogs 5 or 6 times and attempted to keep them on the move for us.
Without them it would have been a pretty poor hunt I am thinking
The hogs were a great strain and provided a real challenge for the bow hunter and the guide ~ LOL!
All of the hogs were wild and showed no signs of being anywhere near tame and offered quite a few choices on the size. Stalking was difficult for the most part on these hogs as They spooked easily at 25-40 yards
The area to be hunted was not large but the layout was good and therefore a challenge.
The area itself offered a mix of thickets, fields, open woods and rough rocky terrain....not all exactly easy walking!
I would say that the west portion of the property is the best and would support 6 hunters comfortably.
There was a lack of freezers and a walk in cooler but a decent in-ground cooler came in the form of a old converted potato cellar with a concrete floor which served us well.
The guides were very adept at taking care of the hogs for us! They field dressed them, loaded and hauled them back to "camp" on ATV's, hung and skinned them, quartered them, cut out the loins and put the meat in our coolers all for $20 extra.
At this point I would like to point out that if you want archery targets...bring your own!
One cube (not in the greatest shape) was it and a limit of 25yrds was all.
After the hunt , when it was time to total up the owner did give a $50. reduction on the cost of the second animal which he says is standard practice.
Although the billing was honest , make sure you get everything in writing in case of last minute price changes
I can generally rate a place by how much I feel like tipping the guide afterwards and this was one of the $40. days.
My own tip range in the North east is $20. - $100.
