First off, I’ve hesitated to write this because I certainly do not like to discourage anyone from using the services of one’s business. However, I have felt compelled to do so to only inform/help future hunters of what my husband and I have experienced using Stockton outfitters, as we all know, financially these trips can be quite the undertaking.
Pros:
-Chef Kole was outstanding!! By far, the best meals we’ve ever had. And you will not go hungry!! We were extremely impressed.
-Lodging was very nice! Super comfortable, clean and well taken care of. It was always nice to come back to a nice warm fire after a long day in the cold.
-The Butte area was amazing! Beautiful views and nice towns.
-Saw Elk everyday
-Hunters in camp were awesome! Stories told and the camaraderie between us made the trip so much more enjoyable
Cons:
-Camaraderie between guides and hunters were extremely lacking. (“Due to covid”)
-Our guide had a very unreliable vehicle that cost us valuable hunting time! There were so many set backs. We wish we would have been able to use our own truck as the week went on.
-Tire chains were excessively used with less than mild conditions, which caused even more time lost hunting. The other guides may have only used chains once throughout the whole week.
-We also thought it was odd that breakfast was at 6 a.m., regardless of where the hunting location was.
-Only 2 out of 5 mornings we were in our hunting location by day light.
-We were expecting to hike a minimum of 6 miles per day.. everything was within a short distance from the vehicle. It was extremely disappointing.
-Jeep doors were slammed repeatedly after exiting the vehicle to get to a hunting location, only a few hundred yards away!!
Overall, we enjoyed Montana (what’s not to love) however, the outcome to this hunt was disappointing. We had spent a lot of time and money preparing for this hunt, expecting to be out early and hunting hard ALL day. Ultimately, we would not recommend Stockton outfitters to a friend.
EDIT: In response to Mr. Shutey; We kept our review very subtle and professional. If this were a good review, our delayed response would be as no surprise. We understand you specifically asked of everyone to speak up directly in regards to any aspect of our hunt, however, it certainly would have made things quite awkward, plus as our week continued, we tried to give you all the benefit of the doubt. We wanted to make the best of things, knowing how much we spent on this trip overall. As for our shot opportunity, (which we weren’t even going to cover that in this review) the morning after to possibly recover our game was completely unprofessional and was a complete disaster. We wanted to leave early, knowing how far we had to travel, and unfortunately, you don’t start until after 6 a.m. every morning and our guide misplaced a piece of gear, which delayed us getting to the last known area of where the bull was last seen. We didn’t get there until after 9 A.M.! Which is totally uncalled for! We had taken the shot at last light the previous evening, gave the bull time, however, could not pin point where the bull was, due to the dark. Our plan was to come at first light, search and was hoping to recover that bull. But, due to us arriving so late, other unknown hunters were in the same location before us. The ironic part is, those same hunters were found later on with a 5x5 and also a 4x4 in the back of there trucks, which matched the same sizes as what we saw the night before. So we certainly felt we were cheated the opportunity, that we would have never let happen if it were in our hands. We would have made every effort to get there at first light, to allow us the best chance, which then we would have tried our best and felt more fulfilled. Mr. Shutey was also very condescending towards us hunters, and made comments about our gear as well. I personally did not appreciate it, which again resulted in less communication between us and him. Again, this is only to help future hunters and to share our experience only.
★★★★★
