USA: Any experience With Southwest Trophy Hunting In Texas?

[Darren K]

Afternoon,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with or knows anything about Southwest Trophy Hunting in Southwest Texas? They started showing up on my Facebook feed with some deals that seem too good to be true, but the only info I can find on them is from their website or their Facebook page. They require 50% down to book a hunt for next year, which is pretty standard in my experience, but like I said, it seems too good to be true and I'd be afraid that someone would take a deposit and run with it. If anyone has any info about or experience with this outfit, I'd be happy to hear it. Thanks!
Darren

 

[gizmo]

I have no experience with them. All I can say is check references and do a bunch of homework. Every dude with a truck and a rifle in Texas claims to be an outfitter and 99.99999 % of them are fly by night guys and or crooks. If it's to good to be true it usually is.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Hey, I have a truck and a rifle - or two - or three - as far as my wife knows, but I'm no outfitter!

 

[BWH]

Never heard of them..... that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, I’ve been on the scene a long time. Hit all the shows, get all the publications, etc...

With all due respect... do you mind sharing what you are looking for specie wise & hunt experience?

 

[Darren K]

So the offer was 3 days/2 nights unlimited hogs and an exotic of any species, any size, should the opportunity present itself for $600 with no trophy fees. It is a free range hunt on 2000 acres on which he said they have a lot of mouflon, aoudad, Blackbuck, and axis. I'm guessing because fences get knocked down? When I saw it, i got excited because everything he listed is on my bucket list, but not in my price range at the moment. I figured $600 to go blast some hogs for 3 days is a pretty good deal in of itself, but throw in the chance to knock an animal off my bucket list, and it's a screaming good deal. Sounds too good to be true. Then I started looking through their Facebook page and a lot of the pictures were on there dozens of times like they just keep reusing old photos. They do have 36000 followers on Facebook, but I have yet to see anyone who has hunted with them post anything good, bad, or indifferent which is why I thought I'd check here first

 

[Darren K]

As far as experience goes, I'm not a guy that requires much. For that price to include lodging and a semi guided hunt, I wouldn't expect anymore than basic lodging and to be dropped off at a stand or a hunting area. As long as the hunting was good, I'd be ok with that. I understand that you get what you pay for with outfitters.

 

[gizmo]

So the offer was 3 days/2 nights unlimited hogs and an exotic of any species, any size, should the opportunity present itself for $600 with no trophy fees. It is a free range hunt on 2000 acres on which he said they have a lot of mouflon, aoudad, Blackbuck, and axis. I'm guessing because fences get knocked down? When I saw it, i got excited because everything he listed is on my bucket list, but not in my price range at the moment. I figured $600 to go blast some hogs for 3 days is a pretty good deal in of itself, but throw in the chance to knock an animal off my bucket list, and it's a screaming good deal. Sounds too good to be true. Then I started looking through their Facebook page and a lot of the pictures were on there dozens of times like they just keep reusing old photos. They do have 36000 followers on Facebook, but I have yet to see anyone who has hunted with them post anything good, bad, or indifferent which is why I thought I'd check here first

Smells pretty fishy to me. At 600$ for. 2 days/ 3 nights they are loosing money by the time you add in meals and staff. I guess if they feed you beani winnies and you have no support staff staying in some old farm house or trailer with no bedding etc... you could make it work.
I can tell you both as an outfitter and a client you get what you pay for. If it’s a bargain basement hunt then that’s what you get, a bargain basement experience with the risk of it being a nightmare. Kinda like finding a 2019 Ferrari for 5k. Gotta be whole lotta something wrong with it.
Not to say that one has to pay out the ears for a good hunt but at $600 I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.

 

[Darren K]

Smells pretty fishy to me. At 600$ for. 2 days/ 3 nights they are loosing money by the time you add in meals and staff. I guess if they feed you beani winnies and you have no support staff staying in some old farm house or trailer with no bedding etc... you could make it work.
I can tell you both as an outfitter and a client you get what you pay for. If it’s a bargain basement hunt then that’s what you get, a bargain basement experience with the risk of it being a nightmare. Kinda like finding a 2019 Ferrari for 5k. Gotta be whole lotta something wrong with it.
Not to say that one has to pay out the ears for a good hunt but at $600 I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.

Food isnt included so I guess they save money there?

 

[gizmo]

Food isnt included so I guess they save money there?

They would have to. I know what it costs me to run an unlimited hog hunt and at what I charge I barely break even. I don’t do a ton of them anymore but I still do them to fill openings and control feral hog populations. 10 years ago my hog hunts were 300/day/gun. Now they are 500/day/gun all inclusive. (That’s just for unlimited feral pigs and doesn’t include a trophy Eurasian)
By the time you add in food, staff (guides/house keeper), time, fuel, and all the other expenses that add up I break dead even on 1 or 2 guys. On 4 guys I’ll have a cook, 3 to 4 guides, and everything else in it and still about break even.

 

[BWH]

I guess it all depends on what you are looking for & expect..... anything come wondering by a feeder you take. Versus an opportunity at a trophy animal. It’s easy for them to put you up in a Camp house & say stand/feeder is that way.... happy hunting. However, I cannot speak on their accord. Since I don’t know their operation.

 

[wesheltonj]

One of my lawyer friends liked their post on Facebook, as they had a cast and blast package. Most of what I saw was day dove hunts.

I

 

[gizmo]

Here is basically a breakdown of what it costs on average to run a 2 man unlimited feral pig hunt for 2 days at my ranch.

Let’s assume you have 2 hunters and I bring in 1 guide

Groceries for meals will run about 450

Another 120 in beer/drinks

300 to the guide

200 to the house keeper

Tank of diesel to get there

75

50 worth of bait over the weekend

One can generally figure 100 on Misc bs such as batteries, scalpel blades, electricity for running the cooler, and fuel for ranch vehicles.

My cost is at 1275

This is assuming I go myself and guide 1 client, most likely wont happen as I generally do not have time to guide a hog hunt as I still have to run the taxidermy shop,

So likely add another 300 for a guide which puts my cost at 1575.

The ranch walks away with like $425 assuming nothing gets broken, fishing gear doesn’t get lost, no one wants to shoot sporting clays, etc.

 

[gizmo]

If I am guiding the hog hunt, I would have to add in lost income at the shop as I am not there putting animals together.

 

[wesheltonj]

. . . Groceries for meals will run about 450

Another 120 in beer/drinks . . .

You need an HEB and Costco for groceries and a Total Wine for drinks if you are paying that much for three days of food and booze.

 

[gizmo]

You need an HEB and Costco for groceries and a Total Wine for drinks if you are paying that much for three days of food and booze.

Not when you provide the meals and service that I do. Generally the second night is ribeyes. That’s 60$ just in steaks for good ones and that doesn’t include all the other meals. You figure you’re feeding 4 people 3 meals a day for two days plus arrival night dinner and departure morning breakfast. The average (note average not every) group of two guys will easily drink a total of 120 in beer,wine, and house hooch plus add in cokes, tea, bottled water, etc....

 

[gizmo]

That’s 90$ a meal to feed 4 people 5 meals. That’s not too bad even with the steaks.

 

[Newboomer]

I went on one of those 3 day 2 night deals awhile ago. They didn't tell me that my two days of travel time counted as hunting days. So, in reality, I got only one real day's hunting. I got to the place mid afternoon so we did have a few hours hunting the first day. Full second day in the rain and I got my animal, a real pretty blackbuck. We were planning to hunt hogs from a stand but it poured so hard we could hardly see anything (all three days) in the afternoon. For the price I paid I could almost go to Africa and score several species. Lesson learned---domestic hunting is too expensive compared to Africa.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I went on a 2 day hog hunt in April on a ranch between Sweetwater & Abilene with a friend, it was my first nominally "guided" hunt. Cost was $450 each with zero food, two hogs any size each at no trophy fees, any additional cost $$$. Any processing cost $$$. All hunting from static positions morning & evening, mid-day stalk & spot was left up to the hunters to decide who might be going off which direction & when. Some exotics available but must be negotiated up front with significant penalty fee if a goat or sheep or whatever was shot without negotiating up front on top of the trophy fee. Penalty of $20 per milkable nipple on wet sows. Bunkhouse was 2 bedrooms with beds for 4 each and one bathroom each. Large common room with kitchen, refrigerators. Central air & heat. One "guide" who drove everyone around in rattletrap truck for dropoff and pickup + hog retrieval morning and evening. "Tips appreciated but not required". I got my 2 hogs having a spot looking downhill along a road for about 100 yards I stayed at both evenings with no feeder. My buddy never saw anything larger than a piglet and he went on spot & stalks midday in addition to static positions morning & evening. Nobody saw, or took, any hog over maybe 150 pounds.

Our impression was the place had a heyday but that had passed, living on its web presence that reflected the better days. We won't go back.

It's all a learning experience and dice roll to some degree.

 

[Mekaniks]

So the offer was 3 days/2 nights unlimited hogs and an exotic of any species, any size, should the opportunity present itself for $600 with no trophy fees. It is a free range hunt on 2000 acres on which he said they have a lot of mouflon, aoudad, Blackbuck, and axis. I'm guessing because fences get knocked down? When I saw it, i got excited because everything he listed is on my bucket list, but not in my price range at the moment. I figured $600 to go blast some hogs for 3 days is a pretty good deal in of itself, but throw in the chance to knock an animal off my bucket list, and it's a screaming good deal. Sounds too good to be true. Then I started looking through their Facebook page and a lot of the pictures were on there dozens of times like they just keep reusing old photos. They do have 36000 followers on Facebook, but I have yet to see anyone who has hunted with them post anything good, bad, or indifferent which is why I thought I'd check here first

It does sound very likely too good to be true. And everything that Gizmo has said is spot on.
But...if you were in the States and somewhere close to Texas I would say give it a shot. If you could get a blackbuck or an aoudad and wack some hogs for 600.00 for a couple days heck that would be a steal of a deal. Since it looks like you are overseas I say there is way too much risk.....

 

[Darren K]

I went on one of those 3 day 2 night deals awhile ago. They didn't tell me that my two days of travel time counted as hunting days. So, in reality, I got only one real day's hunting. I got to the place mid afternoon so we did have a few hours hunting the first day. Full second day in the rain and I got my animal, a real pretty blackbuck. We were planning to hunt hogs from a stand but it poured so hard we could hardly see anything (all three days) in the afternoon. For the price I paid I could almost go to Africa and score several species. Lesson learned---domestic hunting is too expensive compared to Africa.

Boomer, was that with Southwest Trophy Hunting?