Lonesome Coyote Ranch

Questions you should ask before booking a hunt

After going to a variety of hunting shows and hearing about people’s nightmare stories, we thought we should get together some questions that are important to ask.  Remember though, you still should take the answers with the grain of salt.  Unfortunately, some places are only interested in booking the hunt not in your experience.  So here are some questions and our answers.

1.  Do you own or lease the land you hunt?

LCR Answer:  We own all the land that we hunt, so that means you do not have to worry about a land owner changing the terms of a lease before your arrival or during your stay.  Yes, we have heard stories about land owners kicking an outfitter off the property during a hunt which made everyone uncomfortable.

2.  What is the number of hunters in camp upon arrival and during the hunt?

LCR Answer:  We consider our lodge full at four hunters and can comfortable accommodate up to ten hunters.  We are not a revolving door operation, in fact if we have more than one group at a time we try to make sure the contact person in each group knows that another group will be in camp during their stay.  Also, we try to have groups arrive on the same day.

3.  Whose responsible if the deer I shoot is larger then what the guide says?

LCR Answer:  If you shoot a deer that our guide says is in your price range and the deer turns out to be larger than how he scored on the hoof then the ranch takes the loss.  Our mistake our consequence but if you shoot something that the guide tells you not to shoot then “you shoot you buy” applies.

4.  Will I see deer over 130 Boone and Crockett?

LCR Answer: Yes, we have a large variety of deer.  We have some young deer that will break 200 Boone and Crockett (they are not for sale right now) and some deer that will be lucky to reach 130 (those are considered culls).

5.  How many deer will I see in a sitting?

LCR Answer:  We have easily seen 50 deer in one sitting.  I realize that is a high number but there are some blinds that have that many.

6.  How many acres will I have the opportunity to hunt?

LCR Answer:  We try to utilize all of the land we own but sometimes an area may not be accessible because it is flooded or we are not shooting anymore deer in a specific area.

7.  Do you have high fence and free range hunting?

LCR Answer: Yes, we have about 6500 acres of high fence property and about 2000 acres of huntable low fence property.  By the way, it is all fair chase because our smallest high fence pasture is 500 acres.

8.  Can you hunt either high or low fence?

LCR Answer:  Yes you have the option of hunting either high or low fence.  We recommend the high fence because the quality and quantity of deer is better but we will be happy to take you hunting in either place.

9.  Is the facility you are showing the one I will be staying in and will I have a bed?

LCR Answer: Yes the facility you see is the one you will be staying in if you book with us and yes you will always have an actual bed to sleep in.

10.  How many hunters have left disappointed after hunting with you?

LCR Answer: I do not think any hunters have left disappointed but sometimes you can not always please everyone.  However, we do try our best to make sure everyone is successful and happy.

11.  How old are the pictures you are showing of the facility, the successful hunters, etc?

LCR Answer: The pictures on the website are fairly current, the lodge looks the same.  As far as our hunting pictures go, we always have current ones that we would be happy to send.

Some final notes, if you ask for references make sure they are current and do not hesitate to ask other questions.  These are just a few sample questions the list could go on and on.

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3 Comments so far

1. by Richard Carter

   On March 19, 2011 at 7:49 pm

   Could You give Me the price of a management
   hunt and the price of a troph hund

   Thanks Rich

2. by Byron Witty

   On June 19, 2011 at 1:41 pm

   I would like to go on a good whitetail hunt for my 40th birthday next year. I would like to take my son and saw the parent/child management hunt and was curious what typically is the size of a management buck.
   Thanks

3. by afgray

   On June 22, 2011 at 3:44 pm

   That is hard to answer because it depends on what we need out of the heard. However, if I had to put a number to what is a management buck it is often around the high teens or low 120s. Typically, they are deer that have short tines, not enough points or are unique in some other way that we do not consider acceptable to our management program.

3 Responses