Packers...???

[Devilbear]

My experience in dealing with Leif Olsen was just after he and his partner, bought SM from Dave Wiens, this was in early 2005, IIRC. I phoned to enquire about hunts for residents and he was both very polite and receptive and sent me a brochure, which I may still have among my papers.

My buddy and I then went on a trip from Vancity to Prince, then to Terrace, Stewart, Dease, Muncho, Nelly and south then into Alberta. I mentioned this to Leif in the call and he invited us to stay at their " bed and breakfast", which I would have, however, my buddy wanted to stay in Nelly. My impression of the Olsens is like Gate's, very nice people and legal landed-immigrants who may now be Canadian citizens.

Barry Thompkins of "High and Wild" IS a Canadian and has an outstanding reputation in the hunting industry; while his business may have some American investment, it is still a Canadian firm and he did and may still offer the sort of "transporter" services to which I referred.

Larry Warren of "Tuchodi Outfitters" was very pleasant to me on the phone and he did offer exactly the sort of "transporter" situations I wanted, but, my buddy did not want to go and I am not going to go alone, shoot a Moose or Elk and then lose the bulk of the meat to a Grizzly due to being inable to backpack it all out quickly. I have no idea if Larry was/is a native Canuck or not, but, he was very highly recommended by the wife of a head guide for Barry and I would trust her word on this.

The facts are that some Americans have immigrated to BC as have some Germans, etc. and have legally entered the GO industry; these people LIVE HERE all year, obtain Canadian citizenship and at that point, they have the same rights as any among us. The foreign ownership issue is a separate one to this and dragging it in here hardly assists the OP, but, then, that is not the purpose behind doing so........

I am merely suggesting here, that one of the three GO's I mentioned might be the best over-all option for a group who wants to hunt that area as the logistics are much more simple and I would think that you can make a contractual agreement with them that will keep both you and them happy.

With the US economy where it is, I suspect that many GOs will be dammed glad to have resident's patronage and, as their quotas are reduced and they WILL be, such arrangements will benefit all concerned.

I had a really interesting offer from an EK GO a couple of years ago and may well make a contract with him for "unguided" hunting in a year or two. There is "more than one way to skin a cat"...........

[bridger]

there are four licensed transporters in region 7b. three horse outfits and one river boat transporter. pm me if you would like more details.

[GoatGuy]

We rented horses and an outfit from Stan a few years ago. He's not a packer, but rents gear and horses and provides good training. He delivers the outfit to the trailhead.,and gets you sorted out.

Since he isn't a packer, when you hit the trailhead, you are on your own- Which is fine for anyone with even a bit of horse experience, as his training is pretty good and he trains all his own horses, so they are mostly well behaved- they spend all summer on "trail rides" so they know what the drill is...

I learned more on that trip about packing horses than I have ever learned before,and ended up more comfortable on horses than ever before, although I certainly wasn't' new to horses...It was a great trip. I'd certainly rent his horses again if I ever got off my ass and put a trip together.

That was the point.

If I wanted to rent horses I'd go with him - then you aren't 'restricted' to a packers area and you can hunt wherever you want. All in all a good deal.

[Gateholio]

That was the point.

If I wanted to rent horses I'd go with him - then you aren't 'restricted' to a packers area and you can hunt wherever you want. All in all a good deal.

Yeah, good point...You rent the outfit and go where you like...Packers are restricted to thier turf. It's a good deal!

[bridger]

Barry tompkins purchased the transporter license originally alloted to robert york and has offfered hunts to residents for a long time and does not have separate camps for residents and non residents. he treats residents equal to his non resident clients. Larry Warren on the tuchodi also offers transporter services to residents and is a canadian from fort st john.

My experience in dealing with Leif Olsen was just after he and his partner, bought SM from Dave Wiens, this was in early 2005, IIRC. I phoned to enquire about hunts for residents and he was both very polite and receptive and sent me a brochure, which I may still have among my papers.

My buddy and I then went on a trip from Vancity to Prince, then to Terrace, Stewart, Dease, Muncho, Nelly and south then into Alberta. I mentioned this to Leif in the call and he invited us to stay at their " bed and breakfast", which I would have, however, my buddy wanted to stay in Nelly. My impression of the Olsens is like Gate's, very nice people and legal landed-immigrants who may now be Canadian citizens.

Barry Thompkins of "High and Wild" IS a Canadian and has an outstanding reputation in the hunting industry; while his business may have some American investment, it is still a Canadian firm and he did and may still offer the sort of "transporter" services to which I referred.

Larry Warren of "Tuchodi Outfitters" was very pleasant to me on the phone and he did offer exactly the sort of "transporter" situations I wanted, but, my buddy did not want to go and I am not going to go alone, shoot a Moose or Elk and then lose the bulk of the meat to a Grizzly due to being inable to backpack it all out quickly. I have no idea if Larry was/is a native Canuck or not, but, he was very highly recommended by the wife of a head guide for Barry and I would trust her word on this.

The facts are that some Americans have immigrated to BC as have some Germans, etc. and have legally entered the GO industry; these people LIVE HERE all year, obtain Canadian citizenship and at that point, they have the same rights as any among us. The foreign ownership issue is a separate one to this and dragging it in here hardly assists the OP, but, then, that is not the purpose behind doing so........

I am merely suggesting here, that one of the three GO's I mentioned might be the best over-all option for a group who wants to hunt that area as the logistics are much more simple and I would think that you can make a contractual agreement with them that will keep both you and them happy.

With the US economy where it is, I suspect that many GOs will be dammed glad to have resident's patronage and, as their quotas are reduced and they WILL be, such arrangements will benefit all concerned.

I had a really interesting offer from an EK GO a couple of years ago and may well make a contract with him for "unguided" hunting in a year or two. There is "more than one way to skin a cat"...........

[Devilbear]

Well, there is another comment that verifies my point, there are GOs in some of BC's best hunting areas who offer "transporter" services to we residents. The benefit to using their services that I can see, is that, while they obviously will not take you into their finest sheep country and will restrict where in their area you hunt, depending on the terms of your contract with them, (this is direct personal experience talking), you WILL be with one of the top professionals in a given region.

I know of situations with certain transporters, again by direct experience, that makes me VERY hesitant to ever go with one again and my preference would be to have a GO, such as Larry Warren, pack my own camping gear and supplies into an area and I will take it from there. I hope to do a few more of these trips before I get too old and have all the gear to do it in comfort.

[boxhitch]

........but there is still a few around any one I should check out? Any info helps, ........ YJ

First that comes to mind for me is Jeff Brown at Steamboat Mountain Outfitters. A packer in the true sense, works in a decent area. Personally, I haven't used him but have no reservations about him.
Other in the regs is Tetsa River outfitters,
Both these guys are in business after a lot of years, that says something.

[Busterbrown]

I used Tetsa River 2 years ago. The trip was fantastic as they were terrific folks to deal with and had very nice horses. They pack you in to camp and provide accomodation and food. They also pack your game when you get something. I highly recommend them and plan to use them again

[guest]

Well it's been a while now.
I hired Jeff owner of Steamboat Mnt. Outfitters also in 1991, 93, and 95.
Good packer, can deliver you to nice Elk, Moose and sheep area. He uses horses, really knows what he's doing.
Also hired Guy Scott in 2003 when he owned Riverjet. New owner Kevin I hear is very good at what he does too. They can deliver you to good Moose, Elk and Sheep area's.
These trips are good for hunters that still want to bust their balls for their game. Nothing comes for free, including rewarding hunting experiences with packers.
I would not hesitate to hire either of the 2 I have mentioned again, if I could only afford to do it more often.
CT

[bridger]

do you know for sure if larry offers drop camp services. ie you take your own gear and he packs you to a spot and leaves you on your own or does he have someone accompany you? also as a note of interest all guide outfitters in the province are required to offer transporter services to residents. that ws part of the agreement between the bcwf, goabc, moe, and the transporters when transporters were licensed in 7b. if you contact a g/o for transporter services and are refused you should report the incident to the moe in victoria.

Well, there is another comment that verifies my point, there are GOs in some of BC's best hunting areas who offer "transporter" services to we residents. The benefit to using their services that I can see, is that, while they obviously will not take you into their finest sheep country and will restrict where in their area you hunt, depending on the terms of your contract with them, (this is direct personal experience talking), you WILL be with one of the top professionals in a given region.

I know of situations with certain transporters, again by direct experience, that makes me VERY hesitant to ever go with one again and my preference would be to have a GO, such as Larry Warren, pack my own camping gear and supplies into an area and I will take it from there. I hope to do a few more of these trips before I get too old and have all the gear to do it in comfort.