CANADA: Newfoundland Moose Hunt

[markferrigno]

Hunting Report

Outfitter: IronBound Outfitters, Newfoundland, Canada

Species: Moose and Black Bear

Rifle: Heym SR-21 9.3x62

I booked my hunt with Ironbound in 2015 while still living overseas with thought of large Moose and Black Bear soon adorning my house. I was booked for 2017 but last minute work commitments had me re-booking for 2017. October and rolled around and I boarded my long journey (because of layovers) from Denver international to Deer Lake, Newfoundland. I arrived at the Motel and it was flooded with Moose hunters. Moose hunting is big business here. I met a few of the other hunters and we waited to hear from the outfitter to see what time we would be picked up and taken the helo-port.



This is where I ran into my firs snag, lack of communication. Three of us called/texted the outfitter and after about 6 hours we finally heard back. I know Newfoundland is huge and cell phone coverage can be spotty but you should have an office or someone who can keep your clients informed. We were told the outfitters Dad would meet us tomorrow and take to the helicopter. Friday rolled around the weather was lousy. Helo cancelled, another night in the hotel. On Saturday the owner's Dad picked us up and took us to the helo-port. We flew out to the camp, 80 miles into the deep of Newfoundland. The camp was nice, two building, a main house and bunkhouse. The other hunters were a single guy and married couple. The couple stayed in the main house and the other hunter, guide and myself stayed in the bunk house. Accommodations were comfortable, beds, flush toilets and a shower in the main house. We met with the guides (two brothers) I would be hunting with “J” her husband was just there as an observer. The other gent, “G” had paid for two Moose tags, Caribou tag and a 1x1 guide.

The weather was terrible, first day was frozen rain and windy. We saw nothing. The guide, who spoke little told us “Moose don’t like rain and wind” It snowed that night and the next day we were back on the same hill glassing. “Moose don’t like snow” was what were told. Hmm, Moose seem pretty picky and they picked the wrong place to live, all it does is rain, wind and snow...... Again, we saw not a single Moose. Plenty of Caribou but no Moose. Side note, the hunter with 2 Moose tags also had a Caribou tag and we were in a game unit where NO Caribou hunting was allowed. Red Flag. We were told they would fly him to another camp after he shot his 2 Moose. This didn’t seem to make much sense since the Outfitter had something like 8 or 9 camps. Why not put us all in a camp where Moose and Caribou were both open? Why go through the bother and expense to Helo the hunter to another camp?

3rd day and we saw what appeared to be a Moose 3 miles away. It was raining/foggy/windy and generally crappy out which seems to be the weather every day. So we were told Moose don’t like Rain, Wind or Snow. Seems like Moose are in the wrong area. We started slogging through bogs, rivers and streams to search but again we saw nothing.



Day 4 is when I sensed the guides were going into “desperation” mode. I found out from the talkative guide, 4 (very) young Bulls were shot the week before all within a mile or 2 of the camp. I got the feeling they assumed there were more there. There were not.

This area had not been hunted in two years and we were the 2nd group to hunt it. All 4 Bulls taken were 2 years old, hmmmmmm. The guides seemed to have no idea where or how to find any Bulls. At this point we started just aimlessly walking through the bogs in the desperate hope we will magically walk in on some Bulls. This never happened. It was cold, wet and pointless.

Now I should state they proudly claim “100% success rate since 2009” This is clearly a lie.

On the last day “G” who was hunting 1x1 saw a small Bull (2 y/o) and reluctantly shot it. It was tiny, no paddles just a few spikes. We went in with 4 tags and came out with one small, young Bull. 100% success rate my A$$


On day 5 we ran out of bottled water. The cook had been asking for a week but the owner did not send it out (or fly it out, he has his own helo) We had plenty of juice but if yo wanted water it was boiled lake water. He did drop off water at the end of the next day.

Logistics seem to be an issue.
This hunt was a total bust, I and "J" never actually saw a Moose. We saw Gray blobs at 3 miles that probably were Moose....

I did have a Bear tag but at no point did the guide let me hunt Bear. I asked to sit over the previous gut piles (we did see Bear) to hunt Bear but I was never given an answer either way. So I wasted money on Bear tag for an animal that I was not allowed to hunt.

All 3 of us (did not know each other before the hunt) had spoken to the Outfitter who assured his success was the same Pre/Post Rut or Rut. Again this was clearly a lie.

To rub it in, the Helo that flew us out would not take our checked bags, too “heavy” we were told. Funny, no issues going out to camp. I have been back for a week and still do not have my bag with all my hunting gear (and two full boxes of Norma 9.3x62) It was shipped with apparently the world’s slowest delivery service. 4 days and it is still sitting in Canada.

I cannot recommend IronBound. It is obvious their areas are way over hunted and the “100% Success” is bogus.

 

[BRICKBURN]

No suggestion of moving you? Nothing.
That sucks.
Sorry to hear you had such a sh*t hunt.

 

[Nyati]

Really sorry to hear a story like this.

We put our illusions and hard earned money on a hunt and get scr....ed by an unscrupulous outfitter

 

[markferrigno]

Really sorry to hear a story like this.

We put our illusions and hard earned money on a hunt and get scr....ed by an unscrupulous outfitter

scr....ed is right........

 

[LivingTheDream]

These stories seem to common, I was looking at Ironbound too, thank you for saving me the pain!

 

[gillettehunter]

Thanks for sharing. Sometimes we hate to post a hunt where we didn't do well. It mau not help us, but if if keeps someone from booking with them in the future then it was worth while. Sorry for you.
Bruce

 

[markferrigno]

Thanks for sharing. Sometimes we hate to post a hunt where we didn't do well. It mau not help us, but if if keeps someone from booking with them in the future then it was worth while. Sorry for you.
Bruce

Yes. Been back for a week thinking about how to write this up.

 

[markferrigno]

These stories seem to common, I was looking at Ironbound too, thank you for saving me the pain!

Glad I could help. I understand coming back empty but not see a single Moose in 6 days.......

 

[Hogpatrol]

These stories seem to common, I was looking at Ironbound too, thank you for saving me the pain!

I've heard more than one Newfoundland moose hunt horror story, a buddy booked a hunt through Cabela's and it was a disaster. Two days of baloney and cheese sandwiches and a spike moose for five thousand bucks. From this chair, Newfoundland is a good place to NOT hunt. Told him he could have hunted Africa for less.

 

[markferrigno]

I've heard more than one Newfoundland moose hunt horror story, a buddy booked a hunt through Cabela's and it was a disaster. Two days of baloney and cheese sandwiches and a spike moose for five thousand bucks. From this chair, Newfoundland is a good place to NOT hunt. Told him he could have hunted Africa for less.

Africa is a bargain compared to most North American hunts.........

 

[JPbowhunter]

Africa is a bargain compared to most North American hunts.........

Unless you diy hunt.

My brother and i have done the sums and it's going to be cheaper for us to fly to the states and diy elk, mule deer and antelope than go to Africa.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Glad I could help. I understand coming back empty but not see a single Moose in 6 days.......

Yeah that is what I mean, you can have a good hunt and not get anything but to not see a single moose and no attempt on bear or the other guys caribou...no thanks

But thank you for posting the report!

 

[Chukar]

Wow. So sorry to hear about your experience.

There's always five sides to every story, but what you wrote really doesn't paint a favorable light on the outfitter. Most people here seem to be pretty honest in what they write about their experiences from what I have seen. Bad weather, tough conditions, understandable challenges but the outfitter tried their best. The posters that just seem to have a grudge show their hand pretty quickly. Their writing and descriptions are angry from the onset of the report and it's pretty easy to see the grudge. You calmly explained the experience and without a tirade stated that you wouldn't hunt there again. That's enough for me.

Again, sorry to hear that a hunt you probably dreamed about and worked your butt off for didn't pan out. I don't know that I ever would hunt moose in Newfoundland, but it wouldn't be with your outfitter.

 

[markferrigno]

No suggestion of moving you? Nothing.
That sucks.
Sorry to hear you had such a sh*t hunt.

No, they had no intentions of moving us, like I mentioned I think the guides assumed there were more Moose within a mile of camp where the other Moose were shot.

 

[tay50]

Mark, sorry to hear about your hunt, I had an even worse experience in BC this year, you can read my post on the US/Canada hunt section here on AH. I have a obsession to hunting moose now, and was actually looking at contacting Iron Bound, but not anymore, thank you for your write up. Kurt

 

[markferrigno]

Wow. So sorry to hear about your experience.

There's always five sides to every story, but what you wrote really doesn't paint a favorable light on the outfitter. Most people here seem to be pretty honest in what they write about their experiences from what I have seen. Bad weather, tough conditions, understandable challenges but the outfitter tried their best. The posters that just seem to have a grudge show their hand pretty quickly. Their writing and descriptions are angry from the onset of the report and it's pretty easy to see the grudge. You calmly explained the experience and without a tirade stated that you wouldn't hunt there again. That's enough for me.

Again, sorry to hear that a hunt you probably dreamed about and worked your butt off for didn't pan out. I don't know that I ever would hunt moose in Newfoundland, but it wouldn't be with your outfitter.

I waited a week to write the report because I wanted to cool off and not come across as a guy with a grudge you describe and we all know about. Like any write up or anything online really you usually are only getting one side of the story. I tried to be honest and unemotional when writing the review.

 

[markferrigno]

Mark, sorry to hear about your hunt, I had an even worse experience in BC this year, you can read my post on the US/Canada hunt section here on AH. I have a obsession to hunting moose now, and was actually looking at contacting Iron Bound, but not anymore, thank you for your write up. Kurt

Sorry to hear about your BC experience. There were some other issues but I didn't think they added much and might come across as whiny. I am glad I could help you out in your search for a competent outfitter.

 

[markferrigno]

Mark, sorry to hear about your hunt, I had an even worse experience in BC this year, you can read my post on the US/Canada hunt section here on AH. I have a obsession to hunting moose now, and was actually looking at contacting Iron Bound, but not anymore, thank you for your write up. Kurt

I just read about your BC debacle. Wow. I hope you get something back but sounds as if that outfitter is spending it before he gets it.

I don't know much about SCI or other foundations but from I can tell (I joined RMEF for a year) they seem to be in business of selling branded merchandise, auctions and raffles. They don't seem to do much but try to extract more cash from it's members. The only legislative action I can recall recently was Ducks Unlimited celebrating the doubling of the price here in Colorado of the state Duck hunting stamp. (with the majority of the money going to Canada) Not sure how they vet and outfitter but based on your experience I would guess it has to do donations the Outfitter gives SCI. I have a hard time getting behind these organizations when they actively campaign to raise fees/taxes on hunters.....

 

[BRICKBURN]

No, they had no intentions of moving us, like I mentioned I think the guides assumed there were more Moose within a mile of camp where the other Moose were shot.

They are not carrots standing in a row. That is disgraceful.

 

[George Keys]

Hunting Report

Outfitter: IronBound Outfitters, Newfoundland, Canada

Species: Moose and Black Bear

Rifle: Heym SR-21 9.3x62

I booked my hunt with Ironbound in 2015 while still living overseas with thought of large Moose and Black Bear soon adorning my house. I was booked for 2017 but last minute work commitments had me re-booking for 2017. October and rolled around and I boarded my long journey (because of layovers) from Denver international to Deer Lake, Newfoundland. I arrived at the Motel and it was flooded with Moose hunters. Moose hunting is big business here. I met a few of the other hunters and we waited to hear from the outfitter to see what time we would be picked up and taken the helo-port.



This is where I ran into my firs snag, lack of communication. Three of us called/texted the outfitter and after about 6 hours we finally heard back. I know Newfoundland is huge and cell phone coverage can be spotty but you should have an office or someone who can keep your clients informed. We were told the outfitters Dad would meet us tomorrow and take to the helicopter. Friday rolled around the weather was lousy. Helo cancelled, another night in the hotel. On Saturday the owner's Dad picked us up and took us to the helo-port. We flew out to the camp, 80 miles into the deep of Newfoundland. The camp was nice, two building, a main house and bunkhouse. The other hunters were a single guy and married couple. The couple stayed in the main house and the other hunter, guide and myself stayed in the bunk house. Accommodations were comfortable, beds, flush toilets and a shower in the main house. We met with the guides (two brothers) I would be hunting with “J” her husband was just there as an observer. The other gent, “G” had paid for two Moose tags, Caribou tag and a 1x1 guide.

The weather was terrible, first day was frozen rain and windy. We saw nothing. The guide, who spoke little told us “Moose don’t like rain and wind” It snowed that night and the next day we were back on the same hill glassing. “Moose don’t like snow” was what were told. Hmm, Moose seem pretty picky and they picked the wrong place to live, all it does is rain, wind and snow...... Again, we saw not a single Moose. Plenty of Caribou but no Moose. Side note, the hunter with 2 Moose tags also had a Caribou tag and we were in a game unit where NO Caribou hunting was allowed. Red Flag. We were told they would fly him to another camp after he shot his 2 Moose. This didn’t seem to make much sense since the Outfitter had something like 8 or 9 camps. Why not put us all in a camp where Moose and Caribou were both open? Why go through the bother and expense to Helo the hunter to another camp?

3rd day and we saw what appeared to be a Moose 3 miles away. It was raining/foggy/windy and generally crappy out which seems to be the weather every day. So we were told Moose don’t like Rain, Wind or Snow. Seems like Moose are in the wrong area. We started slogging through bogs, rivers and streams to search but again we saw nothing.



Day 4 is when I sensed the guides were going into “desperation” mode. I found out from the talkative guide, 4 (very) young Bulls were shot the week before all within a mile or 2 of the camp. I got the feeling they assumed there were more there. There were not.

This area had not been hunted in two years and we were the 2nd group to hunt it. All 4 Bulls taken were 2 years old, hmmmmmm. The guides seemed to have no idea where or how to find any Bulls. At this point we started just aimlessly walking through the bogs in the desperate hope we will magically walk in on some Bulls. This never happened. It was cold, wet and pointless.

Now I should state they proudly claim “100% success rate since 2009” This is clearly a lie.

On the last day “G” who was hunting 1x1 saw a small Bull (2 y/o) and reluctantly shot it. It was tiny, no paddles just a few spikes. We went in with 4 tags and came out with one small, young Bull. 100% success rate my A$$


On day 5 we ran out of bottled water. The cook had been asking for a week but the owner did not send it out (or fly it out, he has his own helo) We had plenty of juice but if yo wanted water it was boiled lake water. He did drop off water at the end of the next day.

Logistics seem to be an issue.
This hunt was a total bust, I and "J" never actually saw a Moose. We saw Gray blobs at 3 miles that probably were Moose....

I did have a Bear tag but at no point did the guide let me hunt Bear. I asked to sit over the previous gut piles (we did see Bear) to hunt Bear but I was never given an answer either way. So I wasted money on Bear tag for an animal that I was not allowed to hunt.

All 3 of us (did not know each other before the hunt) had spoken to the Outfitter who assured his success was the same Pre/Post Rut or Rut. Again this was clearly a lie.

To rub it in, the Helo that flew us out would not take our checked bags, too “heavy” we were told. Funny, no issues going out to camp. I have been back for a week and still do not have my bag with all my hunting gear (and two full boxes of Norma 9.3x62) It was shipped with apparently the world’s slowest delivery service. 4 days and it is still sitting in Canada.

I cannot recommend IronBound. It is obvious their areas are way over hunted and the “100% Success” is bogus.