Fat Bastard
Member
I rarely use social networking sites so my feelings have to be pretty strong for me to bother commenting on this or any other subject. Firstly I would like to say that it was a great pleasure meeting and spending time with the other lads on the trip, unfortunately this is the only positive thing I have to say about the hunt. If anyone can think of anything positive to say apart from this then please let me know and I will reflect on it. I believe that many of the problems we encountered were due to poor communication which goes hand in hand with poor preparation.
Ordinarily when I travel abroad I decide where I am going to visit then I make travel arrangements to get there, I believe this is a logical way to minimise the time spent travelling. Living in the midlands and having booked flights from Gatwick the timings of which fitted in with the itinerary in southern Finland the hunt location was switched to the north of the country, this meant we had to spend several hours in the car travelling to and from Gatwick where we spent a night in a ‘hotel’ for flights which no longer fitted the itinerary in Finland. The change of venue meant we had a 10 hour drive in a minibus from Helsinki to Salla which arrived at the cabin at 2am on the morning of the first hunt, which was hardly conducive to a good days hunting as we had to be up at 6am. Our departure from the hunting area was at 5am on the morning after the last days hunting. There were other hunters who were already at the cabin having flown from Manchester and on the day of departure they were able to leave during daylight hours. I can only conclude that little or no consideration had been given to the travel arrangements when the venue for the hunt was switched. On arrival at the cabin I was dismayed to find that the sleeping area was a wedge shaped space below the roof which might have been adequate if I was less than 1.2 metres tall, as it was It was only possible to crawl along to the 5cm thick foam mattress. Likewise on the other side of the partition there was another sleeping area with even less head room, which would have been great for a limbo dancing competition but very awkward to dress and undress in shooting gear. As one blogger has already commented it would have been fine for 6 people sharing but with the overcrowding it was like the sleeping arrangements on a Russian gulag. It was clear that the hunt organizer was less than hospitable as a dozen guys were left in one hut without any toilet paper for two days. I suspect this may have been why the moose were not crossing the line on the first couple of days because like bears the hunters had taken to shi**ing in the woods.
Unfortunately we were led to believe that there was moose, bear, wolf, white tailed deer and wild reindeer available on the hunt. On the briefing prior to the first drive we were told that it was moose only and there were no tags for other species which was more than a little disappointing, for all the hunters. We should have been told before we booked flights and a hotel and certainly before setting off, but no, the night before we set off the talk was still of Moose, Wolf, Bear Whitetail and Wild Reindeer.
Terry was right about the price of the food being too much, but I believed what Christian was saying about high food prices in the area and we were staying in what was a type of ski resort where you always take a bit of a caning on food and drink. After looking at the prices in the supermarket on the last day I think we were being overcharged by around 15 euro a day, but even then that is only 45 in total, because of the lack of communication the real rip off was paying for the hunt. The Hunt n Seek website also referred to everyone having lunch by a fire in the woods, that was a fairly loose statement and people’s expectations were probably high though most people were somewhat surprised to be presented with a sausage and a can of beer and nothing else. Had somebody explained that morning or prior to travelling that lunch was to be a traditional Finish Hunters lunch of sausage and beer and if you wanted any extras such as bread or other foodstuffs then ensure that you bring it with you that would have solved the problem. The menu for the second and third day have been well documented and I will not dwell on it because by the morning of the second day I had learned through experience that it was best to take a packed lunch. The ‘restaurant’ referred to in some of the blogs was not a restaurant as such, it was more like a bar that served food and the quality was poor.
Regarding the hunting it was clear after the first day that what we were doing wasn’t working when I asked if this was the first time they had tried to hunt in that way, in that area, I was told yes, so I felt we were being used as guinea pigs. It would have been sensible to try this technique in the area before any paying guests arrived. The brief conversations that some of the guys had with the local hunters was very telling in that they couldn’t believe what we were trying to do, the locals explained to us that the area was too big for our style of hunt. The locals employed different tactics and sent in dogs, followed the dogs and shot the moose, which explains why we had no success, whilst the locals were getting moose all around us. It was at the end of the first day that I reconciled myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to see anything and so the trip was a waste of money.
The shooting opportunities on the type of driven hunt would give the best chance to anyone that was walking with the dogs and I would say to anyone contemplating hunting moose in this part of Finland that this would give them the best chance of success. I was told on the last day by Christian that on a typical hunt only 50% of the hunters would see a moose and of those only 50% would shoot one and some hunters had been trying to get a moose for 10 years without success, though I don’t know if these statistics relate to just Hunt n Seek trips or to Finland overall. If people are told in advance there was no other species available and the accommodation was going to be seriously overcrowded and the host couldn’t really be arsed preparing the good meal referred to on their website you would have been able to reach a decision on whether it was going to be suitable for you or not. I believe they had six moose tags for the area, we had a hunt and there is another hunt in two weeks. There was a restriction on the number of Moose that could be taken and the hunt organizers knew this but we were never told. With around 18 hunters for each of the two hunts that meant a less than 20% chance of success and contrary to what we believed there was no other species to hunt – knowing that in advance would have meant that it was unlikely that anyone would have gone. I note that on a blog relating to a previous hunt in the south of Finland all the tags were used on the first day, which turned the moose hunt into a 1 day hunt, and again I would suggest that any interested party should be told there is a restriction on the number that could be shot and it is possible that the hunt could be foreshortened if there is a high level of success in the first couple of drives (there are some references to shooting females out of season on the website which I would respectfully suggest that people refrain from making because I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the regulatory authorities check these sites, which could be damaging for those involved).
I cannot comment on the quality of the dogs as I have nothing to compare them with this being my first and last hunt for moose in the ‘traditional way’.
I accept that there are no guarantees when you hunt but if people are given the facts prior to paying for the hunt about:
If that information was freely available and it had been communicated to all attendees of the hunt there would be no recriminations so, I suggest to Hunt n Seek that they get their act together improve communication and make adequate preparation for your hunts and your guests. If you improve your communication, tell the truth and face up to your responsibilities people will have respect for you. In writing this I have not tried to damage your business, on the contrary I have suggested ways that you could improve it.
In summary, I would never have agreed to go on the hunt if I had known in advance that the chances of me as an individual getting a moose (or any other species) were less than 25%, I would have spent my money elsewhere. This for me was wasted money and the responsibility of this lies with the hunt organizers due to poor preparation and communication. The offer of a discount on another trip is a nice gesture however it is worthless to me as I would never go to Finland hunting moose in that way again because of the poor odds. If there is any other way in which I could be recompensed other than a discounted moose hunting trip I would consider it.
Ordinarily when I travel abroad I decide where I am going to visit then I make travel arrangements to get there, I believe this is a logical way to minimise the time spent travelling. Living in the midlands and having booked flights from Gatwick the timings of which fitted in with the itinerary in southern Finland the hunt location was switched to the north of the country, this meant we had to spend several hours in the car travelling to and from Gatwick where we spent a night in a ‘hotel’ for flights which no longer fitted the itinerary in Finland. The change of venue meant we had a 10 hour drive in a minibus from Helsinki to Salla which arrived at the cabin at 2am on the morning of the first hunt, which was hardly conducive to a good days hunting as we had to be up at 6am. Our departure from the hunting area was at 5am on the morning after the last days hunting. There were other hunters who were already at the cabin having flown from Manchester and on the day of departure they were able to leave during daylight hours. I can only conclude that little or no consideration had been given to the travel arrangements when the venue for the hunt was switched. On arrival at the cabin I was dismayed to find that the sleeping area was a wedge shaped space below the roof which might have been adequate if I was less than 1.2 metres tall, as it was It was only possible to crawl along to the 5cm thick foam mattress. Likewise on the other side of the partition there was another sleeping area with even less head room, which would have been great for a limbo dancing competition but very awkward to dress and undress in shooting gear. As one blogger has already commented it would have been fine for 6 people sharing but with the overcrowding it was like the sleeping arrangements on a Russian gulag. It was clear that the hunt organizer was less than hospitable as a dozen guys were left in one hut without any toilet paper for two days. I suspect this may have been why the moose were not crossing the line on the first couple of days because like bears the hunters had taken to shi**ing in the woods.
Unfortunately we were led to believe that there was moose, bear, wolf, white tailed deer and wild reindeer available on the hunt. On the briefing prior to the first drive we were told that it was moose only and there were no tags for other species which was more than a little disappointing, for all the hunters. We should have been told before we booked flights and a hotel and certainly before setting off, but no, the night before we set off the talk was still of Moose, Wolf, Bear Whitetail and Wild Reindeer.
Terry was right about the price of the food being too much, but I believed what Christian was saying about high food prices in the area and we were staying in what was a type of ski resort where you always take a bit of a caning on food and drink. After looking at the prices in the supermarket on the last day I think we were being overcharged by around 15 euro a day, but even then that is only 45 in total, because of the lack of communication the real rip off was paying for the hunt. The Hunt n Seek website also referred to everyone having lunch by a fire in the woods, that was a fairly loose statement and people’s expectations were probably high though most people were somewhat surprised to be presented with a sausage and a can of beer and nothing else. Had somebody explained that morning or prior to travelling that lunch was to be a traditional Finish Hunters lunch of sausage and beer and if you wanted any extras such as bread or other foodstuffs then ensure that you bring it with you that would have solved the problem. The menu for the second and third day have been well documented and I will not dwell on it because by the morning of the second day I had learned through experience that it was best to take a packed lunch. The ‘restaurant’ referred to in some of the blogs was not a restaurant as such, it was more like a bar that served food and the quality was poor.
Regarding the hunting it was clear after the first day that what we were doing wasn’t working when I asked if this was the first time they had tried to hunt in that way, in that area, I was told yes, so I felt we were being used as guinea pigs. It would have been sensible to try this technique in the area before any paying guests arrived. The brief conversations that some of the guys had with the local hunters was very telling in that they couldn’t believe what we were trying to do, the locals explained to us that the area was too big for our style of hunt. The locals employed different tactics and sent in dogs, followed the dogs and shot the moose, which explains why we had no success, whilst the locals were getting moose all around us. It was at the end of the first day that I reconciled myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to see anything and so the trip was a waste of money.
The shooting opportunities on the type of driven hunt would give the best chance to anyone that was walking with the dogs and I would say to anyone contemplating hunting moose in this part of Finland that this would give them the best chance of success. I was told on the last day by Christian that on a typical hunt only 50% of the hunters would see a moose and of those only 50% would shoot one and some hunters had been trying to get a moose for 10 years without success, though I don’t know if these statistics relate to just Hunt n Seek trips or to Finland overall. If people are told in advance there was no other species available and the accommodation was going to be seriously overcrowded and the host couldn’t really be arsed preparing the good meal referred to on their website you would have been able to reach a decision on whether it was going to be suitable for you or not. I believe they had six moose tags for the area, we had a hunt and there is another hunt in two weeks. There was a restriction on the number of Moose that could be taken and the hunt organizers knew this but we were never told. With around 18 hunters for each of the two hunts that meant a less than 20% chance of success and contrary to what we believed there was no other species to hunt – knowing that in advance would have meant that it was unlikely that anyone would have gone. I note that on a blog relating to a previous hunt in the south of Finland all the tags were used on the first day, which turned the moose hunt into a 1 day hunt, and again I would suggest that any interested party should be told there is a restriction on the number that could be shot and it is possible that the hunt could be foreshortened if there is a high level of success in the first couple of drives (there are some references to shooting females out of season on the website which I would respectfully suggest that people refrain from making because I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the regulatory authorities check these sites, which could be damaging for those involved).
I cannot comment on the quality of the dogs as I have nothing to compare them with this being my first and last hunt for moose in the ‘traditional way’.
I accept that there are no guarantees when you hunt but if people are given the facts prior to paying for the hunt about:
- The availability of species and the number of tags available in advance of the hunt
- The number of hunters on the drives
- The accommodation and the numbers sharing
- The truth about the catering
If that information was freely available and it had been communicated to all attendees of the hunt there would be no recriminations so, I suggest to Hunt n Seek that they get their act together improve communication and make adequate preparation for your hunts and your guests. If you improve your communication, tell the truth and face up to your responsibilities people will have respect for you. In writing this I have not tried to damage your business, on the contrary I have suggested ways that you could improve it.
In summary, I would never have agreed to go on the hunt if I had known in advance that the chances of me as an individual getting a moose (or any other species) were less than 25%, I would have spent my money elsewhere. This for me was wasted money and the responsibility of this lies with the hunt organizers due to poor preparation and communication. The offer of a discount on another trip is a nice gesture however it is worthless to me as I would never go to Finland hunting moose in that way again because of the poor odds. If there is any other way in which I could be recompensed other than a discounted moose hunting trip I would consider it.
