Pristine Ventures

bad experience hunting moose and broen bear with Creig Butler

I contacted with Creig more than a year ago through Mark Sullivan, who is an african PH. I knew to Mark in a meeting in Spain and he recommend redbearguides and Creig Butler as a good alaskan outfitter. I emailed him questioning about his camps, areas, ... He emailed me that over last years his hunts were 100% succesful. I didn´t believe him, but I thout that in a bad scenary a 60-70 succesful hunt would be enough for us (me and my friend).
Here in Spain we realize that to hunt in Alaska is hard and difficult: The weather can change quickly and it can be horrible, the population of trophies is low or very low and the territory is huge and is not easy to find animals, but I always wished to hunt in Alaska. I´ve hunted in many places: Spain, Rumania, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Canada, Namibia, Bostwana, Mongolia, Southafrica... and I don´t know why but I always wished to go there: Maybe owing to its lanscapes, its wilderness, the magnificence of his animals, its history...
We flight to Anchorage at the beggining of september because Creig told us that it was the moose rut season.
We were three hunters at the camp: My friend, one hunter of Oregon and me. At the camp were also Creig Butler and two guides(one father and his son).
During the hunt the weather was rainy but not windy.
We hunted all time by boat and calling mooses. It was quite tedious but they told me it was the best way to hunt there.
We had tags for moose, grizzly, wolf, wolverine and black bear. Of course we realized it was IMPOSSIBLE to get so much animals but we wanted to make good use of any chance to shoot.
The days were going on and the hunt was getting very boring and didn´t see animals: any kind of animals. Sometimes they did blame to the rainy weather, to the high level of the water of the river, other times they said that it was too much early and that the rut eas still begining ( and what were we doing there ¿?), etc, etc.
Last days was obvious that to find trophies there was a matter of good luck, better said of very-very good luck. and they had not a plan B. Efforts they made las days were the same that efforts they did first day. I didn´t feel them worried or trying to make other plans when they realized that the hunt wouldn´t be succesful.
Honestly I think that a man who offer a very expensive guided hunt cannot give a 100% guarantee but must offer a highly succesful hunt. I think that to ask for a great ammount of money and to say: "Pay, come here and we will pray to God in order to have good luck is not the way". I think that to go there with this guide and to come back home without trophies is the rule and not exception to the rule. ( I am only speaking of moose-grizzly hunt in that area and not about others hunt this guy offers)


Unfortunately Mr Creig is not as fair as he would like to seem, and he has no enough honesty to contact with us for explaining her point of view of our hunt situation .... He promised me to "work on that ", to contact with me by e-mail and to try to be honest with me ... Four months latter, I'm still waiting this !!!

After a disastrous hunt with no options in brown bear or moose for no one of us, after no one incorrect word from us and after doing our "job" day after day, and after your personal promise in offering some advantages in the next hunt do to that very bad results, He didn't answer any of my 5 previous e-mails sended during the last 3 months.

Take care with that guy !!!