Outfitter Review - Thunder Valley

Outfitter Information

Outfitter Name: Thunder Valley

Outfitter / Contact: Paul Thomas

Location: Maine, USA

Hunt Information

Animals Hunted: whitetail

Game Quality: Average, for Maine

Game Quantity: same as above

Accomodations: Very good

Camp Condition: very good

Food Quality: fantastic

Guide Experience: good

Other Personal Experience: not applicable

Review Information

Hunter: Tom West

Phone:

Email:

Would Recommend: depends on what you are lookin

Overall Impression: good, but read comments

Fellow Sportsmen: This is the second guided hunt I went on this year and as usual, I will tell you as much as I can so you can make an informed decision. As you may or may not know, deer hunting in Maine is very tough. There are not as many deer as some other states, but anywhere in Maine has the potential for a real slammer to step out. I booked the hunt with Paul Thomas and while he didn't do exactly as I requested at the time of the booking, it was still a decent hunt. I prefer to hunt from stands that have been erected over travel routes, food, or at least good sign. Paul's method of hunting is to equip all hunters with radios and turn them loose in the woods. If you want to walk and still hunt, fine. If you want to sit still, also OK by him. Whatever you decide to do, Paul will be walking around the area constantly, (and I do mean constantly)trying to push deer to one of the other hunters. I personally do not care for this type of hunting unless it is done with a little more smarts involved. In other words, put me on a stand that is an escape route. Then if you walk around something may run past me. What we mostly did was all walk in on tote roads, then fan out, and the woods were frozen and noisy as we wandered around. I am quite certain the deer heard us long before we got there. The crew that was in camp were all great guys (which made the trip good for me)and had mostly hunted these areas before. They believed, along with the outfitter, that this was the best way to kill deer here. I was not so sure. Mostly tails were all you would see running through the woods, which are extremely thick. This makes for tough, if not impossible shooting. I did not see a deer all week. Nine guys in camp and two bucks were killed. Both of these bucks were killed off a stand set up on the outfitter's own 50 acres. One buck was a true Maine slammer. The rest of the time we hunted private land that was not posted. I am not sure how legal this was, but please note that one hunter was thrown off a piece of property that he was walking around on. We also hunted timber company land. I guess in the past these guys had killed deer this way, but I do not think that many. I specifically requested stands to hunt from and the Outfitter had five set up on his own land and that was it. No real effort had been made to scout the other properties we hunted. On the plus side, the outfitter is not lazy when it comes to walking. I believe he is sincere in his belief that he is trying to push deer to you. I just don't think he does it correctly. Paul Thomas is constantly trying to move deer for you. He just does not stop moving! The man is phenominal with the energy he has. The cost of the hunt is cheap, at 650 bucks for Sunday to Saturday. The food is truly fantastic! Paul's wife Carol is a former restaurant owner and her cooking shows it! The meals were top notch and plenty of it! You will gain weight at this camp. So to conclude, if you like to walk and do not like to rely on stands, this could be the place to go for a cheap hunt. There are some big bucks around and the food is great. The outfitter is a nice guy and the lodge is clean, comfortable, and very nice. For 650 bucks there are worse places you could go.

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