Outfitter Review - Pa-Ko

Outfitter Information

Outfitter Name: Pa-Ko

Outfitter / Contact: Jay Paul

Location: Alabama, USA

Hunt Information

Animals Hunted: Deer

Game Quality: low

Game Quantity: low

Accomodations: excellent

Camp Condition: poor

Food Quality: excellent

Guide Experience: poor

Other Personal Experience: excellent

Review Information

Hunter: Rick Loan

Phone:

Email:

Would Recommend: No

Overall Impression: very poor/unsafe

The weather and accomodations were great. The plantation workers were very nice and accomodating. Our first evening hunt got off to a very bad start and did not improve. The guide clearly had not done his homework. The stands were poorly marked and had not been safety checked this year. I had difficulty finding my stand as did another hunter. One hunter did not find his stand at all. The stands were overgrown with limbs and tree trash. I missed a shot at the only nice buck that I saw because of limbs overgrowing the stand. Another hunter's stand was loose against the tree. He had to tighten it down. All the stands that I sat in popped any time that I moved. The next morning the guide still did not have a plan. This lack of plan was pointed out by another hunter. The stands were not marked so he walked each of the six hunters to their stand. He had difficulty finding my partners stand and had to double back and forth across the hunting area. I did not get on my stand until 7:50 AM I saw one spotted fawn. A doe was wounded and trailed by the hunter. The guide did not offer to help track the deer which was never found. This seems unethical to me.The guide complained the entire three day hunt of his aching back and knees. I got on stands twice where the wind was wrong. I knew it was wrong because the previous day I saw where the deer were coming from. The next day the wind had shifted. The guide should have caught the wind shift and directed me to another stand. If I had been more familiar with the area, I would have realized the wind shift and wrong stand placement.The owner tried to help the guide get people on their stand. However, his gas powered golf cart ran out of gas. He had to call the guide to bring more gas.My biggest concern was safety! There was no safety brief. The guide did not identify property lines when placing hunters near a property line. He did not have a good feel for where each hunter was going so that he could keep people apart. Communication within the plantation people was inadequate. The owner's wife drove her golf cart into the immediate area of a hunter. She was honking the horn and calling her dogs that were running with her.Six hunters and three days. Results: 3 does, 1 button buck.I did my part preparing for this hunt. I shot my bow all summer long in all conditions. I inventoried my equipment and checked it for safety. An outfitter needs to do his preparation work too.Pa-Ko clearly has the deer and great accomodations. However, conditions must be perfect for a safe and successful hunt at Pa-Ko. The guide basically dropped us on a road and hoped for the best. A gun hunt would be out of the question for me.

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