Outfitter Review - Bedding Area Outfitters

Outfitter Information

Outfitter Name: Bedding Area Outfitters

Outfitter / Contact: Kent Vernon

Location: Oklahoma, USA

Hunt Information

Animals Hunted: whitetail deer

Game Quality: none

Game Quantity: none

Accomodations: Cheap motel

Camp Condition: non-existant

Food Quality: motel cafe- poor

Guide Experience: very poor

Other Personal Experience: very poor

Review Information

Hunter: bryan gordon

Phone:

Email:

Would Recommend: no never

Overall Impression: rip-off

My hunt with Kent Vernon of Bedding Area Outfitters.My adventure if you want to call it that began at the 1996 Texas Trophy Hunters, Hunters Extravaganza I attended the Extravaganza hoping to connect with an Outfitter at a reasonable price. I spoke with Kent Vernon of Bedding Area Outfitters and was impressed with what he had to offer at a good price. I was told that they were killing B.C. book size deer on the large tract of land that he had leased. In fact I was also told that they were going to be leasing another four thousand acres to bring their total to sixteen thousand acres. I picked up one of their fliers that made the trip sound even more promising. The flier said that they had a modern lodge with home cooked meals with unmatched cuisine, one on one guide service over a variety of food plots. I wasn’t able to go on my hunt until 1998. I contacted Kent in august of 1998 and I scheduled my hunt for the last five days of the rifle season. I sent Kent my $1000 deposit in the form of two checks at $500 each. I spoke with Kent on numerous occasions and told him that I wanted to try and take a deer with a muzzleloader. I was sent pictures of some of the deer they killed last year including a photo with Roger Raglan. So I figured that this outfitter must be on the up and up. Was I ever wrong? I called a week prior to my hunt to get directions and some general information about the hunt. I was supposed to be sent a map to the lodge. I should have been suspicious when I never received a map. I was told to meet Kent at a small store in Melbourne, Ok. With no specified time given. I arrived at the store around 12:30 and phoned Kent and informed him that I was there. He then told me that I would have to wait till 6:00pm before he would meet me. I didn’t understand this but agreed. I went to the local sporting goods store and purchased my license for $201. We met at the store at 6:00 as agreed and I was told that the septic system at the lodge was plugged. I was then informed that I would be staying at the only motel in the area. Not exactly the cozy modern lodge as stated in the brochure. I was also told that my meals would be coming from the motel kitchen, again not what was promised in the brochure. But I was there to hunt and not complain. I paid my balance of $1000 in the form of cash. That evening we agreed that I would be picked up at 5:00am the next morning for my first day’s hunt. Kent Vernon and his friend were an hour and forty-five minutes late the first morning. The excuse he gave was he had car trouble even though I sat for an hour and a forty-five minutes with no phone call. I was then driven out of town to a pasture bordering a main road. We drove through that pasture into a smaller pasture. There were so many other hunters walking around it looked like a pumpkin patch. We then backed into the larger pasture about 50 yards and Kent gets out and proceeds to put up a popup blind. I asked who is going to hunt here? Because at this time there was another guy that had been riding around with Kent. I was told that I was going to hunt there. I informed Kent that I didn’t feel comfortable hunting there with other hunters so close (within 100yds.). I was assured that the game warden would be contacted and that there would be no problem. Within twenty minutes of being dropped off two hunter orange clad figures were walking inside the fence line of the field that I was to be hunting in. Now this field was about sixty acres of open pastureland. Not exactly where you would have the best opportunity with a muzzleloader. An hour passed and a pickup truck entered the same field. I took pictures of both thinking that they were trespassing on the property that I was hunting. Was I ever wrong! The truck drove up to the stand that I was now standing beside since I obviously wasn’t hunting anymore and asked who I was and why was I on their property. I told them who I was and who I was hunting with to which they replied they had heard of neither one. I was dumbfounded. I apologized, loaded up my stuff and left the property. It was now 10:00am and I had told Kent to pick me up at 12:00. After the pickup time had passed I had this sinking feeling that I had been had. I started thinking about how I was going to get back to the motel. I waited for three hours to be picked up. He was an hour late once again. I was pretty upset by the time I was picked up. I was told that it was all a misunderstanding that he did have permission to hunt that property. At this point I should have insisted that I be taken back to the motel. But like I said before I was there to hunt. I was then driven to another piece of property and put into a ladder stand over looking what I guessed to be oats. Before getting still I decided to walk around a bit since I was Kent’s only hunter for the day. I found out I was in a pasture of about one hundred acres. I went back climbed into my stand and sat till dark without seeing a sign of a deer. It would be an understatement to say that this was the most disappointing day of hunting I have ever experienced. We met with the next group of hunters to take them to the motel. Kent made arrangements for both of their rooms and told us that he would be back at 5:00am the next morning. Since it was dinnertime the three of us decided that we might as well have our home cooked unmatched cuisine now. Naturally, as all hunters do the first question asked was how was the hunting. I told them the story of my first day and they were very unhappy to hear the details of my day. Especially after going to the trouble of checking references. The only reference that wasn’t checked was the local game warden. After dinner we retired to our respective rooms to rest before the next days hunt. I got a call from one of the other hunters saying that I needed to come down to their room because they had something that I needed to hear. What I was told was almost unbelievable. They had contacted the game warden for that county and asked what he knew about Kent Vernon. The game warden told them that Kent had lost his lease on the twelve thousand-acre lease. This was something that Kent had failed to tell any of us. The game warden also informed us that he was watching Kent very closely that he hadn’t caught him doing anything wrong that he could prove. He just knew that Kent did a lot of driving the roads late at night. After hearing this I knew that I couldn’t trust him, especially after the events of my first day. We informed Kent the next morning that we would be leaving and expected our money back. Kent agreed he would pay the money back by the fourteenth of December. He also told us that we would be getting an apology from the game warden that we had talked to. We left on Thanksgiving Day. The following Tuesday I called and spoke with the game warden to hear the story personally. He confirmed everything that I had heard before. That same day I called and spoke with Kent but he refused to talk on his cellular phone. We agreed that we would talk that evening. Kent called that evening and told me that I had left on my own and that he wasn’t going to send me my money back. He also told me that I had ruined his reputation with the other hunters by telling them what had happened to me that first day. Kent also kept insisting that I send him a signed and notarized affidavit explaining what I had been told by the game warden. I refused and told him to contact the game warden himself if he really wanted to know what had been said. At this time Kent is under investigation by the FBI. I found out later that he had scammed a total of nine hunters this year.

Outfitter Response: Most of the details of this report are inaccurate. I am dissappointed at the time i was no able to satisfy those agreed upon hunt opportunities. This and the events of the land i had leased went through district court, and were given their money back!I wish Mr. Gordon would of had a successful and fortunate hunt. There were a lot of factors on Gordons report that i don't deny, but i wish he could of understood the depth of contractual factors involved. Gordons hunt which i repspetfully wish he could of understood and had success. The game warden that was there is no longer there, due to number of reasons. But his character and statements to hunters where incorrect in some ways! In the end God knows the truth, and i made some mistakes. Which i tried to fix, and hope that the people involved can find forgiveness and understanding to me, family and all the event that transpired. I no longer operate the hunting business! But would like to say that the reason the fbi was involved was because oklahoma da investigators cannot go to other states to interview people where money has exchanged entities. It becomes a federal assisstance matter. But in closing i learned lessons what people will do and say when you do not handle your business duties with great care and skill. Through attorney directed advice and direction. Ultimately i did take all repercutions of this matter.

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