Robert Hatch
Registered NH hunting Guide
11 Ben Rd
Freedom, NH 03836
(603) 539-6879
[email protected]
Hi, glad you stopped by. If you're a moose lottery winner, Congratulations! And, you've come to the right place!
From foraging wild mushrooms in the spring and summer, to running my trap line in the fall and winter, I'm pretty much scouting moose out for my hunters year round, and I keep tabs on some pretty good bulls.
We have a 100 percent success rate on sitings for all hunters. with many trophy bulls.. Our average NH bull is currently down to 16 points with a 47 -inch spread; (that's average) with some over 60 inch. my wife says if hunting and making money were one in the same, we'd be millionaires!
I've been hunting moose from here to Alaska since 1981 with great success. Nobody has ever left camp without an opportunity to take a moose, ever. . Here's our recent years:
We took on 6 hunts for the 2005 season, and despite relatively warm weather, heavy rains, and strong winds, they all took their moose.
For the 2006 season we had eight hunters in camp who took six moose, (5 bulls and one on a cow tag)
Of the two who didn't score, one wounded a moose,felt bad, and simply refused to shoot another. The other was a trophy bull hunter who passed on his shots, and hunted all or nothing for a record bull.
(and those eight 2006 hunters saw a total of 66 moose in 7 days) you can't ask for more than that.
Last season we took on 10 hunters, and took nine moose, mostly all bulls, but for the cow tags, with the largest a 58 inch bull @ 850 lbs. In our preseason scouting we identified 128 area moose and our 10 hunters collectively saw 82 of them
We work very hard pre season to give our hunters these kind of options. If you can shoot straight, hold on a stand two hours at a time, and able to walk 1,000 yds through the woods if necesary to stalk, it's not "if" you get a moose with us; It's "when"
We hunt the north country, zones A-2, B, and C-2 working out of the Akers Pond Inn on Rte 26, That keeps the camp central located to hunt any of those zones handy, and we have the run of the place. They've got a bunch of rooms there; a common area with a kitchen,, and we also have a gas grill to cook on, There are always a couple crock pots of something hot in the common room, wild mushroom soup, venison stew or chili, and always sandwich stock in the fridge.... and always steaks to grill, or roast meats and side dishes. I'll have a cook in camp, but there's always the possibility we got a moose down after dark, in which case, there'll be food to eat, but you might be the cook! ( It's hard to second guess or plan around when a 150 yd shot turns into a 1,200 yd drag...) But, we eat fairly well at camp. Most nights we got a fire outside, and visit. . It don't sound like much on paper, but I haven't run into anybody in a hurry to go home! We seem to have a good time, and, we don't spend so much time there anyways;.We go up there to hunt. But, if you decide to hunt with us, you need to decide early, We fill our slots early. Don't wait till the last minute, you may be too late, if you're looking to hook up and hunt with us, make your arrangements early on.
We'll be working with 6 to 10 sets of hunters in camp, depending on which zones we get inquiries for. We don't take on any more hunters in any one zone than we know we can provide an excellent hunt. and our guided hunt includes everything needed but for the cost of your license and processing your moose. All meals, lodging for the hunter and sub-permittee, transport and handling of moose taken out whole. .We escort you to choice locations, and systematically work with each and every hunter till they get their moose. Along with three registered guides, we have extra hands in camp for hauling and helping out. Some folks will bring an empty chest freezer, or 4 large coolers, and quarter their moose on site, others go up the road to the local butcher shop. (There is a game pole at the Inn for hanging, holding over overnight, and skinning.) Some ice down the cavity, and take their moose home whole. (you'll need a trailer for that)
The cost of the hunt is $1,600.00 all inclusive.
And there is one thing I do that I believe I am the only NH guide to offer. I put my money where my mouth is.
The cost of the hunt is half up front, and the other half, WHEN, and only when you get your moose. If you did not get your moose, We don't get paid the other half.
However... If you shoot and miss, or wound and lose moose, or pass on bulls over 44 inch...we'll continue till you score of course, but consider it that we did our part, and the other half is then payable. We'll promise to put you on to the moose, your promise is to be able to shoot straight, and put it down it when we do. That's plenty fair enough.
We'll be up in the north woods scouting most every weekend, from august on through September, and then steady a few weeks prior to the opening day. I encourage anybody that wants to see the ground, to come up for a day and tag along for som epreseason scouting.
Mid to late Sept can be a wild time, when the bulls are at the peak of the rut. They are more responsive to calling then, and that's the best time to get an up close look at some headgear. Awhile back, mid Sept, I took a hunter up to show him his territory, and called in a real mammoth right at daybreak, up through the cut, snapping limbs, head low, swaying from side to side, and advancing this monster bull come onto us, pretty close, maybe 25 yards out, same bull I'd called a week before, he was in plain sight, and massive! He's as big as they come around here. I stepped out into the cut ahead of him, It was about as close as I wanted him, without knowing we were people. He stood tall, Staring at us, all bristled up. The fella says, "Oh my God! What do we do?"
I told him, "Give me that camera of yours, and you go over there and stand beside him, I'll get a picture you can take home to your wife." Well. I thought it'd make a good picture; he opted just to get a photo of the moose though right where it was, and we got on out of there. Nobody shot that bull last fall either. He's a cocker! But, yes, come up anytime preseason and we'll set you up with some prime ground. (You tag along preseason though, and that's when you want to have your deposit money ready. As that is when your hunt starts.)
Tthe way it's always been, we pretty much work as a team in our camp, and all help out each other. Having the extra hunters in the camp isn't a competitive thing; we work together,. Luck of the draw might pop up 5 bulls in one spot, and none in another.(The NH moose season runs into post rut, and the bulls tend to congregate a bit at that time). He can only shoot one. Those 4 remaining bulls is info you never would have available working alone or against each other. Our guides will be bouncing back and forth, locating moose, calling, working with each and every hunter til everybody gets their moose.
If you got an extra buddy to bring along on your hunt, that's fine. But it'll cost an extra 35 dollars per day to cover their room and meals. The more the merrier. I just gotta know ahead of time. Some folks like to have a camera man along, and an extra dragger is always a blessing. Plus, when you get home telling stories of your hunt in the backcountry - as with fishermen, three liars are better than just one!
If it is warm out, you'll want to get your moose to the processors quickly. If it's seasonably cool, there will be a game pole to hang the moose on, or a tree limb, if the pole is full up. A trailer is an essential, if you're going to transport to your home. Some folks will bring an empty chest freezer, and we can quarter the moose right at camp if you want, and flash freeze it for a trip to Florida if you like. If you quarter and cut at camp, We can help you out on the cape for a taxidermy mount. Being a trapper, I do a fair amount of skinning, and I know what the taxidermist is looking for.
If you're from away, We can make arrangements to pick you up at the airport, and bring you to and from camp. We are pretty flexible, and try to do everything we can to accomodate our hunters and make it an enjoyable good-hearted and memorable experience on the hunt of a lifetime.
Geez, the airport! How we laughed! Had a fella from North Carolina flew in, picked him up in Portland ME, anyways he come with as big a carry on as he could get away with, and two big empty coolers for luggage. We wrapped and froze his meat, and brought a couple rolls of duct tape to seal the coolers after check in for the flight home. Well it was just after 9-11, and security was tight at the airport, for starters one of the petcocks was open on his cooler, and he dripped a little blood trail here and there, and that brought in a team of black beret wearing trackers with walkie talkie's and M-16's who demanded to know what we had in them coolers? That was OK, but the checker in man, got on his rubber gloves and started looking through the packages of meat, (for a meat bomb I guess) and he's got this one package - I gotta tell you the first part of the story ... The night before, The fella from NC says when I'm marking the packages, "Did you mark the tenderloins?"
" Yep, You'll find them." I assured him. Well I did. ButHe'd said his Dad would be raiding his freezer time to time, and I didn't want his relatives just coming in and raiding all his good cuts, and I was gonna tell him later maybe, but the customs inspector is just standing there , looking all queer at a couple packages, squinting his eyes, and curling his lips, and he says, "You really going to EAT this stuff?"
" What?" the NC hunter says, and the customs guy starts hauling out packages marked : Moose nipples, moose testicles, eyeballs, moose vagina... And these are the labels you want to put on your choice cuts by the way, if you want the neighbors and your uncle Eddie to back off on your tenderloins when he raids your freezer. Oh, I just thought I'd share that story; It tickles me to think about it. But that's hunting really. It isn't about killing something. It's about getting off for a bit in the woods, and enjoying this great earth with your hunting or your fishing buddies, sharing the experience, and making new friends and memories.
If you have any questions, give me a call, and maybe we'll be hunting together this fall.
John had hunted hard for a week without any luck. Nice way to end the season for both of us.
