I hope Jeff Foiles isn't in the habit of

Screw him...he's guilty as hell. Total Scumbag. I've hunted near him several times while they where filming videos and it was clear to me that they had been baiting. I even asked a farmer one time why so many birds were going in his pond while Jeff filmed there and he said,"Well shit, it's the corn...I dumped a ton in their with that gravity wagon"...pointing to the wagon parked near the pond.

Yes I made the phone calls...yes I contacted the authorities and that's when I learned that sometimes trying to be a good guy is a total waste of time. My guess is that he had feds with him at that point and they just kept it quiet to build a case. But, I find it interesting that they never mentioned baiting in the article.

I hate his mean face. His PO'd, stupid look. His lack of integrity and ability to put together an intelligent sentence. I love Bigfoot decoys and frankly until they divorce themselves from him I'll never buy another new one. The whole "get in on the carnage" thing makes me want to puke. They thought they saw carnage before...wait til all the Foiles lovers realize their idol is a scumbag. And Clinton Decoy Company, get your head out of your ass.

So that's how I feel about it. Any questions?
 
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"I hear that customers are experiencing shortages of razor blades and goo gone at stores across the country after black hoodie-wearing turncoats pillaged the stores to get the supplies to de-straight meatify their trucks."

Oooooohhh! That is funny!

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I never get on a post that seems to be very adversative, but I just can't refrain from this one. My little brain has never understood why companies will get these guys to promote there products. Maybe the return is an unmeasurable amout of money. I have such a love for the waterfowl that we pursue. I can't imagine having a pissed off face when I am out spending time in the marsh. It is one of the places that rekindles my soul. The bands around there neck are such a turn off for me. It truly isn't a measure of there manhood. I have taken my share of bands over the years, and hopefully they will mean something to my children or grand children. I will be heading out hunting in the morning and maybe I will take a mallard or two. But tomorrow will be special to me as I will be hunting with my son Eric and I know how we both hold such a high regard to the sport we love so much. And if we are successful, I will post some pics of our ducks on this wanderful forum where I have made so many friends. If Jeff is guilty of the charges filed than I hope the pack of kids that look up to him realize they are going down the wrong road. And maybe they can find a mentor or a friend with a smile on there face to show them the way as many on this site. If he is innocent than I hope he possibly learns some good things from this experience. He is just not my mentor, and I believe he is missing out on what the sport is all about.

Gary March
 
I don't know all the details but I'm betting that most, if not all, of the charges against this guy are misdemeanors, even if they are federal. Here in Montana, the state will often prosecute wildlife offenses as felonies, which gets people's attention. I'd be interested to know if anyone is familiar with the breakdown of the charges against Foiles...misdemeanors vs. felonies.
Speaking of pissed off looking guys in ads...have you seen the ones with Phil Robertson, the self labled "Duck Commander," and his group of homies glaring at the camera? What's up with that? Why are these guys so angry?
 
Is Foiles selling his club because of his legal troubles? The ad says "Four TEN MAN pits," ...did I read that right? Who the hell would want to shoot out of a pit with nine other people?
 
Heck, I dont like with more than just 1 partner, let alone 10!
Only place I found that many guns that tolerable was snow goose hunting & then the guides made real clear they would call the shots.
 
It is one of the places that rekindles my soul..... It truly isn't a measure of manhood. ....But tomorrow will be special to me as I will be hunting with my son Eric and I know how we both hold such a high regard to the sport we love so much. ..... I believe he (Foiles) is missing out on what the sport is all about.

Gary March


View attachment World's.jpg As the World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World might say:
"HOOK, LINE, SINKER, DONE!"

Well said, Gary.
 
New Foiles Call:

FMH: Fresh Meat Honkey.

Geeze! ...but Ted is correct about the outdoor industry/working in it....I dabbled in it for a few years, and it turned my hobby into misery sometimes, and kept me in a constant battle to keep someone else from making me a liar....some of it just ruined the ethical, honorable intent, to me. I'll probably starve before I take another nickel for anything hunting business related, and I'll enjoy my hunting more, have more true friends, and not have my integrity in someone else's hands..
 
Some of you might remember Kirt Darner the disgraced mule deer trophy hunter from Colorado, a friend of mine, Rich LaRocco wrote for Kirt. Rich has addressed his working with Kirt at this link:

http://www.hunts.net/darner.html

Might be of interest as it is similar in some form to the content of this thread.

Matt
 
Being a child of the west, raised on sage brush fires and mule deer steaks, I envied Kirt Darner in those old Outdoor Life arcticles. The photo with all the heads up on a barn wall was the first time I was ever jealous of someone. I wanted Dad to move us to Colorado really bad.

About that time in the late 1970's in southwest Oregon as I went outside the house one morning I saw a set of 4x4 mule deer antlers in the yard. Big mass with one kicker point. Not very wide but with the kicker they are 24 inches. Dogs had been chewing on the skull plate and the antler tips. My dad and I spent the next few weeks asking folks around the neighborhood if they were missing any antlers. There was one guy that had a pile of black tail racks in his garage from all his years in the logging woods. They weren't his, but he was sure they were not from a big black tail. Finally we gave up trying to find who they belonged to and dad mounted them up on a piece of myrtle wood for a hat rack.

Over 30 years later I still have the hat rack and still get asked where I shot the huge deer. The anwser is always the same, " I found them in my yard when I was a kid. Dogs dropped them there after stealing them from someone and chewing on them." Many people are disapointed by that story, me included, but I can't take any credit for taking that deer.

Thanks for posting that link Matt.
Reminds me of the kid in southern California a few years ago that was posting photos of mounted deer heads he claimed to have shot in some very difficult desert units. His problem was that he used a similar screen name for eBay as he did for Mule Madness and was quickly found out. He was buying the heads from Colorado or other Rocky Mnt states and then claiming they were shot in California during bow seasons and then entering them into the state records. He was busted quickly by the CDOW due to some issues with the tags and hunt falsification if I remember correctly.
 
Matt,

That was an interesting read. The write-up was a real who-dunnit. I am guessing that things like that happen a little more often than we realize. Someone else made the point that when your pastime turns to a business the first casualty is often ethics. From what I have seen there is nothing about all the self promotion that goes on in the hunting industry that I find appealing.
 
The ethic thingy:

As many of you know I outfitted big game hunts in the 80's and 90's and I had a few simple rules:

1. Thou shall not break any laws while hunting with Utah Hunting service..
2. Thou shall drink alcohol... only after hunting and you shall not endanger anyone, destroy property, or be a nuisance..period no exceptions
3. Thou shall abide by the following: Love thy neighbor as thyself while hunting with Utah Hunting Service (Matthew 22:35 for those of you that are interested).
4. Thou shall respect the animals (both game and non-game) and environment..

The owner of Utah Hunting Service is the final judge as to if the above were violated and at his discretion you will be asked to leave...
If you can not abide by those rules do not book a hunt with us.

That is a paraphrase of the actually agreement.


Sounds a bit preachy but gall dang, gee whizzz, I did not want any funny business and problems....and besides some people are_____________you fill in the blank.

I had a hunter shoot a small buck during the archery hunt and it was not a legal buck as the antlers were under 5 inches in length. If I remember correctly they were 4 7/8 inches or so. At that time you could take two bucks in Utah, so many hunters shot a small buck and then trophy hunted. I did not know what to do as it would be difficult at 30 yards to estimate 5 verses 4 7/8's, it was decided that his hunt was over and he agreed and took his buck and went home even though he had hunted only two days out of seven. Maybe I should have turned him in (you can cast stones if you wish).

He was on an unguided hunt where we provided accommodations and meals, tree stands in place over water holes, scouting, and game retrieval with horses. That was the best selling archery hunt.

As far as the outdoors for a living, I would do it again. We made good friends, had good times, great hunts, and even made a reasonable profit. The only reason I quit was the change in regulations by the state that made it difficult to be profitable.

Matt
 
Matt,
That was weird. I don't keep up on the western big game hunting industry so the name didn't ring a bell. As soon as I saw the pictures I could remember reading an article about that big mulie in velvet. It was in Petersen's Hunting in the early 80's. It stuck with me all these years because of the detailed telling of the story. I guess it was good fiction. I think Hunting also did a series about the greatest north american big game animal and he was the expert in the mule deer article.

I don't think these kind of people are a product of a competitive hunting industry. People like this cheat little old ladies out of their money, buy/sell stocks with insider information, paint houses with watered down paint or send bills to medicare for exaggerated services every day. Rotten people will be rotten just because they are. It's not a single mistake or run of bad luck, it's a lifestyle they enjoy.
It's too bad it often tarnishes honest people around them.

Tim
 
Tim.

Lets us hope that the whole barrel is not contaminated by those "rotten" apples..... Sometimes I think that it has been to a fair degree...

As far as weird.....I remember Mr darner being the center of attention at more than one hunting show here in the west....it seems big buck insanity was rampant and most likely still is... The "darn I want to shoot one of those monsters" and people were living vicariously though Darner and the hunting show..

I do not miss the bubba, ooops, potential client, that would call up and the first question out of his mouth was "How many 30inch plus bucks did you take last year?". It made me want to hang up. The thirty inch beast was a rare beastie then and more so now.

Matt
 
http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/media/Indictment.pdf

I am reading through this during lunch. Seriously boring legal stuff, but its a good read.

The one thing that irks me is the constant use of the phrases, "FOILES directed the hunt," or "FOILES controlled the hunt."

I have hunted with other people quite a few times, and the only finger ever on the trigger of my gun has been mine. No one in my party controlled my actions at any time.

Just because your guide is telling you to "TAKEEM!" does not mean you have to once you have reached your limit.

If you are duck hunting and can't count to 4 (mallard limit in IL) you might want to stay home and watch TV.

To be fair to Foiles they need to bust the barneys that also hunted and pulled the trigger on these birds. Of course the agents were there to document the events and gather evidence so they are immune from prosecution.

Note to self: when retired volunteer with the USFWS to be a "undercover sport" and collect information on bad guides. I will get to overshoot the limits, charge the guide fees to the government (or at least a tax write off), and then get to sit on the stand and regale the jury with the account of my exploits....urr, I mean the facts as they happened.
 
How many barneys? It does not take to much to ruin an outfitters/guides reputation, the clients could have tarnished his reputation if they would have taken action with the possibility of [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Folies going out of business long ago. In the 80's there was a monthly paper published with the partial purpose of noting good guides and outfitters. As a big game outfitter you did not want a bad review in the "The Good, The Bad, and Ugly Outfitter" column. Maybe there is nothing comparable in the waterfowl world.

Matt
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