I have come to expect poor customer service from certain companies that come into contact in my life on a regular basis. For example, I wouldn't expect a high level of customer service from McDonald's because you simple get what you pay for in this world. On the other hand I would expect to receive a very high level of customer service from a major firearms manufacturer. Over the past two months I have had the honor of experiencing first hand the poor customer service from Thompson Center Arms. I am the proud owner of a Thompson Center Omega Muzzleloader that I purchased a year or so ago. Late last December the trigger cracked in cold weather when locking the breech block assembly. I promptly called T/C Customer Service to verify that they would infact fix the problem. To my surprise, the customer service representative acknowledged that they had seen this problem before, so it appears that T/C has run into a manufacturing problem with the breech block assembly for the Omega. T/C Customer Service informs me that they will fix this at no-charge ... I am now starting to feel good about owning a T/C Omega again. 
Now the fun begins ... It took me quite a while to actually get around to disassembling my T/C Omega and boxing up the breech block assembly. I think this was primarily due to the fact that muzzleloader season was over and addressing the broken gun was a frustration that I didn't want to deal with. Before I was able to send the part into the T/C Service department, the box with the part disappeared (I am not throwing my wife under the bus but I think she may have accidentally tossed it out on accident). Needless to say I wasn't happy. Another three calls and an email (my voicemails went unanswered but customer service finally responded to an email) into T/C Customer Service before I get a response on the option of purchasing a new breech block assembly. The situation gets more frustrating as "misplacing" the disassembled breech block was clearly my fault but I wouldn't be in this situation if the damned thing wouldn't have broke in the first place.
After another email exchange and two more phone calls (I advise you not to call customer service around lunch because they will not answer the phone) I finally get a Customer Service Representative on the phone. The lady on the other end of the line informs me that the breech block is $130 plus shipping ... long pause without a "would you like to purchase the part" ... so I ask "can I place an order for the breech block assembly". The customer service lady responds with "ooooh ... we only have two left in stock" ... followed by another long pause. I respond with "great, can I order one?" After a few more seconds of silence I am asked which model of Omega I have because there are two different breech block assemblies available. I provide my serial number, credit card, and shipping info and the order is placed.
Starting to feel good again ... or maybe not.
After three weeks I am still without a part, confirmation email, or any other correspondance that indicates the status of my order. Nothing but crickets from T/C Customer Service. After another firm email to customer service I finally received a response (although it did take another 3 days). My part has shipped and I should have it in a few days.
Ok ... maybe this won't be so bad ... or will it ...
Finally! The part has arrived. I am cautiosly optimisitc as I open my package. As I dig through my package I find my breech block assembly and .... it's the wrong part ... dammit! I had a feeling this was going to happen. You can typically tell that you are going to have a problem when the customer service person doesn't sound overly confident on the phone. Another three calls to T/C customer support (I made the mistake of calling twice around lunch). 
The customer service representative was slightly abbrasive but after some back and forth I did manage to confirm that the wrong part was shipped. What I found very concerning is that the packing slip contain absolutely zero details on what was shipped so I am wondering what purpose the packing slip was supposed to serve.
I have now shipped the part back to T/C (at my cost) and I am now waiting for another breech block assembly. T/C issue an RMA for the part nor would they send shipping labels at their cost. I also tried to get them to cross ship the parts to speed up the process but apparently that wasn't an option on the customer service representatives standard operating procedure sheet (I think her head almost exploded when I suggested cross shipping the parts).
Stay tuned ... who knows what the next package will contain (maybe I will get a barrel for a T/C Encore). It might be time for America's Gun Maker to invest in some call center training because the service is what I would expect from an overseas operation. T/C firearms (historicaly) have been fanstastic but don't count on getting support if something goes wrong. I am not impressed ... it may be time to purchase a CVA.
UPDATED
I have to say that I finally have come to a point where this issue is now resolved. After shipping the incorrect breech block assembly back to T/C, a customer service representative connected by directly with a gun smith. I have to say that the gunsmith went out of his way to take care of me. I should have a new breech block assembly, complete with lug and pressed roll pins, should arrive any day. Maybe T/C should have their gunsmiths answer the phone 
. I'mthinking they could do a Sprint commercial where gunsmiths run the world.
On September 9, 2009 Tom Healy of Rockford Michigan landed what is now the new Michigan state record brown trout and should be the all-tackle world record. If you haven't seen the pictures I include one in the this post below. This is an enormous fish caught from the Big Manistee River. The previous Michigan state record brown trout weighed in at 34 lbs. 10 oz (but Tom Healy's monster smashes this record weighing in at 41 lbs. 7.25 oz. The current world record Brown Trout weighs in at 40lbs 4 oz.
Previously on September 5, 2009 Sean Konrad broke the world record Rainbow trout by landing a 48 pound monster on Saskatchewan's Lake Diefenbaker. The previous record was held by Sean's twin brother Adam by a Rainbow trout that he landed back in 2007 weighing 43 lbs. 10oz. Before Adam broke the record in 2007, the world record Rainbow trout was held for 37 years.
I managed to get my hands on a new Summit Viper SS climbing treestand last week. 
Previous to purchasing the Viper SS I spent a fare amount of time reviewing climbing stands. Like most hunters I like to spend time up front reading about products before I even step foot into a store. I knew I wanted a higher end climbing stand with high end features but I also wanted to make sure the price made sense. Before I give you my feedback I want to give you a bit of background about myself. I have never, ever used a climbing stand before. While I hunt out of a treestand most of the time, I typically carry lock on stands out on to public land or hang permanent stands on private land. I am also the type of guy that doesn't mind spending top dollar on equipment if it is justified. I am a firm believer that, within reason, you get what you pay for and I hate paying for something more than once.
After quite a bit of research I settled on the Summit Viper SS. I looked at some higher end stands from Summit and Lone Wolf but decided the significantly higher price wasn't justified as the additional cost was for features I particularly didn't need. I really wanted a treestand that was easy to use, easy to pack in (I hunt in some locations that require a 3/4 to 1 mile walk into the woods), and comfortable enough that I could sit in all day.
I picked up my Summit Viper SS at the local Gander Mountain outdoor store for $279.00. I found out today that Cabelas had the same stand for $259.00 so thanks to Gander Mountain's price guarantee policy I received an extra $20 off the original purchase price. The Viper SS included the treestand, five-point safety harness, and a instructional DVD video.
Assembling the treestand was very easy but I would caution anyone that purchases this stand to watch the instructional video while reading through the directions. In total it took me 10 minutes to assembly the stand. Overall I like the construction of the stand as the welds were solid. The stand is very light (about 21 pounds) but definitely not the lightest of the bunch (the Loan Wolf Alpha is about 18 pounds). This is an area that I didn't mind sacrificing a bit since three pounds doesn't make a difference to me and I can definitely use the exercise. The upper and lower pieces of the stand fit nicely together to make a backpack setup for carrying the stand through the woods. Summit did a very nice job of making all straps dual purpose so as to not have multiple loose straps hanging off the stand when not in use. For example the backpack straps also serve as the tether for keeping the lower part to the stand from falling down the tree.
The first time I used the treestand it was dark as I was setting up for a morning hunt. I didn't plan on doing my first run in the dark but I couldn't resist trying this bad boy out! I managed to get the treestand mounted and climb up to about 20 feet in less than 10 minutes. Not using a treestand before I didn't know what to expect. What I found was an extremely solid climbing system that anyone could easily figure out on first use. The teeth of the stand dig into the tree to create a solid mount and ensure limited slippage. The stand has nice balance so you don't feel like you are fighting with it on every step up. The shooting rail doubles as a place to sit as you climb the tree providing an solid support that will give anyone confidence.
After getting settling into the stand I spent some time adjusting the seat height. One thing I noticed quickly is that the Viper SS is a very comfortable treestand. I can easily sit (or stand) in the treestand all day. The platform is large provide plenty of room to move allow you to make shots in all directions. The shooting rail gives you a sense of security so you easily can turn around and make shots behind the tree if necessary.
For all the positives things I have to say about this treestand I do have a few complaints. The platform teeth will begin to squeak as the paint begins to wear away. The instructional video actually addresses this issue and provides a recommendation to file the teeth flat after several uses. The Quickdraw cable system works well but I can tell you that the cable is going to have to be replaced after a season of use. The cable has a plastic coating on it that wears easily exposing the wiring underneath. I can tell you that this will cause issues after some wear and tear on the treestand.
All things considered I would definitely recommend the Summit Viper SS treestand. The price and features make it a top choice on my list.
This weekend my buddy and I were walking our hunting property when we were hit with the ominous stench of a rotting carcass. After searching for a few minutes we came across a deer carcass which by the looks of it was shot in the chest with an arrow by our neighbor and dragged onto our property. The carcass was only 10 feet from the property line and you could clearly see where it had been dragged through the leaves. We reported the incident to the Michigan DNR and I was impressed when a DNR Law Enforcement Officer responded however he was quick to point out that he thought the deer may have been hit by a car. The deer was clearly a buck and had its head and cape take but the rest of the deer, including the meat, was left to rot. I cannot tell you how angry this made me. Most of our neighbors in our area voluntarily particiate in QDM activities and don't shoot small or young bucks. To find out that one of our neighbors may be poaching deer and leaving them to rot drives me crazy The jury is still out on the incident as the DNR is still investigating. We have suspected that our Neighbor had poached deer in the past so I will have to update this post when the DNR calls me with an upddate.
Unless you live in a cave you probably have heard that Jennifer Granholm inacted a law that bans baiting in Michigan. This action was taken in response to Michigan's first documented case of Cronic Wasting Disease (CWD). For years CWD was found in animals in some midwestern states but was primarily contained in western states. Michigan's first case happened to come from a deer in Kent County (see Grand Rapids) that was contained in a pen. I have not read how this deer came to be infected with CWD or how it made it into the state but the impact of Michigan's first case of CWD is certainly going to make a impact. The economic impact from the ban on baiting is not yet measurable but will certainly be significant. Many farmers in Michigan raise entire crops with the intent of selling those crops for bait during hunting season. Many of these crops can't be repurposed for other uses so they are going to simply rot in bushells or be sold to hunters that are ignoring the baiting ban. While I personally don't hunt over bait many michigan hunters do. There is no doubt that the Michigan DNR is going to have their hands full with hunters that choose to ignore the baiting ban. If you do choose to ignore the ban, be aware that the penalties are stiff; between $50 and $500 dollars. The bottom line here is that the economic impact is going to be signifiant. Farmers will most certainly be the first losers but a decrease in deer hunters this year will impact the local economy and Michigan DNR budgets (revenue from Deer Hunting license sales is one of the primary sources of funds for the Michigan DNR). Only time will tell us what the impact of a baiting ban will have on the 2008 deer hunting season.
<Updated>
The Michigan Lower Peninsula baiting ban was scheduled to be rule on by an Ingham County circuit court judge on October 9, 2008 but the appeal was refused. Circuit court judge Joyce Draganchuk refused to hear the appeal citing that farmers had adequate time to appeal the plan when it was first created in 2002. Read the full article on the Detroit News web site here. On Saturday, October 12, 2008 I had an opportunity to speak with a DNR officer (the enforcement officer was responding to my complaint about a deer carcase that my neighbor apparenlty poaches and dragged onto my property. I will share that story with you in a different post) and he informed me that it was his impression that the baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula is permanent. Permanent meaning not just for the 2008 hunting season but for every hutning season from this point forward until the ban is overturned. While this is certainly a devastating blow to the local economy (the Detroit News article estimated that deer feed sales are about $100 million annually) we may see a secondary benefit of a healthier deer herd. I am curious to see what the impact on hunter turnout for the firearms season will be. With the restructuring of budgets in 2007 the Michigan DNR is already struggling with limited funding. A decline in hunting license sales with continue to put pressure on the Michigan DNR budget and force further cutbacks.
The Michigan archery season is in full swing and opening day could not have come soon enough. At deer camp on Sunday afternoon the trash talking was abundant as slammy decided to start calling his shot for opening morning. Unfortunately the Michigan weather did not cooperate as a low pressure system brought unseasonably warm weather along with thunderstorms that quickly reduced the overall confidence level at camp. Despite the the poor weather conditions we didn't manage to harvest an animal although it wasn't the buck that we were looking for. CB375HH managed to hang a 15 pound whistle pig (see: woodchuck, rockchuck, hoary marmot, and yellow bellied marmot) from the buck pole. Apparently after feasting in a food plot for the majority of opening morning the marmot fell victim to carbon poisoning delivered at 305 FPS from a BowTech. CB should have pictures of his trophy in the next day or so. I guess all we can hope for is better weather for the evening hunt. More to come ...
[Update]
Saturday, October 13, 2007 - I managed to sneak away for a day to get in a only my second sit of the season. At this rate I am not even going to come close to the number of sits I got in last year. Oh well things are starting to look up. The morning hunt proved to be successful as I managed to slam a doe at around 9:00am. I also saw nine deer in the morning and two more in the afternoon. Unforutnately I ran out of light during the evening sit as it was windy right up until 30 minutes before legal shooting ended. The deer promptly started to move when the wind died down but i only saw two does despite the having quite a bit of activity in the woods around me. One in the bag is not bad at this point but I can't wait until the pre-rut begins.
I have been spending quite a bit of time researching muzzleloaders to try and figure out what type of setup I want to purchase. The only blackpowder hunting I have done in the past was done with borrowed equipment. After several incidents last season that involved missed opportunities on nice bucks during firearm season in Michigan CB375HH talked me into picking up a good muzzleloader. I spend a lot of time hunting in the shotgun only zone in Michigan and rather than purchase a separate slug gun and black powder rifle I decided to take CB's advise and purchase a good muzzleloader. Now this is where things get interesting ...
I spent quite a bit of time researching muzzloaders on the internet and found that there really isn't a lot of scientific information out there on what make/models have the best accuracy. I am looking to spend reasonable amount money on a nice setup but like most hunters I am budget conscience and don't want to spent too much more than $500-$600 on the total setup. Now when doing my research I found that most black powder rifle owner's opinions were based on guns that they currently owned. For example the CVA guys seem to like CVA muzzleloaders and the ThompsonCenter guys seem to like TC muzzleloaders (no surprise eh?). I really didn't find too many folks out there that have owned different makes/models of muzzleloaders that preferred one gun over the other.
After much research I narrowing my choices downt to a CVA Optima Pro, Thompson Center Triumph, or Thompson Center Omega. In terms of value I know that CVA sells more muzzleloaders out there than anyone else. This is primarily due to the price of the CVA rifles. Comparing the CVA Optima Pro and the TC Omega I decided that the Omega was a better value (Cabelas has the Synthetic Thumphole Stock and Blued Barrel model on sale for $309). The big decision was now between the TC Omega and the TC Triumph. The Triumph is new for this year and I am always hesitant to pick up something that is brand new with little or no field testing (although TC has a reputation for developing innovative products). The Triumph features some interesting new features including a lighter weight receiver, 90 degree turn breach plug, and a new weather guard barrel. At $429 I am not sure that all of these new features are worth the extra money. After doing some research I learned that the barrel is effectively the same as the TC Omega. So what am I really getting by paying the extra $120? I am not really sure. These new features are definitely great editions to an already proven line of blackpowder rifles but are they worth the extra cost?
After some pondering and conversations with CB375HH I decided that the Triumph wasn't worht the extra money. Here is the setup that I settled on.
- Thompson Center Omega w/ Thumbhole Synthetic Stock and Blued Barrel
- Bushnell Elite 3200 Scope
- TC Omega Scope Mounts
Powder and ammo selection is still up in the air until I get a chance to tune the rifle and see what shoots best. I am probably going to start shooting 100gr. triple seven powder with 220gr. Dead Center sabots. I have read that this combination works well for whitetail hunting. I update this post once I get my hands on the new hardware. I am heading out at the end of this week to do some shopping.
Have you ever had a situation where you are in a heated discussion with an older person and they throw around the phrases "because I know" or "it is that way because I said so". I generally refer to this as old man logic. It is relatively easy to spot old man logic in action and there are three simple ingredients; a heated conversation or argument about a popular topic (hunting, fishing, politics, etc.), two opposing opinions, and of course an "older" person expressing their opinion without any basis in fact.
Old man logic is not new and in fact has been occurring regularly for as long as men have gathered. Fathers have been misleading their sons, grandfathers misleading their grandsons, and so on. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that "older" men are stupid but they are foolish enough to have convinced themselves that some deeply rooted opinion is factual. The Internet has been a godsend when i comes to disputing old man logic. I can recall many heated arguments with family members about the economy, politics, and science where old man logic was slung around like mud at a tractor pull. Over the last 20 years the Internet has proved to be a valuable tool in the fight against old man logic. No longer can men declare that Ford Motor Company is not really struggling and it is all a conspiracy to make the executives rich. Or that wind doesn't matter when setting up your hunting stand.
I function on one basic guiding principal when it comes to knowledge and wisdom. AGE DOES NOT DICTATE WISDOM ... EVER. Those who truly learn from their experiences, mistakes, and other individuals will be wiser with time. Just because you are old in age doesn't mean that you are wiser with time.
For those of you who are not familiar with
Gander Mountain it is a regional hunting, fishing and camping department store.
Gander Mountain has stores located in 21 states throughout the Midwest and East coast. I recently blogged about that lack of customer service and knowledge of the
Gander Mountain associates (blog post
here). Well my frustrations continue. I recently visited a
Gander Mountain store near my home and found the store to be in complete disarray.
Gander Mountain generally carries a great selection of hunting, fishing and camping gear but it always seems to be strewn throughout the store and not very well organized. The web site (
www.gandermountain.com) isn't much better. I find it hard to believe that a regional retail store can't manage to get a online store up and running (product catalog, product search, shopping cart, and checkout). Additionally I can't even view the current week's circular as it never seems to be published and available on the site even though Gander Mountain claims to offer this service. I make the majority of my purchases online and find it frustrating that I can't seem to do this with Gander Mountain's web site. I guess I need to continue shopping online at
Cabela's and [Bass Pro]. I happen to have the benefit of knowing what kind of effort is involved in developing an ecommerce presence since I write this type of software for a living. Maybe I should offer my services up to
Gander Mountain.
Got a case of cabin fever? I know I do! I always hate this time of year as we transition between deer season and into the dead of winter. Here in Michigan the ice has just begun to freeze ruling out any ice fishing for at least another week. So brave fisherman have ventured out onto the ice but I am going to give it another week. I really don't want to take a $1500 helicopter ride compliments of the Coast Guard. Right now the only outdoor activities available are predator hunting or trapping. Now I have not really been much into trapping but CB375HH has been really getting me into it. There are quite a few opportunities for trapping locally that don't require an hour car ride from home thus making trapping a "wife friendly" activity. CB375HH and I just spent yesterday afternoon fabricating eight weasel boxes. I didn't realize that we had weasels in Michigan but apparently they are all over the place. CB should have a blog soon detailing the construction of the boxes. Check out the Michigan DNR site for information on the weasel family of animals in Michigan.
It looks like the winter blues will be subsiding shortly as we have been getting quite a bit of snow making the conditions ideal for a little predator hunting. I am hoping to get out and slam a few coyotes in the next couple of week. The Deer and Turkey Spectacular is coming to a few locations in the Midwest. Here is a link to the schedule and location information.
http://www.deerinfo.com/home.asp
There has been much written about the benefit of food plots especially when it comes to the health of the deer herd. Most probably don't realize how quickly you can realize the payoff. The picture below is of a turnip that came from one of the five food plots that we have on a relative small piece of land. After only one year we have establishing healthy food plots that have dramatically effected the patterns, number, and quality of the bucks on the property. All of our food plots have been planted with a seed mix consisting of turnips, whitetail clover, and rape. This mix has produced some quality bucks in a relatively short period of time. At this point I can't wait to see what the following years will produce. Now if I can only figure out how to shoot straight I would have tagged at least one of the three wall-hanger 8 pointers that I missed this year
Those of you who live in Michigan or plan on hunting in
Michigan should get ready for a bit of sticker shock when it comes time to
purchase your 2007 hunting and fishing licenses. At least this will be
the case if the proposed licensing fees get approved for the 2007 hunting and
fishing seasons. Now I am not one to complain about the cost of hunting
and fishing licenses but the new increases seem a bit excessive. Now some folks will tell you that the
increase is overdue and that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are
experiencing a severe budget crisis. I
would argue that the recently passed Proposal 06-1 would now create a large
influx of budget funding because licensing revenue will not longer be
redirected to other government programs. Here is a quick rundown of the
proposed fee increases. As you can see
the increases are significant and I have highlighted some items that will have
a sweeping impact. Now it is difficult
to predict a person’s future actions but this type of increase will most
certainly cause those less fortunate who rely on hunting and fishing as a means
to feed their families to violate our state hunting and fishing rule and
regulations. This pretty much does
everything short of promoting poaching
itself. Michigan has been experiencing a
major economic downturn due to the reduction in manufacturing jobs in the state. As disposable income decrease the violations
will most certainly increase.
|
License
|
Current
|
Proposed
|
|
Applications
(restricted licenses)
|
$4
|
$5
|
|
Bear
|
$15
|
$50
|
|
Firearm or archery deer
|
$15
|
$30
|
|
Combo deer
|
$30
|
$75
|
|
Elk
|
$100
|
$200
|
|
Antlerless deer
|
$15
|
$30
|
|
Small game
|
$15
|
$20
|
|
Turkey
|
$15
|
$30
|
|
Fur harvester, trap
only
|
$15
|
$20
|
|
Waterfowl
|
$5
|
$10
|
|
Restricted fish
|
$15
|
$20
|
|
All species fish
|
$28
|
$40
|
|
One-day fish
|
$7
|
$15
|
|
Three-day fish all
species
|
NA
|
$36
|
|
Senior firearms or
archery deer
|
$6
|
$24
|
|
Junior firearms or
archery deer
|
$7.50
|
$15
|
|
Senior small game
|
$6
|
$16
|
|
Junior small game
|
$1
|
$10
|
|
Senior fur harvester,
trap
|
$6
|
$16
|
|
Junior fur harvester,
trap
|
$7.50
|
$10
|
|
Senior restricted fish
|
$6
|
$16
|
|
Senior all-species
fish
|
$11.20
|
$32
|
|
Junior all species
fish
|
$2*
|
$2*
|
|
Nonresident deer
|
$138
|
$165
|
|
Nonresident bear
|
$150
|
$300
|
|
Nonresident combo deer
|
$276
|
$330
|
|
Nonresident restricted
fish
|
$34
|
$40
|
|
Nonresident
all-species fish
|
$42
|
$80
|
|
Nonresident small game
|
$69
|
$100
|
|
Nonresident 3-day
small game
|
$30
|
$40
|
|
Nonresident turkey
|
$69
|
$140
|
|
Daily area use
waterfowl
|
$4
|
$7
|
|
Annual area use
waterfowl
|
$13
|
$20
|
I have to rant for a moment about the lack of knowledge possessed by the lackeys that work at your local sporting goods stores. This week I spent some time bouncing around a couple of chain sporting goods stores in my area (Gander Mountain and Dunham's) looking at various firearms, gun safes, and black powder rifles. The one thing I noticed is that no one at these retail outlets had a clue about the merchandise they were selling. For example, Gander Mountain is known for its wide selection of firearms. For those of you who are not familiar with Gander Mountain it is like a miniature Bass Pro or Cabelas. I was speaking with a couple of the lackeys that worked behind the counter about various firearms and quickly became apparent that these guys had no clue what they were talking about. It amazes me that retail outlets would put uninformed employees behind their counters to try and sell products that are generally specialized (meaning the customers will generally have a lot of questions). Besides being able to talk out of the asses these guy really had no clue how to provide guidance to a would be consumer. My advise to you would be to visit the local firearms dealer if you want real advise.
I have to say that the 2006 whitetail season has been my best ever. The ironic thing is that I haven't even knocked down a deer yet! We have put a lot of time and effort into developing our new hunting property and it has really paid off. After developing the habitat and planting food plots I have seen over 20 different bucks with 12 of them being nice shooters. We are really starting to hold a lot of deer on a reasonable chuck of land (about 27 acres). It turns out that my tree stand has been one of the most active but also the most difficult to hunt due to its location on the several travel route crossings. Additionally the property is very thick with quite a few berry trees and very heavy cover. This has resulted in my missing 3 different 8 pointers. I missed a nice 8 pointer in late October when my arrow clipped a small branch and deflect just feet in front of a nice buck. I have missed twice on two other 8 pointers with my shotgun. All three shot opportunities where on the same runway and through some very heavy cover. It looks like it is time to move from my tree stand to a ground blind with better shooting lanes
We will have to see how the rest of the season progresses.