Howdy!

I'm an Aggie alum and longtime reader here. Don't post much, but I've gotten a lot of good information off this board over the years.

A couple friends and I have been working on a project called Book The Wild, and I wanted to run it by this crowd before it goes much further.

It started pretty simply. We all hunt Texas, and every year we found ourselves chasing down outfitters the same way. Texts, phone calls, referrals, half-answered questions, and a lot of back-and-forth just to figure out what was actually available and what you were getting.

We built Book The Wild as a way to make it easier to find legitimate Texas hunts and book them in one place, without changing how the hunts themselves operate. We're not outfitters. No memberships, no gimmicks. Just a place where hunters can see what's out there and decide if it fits what they're looking for.

It's still early, and honestly this board has more real-world hunting experience than anywhere else I can think of. So if you're willing to take a look, I'd genuinely appreciate any thoughts good, bad, or otherwise on whether something like this is useful or if there's anything that immediately feels off.

Site is here if you want to check it out: www.bookthewild.com

If this isn't the right place for a post like this, mods feel free to move or delete. Just wanted to introduce it the right way and get honest feedback.

Appreciate the knowledge that gets shared here.

Thanks,

Sam Rossmann

First bit of feedback, I attempted the, "Explore Hunts" link via my phone and got a, "This site can't be reached" error.

Sam's a good dude. Good luck with the website.

A much needed resource. Site looks good.

Will verified clients be able to rate or comment on outfitters after the fact? I hate the internet 5 star nonsense bc it tends to lean to hating on people but an opportunity to list pros/cons by those who actually used an outfitters would be nice to see if I'm browsing hunts.

Appreciate all the feedback and kind words this is exactly why I wanted to run it by this board.

On vetting: completely agree that quality and integrity are the whole ballgame. We're being selective on purpose and leaning heavily on relationships, references, and personal experience rather than trying to list everyone. If we're not comfortable with an operation, we'd rather pass.

On the mobile issue with the Explore Hunts link thank you for flagging that. That one's on us and we're digging into it now. Super helpful to catch things like that early. I would appreciate it if you could share what browser you opened the link on. That will help us with the diagnosis.

On reviews and feedback: I'm with you on not wanting this to turn into generic 5-star internet nonsense. Hunters do have the ability to leave a review on their hunting experience with the outfitter. We feel that is an important feature.

I genuinely appreciate the encouragement. We're trying to keep this useful first and let it grow the right way, even if that means slower.

Thank you - Sam

Great idea and resource - exactly what I was hoping existed a couple years ago when I was trying to find outfitters/leases. Not sure how many resources like this exist already, but if done right could be a game changer.

Consider an app, maybe model after vrbo or Hipcamp where outfitters get some sort of tiered "preferred" status.

Leaving a review is cool. Maybe another way is to have a way that people can tally how many of what they are hunting for that they killed and a "checkmark" if their so called mission was accomplished. Some sort of way to track outfitters on what percentage of hunts were successful based on kills. I know that has lots of variables, but if I am thinking about wanting to get a limit of sandhill cranes, I would want to know who is killing a lot that season or in previous seasons.

I know getting limits or killing a trophy isn't everyone's mission though.

Utilizing iOS Chrome.

I like the overall format of the page. Could be a great resource.

I noticed that Lodging and meat processing were listed in both the Amenities and Services area. Seems like they should be in one or the other.

I didnt dig into it much but it would be good to know if any fees are included in the price or additional and if so what they are. That way you know what you are looking at up front to help compare hunts.

Really appreciate the thoughtful feedback this is all super helpful.

On the "app / VRBO-style" idea: That's a direction we've talked about conceptually, but we're trying to stay disciplined early and make sure the core experience actually works before adding layers. If it proves useful and people are coming back to it, that's definitely something we'd explore down the road.

On reviews and success rates: that's an interesting idea and I agree the nuance matters. Success means different things depending on the hunt and the hunter, and there are a lot of variables outside the outfitter's control. That said, I do like the idea of focusing on objective outcomes or "did this meet the stated goal" rather than pure star ratings. That's something we'll continue to think through.

On the mobile/browser feedback: thank you for calling out iOS Chrome specifically that helps narrow things down on our end. We are looking into why this might happen.

On layout and pricing transparency: great catch on the amenities vs. services overlap. We'll clean that up. And I completely agree on wanting clarity around what's included vs. additional fees. Being able to compare hunts apples-to-apples is kind of the whole point, so that's good feedback and something we'll tighten up.

Thank you for all of the great insights.

-Sam

Looks really good. I actually went through the process of booking a hunt, but I kept getting an error screen when I went to put the dates in. Is it actually live yet?

clinte234 said:

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Looks really good. I actually went through the process of booking a hunt, but I kept getting an error screen when I went to put the dates in. Is it actually live yet?

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Thank you trying it that's really helpful.

Short answer: We are live, but we are seeing a larger that expected increase in traffic that is causing issues like this. Thus, we still have some tweaking to do with resource management. That's on us.

If you don't mind, I will shoot you a PM about the hunt you were looking at and help offline in the meantime.

One of the things you might run into is places not wanting to put prices. The issue with aps/sites like this is that it starts the "who can be the cheapest" process. When that happens, usually the consumer loses out. People advertise one thing then effort another.

Ive helped book close to a million dollars worth of hunts. I vet everyone and give very detailed pros and cons when people ask, as well as build packing lists and give intenerary feedback. However you never know when the guide that helped you kill a world record class lion starts sodomizing his violent wife. (Thats for you Wodanaz) That is until you get buddies that book and get stuck.

So, all this to say just be prepared to step in when people dont honor prices, or people feel bait and switched, or they get upsold onsite, etc. Its dang near impossible to keep most people happy regardless of how much effort you put in. Especially difficult when you own nothing you are marketing. If it is truly your passion, then dont get discouraged and keep plodding.

Cabelas did this for years, mainly with trophy hunts. Not sure if they are still trying it or not but a quick google would tell you. You may be able to pick up some ideas from them. Ive been on a few of their hunts, all sucked arse and cost 2x. Its why i did it differently. Point being....their marketing was good enough for me to silence my better judgement.

Good luck.