Heavens Gate Outfitters
Heaven's Gate Outfitters
Rated 3.75 out of 5.0 based on 6 Outfitter reviews.
Contact: Andy Savage
Location: Riggins, Idaho
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Chukar, Quail, Bobcat, Mountain Lion
State(s) Hunted: ID
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Submitted by: Todd Dye
Review Submitted: Sep 21, 2023
Hunt Date: May 23, 2023
Species Hunted: Black Bear
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 3000-3999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
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Submitted by: Bob Umbenhauer
Review Submitted: Dec 1, 2019
Hunt Date: Oct 15, 2019
Species Hunted:
Days Hunted: 6
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 7000-8999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Submitted by: Jeff Passmore
Review Submitted: May 5, 2012
Hunt Date: May 1, 2012
Species Hunted: Black Bear
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 2000-2999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Spring Black Bear
Andy and Karen Savage bought Heaven's Gate in 2009. Reports written prior to 2009 are about the prior operator. They don't reflect the quality operation that Andy and Karen run. They relocated from New Hampshire where Andy had hunted, trapped and run hounds his whole life. They run a quality operation with great concessions, breathtaking scenery, friendly and capable guides, unbelievable dogs, and good equipment. They work hard to make sure you're well fed, have great opportunities to see lots of game, and take a quality animal. Andy is building his business on repeat business. He took us to his outback trailhead camp where his mountain horseback elk hunts start from. The camp is incredible with timber slab floored and walled canvas tents, shower house with tank less water heater, etc. His hunters have taken #2 and #5 black powder and #15 SCI mountain lions. His cat hunts are booked through the next two years. I hunted black bears with him, and there were three other hunters in camp. We hunted behind hounds in the morning and rode horseback into the Nez Pearce National Forrest to remote bear baits in the evenings. It was a great experience. All four hunters were successful in taking bear. There was a father/son in camp and the son was a long shot enthusiast. He brought his custom built 308 long range gun. Andy set him up on a long range bait and the kid took a great six foot bear from 475 yards. Needless to say both father and son were ecstatic. There was a lady who'd been in camp for several days when we arrived; she'd passed on one bear and missed another. Andy and his guides keep working hard to make sure that she got her bear and she did the last day of her hunt. The guy I roomed with shot his bear in the backcountry at dusk as he was walking down the mountain in the Nez Pearce National Forrest. I shot my bear over hounds after an hour chase through the Payette National Forrest. The first day we arrived in camp we drove a three mile loop in the mountains around Andy and Karen's house and we saw over a hundred deer. We also saw turkey and elk. I'll be back to hunt elk and mountain lion with Andy. I'll get a mule deer while hunting the Elk. The mule deer are everywhere up here. If you're considering hunting with Andy, you can't go wrong.
Submitted by: Eric Cederstrand
Review Submitted: Feb 6, 2012
Hunt Date: Oct 28, 2011
Species Hunted: Elk, Mule Deer
Days Hunted: 8
Hunt Type: Guided
Primary Terrain: Mountain
Method: Rifle
Price Range: Any
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
AWESOME OUTFITTER
I have hunted with HGO 13 consecutive seasons. The area they have is amazing. Their wilderness camps are in some of the most visually striking country in North America. This is rugged and STEEP country. For those in decent physical shape, you can't help but enjoy. They also have amazing private ranches for trophy deer and elk with ATV access for those that want a great, but have use of a vehicle instead of horses. Karen and Andy Savage bought the business a couple years back. They have made substantial improvents to the camps, food and accomodations. They are great people and really strive to take care of their guests. There are some big animals , both deer and elk, in their area. That being said, this is not Arizona.( No place is if you ever get a tag!) Great hunting for very nice mature animals. We see book animals every year. Getting them on the ground is another story. Lot's of wildlife and everyone in my camps have multiple opportunity to harvest. Though you can take both deer and elk in all camps(We have) They have some camps that are better for deer and others for elk. I highly reccomend Heaven's Gate to anyone. ( As a side note, hunting season coincides with the peak of the Steelhead run on the Salmon River. Since your here, have Karen book a jet boat or drift boat and enjoy some unbelievable fishingbefore or after your hunt! )
note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.
outfitter review submitted by: Louis Morales Jr. on Mar 14 2009
Species Hunted: Elk
Game Quality: Decent
Accommodation Quality: Good
Camp Condition: Good
Food Quality: Good
Guide Experience: Very good
Other Personal Experience: Very good
Overall Impression: Very good
Recommend: yes
Reviewer Comments: The conditions were not ideal for the archery hunt as it was very hot (90's) in the middle of the day and the moon was full. Despite this we got into elk at times but they were not talking as much. Did harvest a decent 5 point on the 3rd day. My buddy got a bear on the last day. Did not see much after that. Darwin runs a very good and organized camp. I believe the quality of the elk there are much better than what we encountered but the conditions played a major role. I still would recommend this place.
outfitter review submitted by: Allen Sheaffer on Nov 12 2008
Species Hunted: Elk, Mule deer
Game Quality: Poor
Accommodation Quality: Fair
Camp Condition: Good
Food Quality: Good
Guide Experience: Good
Other Personal Experience: Good
Overall Impression: Good
Recommend: No
Reviewer Comments: Outfitter gave us an hour and a half lecture on how to hunt and general camp rules before we left his house,even down to the point of how to wipe my own rear end, no kidding, he told us to fold a paper towel in quarters so as to save him toilet paper. As for game,not very good,but there were a pack of 8 wolves in the area. My guide was excellent,tried his hardest.
Contact: Reece Bergeron
Location: Brashear, Missouri
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Turkey
State(s) Hunted: MO
Utah Hunting Information
Utah has recently been outstanding for trophy elk, but the best tags take many years to draw. Utah does have conservation tags available for purchase that allow hunters to bypass the drawing. Given the high demand for these premium tags prices can be high. In the past Utah has been a top trophy mule deer state but recently only a handful of units consistently produce B&C caliber deer.
Arizona Hunting Information
Arizona has lots of trophy big game but is probably best known for its trophy elk and mule deer. This partially due to the limited number of tags available.
Alberta Hunting Information
Alberta is a large, diverse province with rolling prairies, farmland, river bottoms, Boreal forests, and large expanses of the northern Rocky Mountains. Many species of big game, waterfowl, upland game and predators inhabit Alberta. Long known for monster whitetails, Alberta also is home to big mule deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, black bear, cougar, Canada moose, and bighorn sheep. In fact, 7 of the 10 largest bighorn sheep in Boone and Crockett record book are from Alberta. In addition to big game, Alberta offers some top notch bird hunting. Serious waterfowlers know about the large flocks of ducks and geese that call Alberta home or migrate through.
