ssramage
Senior Member
Looking for a reasonable outfitter for my first OOS hunt. Recommendations welcome.
Jim (both of you ?) thank you for the suggestions! The Midwest has been on my list for a while and I just haven’t made it yet. Going to start getting serious about it soon. Weighing public vs private lease vs outfitter. This definitely helps!
I have never been on a guided deer hunt . The only guided hunts I have ever been on are for waterfowl. A friend of mine that worked for an outfitter shared with me a piece of information once, now it’s second hand, I haven’t experienced it first hand, and just sharing it at face value so here it goes. He stated that the guys which were known to be good tippers seemed to get placed in strategic places and did really well. Again, just sharing what I was told and these hunts were not pin hunts.
Jim (both of you ?) thank you for the suggestions! The Midwest has been on my list for a while and I just haven’t made it yet. Going to start getting serious about it soon. Weighing public vs private lease vs outfitter. This definitely helps!
Good information here...I do both and will continue to do so! Lease and or go with an Outfitter.
Time is always a factor but I have leased land and stepped foot on it for the 1st time when I showed up to hunt! And then I’ve had some places or gone to hunt with them many times over the years!
I as well enjoy an Outfitter for what it is, good opportunity, lodging, meals and comradery and more!
I’ve had very good success at both but the best part has been the anticipation, the friends and memories each time and place even if I’m going back to where’ve I‘ve been before, lease or Outfitter!
And I have not always been happy with either but will continue to do both!
Its all about your perspective I believe!
Good luck with either you choose...or both!!
Every once in while, someone comes along with an excellent report and the right attitude!!!
Very refreshing!
Good point. I have spent a lot of money with outfitters and I can tell you that he Jim is exactly right. I have went with some big name outfitters and came home empty handed with nothing but memories. The big bucks are not behind every tree and some outfitter websites make it seem as if they are everywhere. Get plenty of references and talk to people who have hunted there and especially repeat clients as there is a reason they same people would be willing to re-book. I have hunted private and with outfitters and had a blast and I can tell you from years of experience that you will never be the same. There is nothing like hunting the midwest. It changes you man!Outfitters have their place and can be an incredible experience. Course if the deer or the weather or both dont cooperate it doesnt matter how solid the outfitter is you may as well be sitting in a middle GA pine forest on Oct 12th with a warm front coming in to push the warm front out . The downfall is usually expectations of giant bucks. Yes they exist, but they aint easy and they aint behind every tree unless you are in a pen. You are paying for the entire experience. The land you may have never seen, the great cooking, the lodge (maybe), the camp of folks from all over the country, possibly a different style of hunting, usually seeing massive amounts of deer and more rutting activity than a couple of years in a SE state and yep the almost sometimes slight chance at seeing a giant and then a slim chance of getting a shot and then hoping like hades you can hold it together on a deer bigger than you've ever seen. Then of course when you make that incredible shot and he runs just out of sight and when yall track him he ends up being a 130" 2 year old 10pt that because of the giant swollen up midwest bodies and because of all the grunting and fighting and chasing going on you shot him by accident.
Yeah I've done that and I still loved the experience and still put him on the grill