As I just turned 39, my wife told me that for my 40th I can book a hunt with a outfitter next season. I'm a NY guy and have never hunted outside of this state. I want to hear from everyone about outfitters that are fair chase, no fence and tried and true. I am only looking at whitetail. For what I see in research lots of them are booking for next season already.
Kind of a funny story my friend and I wanted to go elk hunting out in Colorado we did all kinds of research we were set to go out the next fall, my wife got pregnant against million to 1 odds without fertility drugs ended up having two kids and 26 years later I still have not gone out on a guided hunt. Based on availability I would look to Kansas.
I know you said you were looking at whitetail but have you given any thought to season extending hunts like an archery Pronghorn hunt in August or spring bear hunt? For whitetail I would look for something out west (Wyoming or Montana) were you don't need a bunch of points and can hunt early without missing prime time at home. Kentucky is another early season option within easy driving distance. Give these guys a call they will have some ideas for you. http://worldwidetrophyadventures.com
Without needing to apply for any points and being within a reasonable driving distance I would recommend Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri. I have personally only been to Ohio, to Ohio Bow Hunting Outfitters with Bill Pyles. Great little outfit with great deer and great properties. He operates in 3 of the top 10 counties in Ohio. My wife and I are going next year for our 5 year anniversary. He is very, very reasonably priced for the type of camp that he runs!But I will be heading to Missouri this year for a DIY public land hunt. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Call Terry at Rack Nine Outfitters, they have hunts in Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. (678) 326-8877 They also advertise on Bookyourhunt.com
Don't over look Indiana! These guys got it going on! http://www.muscatatuckwhitetails.com/home.html https://www.facebook.com/muscatatuckwhitetails/
Ssshhhhhhhhhh! No we(Indiana) don’t! All button heads and Fork horns here, basket rack 6 if your lucky.
Well they did lower the doe bag limit this year, substantially in some areas, so that was at least a step in the right direction. In my county last year, the bonus antlerless bag limit was 8, lowered to 4 this year. I agree though, if peole can’t kill a deer with a 12g and a rifled barrel, their stand placement is horrid
Well I suppose some history would help. See I grew up in the South hunting NC, TN, VA, SC. 3-4 months straight of rifle season in those states. lots of deer there are...big ones not so much. Very young age structure. The genetics are fine. I have seen personally 200" deer from 3 out of 4 of those states, but those deer are unicorns that somehow managed to live long enough to get big. In general rifle seasons turn a state into a quantity over quality state. Now lets take the Midwest into the equation. Ohio (great habitat, one buck limit, no rifle season)=GIANT bucks. Illinois (great habitat, 2 buck limit, no rifle season) =GIANT bucks. Iowa (Great habitat, very difficult NR tags, NRs limited to one buck, no rifle season)=GIANT BUCKS. Kansas (difficult NR tags, one buck limit, rifle season is short and a month after the rut)=GIANT bucks. So what about Michigan? It has arguably better deer habitat than Indiana by far, and proximity would indicate the genetics are similar. Why are there very very few book entries from Michigan? Gun pressure smack in the middle of the rut for years and years (Nov 15th opener) has depleted the age structure. Giant deer are unicorns in Michigan because of one reason only...too much gun pressure. Indiana will follow suit. Rifle season for two weeks, opening during peak rut is going to deplete the age structure. Overall deer buck harvest will increase due to increased range, so success rate will go up. When that happens, the number of bucks in the herd will be less, and hunters will see fewer bucks, which will in turn cause many to lower their standards. Thus the age structure will decrease over time...albeit gradually. I hunted Indiana from 2007-2015 and had great success. The rifle season being approved was a factor in my move out of the state. I have seen that movie before. Just for kicks...look up the number of book entries in Indiana for 2017 and compare it to 2014/2015, then check again in another 2 years. My money is on numbers to spike downward.
Michigan is a great place to hunt if you want to kill a deer. The state is crawling with them...big bucks on the other hand...not so much. That's the concern I have with Indiana...lowering antlerless quotas wont save lots more bucks from being killed.
With the exception of Michigan's gun season hitting a little late. Kentucky's gun season starts the second Saturday of November each year.
I know this is a bowhunting forum but just in case Indiana gun season is late this year. Always the first Saturday following Veterans day. If you bow hunt then the last week before gun will be awesome. You know, if we had any deer. Which we don't. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
