I truly don't have anything against outfitters or hunters that use outfitters but I just don't think I would feel the same gratification of taking a nice buck unless I did the "legwork" myself. I know that with an outfitter you still have to put in your time and keep it together enough to make a good shot when a nice buck comes along but unless I did the scouting and figured out the feeding, bedding, staging, traveling, rubbing, scraping, wind direction and stand placement stuff myself I just wouldn't feel as good about taking a nice buck. I think I would feel better about a 100 inch buck that I took by myself than a 140 inch buck where all I did was sit in a stand and made a good shot. Just my way of thinking I guess.
I totally agree. Like you said, I don't have an issue with outfitters or people that hunt with them, but I will never use one. I would rather not take a trophy. Same goes for all critters, even if I've never hunted it before.
I mention this before but dad booked us a hog hunt last year and when we showed up it was high fence. If we were already not paid up, I would have turned around and headed home. How the thing worked is, you climbed in the back of the guys truck and he drove you to a stand, went down the rode and turned around and on the way back through he would throw corn from a bumper feeder all in front of ya. Within minutes there were all kinds of exotics around you. You were instructed you had to stay within 100 yds of the stand so you wouldn't walk up on anyone (although it was just my dad and I hunting that day). Well, the first evening I watched all kinds of critters but no hogs. It was about 30 minutes after dark and still no pickup and then I heard a hog come in. I hit it with my flashlight and it was a nice size oinker. For the next 20 minutes I tried to get a light on him and see though my sights. (It is legal to spotlight pigs in Texas) I finally put the light on the bench and lit him up enough for me to see him and at full draw I could see my pin sight but no pins but It was a 15yd shot and I know where my pin was so I let it go. WHACK!!! Ran 10 yds, stumbled and fell. The next day I hunted a tripod and 20 minutees in another nice size pig came in behind me, I spun and sat my camera on the platform recording the entire thing and got the entire thing on video (I would share but don't know how!) It ran 30 yds and feel in sight, got it on video too. THe point is, I was kinda not excited about the whole set up but I had 2 firsts on the hunt. A night shot with a bow and a self recorded bow shot. I was happy with the hunt and had a blast. I would have never shot anything else on the ranch but IMO the hogs are fun to play with. The guide had a guy coming in the day we left and prepaid $10,000 for a whitetail buck!!! I saw the check. All of the whitetails on the property that I saw had ear tags of different colors. I think each color was a different price tag. Now, how can you be proud of somthing like that!
I think it is a level of pride. I would be a whole lot prouder of a 140 I had killed by myself but would still be proud of one on a guided hunt. High fences are not always bad, just depends on how much land it encircles. We all have our boundaries! lp
I would agree, I do not enjoy the highfence as much. With land prices rising and hunting being more commercialized and expensive than ever it becomes more of a reality if you want to hunt hogs. There are a few places in Texas that have hogs that are not high fence. I have been hog hunting a few places that you can spot and stalk, Shiloh Ranch in Oklahoma is a great place with lots of hogs and the folks there are great.
For me, the biggest attraction to using an outfitter is access to good private hunting property. I could lease a piece of property but that's getting to be really big $$, (much more than the outfitter I used in October). I'm not a big fan of outfitters and I chose to hunt with one that owned his own property vs. an outfitter that leases up all the ground they want at $100 per acre. (that's how much the outfitter next door to where I hunted paid) :huh: Anyhow, if I had the time to go there and scout and all that, I'd end up putting stands pretty much where the stands were hung. I don't have any doubts about my scouting ability so I didn't feel like I was cheating using a stand the guide hung. In fact, I was worried they'd put the stands in a stupid place so I brought my own stands just in case. The huge (and I mean huge) advantage I have found by using deer outfitters (all two of them) is the pressure isn't there. The deer are numerous, relaxed and following natural patterns. Quite a change from the public land I hunt.
Hunting Unlimited, Inc. in Brown County. http://www.huntingunlimitedinc.com/index.php?pg=main.inc (The website isn't the best.) He doesn't run very many people through and most of his business is word of mouth. I did the women's 3 day hunt for 700.00. They no longer have food plots and the lodging is far from 5-star but the food is great, there are tons of deer and Larry and his wife are great hosts. Last year I went to Campbell's Whitetails in SE IL. That was for the video archery deer challenge tho'. I didn't pick that place. It was very nice. Some of those deer were almost dumb.
How do you guys who wouldn't feel the same satisfaction using an outfitter think about traveling and hunting with a friend on his land and taking a deer? Say your best buddy just acquired some land and you went with him and he put you in a tree?
So its about how much it costs? I've hunted in three provinces and IL this year. Would be hunting here at home in WI this late season on the family land, but I'm going back to SK. I would not be able to hunt Alberta or Saskatchewan if I didn't use an outfitter and I would be missing out on a great opportunity to see deer in all their various habitats....amazing creatures. Sometimes its a lot more about the the experience.
Yeah I agree, and I have used outfitters to, I think of it as a vacation, and for any vacation you have to pay to play. I am not disputing that only if I were to go to my buddies place but my buddy still would not charge me 2500 bucks. :d
in fact I have gone to outfitters, and places in Texas and Oklahoma for hogs and exotics. Before I went back to school I went at least twice a year. I have been to some real great places and met some of the greatest guys I have met anyplace.
I went on an outfitted hunt and thought it was great......... especially when it was time to pack my moose 2.5 miles back to the boat!
I would feel about the same. I would go with a buddy, because it's a buddy and free. But If I killed a book buck, I would totally feel like he hunted that buck and he was gracious enough to put me in front of it. All I did was sit there.
That's about how I feel. In my earlier post, I said that I would never use one. What I should have said, was I'll never pay for one. I'm sure that it would be fun, but not worth the money.
I find it hard to believe I'd ever go on an outfitted whitetail hunt, just because I can hunt them here. IDK, maybe my mind will change if I loose my good hunting access. Guided hunts for other species out west? Absolutely...when I can afford them. If it isn't a treestand hunt, then you really ARE doing all steps of the process yourself, you just have a knowledgable person along with you. Im with Christine, I view outfitted hunts as access to great properties, and not much more. Ill likely go on a guided Osceola turkey hunt....to get my grand slam. Access is very limited in FLA and public land gets hammered. Gotta pay to play to get on the osceolas, the price is ridiculous...but where there is a demand...
