Book the hunt if you can afford it......treat it like a vacation. Make sure you get nice lodging and good food........that way once you factor in your out of state tags it's really not that bad of a deal. At the end you will have a week full of memories of excitement and relaxation and hopefully a new wall decoration.

I think theaspects of a DIY hunt are admirable andeven have a charm all their own.........but I think the sameof a place where someone has done all the grunt work and you get to do all the fun stuff.

You get what you pay for...........sleeping ina cheesy motel and eating fast food for a week while hunting public land is cool, and if that is all you have a budget for then it could bea blast. Sleeping in a nice lodge and eatinggood home cooked meals in honey hole central with ashort trip to oneof many stands to pick from doesn't suck either.

Whatever you decide, just make sure you can afford it and then get as many references as you can and CALL them. Ask A LOT of questions (write them out ahead of time) One thing to remember is that out of state tags are VERY expensive in some states and others are not even a sure thing. Make sure you can get a license and if so ask if it is included in the price of the hunt. Ask about tipping or trophy fees. Ask about minimums and if there is a fine for shooting something smaller (if so you need to study how to field score a deer so you don't shoot what you THOUGHT was over 130" and you find out the hard way it isn't.) Ask about lodging........BIG TIME!!!! A friend of mine went to Illinois and had to sleep in a ratty old barn with mice crawling all over him. Meals included could be chunky beef stew in a crock pot...........ASK. Don't forget you have 3 meals a day to think about (plus snacks). Ask if you are done hunting if you hit a deer.......some places will consider you done if you draw blood whether you recover or not. Something else to consider is storage and care for your meat and trophy........say you drill a buck on day 2 of a week long hunt........where does the meat go and how is the cape cared for??

Lots of food for thought. Please share any feedback you can if you pick an outfitter because I think many people around here would be interested and even more guys maybe don't even go because of fear of a nightmare situation unfolding.