IMO deer that are taken by the aid of an outfitter are not as big of an achievement as a DIY hunt. Like many here have stated the stands are often hung for them, all scouting is done, here the stands are heated, etc. To me it just doesn't seem the same. I do not have a problem using outfitters heck i was trying to become one b4 i came to college but couldn't get a licence. However what i cannot stand is the people who clearly have no clue about hunting mature deer going on a guided hunt, shooting a gagger from their little heated box blind and then bragging non stop for the rest of their life. I think we all know people like this. cough cough.
Somewhere in this post i read something about owning lots of land with big deer on it. Not going to go back and sift through where it came up. We own a good chunk of land here andsask produces some good bucks however there is a big misconception that these things are wandering around aimlessly sucking on the end of an arrow or bullet. There are some huge deer yes but they don;t get that way being stupid. You have to hunt them hard like any other area if you want to kill a good deer year after year. Yes my standards may be raised a bit due to the deer i am blessed with here but to kill something 160+ consistently you gotta know your stuff. I have friends here who have hunted hard since they 12 and have never taken a buck over 140. It just doesn't happen, you have to make it happen, same as any other place.