Back in the day (5 years ago) when Illinois didn' t make out of state hunters drop their pants and bend over for a license, my hunting buddies and I used to go on self-guided 9 day hunts for under $200 (total cost). We packed out own food, camped out, and killed huge deer. Even now, anyone can go to Illinois, Ohio, or Iowa and for $600 or less have a fantastic opportunity at really nice bucks. We still do it every year.

Personally, I think the difference between going on a guided hunt is being a shooter vs. being a hunter. If someone puts you in a stand, and you shoot what walks by, there is still skill involved (LOTS of ways to screw it up), but nothing like what is needed to find a piece of land, scout it, place a tree stand, and then shoot the deer. For me, the scouting and scheming is at least half the fun of hunting. The nice buck haning over me as I type this I was 100% responsible for killing. I found his rubs, found his bedding area, lured him in with scents, and shot him. Had I but shot him, I would still be proud of the trophy, but I couldn' t claim it in the same way I now can as something that I did on my own.

I' m not putting down guided hunts, they have their own allure. But I feel guided vs. non-guided are two very different things. I would rather kill a 130" 8 on my own, than be guided to a 160" 10.

And please don' t ask me about the 130" 8 vs. a guided 200" 10- I don' t think I want to admit it...