The reason I hunt with an outfitter is .... when I first began bowhunting I had no private land to bowhunt since I didnt grow up in this state I really didnt know that many people well enough to gain access to bowhunt their private land , A large portion of this area near me is hunted by family or friends and you gotta take a # and wait in line to gain access, I was lucky to find 2 small areas to hunt privately but even still I was not the only person being allowed to bowhunt these private area's,I had only public hunting land to hunt .... and the pro's versis the con's of hunting public land sometimes was the con's were outweighing the pro's... sometimes the hunts were GREAT but sometimes there were some ugly situations . My Husband was on the IDNR website one day and noticed that the IDNR was Sponsoring a Women's Bowhunt at Hunting Unlimited Inc and the cost for a 2 day fully guided bowhunt for bucks and does, with food and lodging included was $150.00... the hubby said you cant miss this...... plus I got to meet other women bowhunters, I didnt know any other women Bowhunters until then.
So I went , had an AWESOME time, meet some great ladie bowhunters like Joella Bates( IBO World Champ), Brenda Potts, Michelle from (Muzzy Broadheads), Lisa Price( Freelance Archery Writter) , yummy food, good wine and some awesome bowhunting, Larry and Phillyis and I seemed to really hit it off and they treated me like family( they call me their problem child)[8D], shot my 2 deer and couldn't wait to do it all again.
Hunting with them gave me the chance to experience a High Quality Bowhunt on private land without worrying that some public land hunter would come walking through at the wrong time and mess up my hunt and to me it is worth every penny I spend on it to experience that. I have continued to return every year even though the IDNR no longer sponsors the hunt and the price has gone up to $600.00 for a 3 day hunt, but Larry asked me about this .. since the other outfitter Heartland outfitters was getting $600.00 for his womens bowhunt Larry wanted to know what I thought he should do about his cost and I told him that I thought he should also charge $600.00, ya it cost me more now but looking at it from a buisness standpoint I think it's wise move, and I feel it is well worth the increased cost.Larry now holds a womens bowhunt with Hunting Unlimited Inc and Heartland outfitters so we get to bowhunt both outfitters land. Larry really cares about the lands in our state and the health of the states herd, and has also sat on the conservation congress, And I would love to see him stay in business and continue to be successful at it and see more successful bowhunters leave his land with a successful hunt and great experience. To this day I still have very small and limited access to private land and I hunt a county area that I have to pay to hunt.... so I really enjoy the chance to enjoy a private land bowhunt without others messing up my hunts. I have been successful in shooting 2 does, one 8 point buck, and a button buck( which I misstook for a doe) before I started wearing glasses at hunting unlimited, I have passed up many bucks and does and a few coons[8D] I did wait on a Huge buck across the field but he never made it my way, the buck I took was smaller than I thought so last year I didnt take a buck , even though I passed up 6 different bucks waiting on the chance to take a truely mature buck, I saw them but never had the shot opportunity at one last year.
And I hope you also have a successful bowhunting season