Well, since I cant take anytime off in the first month of the school yea next year, I have decided to book myself a whitetail hunt. I have never "bought" a hunt before, so any advice would be great.
I really want to go to one of the three states listed in the title, mainly because they are within driving distance.
I am looking to spend 5000 or less...the lesser, the better.
That said, anyone gotten an outfitted hunt in these states?
If so, who do ya recommend?

Any thoughts to finding some public land and getting a nearby motel? I would think you'd save yourself thousands and thousands that way... A lot of the hunters I run into in Illinois do that. I would too, but I live close enough to drive back home every night.

Yeah, I would be more than willing to do that. The only issue would be the amount of time I could commit to scouting. I would basically be walking into an area blind.
Any suggestions as to where?

Illinois Ohio Valley Trophy Hunts
Great people to deal with there and they are the real deal. Very strict management practiced there. With your price range it will save you some money. I would go with the fully guided since you have the extra dough. Heck, if you want a testimonial i will give you my phone number and you can call me tomorrow. THe website should speak for it self though. www.trophydeerhunt.com

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.

Atlesman gives you very good advice. Research is key, and don't forget referances are a big part of this. With the PC and some phonecalls you can get all the info you'll need.Campo, for $5000 you can hunt the Bow Zone in Alberta and not have to worry about getting tags, they are guaranteed.

THE HUNT CLUB Randolf county great food beautiful lodge strict management 3 1/2 yr old 140 8 pts 150 10 pts but they are there. 12 or 13 thousand acers pvt owned not leased any questions feel free to call them or me

thehuntclubonline.com

There is a ton of public land here in Kansas. Very little bow pressure here in the North East section. Google Hillsdale Kansas . All the ground around that lake is public. I do a ton of hunting there.