My question is that are you going to different states for deer or other critters? If for deer, & you feel comfortable with on the spot scouting and the potential to see nothing, then go DIY. If your goal is to see deer and gain more experience, then go outfitter and take no shame in doing so. If you are going for other critters, then I would certainly go outfitter to get your feet wet, then decide if you’d like to go DIY from then on.

I would personally go for public ground. I would hate to go to another state, use an outfitter, and know that I'm hunting on property that was leased so that no local hunters could use it. I firmly believe that outfitters and personal leasing will be the downfall of this great sport. It's destined to become a rich man's sport. Just my two cents. Do it yourself and take pride in knowing that you usedYOUR skill to succeed and have a good time.

I feel the same way as splitear on this one! Do it yourself in the lower 48, why contribute to a hunting pimp that takes away hunting land from other hunters.

i agree and at the same time completely disagree with this...

for locals, yes, it DEFINITELY sucks that the guides are sucking up the land and charging out the wang for a hunt... which, as other mentioned, I'd never use a guide for game I can hunt locally or that is available for me to hunt without a guide...

however....... for guys like me that want to hunt Elk, caribou, 'lopes, or etc., well, a guided hunt from a reputable guide service is about the only way you can do it economically... think about it, me living in the chicago area I'd have to buy a very serious amount of gear to be used for a one week per year hunt... not to mention travel (by truck of course)... it would take me about 5-7yrs of unguided hunts to make up the cost difference... then toss in the very low success rates of people hunting areas/animals they are not familiar with, not to mention eating up at minimum 1-2 weeks worth of vacation days that I can use for other things since I can hunt whitey's fairly locally...

what I hear from the anti-guide hunters sounds a lot like "local's rule, tourists drool" kinda sour grapes... they want their land all to themselves and can't stand the fact that there is an entire economy in the area based on this...

guides are part of hunting now, whether we like it or not... I'm takin each of my boys to WY for a guided antelope hunt for their 12th bday, its something they cannot hunt locally... they will have taken whitey's by then anyway so this is kind of a special treat for them...

If you are able to hunt Kansas and Missouri, unlimited days, My advice: Do not go any where else to hunt!! You are one lucky dude!!

SevenMag,
I have no sour grapes towards anyone. Trust me, I understand the economic standpoint of both the outfitter and landowner, but in this case I have to plead a little selfishness. You can say, well think about how much money is brought in by the outfitter, or how much extra income a landowner brings in off of idle ground. Or, what about you, who likes to spend money to kill game that he would otherwise never get a chance to take. But then ask this question. What about me, the guy who can't afford to own ground, lease ground, or let alone pay thousands in a guided hunt. I mean my goodness, we just had a 5 acre patch of fencerows that we have hunted for 20 years get leased buy a bunch of lawyers from Alabama. I'm telling you, it's the downfall of this sport. I fear that in the next 15 years I will have to give it up completly because I won't have anyplace to hunt. I guess that's just the economics of it though. I dread the day I have to sell my equipment and quit hunting. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky enough to get hired as a guide for your next vacation.

i hear what you're sayin splitear, which is why i both agree and disagree with you on it... i'm fortunate enough to have purchased my own land to deer hunt on... and plan on purchasing more as mgmt time and $$ permits...

reconciling public hunting vs private leases/guided hunts is going to be difficult... if the free market allows guides to dominate to the point where public hunters have no chance I believe we'll either see legislation (not likely) or the anti-access guys (check out the blue ribbon coalition as a group that fight anti-access groups) are gonna ruin it for everyone... maybe the best thing that could happen would be to restrict the amount of leased land in the state and the number of guide permits granted... only thing i can think of which will drive the price of guides thru the roof (supply and demand eh??)

I think that legislation that would help a lot would be prohibiting leased ground from being entered into any government programs, i.e. the conservation reserve program. I also believe that the landowner should have to pay the same amount of taxes on leased ground as they do for regular production ground as they are earning an income off of it. In Illinois some efforts have been made as far as tax programs on leased ground, but nothing has been accomplished to my knowledge. Also, here is a wild idea, if outfitting brings in a lot of extra income for the DNR, why shouldn't this money be re-invested into public ground? Maybe we should start looking at state supported leases where the state pays landowners to allow hunting on their property. Something is going to have to happen my friends, at least it is here a highly marketed state like Illinois, or the game's gonna be up for we local hunters. We'll be watching Realtree Outdoors saying, "That used to be my treestand."

i would go to an outfitter i plan to soon.
I started 4 years ago right after moving to KY at the age of 18.

I love it aswell

as for other state you will pay more for licenses and some state it is mandatory to have hunter ed.

Also though do not just go with outfitters

go out on public land i think it helps us all learn to scout alotbetter then private land.

I'm a outfitter from Manitoba,Canada and to let you know not all outfitters lease land or own there own up here, I personaly knock on doors myself and when there hand comes out i shake it if they want more i tell them that i would ever take away hunting from any local for my own gain and leave with a thanks anyways.
For anyone considering hunting with a outfitter get involved with them call ahead and find out if they need help setting stands clearing shooting lanes and become there friend not just another client, any of the hunters i have had have been more than willing to lend a handand i always appreciate there imput they may be the ones sitting in the treestands or ground blinds I do this outfitting because ilove it!I don't do it to get rich!!