Ol JohnnyBoy

How many of you guys have used an Outfitter for deer hunting? Do you consider going through an Outfittera "canned" hunt. Alot of nice bucks are posted here and I was wondering if many were taken by going through an outfitter or were they taken on private/public land. I've never used an Outfitter but would probably do so if the right one came along. I sometimes wonder though if it would be the same as hunting on our farm where sometimes you can go several weeks without even seeing a deer. Iwould imaginethat the quality of deer taken through outfitters would be better though. What do you all think?

Rory/MO

I used an outfitter. It was the farthest thing from a canned hunt.

Mojotex

I have used an "guide/outfitter" for a few mule deer and white tailed deer hunts. All of these were on "free range". Two on private land and the others on rather large leases.

To me the No.1 advantage is that the "guide" knew the layout of the land.And a close second is that the guide also knew the habits of the local deer population.Trust me, tactics used to hunt white tails in SE Ala bama do not equate to the right thing to do on 10's of thousands of acres of wide open eastern Montana country !!! And visa versa.When frineds come to hunt with me, I try to put them in a good spot based upon my knowledge of the land and my knowledge of the deer movement. These may equate to a "canned hunt" in some folks' opinion.

However, the experience I have had with each of the "guided" hunts has beenthat there aretwo "heads" trying to figure out how to "make it happen", and in the case of "spot - and - stalk" there are two sets of eyes glassing. This helps no doubt. Every one of these huntshas been "hard" in the respect of hours in the field, managing the weather, in some cases covering miles on foot to try to get to a spotted buck, and in some cases days of scouting for a good spot to set a stand.I don't call this "canned".

Rory/MO

I'll change this.

I used an outfitter on a hunt last year to Kentucky. Prime ground, not so good of guides. Didn't see many deer ( I think only 6 or 7 the 2 days I was there). With all being does except for one little buck. Not what I paid for, so I passed on all of them. We saw more coyotes than deer[&:]. At least I spent some good time with dad, and saw some new ground. I'll definitely be down to Western Kentucky again in the next 4 years, just on public ground.

BATV30997

Hosting a TV show I have done many "outfitter hunts", this hunts are far from "canned hunt". A "canned hunt" is a hunt behind High Fences, and I my opion not all High fences are "canned", just small acreage. For example in S. Africa you can hunt on 300,000 acres of high fenced property, in my opion that is not '"canned". So back to "outfitter hunts", if you can afford one and you get a good guide, this can be the best thing you have ever done. An outfitter gets paid to local animals on public or private land. He does all the hard work for you, still does not guarantee anything tho. An example is many years ago I made 8 yearly trips to Co. to hunt elk, a do it yourself hunt, no guide. 8 years later I had only killed a cow, the 9th year I hired a guide to guide me in the same National Forrest I had been hunting in. He scouted the area and when I made the trip to CO. he knew when and where elk would be. So if you have the money and not the time to spend a week before scouting. A guide or outfitteris a great thing to have.

BATV30997

OK, sorry about all the miss spelled words in the above post. My fingers are moving faster than the keyboard.