I need some imput from you guys or gals.....a friend and I are looking at heading to the midwest to hunt some whitetails this coming fall. We are sort of on a budget. I have been looking at some properties to pay a tresspass fee to hunt. But we may have to fork out more money than what we want to go with an outfitter. What are some of ya'lls ideas on where to go or who to contact....What are some of ya'lls history with outfitters etc. (we all know that the hunting shows make it look like every guided hunt is productive)......Any help will be appreciated.......

Your best bet would be to network with some people here on the site to hunt their land for free. When it gets closer to time I may have some extra stands on some of my spots. NE Indiana

Thanks, I wouldn't expect anything for free. I would be willing to pay tresspass fee (or money toward a lease you have to pay) or could try to swap something (off shore fishing, waterfowl hunt, or possibly a bear hunt in return. Thanks

Think about N. MN and the Superior National Forest - there is a lot of pretty remote public land you could hunt. See http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/superior/recreation

If you want to PM me your contact info we can maybe put something together. I have access to several different plots of land that is free of charge to me and whoever I want to bring.

If you are ok with hunting public land I can tell you Kansas is the place to go. You won't see it at first, but Kansas has massive amounts of public walk in land. If you are a half decent Whitetail hunter no guide is needed. A buddy and I went down in the fall of 2010 and we both got 140'' deer. We hunted just northwest of Atchinson, KS, in late October. We paid just under $500 for all the required tags. Get to know some of the local farmers and they will let you hunt their land. Infact my buddy and I were eating breakfast after our third morning and we happened to talk to a farmer who was willing to let us hunt his 180 acre parcel. Hit me back if you want more info.

I've been to Illinois with an outfitter for two years now. First year we got a great buck that grossed just over 160. Last year we had a tag sandwich on the way home. The advantage I see to an outfitter is they know the land and you have a place to sleep and eat. I do like the information that ASitkiewicz provided and am planning to go hunt public land in Kansas this fall along with the trip to Illinois. Let me know if you've got any questions about the outfitter, one of the best in my opinion (and a lot more reasonable than others I had found).

Outfitter land gets pounded... In order to make living outfitting you have to parade more hunters thru your land than any of the neighbors or public land ever sees... If you guys are decent hunters, you might consider just trying some good public land. I hunt mostly public land and do pretty good.
Illinois has some really good public, as does S.W. Wisconsin. Some areas of Wisconsin have no limits on how many bucks you can shoot ( cwd arteas ) I have friends who take multiple P&Y every year there...
One of the best public lands I ever hunted was Jim Edgar panther creek wildlife area in Illinois... It surpased a lot of the private managed lands I have hunted. There are rules on what size bucks you can shoot, and when you can hunt, so check it out well before going. Not sure about now, but when I hunted it, I had to meet with the propertys game manager / warden before I could hunt. Here is a link about the place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Edg..._Wildlife_Area