looking for a hunt in the corn belt

I now have some money saved to make a whitetail hunt for a big daddy buck 160+ ( I hope ). can anyone recommend a lodge or outfitter? my budget is 5000.00 or so, canada is not off limits, but I would prefer something I could drive to, so I could haul all my gear and bring my meat home. something that I could drive to in about 16 hours would be great.

http://www.lostrivergamefarm.com

thanks Silver, I went duck hunting in IL in 2003, we were right south of Peoria, we were in Liverpool, I made it there in 14.5 hours.

Jsimoneaud--

I think I would be looking at Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.  I think in Iowa you may have a problem with CF rifles, but I know it isn't a problem in KS and MO, and both of those states are major big buck producers.  All of those would be well within reasonable driving distance of Louisiana.  In terms of specific outfitters, I would suggest going to a major hunting show in Dallas/Ft. Worth, which is probably the closest cities to you that would host them.  You just missed the Dallas Safari Club show a couple weeks ago, which is a good one for talking to outfitters of all types.  The Texas Trophy Hunters' Extravaganza is in Ft. Worth on Aug 15-17, and it always has plenty of trophy whitetail outfitters represented. 

I was born and raised in SE Iowa (about 100 miles from Peoria) there were some BIG deer in my area.

Jsimoneud, depending on where in LA you live, you may be closer to Houston than Dallas/Ft. Worth.  The TTHE show will be in Houston on Aug 1.  Check out the link I provided and look under the hunting outfitters tab, where it has a listing of 98 different trophy whitetail outfitters that will be at the show.  The outfitters at the show are not limited to Texas either.  In fact, most of the ones present aren't operating in Texas.

thanks guys, ya'll gave me plenty to start researching.

Ok, where is your nearest airport? For $5000 you can buy a plane ticket and come shoot some Kudu and a few other things in South Africa!!!

8shots wrote: Ok, where is your nearest airport? For $5000 you can buy a plane ticket and come shoot some Kudu and a few other things in South Africa!!! It may just be a bit difficult to get your meat back, but hey for $5000 I will make a plan. I must say $5000 is a lot of money. In South Africa, as a resident, you can pick and choose for $750 or less.

thanks again guys, I will consider South Africa next time. but this time I really want a trophy whitetail. I have been hunting whitetails all my life and have killed too many to count, lots of bucks, but the biggest I have killed is a 127 B&C, so I have a burning desire to kill a big big boy.

For that type of money the outfitter you choose should guarantee that the trophy you are looking for is running around in the area you are hunting. Whether you get him or not is up to you.

thanks guys for all ya'lls input, I am booked thru cabelas to hunt in Manitoba nov 8-16 2008.

I am gonna start spending on hunts and tags instead of gear for the next couple of years.

 

Good luck in Manitoba, Jsimoneaud!  There are some fantastic trophy whitetails up there!

manitoba, should be fun sask. would be another good one as would alberta good luck

 

I know you already booked, but Saskatchewan is the No. 1 Canadian province, followed closely by Alberta.  In terms of cold, Ronk is right.  I went the week after Thanksgiving last year and the temperature never got above -5F the first five days of the hunt.

ND2000

I am not used to that kind of cold, we usually hunt in 30 degree, sometimes 20's

you will still need some cold weather gear, its still cold in an enclosed stand especially when the window is open and the wind blows in and hits you in the face, the 80-100 degree temp change from what you are use too in LA is going to be a big deal when its -10 to -25 up in canada, especially if its a humid cold like it is here in minnesota. i hunted in -25 and stayed on stand until almost 1:00 would have helped had i been wearing a watch, but with gear i was wearing it was very easy to do, make damn sure you have some really warm boots, for me nothing makes me give up faster than frozen feet, i wear 1200 gram thinsulate with a 9mm removable liner in my cold weather boots(when im sitting all day) if i know i will be walking around some during the day i can usually get away with a 1000 gram or 1200 gr boot and no liner, i always take two pairs of boots hunting. the next important item i would look at is a good pair of bibs, i wear arctic shield bibs, they are awesome, pretty quiet and very warm, i was so impressed with the bibs i also bought the coat a few days later, i think the whole set cost me like $350-$400  and i can sit outside all day and be pretty comfortable no matter how cold it is.

 Your getting some real world cold-weather advice from Pyro there.  I would add that a good pair of big mittens with light or fingerless gloves under them will keep your hands from going too numb to make the shot. Quickly slip your right hand out of the mitten as soon as you see a deer.

i dont wear gloves when i hunt i dont like them for hunting at all, so i have one of those handwarmer muffs like the nfl quarterbacks wear when its cold and put some heat factory heat packets inside they usually last 8-10 hrs and that seems to work great

I ain't never seen a cajuncicle before... I remember how the natives were when it got to 32 in Blioxi.   I can't imagine the panic when that little hot scauce bottle freezes

yep, you guys are scaring me, cause I don't plan to buy a whole bunch of cold weather clothes, I was planning on layering up, like 2 pair of duofolds, 2 thick hunting shirts, my big coat, 1 pair insulated pants, my knee cap high rubber boots with the 3/8 inch wool removable liner and then my boot blankets over the boots. I am gonna buy a bunch of the charcoal hand warmers.

Why take the risk?  Here is what I wore this past year:

1) Under Armour base layer
2) Long Underwear
3) Down Underwear
4) Jeans
5) Flannel Lined Pants
6) Sweat Pants
7) White coverall pant

Same set-up on top.  I would sit from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  Froze my ass of every day.  Pyro is exactly correct in that the blinds can get cold because the 2-3 openings effectively act as a wind tunnel.

I hunt in WI so I know what cold is, but Canada can be a whole new ball game.  I am going to purchase the Northern Outfitters Vaetrex stuff...this appears to be the best gear on the market.  I am also going the hand warmer (get the grabber warmers "Mega"...nothing else is close, trust me) and muff route.

ND2000

Jsimoneaud wrote: yep, you guys are scaring me, cause I don't plan to buy a whole bunch of cold weather clothes, I was planning on layering up, like 2 pair of duofolds, 2 thick hunting shirts, my big coat, 1 pair insulated pants, my knee cap high rubber boots with the 3/8 inch wool removable liner and then my boot blankets over the boots. I am gonna buy a bunch of the charcoal hand warmers.   do you think I will freeze, cause yes coonasses do freeze in the snow!   we are going Nov 8th -16 - you sure it will be below 0 degrees?

Edited by RONK - February/02/2008 at 19:56