I am in the planning stages for doing a trophy hunt this fall. Are there any folks out there that have had personal experiences they would like to share? Appreciate any info. Smoker

What price range did you have in mind? What size deer are you looking for? High fence, low fence? Any particular dates? Need more info.

M16, Thanks for writing. I would probably like a low fence area to hunt as high fence sends the message of shooting gold fish?? Anyway, the prices I've seen have been frightening. I live in western NYS and have shot many deer on my place but none that are so beautiful as the ones I see on the outdoor channel. I have never had a deer scored so I don't know what the correlation is. What prices are you used to paying? Smoker

Smoker:

What do you consider to be a trophy Whitetail Deer? 130's, 140's, 150's, +++ B&C Gross.

I have been chasing after "big" Whitetails for a number of years...some in high fence others free range...decided to give up hunting fenced enclosures back in 1998...should have done so sooner!

For the last few years and currently my friends and I have decided on Alberta, Canada as being the best place for free range hunting of large Whitetails...I have passed up several 150, 160's...and I let a Whitetail go that I should not of last year..but I did shoot a hugh Mule Deer (purchased the extra tag and glad I did) gross 201 1/8" non-typical.

The deer in Canada are hard to judge because of body size...most likely they will score better than expected....The hunting we do in Alberta in tough...sitting in stands all week..but the country is fantasic and for my money no where better...if your looking for a truely large Whitetail...

Smoker, I can also recommend an outfit in Canada, Manitoba. Might have a cancellation in Montana as well. Nice bucks coming out of that area. No fences at either.

aspenhill@triton.net

Ann:

It may have been two years ago..but I saw a picture of a HUGH Deer taken there...poached by some Americans..shot after legal hunting time.

At the time there was talk of it being a World Record..but fell short from what I understand...but what a Deer...I would have shot that thing over Milo Hanson's Deer any day!!!

What is your outfitter taking in terms of quality?...I have to use B&C gross as reference...no other useful measure.

Thanks,

Jim

I have hunted high and low fence places and as long as there is sufficient acrerage there is not a dimes worth of difference. Here are some of the going rates in South Texas. Full blown trophy hunt for 3 or 4 days on a quality ranch runs around $7500. Some a little less some a little more. This usually includes a doe, feral hog, javalina, and assorted varmints. You will usually see around 20 bucks a day more or less. Now if you would be happy with a 17-20 inch wide 8 pointer you could expect to pay between $2500-3500. These are considered management deer so the prices are considerably lower. Management deer are considered to be at least 4.5 years old and gross B&C score is usually under 140. On a quality ranch if you can shoot straight you are almost certain to get a deer. Other parts of Texas with lesser quality deer usually go for $1500-2000.

Canada has lower prices and the success rates are a lot lower. They do have some great deer killed every year. You won't see large numbers of deer. And the weather can be a factor. Hunts usually run between $3500-5500.

Most people that come to Texas to deer hunt return year after year. They are amazed at the number of deer as well as the diversity of wildlife. I guess it all depends on your price range.

M16, 2500 sounds like the limit for me. I have no idea what a B&C 140 looks like. Can you suggest where I can see a graphic description? Just the numbers are kind of hard to visualize. Smoker

If you are looking for a reasonably priced, fair chase hunt for what most hunters consider a trophy, try www.oxbowlodge.com. Tom Aasbo runs a first class lodge.

To give you some idea here is a picture of a 140 class management deer I shot last year on my ranch. This one is 26 inches wide but most management deer will be between 17 to 20. This type deer is fully mature and probably won't get much better. So we remove them from the herd.

Outstanding! We don't make em like that up here.
Why don't you send me an e-mail. philmarpm@netzero.com

If you want, I wouldn't mind if you hunted on my land. As long as you get the proper tags, and license. I have more than I need, and am thinking of letting a few buddies hunt my land this fall because the population is way too high. They are eating all of the corn , and some have even made it into my cabbage patch this spring. You can see the pictures of my typical bucks in the 'Trophy Room' topic in the forum. My deer pics are under '2004 Season Pics' or something like that. I will allow you to bring 2 friends, and hunt no more than 5 days. Another thing, I will charge a $.50 a pound fee on each deer to offset the price of my food plot cost. That's actually reasonable, if you compare some of the other prices people charge. Let me know. You can post here if you are interested and I will leave my email address.

Here is the thread to save you some time. https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1821043/m/791102742
You can look to the bottom of the page to find pictures of my other bucks.
You can camp anywhere you want, but all I ask is that you leave it like you found it.

KentuckyMountainMan

I sent you a PM.

graybird

jjs-

My Manitoba guy averages at 150 B&C but they have take up to 186 B&C. He says of course a lot of it depends on the hunter, some shoot the first 120" buck they see....

Price for 2005 is $2900 (6 hunting days) and the area is in the Manitoba Interlake Region about 145 miles north of Winnipeg. Bucks often break 300 pounds and are 8 points and up. He's been in business over 20 years.

Smoker
I am a Outfitter in Manitoba,Canada along the edge of Riding Mountain National Park. My prices are 2650.00 for trophy whitetail deer . This includes your license and taxes. If interested you can e-mail me at pioneeroutfitters@mts.net and I can give you more info. Thanks David

Smoker, QDM has a great new book on Evaluating whitetails. or some title such as that. It is a great book and gives plenty of pictures of what is a 120-130-150-160 class deer. It is a very nice addition to any deer hunters library. It will make your mouth water a bit or else you'r not much of a deer hunter. There are some unbelievable deer in that book. The book helps you to tell at a glance whether this deer is a shooter or one to pass on. Good hunting.

This one scored 146, to help you get an idea. Unfortunately, the camera angle doesn't show how long the tines really. See where my son is holding the tine, and then see where my thumb is at the base of it. Got this one during bow season. I've gotten a few a bit bigger than this one but I don't usually take pictures of them. Unless my kids are around

KentuckyMountainMan, If I ever saw a deer like that on my place he would bw safe because of the tremors! Must be the soil/nutriements here but we don't make the horns. Nice bodies but..... I really appreciate your offer KentuckyMountainMan,and I will PM you. I'm putting all this info together. Thank you all, very much. Smoker PS Mark you have a beautiful family....and a very nice buck .

KentuckyMM, you sure get some great bucks!

But just in case anyone is interested here are some of our average Manitoba whitetails:

Mark,

Your boy is too funny! I am shocked that he is letting you hold HIS deer. Great pic!

Kentucky,

We should work out a hunt swap. I am out west and don't get a chance to hunt whitetails much.

Smoker,

For your price range, ~$2500, you should be able to find a hunt in Sask, Manitoba, Iowa, Illinois, Wyoming, Montana and etc.

You have to realize that there is 3 things that drive the prices of deer hunts up.

1) Reputation of the Property/Operation

2) Demand from the locals (e.g. how hard is it to get a good hunting spot).

3) Quality of Deer

4) Private or Public land.

5) Ease of Tag draw/purchase.

I have done alot of research on Whitetail hunts over the years. I am very OCD in that regard.

Drop me an e-mail...

SA