I just returned from a week long hunt in Kansas with Hickory Creek Outfitters (hunthickorycreek.com).
White Tail hunts during the rut are 6 full days and cost $2,400. That price includes everything! Lodging, meals, transport to and from the stand, lunch brought out to you, cleaning of the dear, and much more.
To start with, I actually booked the hunt for 2014 and made a $400 deposit at that time. Something came up at work at the last minute and I couldn’t go. I contacted the owner, Jeff, and he was very understanding and let me move the trip to 2015.
Check-in is on Sunday after 3 p.m., bring your own dinner for that night. They have a full kitchen and grill. I had brought a steak, but a group from Louisiana brought venison and the makings for chili, which was delicious. The first hunt starts Monday morning. The last hunt is Saturday night and check out is Sunday before 10 a.m. The guides do a great job of “playing the wind” which is good because it is hard to do a lot of scent control when four guys plus equipment load up in the same truck. The way to the stand is marked very well with reflective tape for night time and pink ribbon for day time. The stand locations are well placed on pinch points and funnels without encroaching too much into their bedding areas or too deep into the woods. I felt like this helped keep the hunting pressure down. There are different stand locations for north and south winds. You will pretty much hunt out of the same stand unless you request a different stand or if the wind shifts. Which it did in the middle of the afternoon one day and the guides picked up all the hunters and moved them to north wind stands. They also try not to put a hunter in same stand week after week to lessen the pressure on the deer. Most stands are set up for a 20 yard shot and they throw corn out before you arrive (enough so that it will and did last the entire week). The guides we had worked their butts off for us. There were several nights after they made dinner for us that they went out to move a stand, repair a stand, or throw corn out. They even brought lunch out to us if we stayed in the stand all day (ask for Max and Ethan if you go).
I asked Jeff about the deer and harvest ratio, he said 80% of the hunters see a shooter buck (minimum 135”), 50% get a chance for a shot at a buck, and about 20% harvest a buck. From what I experienced this was spot on. We had 5 in camp of which all saw a shooter buck, 4 of us saw a monster buck, three of us had a chance for a shot and either missed or passed, and 1 of us (unfortunately not me) took home a monster. I will try to post a picture of him on here.
I have been on a few guided/day hunts so I have a little something to compare with. I really felt like this outfitter, from the guides to the owner, wanted everyone to have a great hunt and harvest a big buck. The night the monster was taken, the guides were almost as excited as the hunter. Guides even came from the other lodges to see the buck as well as the owner. There are some monsters out there and some average shooter bucks. I saw deer every time I sat in the stand, however a couple times it was just a doe or two. The lodging I stayed at was really nice and comfortable. One of the hunters had been at the other lodges and stated they were real nice also. I would and plan on going back either next year or the year after.
Here are a few tips if you decide to go:
There is NO AT&T service out there. If you have AT&T keep this in mind.
Take a cushion for the stand, especially if you want to sit all day.
Jeff, the owner, gets extremely busy once hunting season starts, so make sure you have everything squared away before then. I was a little concerned that it took me a long time to hear back from a couple weeks before I went out, but it all worked out.
White Tail hunts during the rut are 6 full days and cost $2,400. That price includes everything! Lodging, meals, transport to and from the stand, lunch brought out to you, cleaning of the dear, and much more.
To start with, I actually booked the hunt for 2014 and made a $400 deposit at that time. Something came up at work at the last minute and I couldn’t go. I contacted the owner, Jeff, and he was very understanding and let me move the trip to 2015.
Check-in is on Sunday after 3 p.m., bring your own dinner for that night. They have a full kitchen and grill. I had brought a steak, but a group from Louisiana brought venison and the makings for chili, which was delicious. The first hunt starts Monday morning. The last hunt is Saturday night and check out is Sunday before 10 a.m. The guides do a great job of “playing the wind” which is good because it is hard to do a lot of scent control when four guys plus equipment load up in the same truck. The way to the stand is marked very well with reflective tape for night time and pink ribbon for day time. The stand locations are well placed on pinch points and funnels without encroaching too much into their bedding areas or too deep into the woods. I felt like this helped keep the hunting pressure down. There are different stand locations for north and south winds. You will pretty much hunt out of the same stand unless you request a different stand or if the wind shifts. Which it did in the middle of the afternoon one day and the guides picked up all the hunters and moved them to north wind stands. They also try not to put a hunter in same stand week after week to lessen the pressure on the deer. Most stands are set up for a 20 yard shot and they throw corn out before you arrive (enough so that it will and did last the entire week). The guides we had worked their butts off for us. There were several nights after they made dinner for us that they went out to move a stand, repair a stand, or throw corn out. They even brought lunch out to us if we stayed in the stand all day (ask for Max and Ethan if you go).
I asked Jeff about the deer and harvest ratio, he said 80% of the hunters see a shooter buck (minimum 135”), 50% get a chance for a shot at a buck, and about 20% harvest a buck. From what I experienced this was spot on. We had 5 in camp of which all saw a shooter buck, 4 of us saw a monster buck, three of us had a chance for a shot and either missed or passed, and 1 of us (unfortunately not me) took home a monster. I will try to post a picture of him on here.
I have been on a few guided/day hunts so I have a little something to compare with. I really felt like this outfitter, from the guides to the owner, wanted everyone to have a great hunt and harvest a big buck. The night the monster was taken, the guides were almost as excited as the hunter. Guides even came from the other lodges to see the buck as well as the owner. There are some monsters out there and some average shooter bucks. I saw deer every time I sat in the stand, however a couple times it was just a doe or two. The lodging I stayed at was really nice and comfortable. One of the hunters had been at the other lodges and stated they were real nice also. I would and plan on going back either next year or the year after.
Here are a few tips if you decide to go:
There is NO AT&T service out there. If you have AT&T keep this in mind.
Take a cushion for the stand, especially if you want to sit all day.
Jeff, the owner, gets extremely busy once hunting season starts, so make sure you have everything squared away before then. I was a little concerned that it took me a long time to hear back from a couple weeks before I went out, but it all worked out.
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