Outfitters

[pumper317]

I am looking for info on a outfitter for next year.  I am just very green on this so any opinions, experiences, etc would be great.  i just spent three days in the woods for what i thought was going to be a deer filled experience.  It was a management hunt, so you would think lots of deer.  I did not see a deer for the whole time.  Now I know the weather was brutal for deer movement, and no hunt is guaranteed, but it was frustrating.  I hunt in northern MN, and no matter how much I say I want to get up there, and do all the scouting and homework, I just do not have the time to get it done right.  It is public land so food plots are not an option, and it is BIG woods.  60,000 acres to be exact, and I have map scouted, and walked around but that is all my time allows.  I have run cameras, but not well enough to know where a great spot could be.  It seems like those deer are a whole different animal.  Big woods... no wonder there are no hunting shows in them unless they can bait like Canada.  Going up there is like a needle in a haystack for a mature deer, and even worse without putting the time in.  I want to see deer, I want a chance at a nice animal and I do not feel like that will happen unless I make a move on it.  The big woods are all I have really ever hunted in, and I am so tired of them that I am not even looking forward to this coming weekend where I go sit in a stand for 12 hours a day and see maybe one deer. 

So, what I am getting at it is a semi guided archery hunt for whitetails, and one that will show me whats up and not just point a finger in a direction and say good luck.  I want to see deer, not hope that maybe one second of a 4 day hunt I see a glimpse of one at 200 yards like I have been doing for years.

 

I hope this doesn't sound too whiny.  Thanks for the help.

[leechlake]

I'd ditch Minnesota first, if that's something your thinking about you will increase your options and success in finding what you're looking for.

 

[sportfish]

Leech said it "ditch " MN .. If I had to pay I would go to South Dakota , Wyoming , Nebraska . In that order . I like the  scenery that way and feel you are over paying in other states . I have never had a guided hunt but hunted public land in SD , Wyoming , Montana but never in MN 

[Bear55]

Save the $$$ spent on a guide and do some travel hunting, over the counter tags in WI and MO aren't too expensive. You might be able to go for several trips for the price of a guided hunt.

[mrklean]

Like it has been said get out of MN if you want to do that, there are some good states out there with very affordable tags and plenty of public land no need to pay a guide.  One note of caution to if you do pay for a semi guided hunt do lots of research into them first because some will point you to a stand and that's it because they put all of there time and effort to the guy that just shelled out $5k for his hunt.

[pumper317]

I am not paying $5K for anything.  The semi guided thing will be a lot of research involved to even maybe go that route.  I am all about the out of state thing, and that is my plan.  I have good connections in ND for waterfowl and they would love to have a visitor with a bow.  I have done it once, and wanted to go back out, just haven't had a free labor day weekend since.

 

I am asking for good advise on a possible semi guided hunt someone had that was a good experience.  I am looking for a new experience before my kids get old enough to hunt and my priorities witch to teaching them the ropes.  My last ditch effort at selfishness kind of thing.  i want to up my odds, and make something happen.

 

Thanks guys for the feedback.  I know I need to get out of MN!  It is a tough place unless you have spare $$ to buy a chunk of land or spare time to do a LOT of research.  Neither of which I have in my life currently.

[Cheetah]

I don't understand the "get out of MN" comments.  There are plenty of deer in MN, you just need to spend the time to find the places with deer on them and figure out the patterns for those deer.  Hunting big woods is hard.  I do it in Wisconsin, but I have been hunting there for quite a few years and I located a handful of good spots that deer consistently travel through.   Most of it is not worth hunting, if I did, I would spend days on stand with no deer seen just like you. 

Scouting and reading sign is important. If you are on a spot and the tracks are not fresh, like the previous day/night fresh, you probably should hunts somewhere else.  Look for creek crossings and muddy areas where you can locate the fresh tracks more easily.  A lot of my spots are at creek or swamp crossings where I know the deer funnel through a smaller area and I can tell very easily if they are using it recently or not.  

You should explore other parts of the state.  Stop going up to the 'north woods' and expect it to magically be productive some day.   There is a lot of land out in western MN.  Try going on a pheasant hunt in the Lac Qui Parle area, there is a lot of public land out that way.  Pheasant hunt, but focus on looking for fresh deer sign and spots to hunt.   You can then take morning and evening stands, and scout during the day and maybe shoot a pheasant.  

 

Lastly, stop looking for 'mature' deer... 

[delcecchi]

From what I see and hear, lots of deer down here in SE Minnesota.  No wolves, winters not too bad, and the CWD scare is over.  You can't pretend to be Daniel Boone, but with a little legwork with the farmers, who aren't all that thrilled with the deer scarfing down their crops, you should be able to get a place to hunt.  Or there is some public land but I don't know how crowded it is. 

[setterdude]

Pumper,

I know a guy who just spent 9k on elk hunt and came home empty handed. Ouch. Having said that I've gone to SD over the last 4 years with my brother who lives out there, we hunt mainly walk in areas and have taken some very nice deer using spot and stalk tactics on windy days and it has paid off big time.There is a learning curve but once you figure it out it's not rocket science so to speak. I have a 6 x 6 on the wall from last year as evidence. Hunting northern MN is a hit and miss deal if you don't spend lot so time patterning deer. I've taken a few with the bow by chance by being in the right place at the right time and getting lucky by being in the right place at the right time so to speak. The deer are there but, like me, without putting in the time it's tough deal. When I rifle hunted Northern MN it took me several years to figure out the patience needed to take some deer there. Once I figured it out I've been pretty successful but it took some time to  figure it out.

[wannafish2]

Hi Pumper,

I haven't used them myself, but I have driven past several times and am giving it some serious thought if I can't "get it done" pretty soon.  Take a look at Lance Ranch/Bear Paw Outfitters near Bagley, MN.  They are reasonably priced and there are tons of deer on the property around their place....did I say tons?  I don't even drive the speed limit during the day when I go through that stretch of back road if you get my drift.  It's at least worth a free phone call to see if they can supply what you are looking for.

http://www.lanceranch-bearpawoutfitters.com/id9.html

Good luck

Edited November 7, 2015 by wannafish2
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[rkhinrichs]

Or lease some land in MN, WI or some other state. that's another option. Maybe not in MN though