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This was my second ever out of state hunt with an outfitter. Last year I went to Illinois and wasn't impressed. I kept an eye out here on AT looking for a new outfitter, I was looking for someone who was "small", kind of a family type deal where we wouldn't be treated like cattle. I saw Justin's ad and positive comments from some AT guys who have hunted there. I gave him a call and immediately liked the fact that Justin didn't act like a pushy car salesman.

So I looked at their website, talked it over with my friend George and booked our hunt. Time moved slowly and the anticipation was killing me. I emailed Justin a few times over summer but tried not to be a pest. I was thrilled when we started getting some trail cam pics and it just made the wait seem longer.

October finally rolled around and I was ready! I had been shooting all summer long and had popped a few does for practice. On October 17, we boxed our bows up and sent them out UPS. Tracking numbers confirmed they were there on Thursday and we boarded our flight Saturday morning. After a short layover in Atlanta we were on our way to Wichita. I got a short nap on the flight(missing the Mississippi that I wanted to see!) so I was amped up and ready. We landed in Wichita a little after noon, picked up our bags and rental car and were on our way.

A little over 2 hours later we pulled into Larned. We meet Justin and Jordan at the lodge and after introductions, Justin said to grab some things and we would head out to his house where our bows were shipped to unpack them and check our sights. We hurriedly grabed some cloths and our packs and away we went. We liked these two guys right away, they were friendly and funny and well, just like us. They have a love of the outdoors and the type of passion for hunting that causes them to only be able to do things to their best ability. We would swap stories about different hunting adventures we have had and differences between hunting in South Carolina and Kansas.

The lodge we stayed in was perfect, not fancy but all you need and I hate fancy anyhow. We saw the other lodge they just finished remodeling and it even nicer. Janet (Justin's wife) and Shayla(Jordan's wife) kept us feed and happy. Dinner entertainment was provided by Miley(Justin's daughter) and we hated to say goodbye at the end of the week. We felt more than welcome in their home, and like friends, which is a great feeling. We traded nap time on some of the warmer days we didn't hunt late to ride with Justin and/or Jordan to check stands and cameras, which added quite a bit to the overall appeal of our hunt because it was easy to see how hard they worked to make sure we had the best chance possible to fill our tag. They scouted and we pulled sd cards trying to find where our chances were the best, they left no stone unturned and put in 110%.

I got lucky and killed my biggest buck ever on the first day, I hunted most of the rest of the week with George and while we saw lots of deer could not get the job done. He passed on a couple @130 deer and saw several he was sure were shooter. We knew our hunt was early and would be highly dependent on the weather. On some days the temp was as high at 82 and windy. We did have a few cool days and the deer movement really picked up. On Friday George saw 7 bucks 120"+, but just could not get the shooters in range then or on saturday. I rode around saturday morning and saw lots of bucks, including several 140-160".

The bottom line is these boys work hard to give you the best chance possible. They have the land and the deer, put in the work and give you 110%. They WANT to see you kill a big buck, but they can not control the weather or those other factors that belay our best layed plans. I am 100% satisfied with my hunt, more importantly, George is 100% satisfied also. George is ready to book for next year along with a few more friends. i really want to go back but don't know yet if it is in the cards for next year. I may lease some ground closer to home, or maybe chase a mulie, but if I go whitetail hunting with an outfitter, It WILL be with Justin!

My friend George is a guide here in SC for quail, deer and turkeys and I have done some guiding years ago, so we know both ends of the game.