Don't believe the commercials on TV and the 5 star lodge crap! That's Tevis McCaulley's home and unless your Jackie Bushman, Jim Shockey, Steve West, or Michael Waddell you'll never see it.
1. Did not hunt out of Nicholasville, KY. Hunted an old "Hunting Lease" property in near Fort Knox, KY. Saw 3 deer in 4 days. 1 doe and 2 yearling fawns. 2. Land was being timbered as we hunted. 3. 10 guys in camp to 1 guide with a single cab Toyota pick up. Day started at 4am and sat all day on same stand with no movement until 8:45pm was latest I sat on stand. 1st morning was 25-30 mph winds and was taken to a deep timber ridge top stand. Sat on stand 12 hours and never saw a deer. Told be picked up for lunch because no breakfast d/t no cook. 4. No meals provided but was apart of the package price. Bought snacks and lunch food to take with after 1st day. Only guide said cook didn't show up. Turns out the cook was suppose to be his wife and they got in a fight before we arrived so she left. 1 of the guys in camp bought Pizza one evening for everyone. 5. DNR pulled a license check on 3rd evening we were there. Luckily being from KY I had the right license but a Dentist from Buffalo, NY was told to get only a 3 day permit, which is illegal for big game, so he was cited and not allowed to continue hunting. 6. After 3rd day of 5 day hunt I realized all 10 of us were rotating the same stands and no one was seeing anything. While I sat on stand a chain saw crew came walking through marking trees to cut! Called Tevis, owner, and he asked me to drive to ANOTHER camp he had leased where they were hunting an old golf course! I spoke to one of the hunters at that camp and he said while sitting on stand a couple pulled up on the cart path with blue prints where they'd planned on building a home! 7. Spoke to guides son/nepwhew/ relative of some kind who told me he'd helped hang ALL 8 of the stands the week before we arrived to hunt. 8. Was told 1 on 1 guide and only 5 guys in camp per week. 9. Left after 4th day Filed formal complaint and was reimbursed for the remainder of the 3 days left in hunt. 10. Received a threatening email from Tevis, owner, telling me I'd NEVER HURT HIS BUSINESS AND I'D BE BETTER TO KEEP ON KEEPING ON. Then told me next time I book a hunt to book in a high fence.
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - YES
Wow! I would like to respond by indicating that I was very disheartened to read that Mr. Grayson did not have a hunt to his satisfaction. My name is Tevis McCauley and I’ve been the owner and operator of Whitetail Heaven Outfitters for over 14 years and each year we’ve taken steps to improve our operation. I started my business guiding on a few thousand acres and housing hunters in a basement with one of my best friends as the head cook and let me tell ya he wasn't the best of cooks, yet a lot of those same guys back then, hunt with us today! Over the years I’ve listened to the feedback provided by our most important asset - our clients. Today we manage over 20,000 acres of literally some of the best hunting land in the country and are running hunts out of 3 separate camps. Our main camp has first class lodging and meals which will be in place at our other camps this upcoming season! To meet customer demand we had an opportunity to open a new basecamp in West KY approximately mid-summer this year. We typically have a little more time to strategically plan out and set up a property but the opportunity to open this basecamp was too good to delay until the 2015 season as it’s some of the best land we’ve ever had. The deer density in this area is low and the hunting is hard but the rewards are worth the wait. We killed a 180" 185" and 186" in the West camp Mr. Grayson hunted during the 2014 rifle season. To put this into context these bucks of a lifetime are probably 3 of only 20 of that size or so killed state wide all season.
We pride ourselves on our re-book rate which is why it bothers me to read Mr. Grayson’s review. Another hunter that was in camp the same week Mr. Grayson was in camp contacted me just this week to re-book and this hunter had heard of Mr. Grayson’s negative attitude towards his hunt and told me that Mr. Grayson moved stands 3 times in one day and couldn't be pleased no matter where he was. Just a little FYI. Mr. Grayson's first day he was placed in a big oak hardwoods where we have pictures of a 100% for sure net Boone and Crockett scoring buck, which is a world class once in a lifetime animal and he came out early and complained about how he could hunt big woods and places like that spot back home. Mr. Grayson left after day 5, came out of the stand early several times and literally complained about everything. We shoot a lot of bucks between 11-2 during the rut in Ky and if your not in the woods during those times when we suggest you should be then, well what else can I say. One of the last days Mr. Grayson was in camp he was in a big buck honey hole and he dropped his rifle out of the stand right after daylight and he contacted his guide about wanting to come out and when we checked the camera at that spot we had a high 170" old mature stud on the camera in broad daylight!
Mr. Grayson complained about the food and lodging which is amazing as I discussed the 3 hunting camps with him and he was the one that indicated he wanted to hunt our West camp. I specifically told Mr. Grayson that the West camp does not possess a 4-star lodge like the one pictured on our website. I explained that I just picked this property up approximately mid-summer and that housing would be done out of local cabins and a cook would be provided. I informed him that the food and lodging wasn't that good as this camp but that we had some giants we were hunting there. Mr. Grayson responded by indicating that he did not have an issue with food and the cabins and in fact he joked that he could eat spam for 3 days. When told of the lodging Mr. Grayson had this to say "I lived on MREs for 6 years, I can handle anything for 7 days." This is why it bothers me that he is complaining about his accommodations and food as I went out of my way in full disclosure to provide him with an accurate picture and told him the food and lodging was nothing like the main lodge.
Mr. Grayson argues that you should not hunt stands over consecutive days. The two most important things on a guided hunt is patience and persistence. Several of the biggest bucks we have ever killed have been taken after a stand has been hunted over consecutive days. Several seasons ago one of our clients hunted a stand that had been hunted 9 consecutive days and he was rewarded by taking a gross 200 inch typical. During the rut we are a firm believer in hunting food sources and travel corridors. Some of these travel corridors may not have a lot of activity until a buck cycles through the area and we would not ask a hunter to hunt stands over consecutive days unless we were confident that the stand would produce. This year we hunted a stand 7 days in a row daylight to dark and the hunter present on the 7th day harvested a near 180" bruiser. I could give lots more of these types of scenarios where patience, persistence and trusting your guide paid off! Mr. Grayson mentioned that he talked to the game warden and the game warden indicated that the largest buck they’ve seen taken in the West area was a 141 inch buck. Well we don’t broadcast to the local community of the success our hunters have. If we did this the local hunters could take it to mean that we are flaunting our success. Mr. Grayson I would be happy to provide you with the contact information for the 3 hunters that harvested bucks this year that were over 180 inches on the West property you were hunting. In fact I can show Mr. Grayson a recent trail cam pic of a very mature 6.5 year old buck that was taken at the stand he was hunting in which he dropped his gun out of the tree and a Booner at the stand he said was in to big of woods. Mr. Grayson may be correct in that it’s difficult to hunt a treestand over consecutive days if a hunter is not patient, makes multiple trips to and from his treestand and creates un-natural sounds like dropping a gun out of a treestand I’m extremely proud of the operation Whitetail Heaven Outfitters has grown into. Each year our clients have taken bigger and bigger bucks. We are successful as a result of 20,000 quality land that we manage, the hard work provided by the guides and the repeat booking of our clients. I am a fan of the internet but one thing that bothers me is that an individual like Mr. Grayson can write a negative review like the one he wrote and others could base their perceptions of Whitetail Heaven Outfitters based upon his unconfirmed feedback. The 2014/15 hunting season is still currently underway but to date our clients have taken 7 bucks right at 170" or better. I would challenge anyone to find a free range outfitter that can say this. If you are considering a hunt in the great state of Kentucky, please give me a call and I would be happy to provide you with references from hunters that were both successful and unsuccessful and let you form your own opinion of our operation. Kentucky is the hottest state in the country and it’d be my pleasure having you become a part of the Whitetail Heaven family. God bless. Tevis McCauley Whitetail Heaven Outfitters
Weather was perfect. Cold front moved in on first day and remained.
