Outfitter Review - Timberland Outfitters

Outfitter Information

Outfitter Name: Timberland Outfitters

Outfitter / Contact: Ben Platner

Location: Illinois, USA

Hunt Information

Animals Hunted: Whitetail

Game Quality: Good

Game Quantity: Excellent

Accomodations: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Excellent

Guide Experience: Excellent

Other Personal Experience: N/A

Review Information

Hunter: Craig Morrow

Phone: (907) 344-8753

Email:

Would Recommend: Yes

Overall Impression: Excellent

I hunted during the last full week of archery season in November and had an awesome experience. First off, since my wife went along with me, we were set up with our own room for my wife's privacy which I felt was great. I was hoping that it wouldn't inconvenience the other hunter's (there were 7 hunters with 2 guides in camp)since we had one bathroom to ourselves and they had to share the other but I didn't hear any complaints. My wife might have helped herself out by doing their laundry even though she wasn't asked to plus running other little errands for the guys but that is the way she is - one not to sit around.Ben assigned me a guide and he and I hit it off real well from the beginning. I informed my guide that being from Alaska I was very limited in my knowledge about hunting whitetails and I was willing to do anything he suggested. "When in Rome, do as the Romans" so I was more than anxious to take any advice or suggestions that he might have. This might have contributed to my great experience because my guide did everything that was legal in trying to get me a quality whitetail. From setting up decoys that contributed to my witnessing some great deer action to loaning his winter snow camo - that's right, winter snow camo. Because it was overcast with heavy rains at time during the whole hunt, the winter camo with the predominantly white pattern blended extremely well with the sky and kept the deer from seeing me. I can't begin to count the number of deer I had right under my stand not knowing what I was or in most cases not even seeing me! He also loaned me a bow holder much better than mine and to top all the above off, he, after me seeing this large 170 class deer two days in a row in the same area but from a distance, set up a stand virtually in the bucks bedroom - in the middle of the day! At first I was skeptical thinking that between the two of us we would be leaving all kinds of scent in the area but he assured me that he would spray everything down real good and it would not be a problem. That very evening I had the 170 class bruiser all in his regal glory at 15 yards broadside, looking away from me but I couldn't shoot him. He was on the wrong side of the fence! He was on private property. Where my stand was located was beside a traveling corridor that connected two bedding areas and he was making his rounds via that corridor. If only he was traveling on my side of the fence I would still be smiling and it's been 3 months since that moment. But those are the breaks of hunting.I rattled him in to the edge of one of the bedding areas later during the week but he would not come to my decoy. Other lesser bucks were coming in but not him.Twice I had a 140 class buck pass under my stand - once in the late evening when it became too dark to shoot and the next morning in the wee hours of the morning before there was enough light to see my pins. I had seen this same buck before earlier in the hunt three different times but not close enough for a shot so I knew him well. But there again, that's hunting. It's not always killing.Sure, I went home without a Illinois whitetail but I gained many fond memories. I would recommend Timberland Outfitters for a tremendous hunting experience to anyone. I plan on going back again in the near future and hopefully this time it will all come together.Craig MorrowAnchorage, Alaska

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