Espey Outfitters LLC
Espey Outfitters LLC.
Rated 3 out of 5.0 based on 3 Outfitter reviews.
Contact: Zeke Espey
Location: Booneville, Missouri
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer, Turkey
State(s) Hunted: OK, MO
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Submitted by: Dustin Driver
Review Submitted: Dec 14, 2023
Hunt Date: Nov 8, 2024
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Semi-Guided
Primary Terrain: Farmland
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 2000-2999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
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Submitted by: Garrett Rhodes
Review Submitted: Jul 1, 2020
Hunt Date: Nov 3, 2018
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Semi-Guided
Primary Terrain: Farmland
Method: Bow
Price Range: 1000-1999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Great Experience
This is a first class place to hunt. The accommodations were minimal but clean and comfortable. We saw lots of deer and other wildlife. The food was great and our group had a awesome time! These guys really know what they are doing!
Submitted by: Robert Sawitski
Review Submitted: Nov 16, 2012
Hunt Date: Nov 10, 2012
Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer
Days Hunted: 5
Hunt Type: Semi-Guided
Primary Terrain:
Method: Rifle
Price Range: 1000-1999
Number of animals seen, met expectations?
Size of animals seen, met expections?
Hunting pressure in the guides area, met expectations?
Would you hunt with this Guide again?
Nothing but Lies
First of all we paid $1000 because when Zeke called us he stated it was $1200 per guy, remember we did not call him. After speaking with him and finding out he was new we offered him an incentive program: $1000 if we didnt kill a 130" deer and $1300 if we did. Yes I did tell Zeke I would like to go after the deer he saw at 7:15am opening morning and I did say he didnt have to call anyone else, becuase it was 7:15 OPENING MORNINg, and by the way we never saw this deer! Yes 3 bucks were killed, all three probably did not go 130" but Zeke only charged one person the fine. My cousin Kevins will be lucky to go 125 and Zeke ok'd him to shoot this buck, and the only reason they saw it was because they were out looking for a trespasser and happend to stumble onto it, yes another member of our group did shoot and undersized deer, probably 110-100", Zeke said he would give him a break and knoock $150 off the $500 fine because it was the first buck he had seen all week (previously he said he would take possession of the animal too which we informed him this was ILLEGAL). The third guy not in our group did shoot a buck his last day that might score 130" but will be close ( he broke his skullplate so if you see the pictures they try to make it look bigger!). When we arrived there the other guide shot about a 125" buck as well. So out of all the bucks shot underscored only 1 person was fine the $500????? We learned he 25-30 hunters before us and none of them had killed a buck, so if you think a 10% success rate is good this is the place for you! Also while there we were informed one of Zekes friends/helpers who was always at the house was stealing from Zekes clients! Zeke even warned us about him. Why he would keep him around puzzled all of us?? Zeke informed us that he had stole some arrows from the guys from The Blitz hunting show, a rangefinder, a bow target, and while there a few dollars from me! On opening morning 4 out of 7 guys got lost and could not find their stands. No aerial maps were provided and no one was shown a stand prior to going to the stands. We learned later he had aerial maps and did not share them with us! His directions would be something like "go down this fence line, through the plowed field, through the crp and 80 yds in the woods is the stand!" After the hunt was over he was very disrespectful to a 72 year old man and then called us because he felt that we didnt leave a large enough tip! All together with the fines, incentive fees, and tips we left him with an additional $1215 on top of the $1000 a peice we had already given him. Zeke is new and I hope he learns that in this business good referrals are your best seller.
Outfitter Response: Just to let everyone know, Robert and his group of 5 hunters paid $1,000 for a Missouri opening week of gun season whitetail hunt, which included food, lodging, and guide that drove them to and from the stands. We have a 130" minimum which is on our website. We only book 8 hunters per week and have 3,400 acres. The stands we hunt with the 8 guys per week do not get hunted the following week by the next group ( unless of course we have viable proof, game cam pics, or sightings while glassing fields, that a great buck is still in the area and is still very able to be taken ). Robert and his father did not see many deer, even though I personally went out with him rattling and calling for him to make something happen on two different sits, but how much ground can you cover with a client that is 5'10 and almost 400 lbs. We had 4 hunters out of 7 who saw shooters, and 2 out of seven that killed, and another hunter that shot a deer under the minimum inch requirement ( who happens to be one of the five hunters that Robert brought with him, and I believe that is why he gave Espey Outfitters a bad rating ). So 3 total bucks were killed by 7 hunters, 2 of which were part of Robert's group. Last fact about Robert, I was sitting in the truck opening morning glassing an area and saw a nice mature buck go to a bedding area, I quickly called Robert to see if one of the members in his hunting party would want to try to kill the buck, one of which was his own father, and Robert said " no don't call anyone else just come get me ", we weren't able to harvest the buck, but that showed me that he is pretty selfish. I believe that if Robert would have killed a deer himself and no one else had, he would have been more than happy. Next time he should book a high fence hunt, instead of free range. I will not continue to defend myself against personal attacks from this individual any longer. The only thing I can do is give references from all of my 22 previous hunters this season, which I have no problem doing, both happy and unhappy. Anyone may call I do have the o.k. to give out 3 of the other hunter's number's who were in the same group as Mr. Sawitski. Feel free to email me as well.
Contact: David Stanley
Location: Ocate, New Mexico
Species Hunted: Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Turkey, Mountain Lion
State(s) Hunted: NM
Utah Hunting Information
Utah has recently been outstanding for trophy elk, but the best tags take many years to draw. Utah does have conservation tags available for purchase that allow hunters to bypass the drawing. Given the high demand for these premium tags prices can be high. In the past Utah has been a top trophy mule deer state but recently only a handful of units consistently produce B&C caliber deer.
Ohio Hunting Information
Ohio is best known for its trophy whitetail deer. In fact, the world record non-typical whitetail was harvested in Greene county by Mike Beatty in November 2001,
Iowa Hunting Information
Iowa is one of the best Midwestern states for monster whitetail bucks. Non-residents must apply for a tag in their annual drawing. Archery tags are the most sought after and depending on what units you apply for generally take 2-4 years to draw.
