Ashlenz Outfitters LLC

Submitted by: Joe Hysong

Review Submitted: Mar 19, 2011

Hunt Date: Nov 2, 2008

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Semi-Guided

Primary Terrain: Farmland

Method: Bow

Price Range: 1000-1999

No Bucks all week

This was my first hunt with an Outfitter, and we picked Pike County planning on getting the big buck. We arrived at camp Friday late afternoon and were greeted by a great guide and he quickly set us up to let us site in our bows after the drive over he relized we knew how to shoot and got us set in a tree stand that evening, we did jump several does on the way in. The next few days it was unseanonably warm but we only saw a couple of small does no bucks. After several days my friend who was along thought it might be us no deer hunting hard in 2 hrs before sunrise out for a 2 hour break at lunch and back in to sit till dark still no deer. They moved us around to what I would have thought was prime hunting ground, I own land in Northeast Indiana where we have taken several nice 140 class bucks. then on day three a pro hunter showed up with all of his gear the owner took him out next day a big buck was down huh?? I did get to see one huge buck 180 plus at about 200yds he never came close lots of small does. We both went home without a deer and the same was true for the other hunters in the cabin. Food was good. Guide was very nice. The Owner ripped my butt one night for getting lost coming out of my tree stand and going on another guys land and wouldn't let it go. I told him I was sorry it was dark and we had hiked over a mile to the stand. I wasn't to impressed with that.

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Submitted by: Joe Hunter

Review Submitted: Jun 20, 2010

Hunt Date: Nov 23, 2007

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 3

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Farmland

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 2000-2999

This guy is a con-man from the word go. He talks a good talk but basically he gets hunters to pay for his leases so he, his guides and family can shoot the big bucks.(Pics on web site will prove me right) Stands are over hunted and were not placed in proper areas for gun hunters. (They were set up for archers) Food was very limited and and conditions of bathrooms were horrible. However this is Pike County in IL so you may luck into a big buck but this is not the place I believe you want to spend your hard earned money on.

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note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.

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outfitter review submitted by: Chris Jackson on Feb 24 2006

Species Hunted: Whitetail

Game Quality: Great

Accommodation Quality: Good

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Great

Guide Experience: Great

Other Personal Experience: Na

Overall Impression: A+

Recommend: definitely

Reviewer Comments: I hunted during the first shotgun season with Ashlenz. The quality of the land that these guys have is amazing. The camp wasn't the Ritz but i was there to hunt and see deer, and that's what i did. The stands are a little high but Kevin made sure i knew that before i even got there. Plus they have over 100 ladder stands and box stands with shooting rails. The guides are easy to get along with and very knowledgeable. Kevin, the owner, is a serious hunter and a great guy who will try to get you anything you need. I saw four shooters within 100yds but i was waiting on a giant i saw opening evening. Everything was great. I have already sent my deposit for next season. To the guys with the negative posts about Ashlenz, what the hell are you talking about? I hunted there, there were no disappointed hunters in my camp. Get over it you bunch of sissies.

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outfitter review submitted by: Ray Gaubert on Feb 24 2006

Species Hunted: Whitetail deer

Game Quality: Excellent

Accommodation Quality: Adequate

Camp Condition: Good

Food Quality: Very Good

Guide Experience: Very Good

Other Personal Experience: N/A

Overall Impression: Very Good Quality

Recommend: Yes

Reviewer Comments: This year I bow hunted the second and third week of November then gun hunted both of the shotgun season. During the bow hunt I had a 170 class buck within fifty yards and on another hunt I had three different 140 class bucks within 50 yards. I passed on several 130 class deer during the two week hunt; all within bow range. The first shotgun season I seen several good deer just not quite big enough. I ended my hunt the first day of the second season when I took a 140 inch eight pointer, not what I go to Illinois for but I rushed the shot in some pretty thick stuff. I've been hunting Illinois the same amount of time each year for at least ten years, the pass four years with Ashlenz. These guys know what it takes to get close to a mature deer, hunting the wind. In the four years I've hunted with them I've had close encounters with three 170 class bucks and several 140 to 150 inch class bucks. I've killed 164 inch twelve pointer and the 140 inch eight pointer I killed this year. Their stands are high, thirty feet plus, when need be but I am able to climb and hunt ever stand I've been brought to and I am not comfortable at heights either. I never once been put on a stand that the wind was wrong for and if it changed during the hunt, I was given other stand option to move to. They will not hunt a stand if the wind is wrong for it which prevents blowing the big boys out the area. The camp was adequate with comfortable beds and room to store your equipment. There was a sulfur odor to the water used for showering but they supplied plenty bottled water, gator aid and soft drinks. The food was actually very good, fried fish, roasted chicken and usually three or four side items. I personally don't care if the camp or food is not the best as long as the effort is put into the hunting. I bow hunted with Hadley Creek the five or six year pry to hunting with Ashlenz. I started hunting with them the first year they started guiding and watch them turn it into a numbers game. The camp was nice with good food, but the hunting fell apart. In six years of hunting two weeks every year I never seen anything near the 150s and only killed one nine pointer scoring 141 inches. I was put on stands with the wind wrong or well warned trails leading to them to many times . Several times the guides could not even find the stand and other times I was put on stands twelve foot high in the wide open with no chance of ever drawing back even if I did get a shot opportunity. Any serious hunter knows you got to hunt the wind first and second you got to be concealed to be able to make the shot. Like I said earlier, I've hunted with Ashlenz for four years now and I will continue to return as long as they keep providing quality hunts.

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outfitter review submitted by: Pat Caro on Dec 6 2005

Species Hunted: Whitetail deer

Game Quality: poor

Accommodation Quality: poor

Camp Condition: poor

Food Quality: average

Guide Experience: poor

Other Personal Experience: na

Overall Impression: very disappointed!

Recommend: Absolutely not!

Reviewer Comments: I booked a gun hunt after several conversations with Kevin.I was told he had 80% opportunity on 135" class deer. I also asked on several occasions if he had ladder stands as I am not comfortable hunting out of lock ons. I was assured he had over 85 ladder stands and it would be no problem. I arrive for my hunt and am put up in a 100 year old dirty farmhouse with 1 toilet that I have to share with 9 other guys. You cannot drink or brush your teeth with the water because it is so full of iron. The shower is completely disgusting and you stink more when you come out of the shower than when you go in due to the water. You have cereal for breakfast have to pack your own lunch and the evening meal is brought in my a local vendor but is always cold until it gets to you. Now for the hunting.. first off all of the guides hunt ! If fact, I had to drop Kevin , the owner, off at his stand on the way to my stand on the opening morning !!! I was stuck in a shooting house in the middle of a field for the first two days. The largest buck I saw was about 110" I then had to ask to be moved on the third day and was placed approx. 100 yards from another hunter and never saw a deer the entire day. Hunters stay away , this guy is a crook and according to his "guides" who talk way too much he is also a poacher!

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outfitter review submitted by: Ron Yeager on Nov 30 2005

Species Hunted: Whitetail

Game Quality: Poor

Accommodation Quality: Poor

Camp Condition: Poor

Food Quality: Average

Guide Experience: Poor

Other Personal Experience: Poor

Overall Impression: Way below average

Recommend: NO!

Reviewer Comments: I have hunted with Illinois Monster Bucks for 2 years, Hunting Unlimited for 1 year, Hadley Creek for 2 years and this by far was the worse hunt I was ever on in Pike County and I even killed a buck and a doe! My buddy and I decided to try a gun hunt in Pike instead of a bow hunt like we have the last sevral years. The treed stands are very high 30 - 40 FT. and set up for bow hunters not gun at that time. They are very unsafe stands and I'm not afraid of heights either. The stand dropped two inches when I sat down and I about had a heart attack! The opening morning I had a guy sit in front of me 80 yards away on his own property. I called my guide and he moved me to a ladder stand with no seat. At 4:48 pm the first night a game warden proceeded to give me a fine for having a loader fire arm after sunset and not dark like I'm used too. The outfitter never told us that but it is partly my fault also because I should know the laws before I hunt a different state but I asked everyone back in camp and they all said Kevin never went over that in the meeting and that they all didn't get out of their treestands until 5:15. The guides didn't even know that! I killed a 125 inch buck the next day because that was the biggest buck I saw and I was upset with the outfitter for the way everything was going. I felt unsafe in his tree stand (which my buddy almost fell because of the way they had it set up so he decided it was safer to hunt on the ground)I never had a problem with treestand at other outfitters. He hunts property lines of other posted land and they guides don't tell you that when you are going to your stand. Kevin told me that would confuse the hunters and his guides don't have time to tell everyone the boundry lines! If you kill a deer in IL on someone else's property they will hammer you! What a CLOWN! The guides are kids from Louisiana and he's from there also. I don't care what he has on his wall but that doesn't make you an outfitter. The only big buck killed was by one of the guides from our camp the other two were like mine 120's. The place was dirty, the showers were clogged, the toliet over flowed and clogged. They even ran out of water so you couldn't flush or take a shower until someone went to get water. The young guides fought between themselves and would clean my doe I shot the last day. That poor deer laid there all day with the guts in her. Kevin was supposed to cape my buck out for transport back to PA because of CWD. I reminded him twice because we were leaving that night. He took his daughter hunting instead which is fine because I believe everyone should spend time with their kids but get what needs to be done first! Remember I'm on a guided hunt! So many other things I could tell you that happened. If you want e-mail me I can tell you more. Boys these aren't guided hunts at all in IL. They hang these stands in advance and let them hang all year long. The GUIDE takes you to a spot and says theres your stand and that's it! Heck I believe all of us could be better outfitters and guides than the rest of them. Even some guys videoing for the Drury brothers left and went with a different outfitter because there were hunter's behind every tree and no deer! I'd like to see all 6000 acres he has! HORRIBLE!

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outfitter review submitted by: Bryan on Feb 11 2005

Species Hunted: Whitetail

Game Quality: Awesome

Accommodation Quality: very good

Camp Condition: very good

Food Quality: very good

Guide Experience: very good

Other Personal Experience: very good

Overall Impression: i'll be back next year for sure!

Recommend: Highly

Reviewer Comments: I hunted Ashlenz in early Dec. My first intention was to shoot a 140", but after seeing the quality of the deer, I set my goal on at least a 160" deer. My guide was great, and the hunt as a whole was 1st class. I can't wait till next season. Thanks Kevin

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