Due to our limited occupancy, early reservations are strongly suggested to insure your choice of dates. We ask for a deposit of 1/3 your hunt price upon booking, 1/3 due June 1st, and the final 1/3 due upon arrival. We will confirm your reservations with a receipt upon receiving your deposit.

Please call or email for specific scheduling of weekly Archery hunts.

Our camps are warm and comfortable and are located minutes from the hunting area in beautiful Illinois. All linens are provided along with 3 meals a day. Available for your use are washer/dryer, satellite TV, DVD, 3-D targets, etc.

Licenses are not included in the price of the hunt. Archery licenses will become available in early June. We will assist you in the ordering process. The cost in 2005 for an archery permit/hunting license/habitat stamp was $393.34. This includes a buck and doe tag.
Gun permits are sold by lottery drawing and applications are due for nonresidents in July. The cost in 2005 for a gun permit/hunting license/habitat stamp was $259.25. This includes a buck and doe tag.

Over 80% of our clients get an opportunity at a Pope and Young caliber deer during their hunt. We get asked continually why our success is so much better than most outfitters. Is it because we work harder at it? Is it because our farms are better habitat and managed more effectively with our $750 harvest fee policy? Is it because we take buck to doe ratios more seriously and pay hunters $50 per doe taken after they kill their buck? Is it because we hang our 400+ stands better? Is it because we take fewer clients per acre than other outfitters and thus pressure the deer less?

All in all, we usually say it is probably a combination of all those reasons. But without a doubt, the single greatest reason for our incredible success is that we do not try to "man handle" mature bucks. Many outfitters take way too many hunters for the acreage they have. Big bucks sense that intense hunting pressure and react like big bucks always do in those situations...they go "underground". Frankly, that is why most outfitters have minimal success at mature bucks outside of the rut. Without hot does pulling the bruisers out of hiding, shot opportunities just will not happen when there is too much pressure.
We have incredible success through out the season because we rotate farms, let stands rest and only hunt an area when the wind allows, period and with no exceptions.

Hunters often ask me, “What is the best time to come to Illinois?" I respond with a question. “Do you want the hunt that is the most fun or the hunt with the best chance at a particular huge buck that has been scouted and patterned?” This sometimes perplexes hunters because they have always read and been told that big bucks can only be seen and killed during the 2-3 week window of glory we call the rut. Make no mistake about it...the rut is the funnest time to be in the deer woods. Deer are active and bucks are on their feet. It truly is like a three ring circus on our farms, but, honestly, if someone had a bet with me on killing a pre-scouted bruiser buck, I would lean towards the early and late season when the deer are more predictable and on standard bedding/feeding patterns. You have to be stealthy and the deer are leery for sure. But where they are today they, many times, will be tomorrow. That predictability is what gets them killed and that is why we have so many shot opportunities at those times. Early and late season hunts are a great option for the more budget-minded hunter or those wanting to hunt Illinois and take a great deer but not leave their home hunting area during that area's rut.

There truly is not a bad time to hunt here at Ashlenz...it all comes down to the style of hunting and the time of year a client prefers.