Spent last weekend at Big Oak for my daughter's birthday present.
Little background, my daughter was drawn to hunt the youth hunt that Marty does every year last Dec. They are allowed does of several species and he even bought extras right before the hunt to increase the kid's odds of connecting. Marty want's everyone to get something and he works hard try and make it happen.
Jamie had been talking since the hunt about wanting a Sika stag/buck so we decided for her birthday we would try and make that happen.
We arrived Friday about 2:30 and pulled up to the "camphouse". This camphouse is very nice to the point your wife would enjoy it. Whitney came down and met us and got us signed in.
While we were waiting for the rest of our party to arrive my daughter broke out her bow and proceeded to practice on the 30ish 3D targets set up in the side yard.
We were constantly kept up to date on the what was happening and when we would go out.
The stands are set up for bowhunters with boxes and tree stands at nearly every setup. I do advise bringing safety harness and a cushion if you plan on sitting in a tree.
We saw animals every sit we made and had shot opportunities on most sits. You are provided a price list and are free at any time to pick anything on the menu.
Marty told Jamie that he had a Sika picked out for her and described him. She locked in on that one and nothing else would do. We had a nice Sika stag in range the first night but it was not "the one" and we spent the rest of the trip trying to outguess where he would show up.
Saturday Marty made a run to get some parts from town and showed back up with a box of nightcrawlers and we took the kids fishing in one of his ponds. Just a little something extra that was not really part of the package but a little something extra to make the trip more enjoyable for the kids.
We hunted 2 days and I am pretty sure we had at least one of every critter in front of us at some point during the trip.
Now about the food and hospitality. Marty's wife Lisa is the camp cook, breakfast/brunch and supper are provided each day of your hunt. She had a BBQ spread on Friday night with all of the traditional sides, a big breakfast that included scrambled eggs, hashbrown casserole, biscuits and sausage gravy on Sat morning, smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, blackeyed peas Sat night and egg, sausage and cheese biscuits Sun morning.
The food alone is worth the cost of the day fees and when you throw in lodging and a pig the price can't be beat.
Marty and Lisa welcomed us into their house for all meals just like we were family. We were free to roam the main area of the house and look at Marty's impressive collection of animals from mostly Africa and the states. All of which were taken by traditional archery equipment.
My rating of Big Oak
Lodging *****
Quality of animals *****
Hospitality *****
Effort of guides *****
Experience *****
Thanks again Marty, Lisa and Whitney for an awesome weekend.
We will be back
Little background, my daughter was drawn to hunt the youth hunt that Marty does every year last Dec. They are allowed does of several species and he even bought extras right before the hunt to increase the kid's odds of connecting. Marty want's everyone to get something and he works hard try and make it happen.
Jamie had been talking since the hunt about wanting a Sika stag/buck so we decided for her birthday we would try and make that happen.
We arrived Friday about 2:30 and pulled up to the "camphouse". This camphouse is very nice to the point your wife would enjoy it. Whitney came down and met us and got us signed in.
While we were waiting for the rest of our party to arrive my daughter broke out her bow and proceeded to practice on the 30ish 3D targets set up in the side yard.
We were constantly kept up to date on the what was happening and when we would go out.
The stands are set up for bowhunters with boxes and tree stands at nearly every setup. I do advise bringing safety harness and a cushion if you plan on sitting in a tree.
We saw animals every sit we made and had shot opportunities on most sits. You are provided a price list and are free at any time to pick anything on the menu.
Marty told Jamie that he had a Sika picked out for her and described him. She locked in on that one and nothing else would do. We had a nice Sika stag in range the first night but it was not "the one" and we spent the rest of the trip trying to outguess where he would show up.
Saturday Marty made a run to get some parts from town and showed back up with a box of nightcrawlers and we took the kids fishing in one of his ponds. Just a little something extra that was not really part of the package but a little something extra to make the trip more enjoyable for the kids.
We hunted 2 days and I am pretty sure we had at least one of every critter in front of us at some point during the trip.
Now about the food and hospitality. Marty's wife Lisa is the camp cook, breakfast/brunch and supper are provided each day of your hunt. She had a BBQ spread on Friday night with all of the traditional sides, a big breakfast that included scrambled eggs, hashbrown casserole, biscuits and sausage gravy on Sat morning, smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, blackeyed peas Sat night and egg, sausage and cheese biscuits Sun morning.
The food alone is worth the cost of the day fees and when you throw in lodging and a pig the price can't be beat.
Marty and Lisa welcomed us into their house for all meals just like we were family. We were free to roam the main area of the house and look at Marty's impressive collection of animals from mostly Africa and the states. All of which were taken by traditional archery equipment.
My rating of Big Oak
Lodging *****
Quality of animals *****
Hospitality *****
Effort of guides *****
Experience *****
Thanks again Marty, Lisa and Whitney for an awesome weekend.
We will be back
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