Reviewed by

Josh Joslyn on December 03, 2019

Went out this year for the first time for the Gun Opener. The overall experience was fantastic! Great lodge, amazing food, extremely friendly people working here, and very good guides. My group and I had Kyle Kempkers as our guide. This guy knows his stuff and set us up for success. Had a lot of people asking me if this was a high fence hunt and its not people! This is 100% fair chase and you aren't guaranteed to leave the trip with something. Luckily 2 out of the 4 in my group left the trip with good bucks, especially myself, which came on the last evening. I will be going back to Golden Triangle again in the future for sure.

Reviewed by

Reggie Tokarski on November 08, 2020

Great accommodations. Brandi and Mike run a 5 star outfitter business. Had tons of opportunities at deer. Even seen 3 over 150. Next year I hope to have one walk in my range! If you are looking for a whitetail outfitter you've found the one!

Reviewed by

Matt Martin on October 30, 2022

My bowhunting buddy and I booked a six day bow hunt with Golden Triangle Whitetails, October 21-26. First off I am aware that they can't control the weather, it was hot, windy, and one day of rain, and we basically had one day of good weather for deer hunting. The staff was super friendly, the accommodations are really nice, and they have bow range with elevated shooting tower. The food was top shelf, and the cook was awesome. Now to the not so good part, every stand I got into had not been prepped, I had to cut branches out of the way, one stand was not even close to level it wanted to pour you off the front, and one stand had a large branch right above the seat and I could not stand up, so there is no way the guide had been in any of these stands. The first stand I was in had a homemade ladder and on the way down a step broke off. Pretty much all of the stands creaked when standing if you moved. So in stand preparation they get a failing grade. Our guide was nice kid, but I felt like he did not do his do a good job prepping the spots where he placed us. We still had fun, made some friends, had some laughs, but for the money we paid it was not worth it.

Reviewed by

Justin Dawes on November 10, 2022

Me and a family member just hunted Nov. 5-9 2022 at GTW. The staff was friendly and the food was great. The lodge we roomed in was fair but others across the yard seemed nicer. But we came to see some mature bucks and possibly kill one . Well that never happened, We had a nice young guide taking us a hour away to a farm when other hunters got to go to farms minutes away , and the farm we hunted had old dangerous tree stands on it that was sketchy to get in. 4 of us got dropped off to sit daylight to dark for 5 days seeing very few deer and never seen anything close to a mature buck. We understand it’s fair chase but it was obvious some hunters get good farms and some get the gar hole. Great lodge if you’re looking to eat and sleep good! Not for Real hunters

Reviewed by

Douglas Bear on November 24, 2022

My dad and I booked a hunt with GTW for the first time this year. We had a great time, accommodations and food were great. Most hunters we spoke to were return customers so that should tell you all you need to know about this business. Our guide was great, very knowledgeable and great farms to hunt. We both saw big mature bucks, unfortunately we were not able to harvest any. It is fair chase so you can’t expect to kill every time. We did see a giant killed while we were at camp along with several other really nice bucks. We have no complaints about GTW and have allready rebooked our hunt for next year. It may not happen your first trip, but there are some true trophies roaming their property. I would recommend any serious whitetail hunter to give this place a try. You will appreciate all the hard work these folks have put into creating a great experience and opportunity at harvesting a big whitetail.

Reviewed by

Rob Hidding on May 18, 2023

Very nice property, tons and tons of acreage. All the guys were nice and knowledgeable. Faculties we’re all clean, I like the way it was all laid out. Went for a turkey hunt so I can’t speak to the whitetails but their lodge says it all!

Reviewed by

Joe Denise on June 01, 2023

Awesome place! Mike and his entire staff are amazing. They have some great farms and the guides do everything they can to put you on a good deer. I have hunted with a lot of outfitters over the years and it doesn’t get any better than GTW!

Reviewed by

R Ashton on October 12, 2023

GTW is one of the best place to spend your hunting seasons! The accommodations are great! The food is top notch! And the people are the greatest! I love spending my hunting season here! I can’t wait to go back again!

Reviewed by

Robert Dooley on October 15, 2023

We have went to the youth hunt three years now. Great experiences each year. Large mature deer with opportunities each time. Well run solid family feel.

Reviewed by

Bobby Oliver on December 11, 2023

Worst hunting experience of my life! My friend and I booked a hunt for muzzleloader season, December 8th - 10th, 2023. I literally just got home and wanted to write this while all the memories are fresh in my mind. I had certain expectations of what the experience would be like with a guided hunt. The lodge and accommodations were fine and the chef and his team did a really great job. On the guide and hunting aspect, which is what matters, GTW fell well below my expectations. In IL, your tag is for a specific county. We had Schuyler County which is over an hour each way from camp. That was awful in and of itself. Our guide, who is a local and a know it all, had zero interest in providing any recommendations, tips, suggestions - basic guide stuff. He does not look at trail cam pics - doesn’t like it! How can you be of any value as a guide if you don’t know what is on your property, where and when it’s moving, and what stands provide the best opportunities. He never checked wind, never explained where we were going and why. In fact, I ended up with wind at my back most of the time - NICE! I did have the distinct pleasure of two plus hours in the truck with him bragging about the deer he had killed. Who cares!!! You should be helping your hunters and getting feedback and setting up a game plan for a good hunt the next day. Day 1 - we left at 4 am, I was dropped off at a box at 5:20am, TOLD I would be in that stand all day, picked up at 5:30pm, back at camp at 7pm. That night we asked what the plan was for day 2 and he told us he knew where he was putting us. When I asked if we had any input, he said “sure” and totally copped an attitude. The next morning, he proceeded to put me in a rickety ladder stand that had no padding on the shooting rail, no seat cushion, no safety line, and no chance to see a deer. Stand was noisy and dangerous - ratchet straps look like they had been on stand for 3-4 years. It was in a hole with max shots of 50 yards and a railroad track behind me less than 100 yards. What a great spot to see a trophy whitetail! Who wants to hunt with 50 yard views with a muzzleloader??? I was told to bring a safety harness and I did. Too bad they don’t have lifelines on any of their stands - they don’t tell you that in their “hunter checklist”. So my one and only hunt in a tree was incredibly dangerous and completely useless. I committed to boxes after that because the safety of the stands was a big issue. We asked at dinner that night, how he decides where we are gonna hunt each day - he said “I know where I’m putting you before you get here”. Are you kidding me? I hunted three straight days from sunrise to sunset - I saw a total of 26 deer including two spikes. I saw 3 deer (total) before 10am and that was on day 1. The rest of the deer (23) showed up after 4pm and legal shooting light ended at 5:05pm. It was by far the worst hunting experience of my life. I like Mike and Kyle, the two owners and guides. I wish they took the time to ask how our hunt was going but they never did. They should require all of their guides to utilize current technology and share that information with their hunters. There is absolutely no point of paying for a guided hunt with a guide who doesn’t make an effort to put you in the right spot to at least see deer and maybe actually see a buck, not to mention a shooter. I am convinced my guide intentionally put me in bad spots once I asked if we had any input. So basically we had an Uber driver to the stand - zero guiding was provided. This is the polite version of what I really think about my experience. It’s unfortunate that one bad guide can make such a lasting impression. If you go to GTW, make sure you don’t get Schuyler County and you don’t get the Uber driver.

Reviewed by

Micheal Reilly on December 23, 2024

My brother, dad and I all took our first ever whitetail guided hunt. Golden Triangle Whitetails was an awesome experience. Our guide was top notch and as professional as they come. Mike was overly accommodating and each person we met here were just everyday hunters and people like us. We learned a lot from everyone at the camp. We harvested one buck during our 5 day late season bow hunt and had many encounters with shooters and saw tons of bucks. There were days that one of us may not had seen as much as the others but with the amount of property these guys have to work with they will get you on deer. If you’re looking for a real hunting experience and are willing to hunt and listen to the guides then I recommend you book with Golden Triangle Whitetails. We will definitely be back. Thanks Mike, Jimbo and Rob for the great experience.

Reviewed by

Rob W on October 19, 2025

I have hunt with many outfitters in many states, this being my 31st year in a row in Illinois and golden triangle whitetails outfitters are the best without question, the farms and huntinv land set up perfect, if hunter wants to move stands they have many options and the grounds are fair chase but the deer are relaxed due to gtw approach and professional proven methods of hunting for sucess. I made lifelong friends there,and they are stuck with me and my family and friends whom all love gtw the way i do. Great hunting should be enough,but the people mike,kyle and their family and all the guides are sincerely great people and they care,thats not a given at other outfitters here with gtw they will hunt with the hardest pro hunter,or do the family hunt and truly got you covered no matter what. And in top of that the food and lunches are perfect. I cannot wait to get back up there and feel cooler weather and be around great friends.

Reviewed by

Jeff Eagle on October 23, 2025

I took my daughter Hunting for her first time for her 16th Birthday. I was not sure what to expect and was a little nervous as we traveled a long way. My daughter was so excited but had no idea that we would be sharing our living space with a couple of other fathers and there sons. Mike accommodated A large room with our own bathroom to share with my daughter, which made things way easier. Our room was great and we had plenty of space and were extremely comfortable. I was also shocked that there was a laundry room at the house so that we could also do laundry before we left. I must say, though my daughter‘s favorite part was getting to know all the other kids and their family. We were treated like family from the moment we arrived and I was honestly shocked how we both felt like we knew everyone for years. My daughter did get a buck on her first day out, which was also great, but that was honestly the least exciting part for her of the entire trip. All she can talk about now is when can we go back and how soon so if you’re ever contemplating on taking your kid hunting and not sure where to go or Don’t have all the equipment definitely call Mike and he will walk you through Any concerns that you might have? I can’t wait to go back next year or possibly even for a different hunt. Thank you, Meike to you and the entire staff. I was very impressed with the cooking and amazing options for each meal. Thanks Again the Eagles