One of the true joys of being an Outdoor Connection franchise owner is getting to conduct inspection trips at new outfitters. There is something about getting to hunt or fish a “new” area; one that for my purposes has just been discovered.

Such a trip took place this past weekend as I was a guest of Mark Clifford’s Premier Archery Outfitters in Hopkinsville KY. Mark is a former successful auto dealer from Greeneville South Carolina who was bitten by the outfitting bug and the beautiful land of western Ky. His lodge and 8,000 acres are the product of a lot of hard work and thought. Many of Mark’s properties have not been hunted in over 5 years. Premier Archery Outfitters is located in Christian County, KY which is rapidly becoming one of the nations largest producers of Boone & Crockett whitetails. The eastern wild turkey population is also enormous.

Also in camp this weekend was a crew of Mark’s friends from South Carolina including the infamous Chuck Mulkey, host of the popular radio show Southern Woods & Waters. The weekend started with a driving speed scout of the property we would be hunting in the morning. In 2 fields, we saw 7 gobblers, 4 jakes, and countless hens. After a quick dinner, it was back to Premier and Chuck’s lodge. The lodge consists of a great room/kitchen, 3 double bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. It is spacious, comfortable, and loaded with good deer mounts.

5:00 came early and we should have made it 4:30 as we were late getting in the fields the first morning. With the sky graying rapidly, I counted gobbling from 7 different gobblers in what seemed like 7 different directions. I don’t go on many hunts hearing that many birds and not seeing one but it happened to Mark and I. The birds were seriously henned up and Mark and I spent a fruitless morning moving from field to field trying to locate a gobbler. Bo and Jimmy from South Carolina were at the other end of the 2,000 acre property and they completed a nice double on 2 mature 10″ bearded toms.

On Sunday, we were met by rains that bordered on being torrential. Mark and I utilized a ground blind in an attempt to stay reasonably dry and to also protect our camera equipment. That morning, we watched 5 different long beards, 7 jakes, and countless hens mill around in the middle of this large wheat field. The birds were content to chase each other and shake the water off between showers as none paid attention to our calls. Oh well, if you’re not going to take a bird, it is fun to watch them.

Besides offering outstanding turkey hunting, Premier really specializes in whitetail deer hunts. As mentioned earlier, this part of Kentucky is becoming know as being one of the places in America where Boone & Crockett caliber whitetails can be harvested. Mark had several deer in the 150″ class taken in his 1st year of operation and has seen deer in the area in the 170″ range. In our turkey scouting, I saw whitetail tracks that were as large as any I ever saw in Saskatchewan. I believe this place is a sleeper but not for long. They offer archery, rifle, & muzzeloader hunts in Kentucky’s long seasons. Mark’s rates are reasonable and he enforces trophy limits of 130″ for archery and 140″ for rifles. Shoot less and get the wallet out!

If you want to know more about deer and turkey hunting opportunities at Premier Archery Outfitters and other fine properties like this, give me a shout at huntfishlive@gmail.com or call me at 615-604-0581.

Tight Lines & Struttin Toms,

Lou Hoop

Well the old saying a blind hog finds an acorn strikes true as David “Little Jerry” Thoni struck pay dirt on his first ever Tennessee gobbler last Wednesday at Chuck Bean’s trophybasslake.