Illinois Xtreme Whitetails

I am very disappointed with my experience with Illinois Xtreme Whitetails. I cannot recommend them and suggest avoiding this outfitter. IXW advertises 'Fully Guided Trophy Whitetail Hunts' and they are 'the premier deer hunting outfitter in Central Illinois!' IXW also advertises over 8,000 acres to hunt. As an out of state hunter, I remotely purchased a tag, license, and stamp through a local store. IXW told me they would pick them up for me. But, once I paid IXW $3,400 for a whitetail hunt, communication stopped. My emails went unanswered. I still arrived as scheduled; however, I had no tag, license, and stamp. I was told they were picked up but 'lost'. More so, because my tags were “lost”, IXW was unsure where I would hunt. I also had no room. I waited until 9 PM for a place to sleep and went to bed without a tag, license, and stamp. The following morning, a tag was produced but I was shuffled to different guides. The final guide had no room in his truck for me and I drove myself. Worse, upon arrival, the guide told me to walk in 'that' direction to find a blind. This was done because it was near light and the guided needed to place two other hunters. I was not a priority. I found the blind but it was on their leased property line. I was sitting next to two other blinds on un-leased property. At shooting light, these other blinds erupted w/ a “If it’s brown, it’s down” mindset. With 8,000 acres to hunt, why am I ten feet from non-paying hunters? I could have saved thousands and hunted public land. I left on Sunday afternoon disgusted and frustrated. On my way out of town, I called the store. The front desk located my tag, license, and stamp still in the store. It was clear that IXW never picked up my tag and lied about it. I am uncertain how they were able to produce another tag. It’s also clear that IXW is more interested in money than delivering their advertised service. My confidence and trust in their operation are extremely low. Avoid IXW.