Performance Outdoors, owned and operated by Vermonters Jake and Justin Roach, continues to evolve with its growing success and reputation. Started in 1997 the outfit currently has 14,000 acres of exclusive lease in Illinois and Iowa hosts 150 clients a season. Of 2004 bookings, half come from Vermont, northern New York and New Hampshire.

Deer hunters from the north country often have slightly different objectives when it comes to a quality deer hunting experience and Jake and Justin are tuned into that. They don't just run an outfit for 3 months; they follow a 4-season schedule of quality deer and land management. As a result, hunters are getting what they want most out of their trips; shot opportunities on true trophy class bucks.

12,000 acres of outfit's leases are in Illinois where they run 100% draw success for bow hunters. The 29 individual farms that make up their territory are similar in topography although vary in size. These active agricultural operations by their very nature, produce a lot of excellent forage, which in turn sustains large, healthy populations of deer. The tracts of soybeans, corn, and alfalfa fields are broken up by varying expanses of hardwood hills, draws and river bottoms. This creates natural funnels for deer movement. The outfit maintains separate lodging facilities, called hubs, in close proximity to several leases. At each hub 3 to 4 guides under the direction of a senior guide, are responsible for providing their clients with the best opportunity for a trophy whitetail as they hunt the surrounding lease holdings. Stands are pre-set and hunters are slipped in before daylight and come out after dark. Farms are also routinely rested between hunts. This keeps pressure on the deer at a minimum and optimizes a hunter's chance for taking a "booner".

To enhance these existing food sources, Performance Outdoors annually plants and maintains high energy and mineral content food plots. The Roach brothers are firm believers in the new technology of quality deer management and believe that planting both spring and fall feed crops contribute to healthier bucks and bigger racks. The outfit maintains a harvest minimum of 125 B&C inches and nearly all clients see deer of this caliber and much bigger.

In addition to a continuing effort to add to their lease holdings in Illinois and neighboring states, the outfit has moved forward in other areas that enhance the hunting experience for their clients. This fall for instance, marks the first time they have offered a limited muzzleloader hunt. The dates correspond to the Illinois shotgun season in late November and early December and tags are subject to the state's firearm's draw. Performance Outdoors handles all the application paperwork. Specific farms are set aside for these hunts and depending on how generous the draw is, this could be one of the best hunts in the mid-west as these properties have only been bow hunted for the last 6 years.

Also, new this year, a standard food plan is available with nearly all packages. Each hub or camp features a fully stocked kitchen where clients prepare their own breakfasts and lunchtime sandwiches. In the evening a hot meal is provided and it is no surprise that hunters benefit from sharing strategy tips and other information around the supper table.

As Performance Outdoors has grown they have added hubs to coincide with new leases rather than over-crowd existing camps or over-hunt their property. The acquisition of a new Northern Fulton Camp this year is an example of a growth strategy that does not compromise hunt quality or customer comfort.

In 1999 Kevin Sweet from West Rutland and Ron Beayon from Bomoseen, Vermont ventured off to Illinois to hunt with the Roach boys. They have returned every year since as guides and make up the core of the outfit's senior team. All of Performance Outdoors' current guides hail from Vermont and the fact that many had their first experience at the outfit as clients is not that unusual. This trend has lead Jake and Justin to look at the possibility of running their own guide school either next spring or perhaps in 2006.

There is no question that Performance Outdoors is becoming one of the big players in the trophy whitetail outfitting business. Their meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of their operation is producing excellent shot opportunity and harvest success for their clients. As a result more than half their hunters repeat book to hunt the same farm year after year. This dramatically increases the odds for taking a real Midwestern "racker".

Careful land management, minimal hunting pressure per lease and expert staff like Jake, Justin, Ron and Kevin running each hunt has been the formula for Performance Outdoors' success and moving forward you can expect more of the same: A quality hunting experience for really awesome trophy whitetail bucks.