MEET OUR
GUIDES
Bryan Dirr – Owner
I have been hunting for over 30 years and has 16 years of guiding experience, and have attended a professional guide school. In 2008, I graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies from St. John’s University. I didn’t know it then, but this degree has helped me analyze properties on another level. I am motivated by perfection and it shows in my preparation. I moved to Kentucky full time in 2012 and haven’t looked back. I bring a New York mindset to Kentucky, which keeps me ahead of the game. I look forward to having you in camp and working towards getting you that trophy you came for.

Anthony Holt
Anthony is one of the best taxidermists that I have been lucky enough to meet. Many of our clients will actually leave their deer here with him to have it mounted and waiting on them when they return for their next hunt. With the expansion into Ohio this year, I wanted someone who could run the lodge while I was out of town. Anthony owns his own business (Holt’s Taxidermy) and is a great people person. His dedication to the hunter and to the fine details is what makes him a great guide and what makes him the right person for the job.

Brandon Emory
Brandon has hunted with us in Kentucky for 9+ years now and has learned the “Whitetail Crossing Way”. He always seems to find himself in the right stand at the right time. When we decided to open the Ohio location, Brandon came to me and wanted to take charge. Brandon successfully operated a bow show in SC, which should bring a comfort to any bowhunters coming to hunt with us, that if something goes wrong, he can fix it. I’m very excited to have Brandon joining our team and can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Ryan Spratling
Ryan is one of a kind. I first met Ryan in 2017, when he came out on a 5 day bow hunt in mid October. He hunted hard, and trusted us to put him on a good buck. After just 2 days he was able to connect on a great buck. After that point, he was the hardest working guy in camp, even though he was just a client, he wanted to help put stands up and put corn out for the youth hunters that were coming in the following weekend. At that point I knew, we needed him here more often. Back home he’s a fire fighter and while he’s here, you can rest assured you’ll be safe and taken care of. Its nice to have a guy who knows how to run a business and deal with people on a daily basis. Looking forward to many years of handwork coming from this guy.

Russ Brafford
Russ joined the crew in 2020 and instantly found a home at Whitetail Crossing. Russ is a hard worker, and willing to go the extra mile for his hunters. We are lucky to have him here and look forward to many years of sharing camp with him.

Anthony Osbourne a.k.a. Amigo
Anthony provides a vital role in the success of Whitetail Crossing. For several years now, he has been able to learn from the master (Bryan) when it comes to tree stand locations, blind setup, and overall strategies. He knows the perfectionist that I am when it comes to setups and its good to see him taking the bull by the horns. He loves being on the farms and knows them like the back of his hand. He is a client favorite and goes by the nickname “Amigo”.

Kacey Dykes a.k.a. Red
Kacey has been a part of the Whitetail Crossing for a long time now. He is one the most well prepared guides we have. Always has a knife ready, and on can fill your day with some crazy stories from his hunting and fishing trips in Tennessee. He’s a great guy and will do whatever he has to to get you on a good buck.

Matt Tipton
Matt has been bringing his son down for the past few years for some doe patrol, teaching him the importance of deer hunting and showing him its not just about antlers, its about feeding the family. We like to give Matt a hard time because he’s just a “Lil Feller” who loves to deer hunt. He is a great addition to our crew and will go to the ends of the earth to make sure your stay with us is as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately he doesn’t know how to use a vacuum, but that’s not your problem, that’s mine.
10 Secrets to Success
We want you to have the most successful hunt possible here and want everybody to have a chance to take a trophy deer. To do that, we take several steps:
- We encourage you to shower using a scent killer body wash
- Keep your hunting clothing in the locker room
- Don’t slam car doors
- Spray down with Scent Killer multiple times
- Wear a face mask or use face paint
- Know your effective shooting range
- Be quiet getting to and back from your stand
- Use the wind to your advantage
- Sit until pitch black before getting down out of your stand
- Trust your guide and communicate what you saw to him.
