Feel free to comment whether you own land or not. How do you feel about paying for a hunting property consultant (Experts”) to look over and make recommendations on your land? Whether by having them look over an aerial and topo map remotely or going one step further paying them to actually walk your land with you. Who has done this? Who has thought about doing it? Would you get the same level of enjoyment out of success if you paid something to tell you what to do rather than going through the learning curve and figuring it out yourself? Does it matter to you if you put the pieces together or if you had an expert show you how they go together. Maybe your property improvement time is limited and you want results faster without having to spend a lot of time learning it yourself. No right or wrong answers. Just curious how everyone feels about this.
I know when we had a couple guys visit it was eye opening...not that I or my father wouldn't have or hadn't thought of all they said it was refreshing to confirm some of what we thought and exciting when they said things we'd never thought of or saw. Coming from someone who offers some consultation myself it may seem odd, but honestly if a landowner is willing to seek out all the resources they can get a hold of and gain knowledge from others by studying, researching and simply reading other's thoughts; they will probably in the end be able to design a great plan of attack. Personally I think if someone describes their proper good enough to me, I can design a layout of what I would do based on the layout and desires of the owner without stepping foot on the soil and this is what I would encourage to pay for if you must pay...especially if the person has to travel a long ways to you and it ups the cost. The nice thing is the overall layout can be tweeked and changed to fit the terrain and particular make up of a property only known or seen from walking...but the concept would be there and the landowner than can run with it as they see fit.
I would also consider joining membership sites...like Whitetail Ambush Secrets or others (refuse to plug my own) as these can be had for mere $5 to $20 dollars a month if not a lot less depending on the site and time of the year...much more bag for your buck than paying hundreds of hundreds of dollars to someone to come out.
Ty, I have little doubt it would be effective for many many people. My main focus of the thread is how does everyone feel about it? Does it take something away from you paying someone to tell you what to do, rather than figure it out on your own? How does paying for getting "trained" on how to set up your land effect your overall satisfaction of success? Do you get more satisfaction off knowing you did it all yourself I guess is what I am asking.
I wouldn't be afraid to go to an expert for advice. Sometimes paying for something up front is cheaper than trying to figure out on your own. Especially if your time is limited and you want to be sure it is done right. If you feel you would get more enjoyment out of doing it on your own you should do it yourself though. I personally wouldn't have any difference in enjoyment if I did it on my own or someone else helped me do it. With that said...on my dad's property we have just done stuff on our own. Talked to as many other people that have had success with planting certain things, etc and went from there. Wouldn't make me enjoy the changes less if someone else recommended changes whether they are paid for or not.
I don't make my own bow/arrows but still love shooting things with them... I wouldn't pay to have someone come in and show me how/where to hunt... But as far as how to manage the land itself? I could see it being beneficial. How/where to hinge cut, what/when to plant, augmenting natural food sources, etc. land management is a field many act like know it alls in because they have hunted somewhere 20 years. Just because you have been doing something consistently doesn't mean you are doing it in a way to maximize results..
Just a question to ponder. How close is going on a guided hunt where the guide picks your treestand location and tells you where to hunt vs. paying someone how to set up your land for hunting?
PHP: Learning yourself is the best way in my opinion, however hiring a consultant is nothing to be ashamed about. Personally I feel that if someone has a knowledge gap they should either fill it by doing research or having someone teach you. So either study land management or hire a consultant to set you on the right path, either option is acceptable. People can be intimidated by the shear volume of information available and will sometimes need to turn to professionals for help and I see no problem with that action.
I agree with the above post. It may take me a year or two, or cost me more than I wanted, but learning by my own mistakes and accomplishments are what make me better at whatever it may be. If I had someone that did this close to me I would definitely consider it however. A second set of eyes and opinions never hurts but to pay for it? Ehh I don't know.
I haven't and probably wouldn't pay someone. There is so much information out there right now that I don't see the need. I would rather use my own judgment, make applications and changes then measure the success or lack there of ... I don't see how an " expert" would or could claim to to do it differently. Furthermore unless the person is used several times over a span of both seasons and years....I would really question how it can be more useful then consistent direct observation and reassessment.
I can't see myself ever paying someone to simply look at an aerial map and tell me what to do. However I could very well see hiring a local habitat improvement specialist/arborist/forester to come in and provide both advise and services on improving property that I owned. People who do this for a living, in your area, and have seen things may times over can often provide invaluable advice on what works, what doesn't work, and the best ways to do (or not to do) something. There are times when hiring a professional pays off and I can see this being one of them.
I work as a private lands wildlife biologist with Pheasants Forever. I work with private landowners to develop their properties for their own specific wildlife goals in mind. I am based out of an NRCS office and all of my consultations are for FREE! I will meet with a landowner on his property if he/she would like and talk about what kinds of wildlife and habitat features they would like to see improved on their land. Again, all of the technical assistance that my position offers is for FREE! These are trained wildlife professionals with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a natural resource related field. There are positions like mine all over the country and all it takes is a phone call. I can say from my own personal experience that meeting with a landowner with specific wildlife goals in mind makes my job MUCH easier than convincing producers to try and plant habitat for wildlife. Also, remember that although my position is supported mainly through Pheasants Forever, pheasants are not the only projects my position works on. I would suggest to anyone looking to improve wildlife habitat on their land to visit the PF website: pheasantsforever.org and look under "field staff" to find the farm bill wildlife biologist in your specific state and region. Hope this helps! Also, I cover the state of Wyoming if there are any interested parties in my region I encourage them to look me up and give me a shout!
This. I think forestry and habitat consultants that can advise you on cost share programs, tax incentives, etc, are worth it. Many regional and state agencies may also be able to supply you with resources for equipment usage as well. So I can see that being valuable. While I don't think there is anything wrong with hiring a manager, I'm a DIY kind of guy, and would rather see it through on my own even if it takes longer. There was an episode on Growing Deer Tv a while back where Dr. Grant Woods was touring and consulting on some farms. Granted, you only got snippets from each farm to fit into the short time frame, but it wasn't anything you couldn't figure out with the wealth of information available online these days. Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Not close at all. Maybe if a guy pays for someone to evaluate maps and suggest stand sites it could be close to a guided hunt (still not very close as you still do all work yourself year round vs paying to show up for a 7 day window and hunt only)... If that was considered similar, it still doesn't carry over to hiring land management specialists for forestry/planting/cover/water advice. Many guys waste THOUSANDS by attempting these projects themselves clueless of the process for the most part. Especially logging. There is big money in a healthy stand of timber, and it can be ruined by cutting it wrong or at the wrong time. The advice from a specialist is invaluable here. Same with planting. Sure a guy can go plant just about anything. But getting proper soil samples, lime/fertilize needs, best crop for area soils, best thing to plant for early, mid, and late season food sources. Shapes of plots when initially clearing them out, and more importantly location of said plots. Anybody can go out and doze off an area, spread seed and grow a plot. Anybody can cut/log an area to create thick bedding cover. With the advice of a land specialist, you can often IMPROVE the value of the property in the process and achieve much better results for deer herd health/hunting season sightings. The intriguing part of eventually owning land to me is managing it to the best way possible. To half a** it and go in blind on my own would reduce the satisfaction for me.
I know a few people that do this exact service and I wouldn't have a problem having them come out and give me some ideas. Aren't most members here looking to pick up advice from others that would work for them, I know I do. If you can have some one come out and point out better ways to manage your land and give you ideas on hinge cutting, pond and food plot placement that would improve not only your hunting but your whitetail habitat, why not. Now I wouldn't go as far as some people go, One of my buddies plants food plots, hangs stands, sets trail cameras, cuts trees puts everything on a I pad and sets it up to tell them what stands would work best for a certain wind.
If someone comes out and helps set up a plan and demonstrates some techniques etc and you do the grunt work over the next 4 to 5 years. Why on earth would you feel you have not accomplished something truly special? It's always my goal to leave my land in better shape than when I bought it. If I ask a pro for help with this it does not diminish anything in my opinion.
So why am I coming out haha! *If old man winter doesn't break who knows it could be hunting season before I make it up there though.
You are coming out to shorten the learning curve and educate me. Sorry i see no shame in learning. It has been my dream to create the parcel you are coming to look at into something truly special. There is not a doubt in my mind that process is closer than ever.
Not sure if I'd consider it "paying", but we had a logging project on the family property in PA several years ago. The guy we hired to coordinate the project, survey, and bid the logging out was a retired game biologist. He surveyed the property, made recommendations on where to put bedding cover, had the loggers create the bedding cover as part of their project, and he also made recommendations on doe kill quotas for us. I'm not sure I'd hire someone to do it seperately, but if I were able to find someone to do this again while coordinating a logging project I would do it all over again. It worked quite well for us, I stuck with it for roughly 5 years before I got tired of trespassers and the 4 hour drive each way.
