Rockville Indiana property visit - NOT MINE

[j-bird]

I am simply trying to spread the word about a property visit that is scheduled for March 14 in the Rockville, IN area. Andy Hayes (hayesan on QDMA forum) is putting it on and is a QDMA member and is a good guy. He manages a 63 acres parcel under the guidance of Jim Ward. I went last year and will try to attend this year to see his progress.

If anyone is interested please contact Andy via his website. I know we try not to promote links and the like, but I think this could be really worthwhile - especially for anyone just getting into habitat improvements. If it wasn't for the property tour I would not list the link below. FYI - I have Andy's permission to spread the word about this and he welcomes anyone interested. When I attend last year there was not a big "sales pitch" for QDMA so don't let that stop you from attending.

If the mods feel this is inappropriate please remove - it is not my intention to create issues, just trying to spread the message and knowledge of habitat management.

http://www.allthingswhitetail.com/

 

[MoBuckChaser]

If Dipper goes, I will go!;)

 

[Jeff23]

^^^^^^^If those two go, I think I may drive there just to watch the fireworks!

 

[sandbur]

Please give us an update after the tour.

These land tours have been very useful to me. Lots of great people and good information.

 

[j-bird]

I know your just having fun.... damn trouble makers;)

 

[bat man]

There must be a whole slew of guys with more $$$ then time to hire the next deer "guru" for 63 acres. These guys are great salesmen. I luv Merka.

Can be money well spent in my eyes. All of these gurus have a certain level of been there done that many of us do not. 30 years of hindsight, you may be able to come up with more than one thing that could have been prevented that was worth some coin.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

You've been on the same property for what...35+ years? In that amount of time you get the fine tuning down pretty well.

it also helps when there is a mature buck behind every tree....and every tree has a stand in it...lol. couldnt resist. i always get a chuckle of NoFo's tree stand count! BTW..this was not meant to be offensive or insulting to NoFo....just breaking some stones!

 

[foggy]

I dunno. Seems to me there has never been so much property management as has taken place in the last 20 years.......yet the deer number are going down. What does that say for our efforts?

Anyone from this site that goes to the Indiana land tour......tell them QDMA still does not have any club in Pequot Lakes MN and they organization has had no representation here - ever! ;)

If Dipper and Mo Buck go......I may fly up from Phoenix to watch and provide a MN report. ;)


(^absolutely nothing meaningful has been posted here :) )

 

[j-bird]

I know Andy uses Jim Ward and Jim does a lot of the work himself - mostly with a chainsaw. I don't know Andy's particular situation, I wouldn't say he has money to burn. I know if I had went a professional route in the beginning I would have saved me a lot of frustration and time. I know I screwed myself early on and jumped into plotting and that was probably the last thing I should have done. Only once I started increasing and improving cover did I see significant improvement. More than likely a pro would have seen what I didn't and saved me some time.

 

[bat man]

I know I screwed myself early on and jumped into plotting and that was probably the last thing I should have done. Only once I started increasing and improving cover did I see significant improvement. More than likely a pro would have seen what I didn't and saved me some time.

My first plot took about 8 days and a $1,200 trip to ER to stitch up. That plot now sits abandoned because I could not access it without bumping deer. $500 is a great starting point and a good way to avoid the school of hard knocks. (at least part of it).

Most would be money ahead to skip one year of plots and hire somebody to get them pointed in the right direction.

 

[bat man]

My point is I would rather have a few guys from here do a land tour and give ideas vs. dropping $1k and get a pretty 5 page report. There is a niche as some guys lack time/knowledge.

Not ripping you in the least November. You are the envy of a lot of guys here who would gladly trade spots. You have great locale and experience. Been there and done that right and wrong.

Time flies by and it sucks to look back 3, 5, 10 years and realize where you could be "had I known that then"

 

[j-bird]

I can see where a pro or someone with experience could be VERY valuable to a "rookie" especially in the early phases. Many folks relied on a senior mentor in our hunting development - why not the same for our habitat development? When I got started I didn't have the network of folks I have now. I can't imagine where I would be if I had the advice of someone like Steve B at my disposal a decade ago!!! The whole reason many of us frequent sites like this is to learn something new or help get that momentum to try something new or different.

 

[j-bird]

I was told once, " It is best to be assumed a fool and remain silent, then to open ones mouth and remove all doubt!"

 

[tooln]

Everyone has different levels of experiance & incomes. If my income would support it I would consider having a consultant look over my 40. But I don't so I won't. Is my food plot or are my stands in the best spots, maybe not. But I have set them where I figured it be best for the layout I have. I've thought about giving a tour like Foggy did. But how many would travel just to walk a 40. The long and short of it is to each their own.