Steve Bartylla in NAW

[sandbur]

I'm not a fan of NAW, but they offered me a $5 subscription.
Steve has a great article on setting up your property. Evidently it is the last of a series.
page 18,Spring, 2015.
He offers 2 examples of setting the same piece of property up for two trophy hunting brothers and also setting it up for a family with kids to hunt.

Thank you, Steve, for the emphasis on keeping the whole project fun and for adding the information on setting it up for a family.

 

[bryant]

What a jackleg. Did you read the whole article? Not once did he mention putting the yeller deer crossin sign by yer favorite stands. How they s'pose ta know wher they is ta cross if'n ya don't put da signs up fer 'em?

 

[Rally1148]

Who is this Stephen Bartyllia character? Is he some sort of deer property magician? :)

 

[bryant]

You going to call your managin school Buckworts?

Good article btw

 

[Steve Bartylla]

hahaha....thanks, guys. I'm afraid I'd missed this thread.

Art, you are welcome, but no need to thank me. About half my clients may be more like "the 2 brothers," but they make up the minority, by far. Most out there trying to improve their grounds for hunting are far more like the "family with kids." For some odd reason, most everything just seems to be catered to "the 2 brothers," with their deep pockets and quest for nothing more than producing the best big buck hunting for themselves that they possibly can. OK, I know the reason..."The brothers" tend to be the low hanging fruit/easier marks for those trying to make $$$$$$ in this niche, whether it's consulting or selling them seed/products. Still, the "families" make up the overwhelming majority. It'd have been foolish for me to ignore them in that piece.

 

[sandbur]

Steve-food for thought or for another article....

Use the same piece of property as a wood lot in ag country, and explain how it would be set up for the brothers and for a family.

 

[Rally1148]

Steve-food for thought or for another article....

Use the same piece of property as a wood lot in ag country, and explain how it would be set up for the brothers and for a family.

Although my property is pretty diverse (hardwood ridge, a waterhole, swamps with alder and tamarack, sandy pine and spruces) I'm more of a "woodlot". While my neighbor has 200+ acres and can put in 5-10 in food plots within his woods, I'm more worried about putting in half an acre within my 20 acres because I'm within a few hundred yards of 2 ag fields. It's definitely a different ballgame.

 

[Rally1148]

I should also mention, Steve, that I've found your articles and books extremely helpful. I've read a few different authors, but I'd say that you and Jeff Sturgis (most likely one of your midwest competitors) are two of the best that I've read. I think that your writing really helps a small property owner because it doesn't just focus on bedding or food, but rather the travel patterns, or ways to make the deer travel, so that they are huntable.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

Thanks, Rally, and glad they're been helpful. Truth be told, I don't see anyone as a competitor. It's not that I see myself as being better than everyone else. It's just that, as an editor told me about 20 years back, none of us have competition because no one else has the same experiences we do. He argued that the best out there are doing nothing more than sharing their experiences, both successes and failure, allowing others to learn from them. No one can compete with me on the mistakes I've made and what they can teach others.

I've sort of, kind of already addressed the suggestions above. In either the next issue or issue after of NAW, I generate plans for 4 small properties, ranging from I think 10-60 acres. I do one as a transition zone, one as a feeding grounds, another as a bedding grounds and the forth as trying to address all the deer's needs. In each case, I randomly selected properties that fit best into one of those designs, in an attempt to help readers determine what their grounds are best suited for/what they can do to improve on their specific situations. To improve grounds for hunting, you really don't have to try to make the ground offer deer everything they want and need. Particularly for the smaller properties, one is often better off figuring out what the property can realistically provide, tie that in with what neighboring grounds offer/don't offer and do one's best to take advantage of filling that gap. I tried to address that with the 4 plans in that upcoming article.