I am 54 years old and started hunting at the age of 6 with my father and grandfathers. My brothers and I started shooting BB guns taking down sparrow and black birds in the barn. Next we learned to pursue rabbits, squirrels, quail and pheasants by day and raccoons by night. At the age of ten, I finally proved I was ready for deer hunting and I harvested my first deer. From that day forward, I was obsessed with whitetail deer and wanted to learn as much as I possibly could about the species.
During my high school years, I enjoyed sports and competition. After high school my competitive nature led me to compete in outdoor sports. I trained coon hounds that qualified to compete in world hunts. I fished pro-am bass tournaments. In 1990, I finished first out of 193 in the amateur bass circuit winning the title for Mr. Bass. As time went by my passion for whitetail deer grew stronger so I turned my attention fully on them and set aside my other hobbies.
During my high school years, I enjoyed sports and competition. After high school my competitive nature led me to compete in outdoor sports. I trained coon hounds that qualified to compete in world hunts. I fished pro-am bass tournaments. In 1990, I finished first out of 193 in the amateur bass circuit winning the title for Mr. Bass. As time went by my passion for whitetail deer grew stronger so I turned my attention fully on them and set aside my other hobbies.
In the 1990's my wife and I bought 3 - one day old buck fawns. We bottle fed them and raised them for 8 1/2 years. During that time, the hours I spent studying and researching these magnificent animals taught me more than you could ever learn in a lifetime in the wild. We planted different varieties of plants that we picked and hand fed to the bucks to see when given the choice what they like the most. We also tested several minerals at that time. I used this knowledge that I gained in my food plots and tested it again in the wild. I currently plant 20-35 acres in the spring and 10-15 acres in fall food plots and test plots.
In I met Don Higgins when he came to write an article about my family and our love for the deer hunting. We became good friends and realized we share the same passion and obsession for whitetails. We were amazed as we compared our notes from our research and studies at how similar our results were. At that point I still had a few questions and the only way to answer them was to take plant tissue samples and send them to a laboratory to be analyzed for nutrients found in the plants and their feed value. After testing thousands of plants I have found answers for some of those questions. My years of research and side by side testing I have done and continue to do is what helped set me apart from most other land consultants. The nutrition in the plants that your animal’s will consume will play a huge part on if the deer or other animals stay on your farm or go feed on your neighbors farm. My knowledge of the plants and tissue samples and side by side testing of products has given me the edge to help my clients were others can’t. This will also help make sure the deer on their property can reach their full potential. With well over 3 & ½ decades of research & testing is what helped gained me the knowledge for me to help start up Real World Wildlife Products and be the President and co-owner for over 10 years and was a huge part of Real World success. I have recently sold my part of the Real World business to put more time and effort to my Elite Land Consulting and to offer a more one on one with my clients on their properties. Over the last few years my boots have been on some of the top people in the outdoor industry's properties to offer some of my ideas and thoughts from my years of research and testing or just to sit down and share research data with them on plant tissue samples and hunting stories. Even though today I get to walk and consult on some amazing properties I stay grounded as to my first 40 acre farm where I cut my first 20’ x 30’ food plot with grandpa’s tiller back in the woods. What I learned on that 40 acres with about 20 of it being set up for hunting is what gave me the edge of being able to help make a difference in your success on your property be it 20 acres or 200+ acres.
In I met Don Higgins when he came to write an article about my family and our love for the deer hunting. We became good friends and realized we share the same passion and obsession for whitetails. We were amazed as we compared our notes from our research and studies at how similar our results were. At that point I still had a few questions and the only way to answer them was to take plant tissue samples and send them to a laboratory to be analyzed for nutrients found in the plants and their feed value. After testing thousands of plants I have found answers for some of those questions. My years of research and side by side testing I have done and continue to do is what helped set me apart from most other land consultants. The nutrition in the plants that your animal’s will consume will play a huge part on if the deer or other animals stay on your farm or go feed on your neighbors farm. My knowledge of the plants and tissue samples and side by side testing of products has given me the edge to help my clients were others can’t. This will also help make sure the deer on their property can reach their full potential. With well over 3 & ½ decades of research & testing is what helped gained me the knowledge for me to help start up Real World Wildlife Products and be the President and co-owner for over 10 years and was a huge part of Real World success. I have recently sold my part of the Real World business to put more time and effort to my Elite Land Consulting and to offer a more one on one with my clients on their properties. Over the last few years my boots have been on some of the top people in the outdoor industry's properties to offer some of my ideas and thoughts from my years of research and testing or just to sit down and share research data with them on plant tissue samples and hunting stories. Even though today I get to walk and consult on some amazing properties I stay grounded as to my first 40 acre farm where I cut my first 20’ x 30’ food plot with grandpa’s tiller back in the woods. What I learned on that 40 acres with about 20 of it being set up for hunting is what gave me the edge of being able to help make a difference in your success on your property be it 20 acres or 200+ acres.
I began videotaping wildlife and my hunts in the early 1990's. I have filmed my hunts and hunt for others for a couple TV shows in the past. I never go to the woods without my video camera and I currently run over 50 trail cameras to capture footage when I cannot be there.
To date my best 28 bucks harvested average 154" in score. My biggest achievement was matching wits with a 7 & 1/2 year old triple beamed buck. Although he is not a 200 inch deer, he gave me the best challenge so far. Each year I used my trail cameras to inventory the bucks on my farms and only target 2 or 3 bucks that I would like to harvest
To date my best 28 bucks harvested average 154" in score. My biggest achievement was matching wits with a 7 & 1/2 year old triple beamed buck. Although he is not a 200 inch deer, he gave me the best challenge so far. Each year I used my trail cameras to inventory the bucks on my farms and only target 2 or 3 bucks that I would like to harvest
I have come to enjoy taking young kids on their first hunts and filming them for their families to enjoy. I also spend a lot of hours filming for my brother and my friends. Now that my daughter has taken an interest in hunting some of my favorite time is spent in the woods with her.
All of this does not make me an expert, but it has given me the knowledge and skills to design and set up quality hunting properties in the area that I will cover. I feel that my hunting results speak for themselves, my research and testing is what no other consultant can offer, and this is what has set me apart from all of the rest. I have done land consultations from Wisconsin to Tennessee and from Kansas to West Virginia and all of the states in between. These are the states where I know I can make the biggest impact and do a quality job. I am not like others that will travel to states I am not as familiar with to do land consultations. I will only work where I am competent so my clients are satisfied.
Consultations are available between the months of December-April. They need to be completed before May 1st when things green up and visibility of trails and rubs are cut down.
Contact me to book your consultation for the coming year. Consultation will be scheduled by first come first serve basis at a limited number.
All of this does not make me an expert, but it has given me the knowledge and skills to design and set up quality hunting properties in the area that I will cover. I feel that my hunting results speak for themselves, my research and testing is what no other consultant can offer, and this is what has set me apart from all of the rest. I have done land consultations from Wisconsin to Tennessee and from Kansas to West Virginia and all of the states in between. These are the states where I know I can make the biggest impact and do a quality job. I am not like others that will travel to states I am not as familiar with to do land consultations. I will only work where I am competent so my clients are satisfied.
Consultations are available between the months of December-April. They need to be completed before May 1st when things green up and visibility of trails and rubs are cut down.
Contact me to book your consultation for the coming year. Consultation will be scheduled by first come first serve basis at a limited number.
