Buckmaster
Senior Member
Corey,
Just wondered....
Will these deer and properties be available for your clients to hunt?
After last year's "heat" you may consider to place your needs aside for the development and namesake of the business.
Your thoughts and goals for 2013?
Just wondered....
Will these deer and properties be available for your clients to hunt?
After last year's "heat" you may consider to place your needs aside for the development and namesake of the business.
Your thoughts and goals for 2013?
- 39,188
- 274
Shovels:
What did you come up with scoring his rack from last year Corey? Did you find his sheds? Based on my figures he prolly grossed 140-142 last year and doesn't look like he'll score much more this year,IMO. Love his character points at his bases though. If he makes it thru next year he'll hopefully gain a lot more by becoming a 6x6 and maybe add some serious NT points.
Still both are very nice bucks!
Fwiw, also IMO, he did put on alittle more mass and some extra spread but those will be negated when deducting his stickers prolly if your into nets...although I'm not.lol:smiley_bril:
I looked and looked for sheds on this farm but never found any. I never gave him a look last year, figured he was a 140 class buck and moved on. This year, he is a 6x6 with 20" spread, some abnormals and good mass. I think he is in the mid 160's and hope to know in a few months.
My goals for 2013 are the same with hopes to get a couple guided harvest under my belt. Then, honestly I will prob close the doors on Booner's Acres as a guide service. I'm thinking of going to a hunting club next year and seeing if I can get a couple local or even out of state guys to buy into the club. That way I have the income for improving properties and buying stands, but not the responsibility of actually guiding. It is actually very stressful to guide hunters, something I was not expecting.
I would like to add though, that I tell every client up front when potentially booking with Booner's Acres that they will be hunting with me. Hunting the same deer I will hunt. I will give them full access and first pick on tree stands every time but where the chips fall is where they fall. Last year I never even hunted my best buck or sat in any pre-hung tree stands until the paying hunters hunted them. I may catch heat from some AT arm chair quarterbacks but I run a very fair and honest business.
Good luck whichever direction you go. Hunting club, guide service, whatever. . . .I am sure it is not easy. You can never keep everyone happy. There will always be naysayers. I hear it all the time at shows. "Why don't you sell me that stand for $xx?" Me: Umm, because that is $10 below my cost.
My wife bought me a guided hunt once. It was an awesome gesture. Felt great just to get away and have a week to relax in a tree stand. The does were everywhere along with young bucks. The guide? I wasn't real impressed. I would say it is a full time job attempting to get hunters onto the bucks. In my opinion his mind was elsewhere and he was clinging onto night time trail cam pictures from early summer. There was probably one buck 110-120" I saw that week. He was in bow range but I wasn't interested. Didn't meet his qualifications anyway. My point? If you are going to do it, you need to be 100% vested, so I can see where it would be stressful for you. It is stressful for many guys just to hunt deer for themselves let alone attempting to put hunters of varying skill levels onto good bucks.
My wife bought me a guided hunt once. It was an awesome gesture. Felt great just to get away and have a week to relax in a tree stand. The does were everywhere along with young bucks. The guide? I wasn't real impressed. I would say it is a full time job attempting to get hunters onto the bucks. In my opinion his mind was elsewhere and he was clinging onto night time trail cam pictures from early summer. There was probably one buck 110-120" I saw that week. He was in bow range but I wasn't interested. Didn't meet his qualifications anyway. My point? If you are going to do it, you need to be 100% vested, so I can see where it would be stressful for you. It is stressful for many guys just to hunt deer for themselves let alone attempting to put hunters of varying skill levels onto good bucks.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Corey,
FWIW...at my camp we have 10 paid members sort of say. It's ten guys including myself. Each throws $ 100 into the camp kittie each fall. I keep that in a separate checking account. It enables me to keep up with food plots and replace a few tree stands and/or ground blinds each year for our group. I maintain 17 stands. It helps a little. The additional expenses come out of my pocket. We also ask that each member put in at least two work days per year. Most do, if not they pay an extra $ 50 per day missed. It's all a gentleman's agreement. If looked at from a non-landowners perspective $ 100.00 per year and two work (or beer drinking days) is a decent trade off for the season. I'm not seeking income here but that's how my camp operates.
BM
FWIW...at my camp we have 10 paid members sort of say. It's ten guys including myself. Each throws $ 100 into the camp kittie each fall. I keep that in a separate checking account. It enables me to keep up with food plots and replace a few tree stands and/or ground blinds each year for our group. I maintain 17 stands. It helps a little. The additional expenses come out of my pocket. We also ask that each member put in at least two work days per year. Most do, if not they pay an extra $ 50 per day missed. It's all a gentleman's agreement. If looked at from a non-landowners perspective $ 100.00 per year and two work (or beer drinking days) is a decent trade off for the season. I'm not seeking income here but that's how my camp operates.
BM
Fullbore
Senior Member
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Almost 200 firmly for deer and turks. Upwards of 3,700 on small game (club owned property).
Our management plan is to take 14 does per year based on the current herd. We have high deer density in our area.
The bucks fall as they as they may but we have a 4 point on one side restriction and they should be wider than their ears.
This is year #4 in terms of the antler restriction and our neighbors seem to have followed similar rules. I really saw a difference in buck quality last year.
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