I hired Tony

[Ed Spin04]

Read the thread on Tony Lapratt and hoped to add my experience with Tony. Alas it was closed so here is my story.

I was the first person to hire Tony and that was in 1995 for a full day at my place in Clare County. His price then was $950. After tony left I said to my wife, "Pat I thought I knew a lot about deer, their movement patterns, their habitat needs and what does it take to keep them on your land, (a critical factor for successs). I just learned today how little I really knew, and that $950 was cheap at half the price".

I have kept a relationship with Tony since that time and noted something differant about his presentations lately than the ones I attended in 1995.

Tony and his friend Chris Pearson came to my farm last year. Tony said he had an off day and could he work on my habitat.

Well why not, would Tony really create a buck bed for me, (this was one of the differant items in Tonys presentations, that wasn't there in 1995). I watched tony and Chris at work creating both buck and doe family beds. The next week My son Steve and I created one doe family bed and several buck beds. Tonys creation worked and mine didn't except for one buck bed that was close to my sons firearm blind.

At 7:30 AM November 15th last year Steve saw a nice 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer stand next to this bed and enter it. Steve and I stayed in our blind all day. At 5:30 PM this buck emerged from this bed stood in the shooting lane for a minute or two and proceeded to walk directly under Steves elevated blind.

Last week at the Grand Rapids Huntin Time Expo I booked two days in April with tony to be at this same piece of property, which was Tonys first attempt of habitat management for a living in 1995. If you see Tony this weekend at the Deer Spectacular in Lansing ask him who his customer is for April 18 and 19th.

Tony is the real deal and I do not know a single person that has Tonys skills and knowledge. By the way tony has a chapter in my new book, "Ultimate Deer Food Plots" on this very sibject. Tony told me that he gave away too much knowledge in his chapter, too late now tony.

[deputy]

Hey there Ed.

It never ever suprises me how much one can learn in this buisness.

I have learned a lot over the years from You, Tony and of course growing up with Fred and Greg.... it always seams you guys are thinking and staying on top of the game.. it is always a pleasure to sit and chat you ,tony at these shows and pic brains.... i think i have to come help you with your deer managment.... on that note i cant wait to see what next from you guys.

[ZeeK]

How do you create buck and doe bedding areas?? I am guessing a sanctuary on your land you dont go thru all year is the same as this??

[Munsterlndr]

How do you create buck and doe bedding areas??

Hire tony and he'll show you. :lol:

[davidshane]

I can see where in the near future we will be having more conversations on this topic. Maybe we will have a forum just for creating beds, sancuaries, etc.; something off the food plot topics. And I do not mean that as a joke.

I have only a small piece of land and have gone the food plot way. Though I do feel that it did improve my hunting, I want more. I do plan to create more bedding this year and want to create an enviroment where deer will feel more at ease in the fields.

I wish I could afford to hire a guy like Tony, I think that he could make a big difference on my place. I have already sent away for the new book. Here's to hoping he really did talk a little too much.:lol:

[deputy]

I have created some by getting my chain saw out and falling several trees in and area that the deer travel through on there way to food source

i have falled the trees let them lay near heavy brushed in area's that deer travel and given them mineral licks and the likes to use it more and then left it alone

[victor mi pro bowhunter]

i read i hired tony before i went to the thread and thout you ment this tony got scared was going to ask what you did that for
http://www.geocities.com/smoothjazzandmore/sopranos.jpg

[Liv4Huntin']

Over the years, Tony has put in endless hours and foot-miles learning what he's learned, and now is his time to keep on 'earnin' from the learnin'... I say great for him... and for all of us that are learning from him. We hired him as well, for a day in May, and you can bet his 'secrets' that we're paying him for to give pointers on 'improvements' on our land will remain his secrets. He's earned his position. :) I can't wait to begin the 'improvements'!!! His seminars are well worth attending. Catch him in Lansing....you'll not be disappointed. (And NO, I'm not paid to say this!!) By the way, Ed, enjoyed your seminar, too! And can't wait for the book to arrive.
~ m ~

[mike hartges]

I met Tony at the Deer Spectacular in Lansing quite a few years ago. He had a booth set up and he was getting hunters signed up to attend his Boot Camp. I thought"no way am I going to pay anybody to teach me to become a better deer hunter". Several years went by and Tony continued to shoot big bucks and I continued to be frustrated. Finally I called Tony and met up with him at his house which is only 20 minutes from my hunting property. We spent the afternoon together talking deer hunting and he showed me a couple of his hunting properties.I hired Tony to come to my property and give me some pointers on hunting for mature bucks. I had already been working on habitat improvements for 9 years and Tony said that my property was well on it's way to becoming a good deer hunting spot. Tony gave me some habitat suggestions but the main reason I had him out was to pick his brain regarding successful hunting of mature bucks. Tony gave me the lowdown on the big boys and that fall I harvested my first trophy buck. Now, several big bucks later, I'm happy to recommend Tony's services to anybody that wants to become a better hunter. I also attended Tony's 2 day Trophy buck hunting seminar. One of my neighbors also attended the seminar with me so we're both on the same page as far as hunting goes. I highly recommend Tony to anybody that has the desire to become a better deer hunter. He is the real deal.

[hunterrep]

I graduated from High School with Tony and still live about 10 miles from his 52 acre farm. Tony, admittedly, wasn't the best student in HS only because I think he had deer hunting on the brain all the time. After talking to him at the Huntin show in GR, a buddy of mine and I booked him to do our farms on March 2nd. The farms are beside each other and only total 110 acres. I don't want to speak for Tony and I don't know if he would always do two farms in one but we are looking at them as one piece of hunting ground so he agreed to do this. The moral is, get some help with the $$$. If you have people hunting with you on your property, get them to pony up some dough and help. Find a way to get him out there and help your hunting. I am convinced at this point strictly by comments from other people like Ed, that Tony is the real deal. I can't wait to see his work. And no way should anybody expect to get his info. for free. As much as we spend on hunting and land, this is a cheap investment.
BTW, I really enjoyed your seminar also Ed and look forward to getting your new book which I ordered at the show.

[Swamp Ghost]

Tony is the real deal. He is as close to a modern day "mountain man" as you can get, he thinks like a deer. Some of the things he has shown me I would have never thought of in a million years, very simple, very subtle things that make a world of difference in your success.

A day or two with him on your property will improve your hunting, guaranteed.

Edit:
OMG, I just read UPtracker's post and about fell out of my chair............http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127130

You must live in a bubble, here is a suggestion: Go out and spend about $1200 on seedlings and seed and conduct your own research and preference studies and after about 5 years you should have a pretty good idea of what works.

[Swamp Monster]

I went to a couple of his seminars a few years back....by far the most informative seminars on hunting big deer I have been to. I would hire him in a minute...and I might for the property in Mecosta, just not sure what direction I want to go with on that parcel yet. I didn't read the other thread that was mentioned, but I agree with the others here, Tony's the real deal.

[Swamp Ghost]

added shortcut to my above post

[farmlegend]

Advice is like so many things in life: you get what you pay for.

I've known several fellas who have hired Tony for his land management consulting services, and have attended his "boot camp". Not a one was unhappy. All of the feedback I've heard has been positive.

http://tonysulm.com/

[Sib]

I think one of the biggest mistakes one can make in life is to come to the conclusion that they've learned all there is to learn.

Most people in Michigan are not going to use a paid consultant, but that says nothing about the service provided, or the value of that service. Only those that have used the service are qualified to comment on the value of that service. Like others, the second hand accounts I have heard are positive.

[walleyechaser]

Swamp Ghost,
I too read UPtracker's post and almost literaly broke my stitches (Had surgery a couple of days ago) LMAO.
I'm sorry to say that he just reaffirmed that Common Sense is Not a Common Commodity!
At the risk of stearing him in the right direction I'd suggest that he talk to his wife about why she rearranges the living room and bedroom furniture every so often. She's probably not "buying" anything new----only rearranging things that already exist to make it more inviting, maybe adding a little something here and there!
Enough said.
As for Tony, his reputation speaks for itself.

[Tedd]

I have found in business, that confronted with a difficult challenge you sometimes are forced to bring in an "expert". What constitutes an expert? Basically, it's a stranger in a blue suit, with a briefcase, and who lives more than 50 miles away! Do they have all the knowlege? No. But they "might" have that one kernel of knowledge that you don't have. So, you have a choice: Go it alone using your own intuitive trial and error or, pay the expert. If you go the the former, you will save money and lose time--perhaps a decade or two (think about it from that perspective). If you go the latter route, you spend money and you save time. And, as as added bonus, you get the results that you desire during your lifetime!

Now, as for a "consultant"; that's an entirely different matter. I've found that a consultant is merely somebody who wants to talk about his old job. Since Tony's vocation appears also to be his avocation, I don't think he falls into that category.

As for the person who wanted free advice; Knowledge aint cheap. Either buy the book in paperback and start experimenting or, hire an expert.

[davidshane]

Does Tony normally take a lot of time getting quotes to people? I requested a quote through his website last year and again two weeks ago. As of yet, I have not received a responce. I'm sure that he is busy, but I would hope that a request throygh his web-site would be answered at some point.

Just curious as to what normally takes place?

[Live2Hunt]

Took him a little over a week to get mine.

[Swamp Ghost]

517-238-4566

Give him a call....

[Antrim-hunter]

How do you create buck and doe bedding areas?? I am guessing a sanctuary on your land you dont go thru all year is the same as this??

Just sent you an email Zeek. I would be more than happy to help.

nmichwg@localnet.com

[rmw]

Well after talking to Ed and Tony at Birch Run I also decided to hire Tony . So far I have heard nothing but good things . Last yr I picked up Ed's food plot book and ordered some seed from him . Everyone that saw it was impressed . At first they thought I was nuts thinking I was going to plant a notill plot in the middle of the woods . Thanks Ed you have really helped my hunting and given me a new hobby . Hopefully Tony will be able to help me kick it up another notch . I am going to try to post some food plot picks but have never posted pics at this board so we'll see how it comes out. can I attach pics to this ? or do I have to put them in a album ?

[rmw]

I just posted some pics of some plots that had Ed's Mi ultimate blend . I didn't take any pics in late summer/early fall so they really don't do it justice . That stuff was at least 3 1/2 foot tall . I'll be placing another order soon for frost seeding . The pics are in the photo gallery "only way I could figure out how to post them"

[Luv2hunteup]

Welcome to the site rmw. Nice pictures, it looks as if we have someone else who's addicted to plotting. :dizzy:

[rmw]

Right now I have about 5.5 acres planted on 57 but I plan to keep chipping away at it :evilsmile