Who has gone to bootcamp or had tony out

Brown,
I went to the camp 3 weeks ago. I was real hesitant in the past due to the price. ( have seen Tony a few times at the Madison Show but was turned off because of the price.) I finally let my Brother in law talk me into going.

After the Seminar, I have a whole different attitude. I learned much more in the weekend with Tony than I would have ever imagined (after 41 years of my hunting experience).

For those of you thinking about it but "you can't afford it", take some advice...don't spend the money on the fancy new game camera etc. Use it to go to Tony's camp and you will benefit more by learning Tony's common sense (and sometimes seemingly whacked) concepts. Once you understand it and start to apply it, you will see what many of us have learned.

The only negative I have from the trip is the size of my To Do list but I am exited every day I get into the woods and work on the list.

 

I had him out to my farm last spring and have seen positive results. I think it was money well spent and would do it again. I am still a few years away from having my property set up the way I want, but I have seen results with what we have done so far.

Tony was nice enough to take me and my hunting partner over to his place after he walked my property and gave us advice on how to set it up. I guess I got a mini boot camp too.

I am guessing I passed up 20 or so bucks last year. We had 5 deer that we consided shooters last year in the area. We shot two of them and have either post season trailcam pics and/or sheds of the other 3. Another nice one showed up in late gun season.

I have 80 acres and am surrounded by parcels of 40 acres, 40 acres, 100 acres, 40 acres, 80 acres, 100 acres, and 60 acres. All of these surrounding parcels are hunted.

Actually just got home from working on some bedding areas.

 

Going into my fourth year of not paying myself! At this point, if it's not an absolute necessity it doesn't get purchased. Eventually I'll take advantage of his services but for now it's just not in the cards. What really sucks is that I'm scheduled to do some timber management through a federal program and I'm nervous that I'm going to screw it up somehow. I've bookmarked the buck bedding thread and will be printing it out before I fire up the chainsaw.

 

MY bad. I mesread CBM's comment.

 

I would pay very close attention to Chevy's post before firing up the chainsaw. The buck bedding is only a small piece of the picture, with doe bedding areas being even more critical, and their position with respect to travel corridors, food sources, and the like. Controlling the position and movement of the females directly dictates where the males will be come estrus time. Most of the bedding posts focus too much on bucks when they should be focused on does, and the criteria for a buck bed and doe bed are completely different. It is very probable that some of the timber management plan may actually be contrary to the needs of the deer habitat. Very, very expensive mistakes, running into thousands of dollars of indirect costs could be suffered if wrong decisions are made.

You don't want to blow your engine up because you want to save on the cost of oil.

 

I just left the woods with Tony and my hunting partner. He is helping us set up my property and had a couple hours to give us. He is now getting ready for a bootcamp this weekend.
Tony told me this morning that there will be an article in Deer and Deer Hunting magazine next month written by Dave Henderson(I think that is his name). After much prodding by D&DH, Tony agreed to let them come to his camp but only after signing a legal document to not divulge his secrets in print. After proof reading the article, Tony told me he couldn't have paid somebody a million dollars to write that article. Dave has written many books and articles on whitetails and Tony said that after the first hour, Dave told him he learned more than he already knew about whitetails(pretty bold statement). Actually Dave said that after hearing it, he knew it, but never put it together like Tony has an uncanny ability to do.
Read the article and decide for yourself if he is worth the $$$.
I hired Tony 5 years ago and have since spent many days in the field with him on my farms, my partners farms, and on his properties. He completely changed the way I hunt and manage land.
I talked to him about how much he is discussed and praised on this forum and the fact that his secrets are kept secret(which is a great testiment to the integrity of land managers who have employed him). He really appreciates the loyalty and is planning to thank all of you. More to come on that and I told him that I knew who you all are.
Think of it this way, have you ever heard a negative comment on his abilities after being hired? Exactly.
As far as I'm concerned, he is the master of the whitetails habits and needs and even more of a master on how to capitalize on these habits and needs.
I know he is expensive, but you won't regret it if you want great deer hunting for the rest of your life on your property. If you want more of the same average deer hunting, don't hire him. That is certainly your choice.
BTW, his bootcamps are sold out except for the August one in which myself, my partner and a couple friends are going. Thats right, even after spending several days in the field with Tony, I am going to his bootcamp.
I learn a great deal EVERY time I go in the woods with him. Picked up some great tips this morning that will save me hundreds of dollars in the future.

 

Brown,
My reasons for not using any of Tony's services is basically 2 reasons.

1. I always thought that I should probably wait until I actually owned my own property. I would hate to put alot of hard work into a property I lease to only have to give it up for some reason. I will say though that my mind has changed After reading about this Tony guy I some how think going to his boot camp can do nothing but make you a smarter hunter, reguardless if you own your own land or not. The way I see it is I will be well informed on what to do when I do buy land and the class may actually help me in what to look for in purchasing land. Also I have been told that Tony will teach you methods that will help you when hunting with other hunters. The fact that I have been doing some habitat improvements on my lease this year I see no reason not to learn the secrets and have them applied to my lease even though I may one day have to give it up.

2. This is the number one reason that has kept me from going. First I will say I never really gave the boot camp much thought until about a year ago. But the fact that money is really tight for me right now, if I don't need it I have to do without it. I don't think the price of the boot camp is too expensive. I paid $150 dollars for three 1/2 hour golf lessons 5 years ago, and to be honest the only thing that I took away from those lessons is my grip. So $700 (if thats right) to educate myself on something that I enjoy so much is well worth the price. Besides my wife has no problem spending $60,000 on her education. Can't wait to start paying that back.

So I plan on attending next spring, if all is going well.

 

Jeez, things start to slow down for me in August. I may consider signing up.

 

..... well, at least the start! He came out for the day ... and I mean WHOLE day, and walked 'every inch' of it! WOW... you just can't write notes fast enough to capture all of it. It will take years for us to accomplish all of what was taught that day, but each improvement brings a great feeling of satisfaction, knowing that ... some day......

And besides all the knowledge, he's quite entertaining, too
THANKS MANY TIMES OVER, Tony !!! (I know, I KNOW ..... he doesn't get on the 'puter !! much, if at all... ) I just wanted a public thanks to him... to show we're satisfied customers.
~m~

 

As stated above, going to Tony's Bootcamp, or having him out is not magic bullet. I went to the Camp and had Tony out in 2006.

It was not until 08 that I have seen an improvement in the bucks on my property. This has been confimed my the numerous buck sigghting on the buckeye cams. I don't hunt my place much so I had never personally seen these big guys in person.

One point though. I did have a Buckeye Cam (orion) set up 30 yrds outside a bed built for a buck bed by T. It resembles the beds at his place (with the river and all). No deer were ever seen frequenting that spot.

No indictment of his program, cause after two years I am only half way though doing the stuff that he told me to do . We will see, as I still have lots to do.

 

i was also in boot camp with/tony , and was at my place in gladwin for 7 days inputting some of tonys ultimate systems ! and WOW it works ! worth the money guys !
nice pics big T

 

I am a March '08 bootcamp alumni.
I only have ten acres but his has good potential. Secluded and protected from trespassers. I worked hard last year and this last winter on my property. Even the little bit (seemed like a lot at the time) improved my buck sightings. I messed up on a nice 8 point that would have been my best bow buck. I was late getting to my stand and he was standing in my shooting lane when I walked in.
Even on 10 acres of woods Tony's tactics will improve things drastically. I think in about 2 more years I will have one of the best 10 acre hunting pieces in my area. It's been a blast!!!

 

I went to the first bootcamp back in March '09. WOW!

I have spent almost every evening till dark and almost every weekend since, working on my place. I've done a lot...but much more to do.

The first week I spent working on some things(mistakes) that I tried a couple of years back on my own, boy...my farm jack got a work out lifting trees that I had originally dropped on the ground.

One of the first hinge cut areas that I made about 3 weeks ago and scratched out 4 beds in, I had not been back to until today. On my way to that area (about 2:30 PM) I was very suprised to see a deer get up from those beds and head to another cut area. I just had to go and take a look...all four beds had been used with hair and tracks in each!

So something I did must have been right so far. And BTW...I've even lost about 10 LBS so far doing the work...don't tell Tony...he'll probably charge me for it!

 

If just half of the posters who used tony's services were positive it would be marvelous. I did not pick up a single negative post. That's unbelieveable. Look at the prior post by Mid- Mich Rick. Ricks experience shows all that one should get good advice before venturing into the unknown. There is hinge cutting and there is proper hinge cutting. Some mistakes can be corrected many cannot. I know many well qualified and respected land and deer managers. Tony fits into a small niche of the entire deer managenent world. Nobody comes close in my estimation in Tonys niche. I was Tonys first customer in 1995. I have had Tony add his magic to my property three more times since. I know what he has done, seen the results of it and it was money well spent. I have attended Tonys booth camp and will attend again this coming May 23-24th. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable concerning deer and deer hunting. I'm no Tony Lapratt.

 

Ed Congrats on 14 years under Tony's watch some day I hope to go! post some pics (deer) guys like to see results