Tony LaPratt , The most innovative man in The Whitetail World!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PROPERTY A SOCIAL HUB FOR BIG BUCKS

Tony has been constant for over 31 years on trophy class whitetails, 50 in all, using his unique hunting and Ultimate Land Management System. He has created over 1,800 Land management Properties from 5 acres to 6,000 acres in 28 states.

Tony will give four seminars over the course of the weekend.

www.tonylapratt.com

John Eberhart

Hunting Pressured Bucks in Michigan

Just as our feelings of vulnerability affects our security precautions and movement habits, so does the amount and type of hunting pressure affect mature bucks; survival rates, daytime movement habits, reaction to hunter intrusions, reaction to fake tactics, tolerance of human odor, when and how they socially interact with other deer, and when and where they make or re-visit signposts during daylight hours.

The million dollar question is; how do you combat heavy hunting competition and be somewhat consistently successful?

John has bowhunted in Michigan for 52 seasons and has 31 bucks listed in Michigan’s record book from 19 different properties and has taken 19 P&Y bucks on his 23 out of state trips. What separates John’s accomplishment of having an accumulative total of 50 record book bucks from any other hunter in the country is that whether in Michigan or out of state, he’s exclusively hunted on public and knock-on-doors for free permission properties.

John also co-authored the instructional books, “Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails”, “Precision Bowhunting” and “Bowhunting Whitetails the Eberhart Way” and also produced an instructional bow hunting 3-DVD series titled “Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails”.

Lastly, when hunting from trees John has been exclusively hunting from a saddle for 39 seasons and 44 of his book bucks were taken from a saddle and he has a new Eberhart’s Signature Saddle coming out in 2020 and it will be sold through the Tethrd brand. John will spend some time talking saddle hunting during his seminar.

John’s seminar will take place Friday evening only.

Chad Stewart - Deer, Elk, and Moose Management Specialist

The How’s and Why’s of Michigan Deer Management

Everybody knows the topics in deer management that drives the conversation at camp.  You can’t bring up topics like antlerless quotas, mandatory registration, summer permits, crossbows, antler point restrictions, CWD and more in a conversation without finding someone with a strong opinion on either side of the discussion.  But what are the impacts of these topics on management of Michigan’s valued deer resource?  In this talk, you’ll learn how deer regulations are developed, as well as the data and impacts of those decisions on deer management.

Chad Stewart is the deer, elk, and moose management specialist for the Michigan DNR.  Before coming to Michigan, he was the state deer biologist for the Indiana DNR.  He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, a Bachelor’s Degree from Penn State University, and is a certified wildlife biologist with The Wildlife Society.  Prior to managing deer at the state level, he was a research assistant and wildlife ecologist for the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia, focusing on resolving deer conflicts and researching international conservation questions in China and Malaysia.  In his free time, Chad enjoys pursuing white-tailed deer and turkeys, hunting upland birds behind his German shorthair pointer, and hiking with his family.

Chad will give two informative talks at the show Saturday and Sunday.

Shannon and Tag, from Black River Deer Tracking

Protocol For Successful Use Of A Tracking Dog

Tag and I are a State Certified Tracking Team and members of the Michigan Deer Tracking Network. I have extensive deer hunting and tracking experience as well as retriever training and bird hunting. I started tracking deer in 2013 with my Lab “River”. My current dog "Tag" started his tracking training as a pup in the fall of 2013. We track deer, bird hunt and compete in hunt tests and field trials. I am located in Cheboygan County and will travel if time allows. We were featured in the 2019 winter edition of MOOD Magazine’s cover story~ “It’s not about the Buck”.

(The MDTN offers professional dog deer tracking service throughout Michigan. We pride ourselves in providing the best deer tracking service possible. Our tracking teams are tested and approved by senior members of our group. Our dogs our kept on a leash at all times and can track with no visible blood.)