Deer hunting and land management has come a long way over the years. A few decades ago, hunting whitetails didn’t have near the popularity that it has today. Now we have all kinds of hunting celebrities, TV shows, YouTube channels, and podcasts to learn from and improve our deer hunting experiences. If you digest some of the content that these media sources publish, it doesn’t take long to realize that a well-managed property produces big bucks more consistently than properties that aren’t. Land consultants can be just the thing you need to take your property and hunting skills to the next level so you can start killing big bucks on a regular basis. The question is, who should you hire?
When you hire a land consultant there are several things you should look for prior booking an appointment with them. First, the consultant should be someone that asks you several questions about your property and is genuinely interested in helping you achieve your goals. Second, the consultant should be someone who hunts in the same region of the country you’re in. And third, the consultant should have experience killing big bucks. Even though these three things are important considerations to verify prior to hiring a consultant, there are several others factors that you might want to consider also.
Here are seven things to look for when hiring a consultant for deer hunting and habitat management:
1. Is the consultant a bow hunter?
Hiring a consultant that is a bow hunter tells me that they most likely have spent a lot time chasing after whitetails. Bow seasons are typically longer than guns seasons, therefore bow hunters are gaining more experience hunting whitetail by spending more time in the woods hunting them.
Bow hunters also know how to get within bow range of a whitetail. They lay out hunting properties and choose stand locations where deer are likely to walk within bow range of the stand. Even if you are only a gun hunter, hiring a consultant that knows how to bring your deer within bow-range of your stand will make your shots that much easier. There is no reason for shooting a deer over 100 yards away if you don’t have to. Also, if you ever decide to sell your property, you will attract more buyers and maximize your return on investment by making the property marketable to bow hunters and gun hunters.
2. What part of the country is the consultant from?
Make sure you hire a consultant that lives and hunts in the region of the country where you are hunting. It doesn’t make much sense to hire someone from Florida or Texas to give land management advice in the Midwest, and vice versa. The hunting styles, tactics, and habitat management advice will be drastically different is most cases.
If you plan on spending a lot of time and money to make improvements to your hunting property, you want to make sure you’re getting solid advice on which improvements to make. A consultant that has extensive experience in your part of the country will offer advice that should work for your specific property. For example, you don’t want to be misled on which types of trees and shrubs to plant and where to plant them on your property. How many consultants are out there recommending to plant trees in parts of the country where they would never survive?
3. Does the consultant have experience to match your goals?
If you are hiring a consultant to help you with a specific goal, you want to make sure he has the experience to help you reach that goal. For example, if you want to make sure all of your habitat improvements are strategically working together to increase mature buck movement in front of your stands, then make sure the consultant has experience doing that for himself. If you want to plant an orchard on your property, then you want to make sure the consultant has experience doing that for himself and can provide you with knowledge to help you plant a successful orchard.
4. Does the consultant have a history of success?
Would you hire a doctor to do heart surgery on you if that doctor never performed heart surgery before? I’m guessing you wouldn’t, so why would you hire a consultant to offer you advice on something that he has never done for himself? Make sure you hire a consultant that has achieved the kind of success that you want to achieve yourself. There is no consultant out there that knows it all. A consultant should be honest about something he doesn’t know much about. If a consultant can be honest about something he doesn’t know then you can trust that the advice he does give you is going to be great advice.
5. Has the consultant owned multiple hunting properties?
Hiring a consultant that has owned multiple hunting properties for themselves means he most likely has experience making the habitat improvements that he suggests to you. A consultant will be able to offer you better advice if he has actually done the same work himself on his own land. These are the kind of consultants that have made their own mistakes and can help you avoid making those same mistakes. A consultant that has owned multiple properties in different states, or areas, means his experiences will be more diverse.
6. How much does the consultant charge
The cost for a consultant varies quite a bit based on a variety of scenarios. However, price is typically dictated by how much time a consultant will need to dedicate to you and your property and his level of experience. How far away is your property from where he lives, how big is the property, and how full is a consultant’s schedule? These are all factors that impact price.
It never hurts to shop around and get quotes from multiple consultants. Just make sure the consultant meets all the criteria mentioned in this article.
7. Is the consultant someone you want to work with?
Once you verify that a consultant meets all the criteria that we discussed so far, there is one more thing you should consider before hiring them. Is the consultant someone you can relate to and get along with? Hiring a consultant and working with them should be fun. This person should be someone you would enjoy spending time with. You will end up spending several hours with this person and the last thing you want to deal with is a bunch of awkward conversations.
You should have a pretty good idea if you want to work with a particular consultant after you talk with them over the phone about your property, your goals, and his services. Don’t hire a land consultant if you don’t vibe well with them.
Conclusion
There are many considerations you should think about prior to hiring a hunting and habitat consultant. Don’t just hire the first guy you see. Make sure you have a good conversation about your property and your goals. You should get the feeling that this consultant is someone you will enjoy working with and can help you take your hunting property and hunting tactics to the next level.
If you are thinking about waiting a little bit before hiring a consultant then you should read this article: When to hire a consultant for deer hunting and land management.