Whitetail Evolution LLC

Habitat. Hunt. Harvest

About Us

We are a group of whitetail deer enthusiast that place particular emphasis on habitat management and eliminating hunting pressure in order to harvest older bucks.

We hunt on small Michigan parcels (70, 70, 50) surrounded by ‘brown down’ hunters and this can make accomplishing our harvest goals more difficult. However, through continuous habitat management and monitoring our levels of hunting pressure we are able to have multiple encounters with our target bucks.

My wife and I have been blessed with the opportunity to purchase a new home for our family on 50 acres, now owning private land, fulfilling our dreams as nature lovers and whitetail deer hunters. If you are fortunate enough to own your own ground and would like to learn the different tactics and strategies we use on our properties every year, please follow along as we share how we have evolved as whitetail hunters!

I am also the Michigan habitat consultant for Whitetail Partners LLC where I work with landowners develop habitat plans for their hunting properties. If you feel you would benefit from a more hands on educational experience, contact us and we can schedule a visit to create your very own habitat plan.

Habitat Design Consultation with Whitetail Partners LLC

Whitetail Partners LLC was founded by Sam Bilhorn several years back with one goal in mind, to help landowners maximize the effectiveness of their whitetail properties through detailed habitat designs. Sam has helped numerous landowners around the country accomplish their whitetail hunting goals. Due to the growing demand of their services, Whitetail Partners has partnered with like-minded regional habitat consultants to bring their high quality products and services to more landowners within the whitetail’s range. I am honored to have been selected as the regional consultant for the great state of Michigan. For more information on Whitetail Partners LLC, or to find a consultant in your region, click the link below to be directed to their website.

Consultation and Habitat Design

When we visit your property, the entire day will be spent scouting. The more people that hunt the land that are present, the better. We will go over what the deer are doing now to what we would like them to do. After an in depth analysis of the parcel we will draw out a plan detailing everything from Food Plots, Bedding Areas, Manmade Deer Trails, Hunting Access, Etc.

Food Plots

The most important part of any property are the food sources that are available. If there aren't any food sources, the chances of that property holding deer on a consistent basis drops significantly. However, a food plot cannot be placed anywhere, it needs to be in the right location and every property is different. We make sure your food plots are placed appropriately and work for you, not against.

Bedding Areas

Knowing where deer bed is critical. If the bedding is random or where you need to access the property, your hunt could be over before you even climbed the tree. Our design ensures that the doe family groups are tucked in near the foods sources within compartmentalized cover, giving the local bucks more room to spread out along with a stress free environment.

Deer Super Highways

After incorporating Food Plots, Doe Family Bedding and Buck Bedding it's time to connect your improvements. Don't roll the dice and hope your target buck takes one trail over another. Inflate your odds by creating your own deer trail! Deer are lazy and often take the path of least resistance. By creating your own deer trails (think logging road / atv trail) from one improvement to the next you will increase the chances that the he'll be there when you're in the woods.

Hunting Access

Once the habitat improvements are in place making the deer movement more predictable, the next step getting on and off the property without spooking them. Having premiere habitat is great but it would be all for nothing if the deer run away each time you walk to your stand. We make sure that doesn't happen by mapping out where and when to hunt your property using an "outside in" philosophy.

Eliminating Social Stress & Hunting Pressure

Enough emphasis does not get placed on whitetail social stress or hunting pressure. Each of these is a different animal and must be tackled in different ways but when your property can reduce or eliminate the stress levels of the local deer herd watch out! Other than a food source, this is the second (maybe first) most important factor to consistently attracting and holding deer on your property. Our Habitat Design makes certain to reduce the level of social stress with the layout of the habitat improvements. We also take what is called an "outside in" approach to hunting, meaning we try our best to hunt the perimeter of the parcel, leaving the core undisturbed. We strongly believe these philosophies have greatly aided in our consistent success over the years.

Habitat

Whitetails gravitate towards parcels with a lot of habitat diversity. Some have this by default and others require our help to provide the local deer herd with everything they need throughout the year. As a landowner, YOU can have a huge influence on the habitat and the way deer use your property. However, by putting habitat improvements in the wrong place you could make the property more difficult to hunt or even hold deer. If you feel that your hunting has plateaued and would like a personal habitat plan created during a one on one visit to your property please contact us! We'd be happy to help. Currently only traveling to Michigan Lower Peninsula Properties.

Hunt

Having the best habitat in the area will catch the attention of the local deer herd. However, if you don't hunt your property correctly you could turn your deer (especially the bucks) nocturnal, or worse, send them to your neighbors. Knowing when and where to hunt on your land is key! For those who love hunting strategy and the Do It Yourselfers out there that want to take a more hands on approach to setting up your whitetail hunting property, we have something for you! Follow the Habitat / Hunting Strategies on our YouTube Channel where we discuss the exact same methods we practice to have multiple encounters with our target bucks.

Harvest

Working your land and sitting tree is fun, but walking up to a white belly at the end of a blood trail is why we hunt. There is nothing quite like feeling of excitement and remorse all at the same time. As hunters we know that in order for our freezer to be full of venison, an animal had to give up their life. That decision is never easy. Thankfully their sacrifice provides food for our families and many times the legacy of the whitetail lives on for decades through the mounts and stories passed down generations. If you want to keep up with our families journey with whitetail habitat and hunting, please follow on Instagram!