John Eberhart’s 2024 Whitetail Workshops inquiry and attendee information
2024 Whitetail Workshop dates: March 23/24-2024, April 6/7-2024, and April 20/21-2024
John’s Whitetail Workshops are 2 days each with Saturday being all day (8:30 am until 4:00 pm) in the woods with a couple-hour saddle presentation later in the evening (4:30 to 6:30 pm) for those that want to stay and attend it. On Sunday there will be a 6 1/2-hour back-and-forth seminar in the Outback seminar room Michigan’s largest independent sporting goods store and all the chairs are padded, swivel office chairs. On Sunday John will have his hunting backpack loaded with his hunting gear, One-sticks and Skeletor-sticks with aiders, platform, modified ESS, saws, maps, scouting gear, location prep gear, strap on steps, rings of steps, every type of screw in steps, and pretty much everything he uses for every aspect of bowhunting including ScentLok exterior garments and layering garments in air tight totes if anyone is interested in seeing them, and will do some sparring and call demo’s.
The Saturday in-the-woods workshop will be held near Edmore, Michigan and the Sunday workshop seminars will be held in the Outback seminar room (all chairs are cushioned, swivel office chairs) in Jay’s Sporting Goods located near Clare, Michigan (both in central Michigan).
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What the Whitetail Workshops are about
Whether you’re hunting public land, knock-on-doors for free permission, family owned, leased or managed property, or you travel hunt; attending Eberhart’s Whitetail Workshop will provide the insights to make you a serious threat to any buck you pursue.
Eberhart’s Whitetail Workshops are NOT land management workshops as those types of shops can cost up to $3,000 per day and typically the instructors have never hunted anything but managed for big bucks’ properties and don’t know the first thing about hunting heavily pressured public and free permission properties. These are instructional, educational workshops for hunters with the desire to learn how and what to do to put themselves on the best bucks that any property they ever hunt has to offer.
Why John Eberhart for a workshop? In 57 seasons John has scouted over 30 parcels of public land and has hunted 23 of them. The other public land parcels did not have the adequate security cover requirements for daytime movements by mature bucks in heavily pressured areas, so after scouting, John chose to abandon and not hunt them.
John has hunted many dozens of knock-on-doors for free permission properties in Michigan (Michigan is the most heavily bowhunted state in the country with 350,000+ bowhunters and is also a 2-buck state which adds to the pressure) and on everyone the property owners let most other hunters that asked, hunt as well. Thirty-five of the buck’s he’s taken in Michigan are in the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan record book and they were taken from 21 different properties in 11 different counties. He’s taken bucks from 15 of the 23 different parcels of public land he’s hunted in Michigan including a state record in 1981.
In 1991 John quit gun hunting and in 1997 began bowhunting out-of-state during Michigan’s gun season and to date has taken 20 bucks that qualify for the P&Y record book on his 25 weeklong trips and they came from 15 different properties in 5 different states (Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois) and they were also taken on public, free walk on (WOH), or on free permission properties. Knowing what to look for when scouting and how to set up on it and hunt it correctly had a lot to do with his 80 percent success rate on properties that he’d never set foot on prior to hunting them (no pre-scouting trips have ever been taken). Other than one late season hunt in Ohio, he could have taken a P&Y buck on every trip had his kill criteria on that hunt been 125 inches instead of 140 inches.
The reason John has scouted and hunted so many knock-on doors for free permission properties is because once he gets permission, eventually a blood relative or friend of the property owner wants to hunt it, or most frequently nowadays, it gets leased out. Loss of permission over the years has been expedited when John takes a good buck off the property and the property owner shows the picture around, then relatives and friends come out of the woodwork to hunt it and then of course, John is out.
There are thousands of hunters in the United States that have several record class bucks due to hunting in states or counties having mandated antler point restriction areas, or hunting on; archery only public lands, large private or leased managed for big buck properties, large blocks of family properties, pay to hunt ranches, suburban properties, and in lightly hunted Midwestern states having so many mature bucks with much less hunting pressure. While it’s awesome if you have the resources to take advantage of those great opportunities, most hunters don’t.
What separates John’s accomplishment of having taken 55 record book bucks (35 from Michigan and 20 from out-of-state) from 36 different properties from any other whitetail bow hunter in the country is that 100% of his hunting has exclusively been on public, free walk-on, cold calling for free permission, and knock-on-doors for free permission properties. He’s never owned, leased, hunted a managed property, hunted a relative’s property, or paid a dime to hunt anywhere and doesn’t hunt over bait, mineral licks, and has never hunted from a box blind, or over a food plot. Nothing wrong with any of those hunting situations, they just can’t be compared as being equal hunting situations.
Some hunters have spent tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on hunting properties and leases and most hunters annually spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on; upgrading their hunting equipment, buying new gadgets, bait, deer farming, quads, high end tree stands, etc. with the thought process that it will make them more successful, and that can’t be farther from the truth. Having the best equipment money can buy or even owning or leasing superior hunting ground is irrelevant if your hunting skills, gear, and strategies don’t offer you the opportunity to take advantage of them.
Scouting, location preparation, practicing, hunting, and traveling to hunt all consume much of the limited free time many hunters have, especially those with kids and families. Free time has value and utilizing it to its fullest potential should always be the goal.
Whether hunting public or private land, spending time on stand in locations not well-suited for daytime mature buck activity should never be an acceptable strategy or plan, so make this one-time investment to assure you’re hunting in the right types of places, their prepared properly, you have appropriate entry and exit routes for each location and you’re seasonal and daily timing for each location is well thought out. After all, doesn’t it get a bit old taking motion camera pictures of bucks you’d like to kill and showing those pictures around, instead of being able to kill them and show pictures of you with your hands wrapped around the buck’s antlers?
At the end of each Saturday in-field workshop (around 4:30 pm), for those that want to stick around there will be at least a 2-hour session on how to properly prepare a tree and sit and hunt from a saddle. John and his sons Jon and Joe will have their modified Eberhart Signature Saddles and between them they have 119 seasons of saddle hunting experience. In fact, of John’s 55 book bucks, 47 of them were taken from a saddle plus numerous other bucks and does. Nearly all of John’s son Jon’s, nearly 300 whitetail kills (Jon takes a lot of late season does for friends) were also taken from a saddle and all of Joe’s have been.
At the saddle event they will also have Tethrd’s Phantom, Phantom XL, and Lockdown saddles, Tethrd’s Predator and Predator XL platforms, Tethrd’s One sticks and Skeletors sticks with aiders, Bullman and Treehoppers strap on ring of steps, and many styles of Cranford screw in steps for anyone to try.
They will have 3 different trees’ set up (only a couple feet off the ground and all close to each other) with one using a Bullman platform ring of strap-on steps and a Tethrd climbing stick, one using a Tethrd Predator platform in conjunction with a Treehopper strap-on ring of steps on the backside of the tree, and the other using all Cranford screw-in steps for climbing and for the ring. They decided to do this additional saddle portion because there are so many YouTube instructional video’s out there where the hunter either doesn’t know what they are doing, or they are only taking advantage of a portion of the features and opportunities that hunting from a saddle offers. Using a saddle is simple and you don’t have to be a gymnast or super physically fit to do so. A saddle is simply a killing tool that anyone of any age can easily use to up their kill opportunities big time when used correctly, which is what the saddle segment is for.
So, consider taking advantage of John’s experience, knowledge, and kill credentials by allowing him to show in detail in the field and seminar room, how to improve and utilize your scouting, location preparation and hunting time to its fullest potential.
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Signing up for a Whitetail Workshop weekend
2024 Whitetail Workshop dates: March 23/24-2024, April 6/7-2024, and April 20/21-2024
The cost to attend a Workshop is $675 per attendee, and travel, lodging and meals are not included.
The cost for attendee’s under the age of 16 is $350 and they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian over the age of 18.
Each Workshop will be limited to about 15 hunters.
Credit cards are not accepted.
Checks or money orders must be received in advance of the workshop dates and all shops are filled on a first pay, first on the list case, and once the attendee limit is reached, that specific workshop weekend will be full and any prospective attendee inquiry that has not paid will have to choose from the remaining workshop dates if they still want to attend a workshop.
Before signing up and sending a check, please send an email to deerjohn51@gmail.com with the workshop dates you want to attend so he can verify and reply back if that workshop still has openings.
When sending a check please put the dates you will be attending in the memo portion of the check and add a note with your cell number and email address John will send you an email once your payment is received and will request an acknowledgement back from you.
Make checks payable to and send to:
John Eberhart
1219 Queensway Dr.
Weidman, Mi. 48893
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For those that sign up and attend, here is an itinerary of what to expect and an attendee document will be emailed to you once you have signed up.
Jay’s Sporting Goods is the largest independent hunt/fish/camp sporting goods retailer in Michigan and on the Friday afternoon before each workshop, at the front desk there will be a 15% discount voucher for every attendee, and you may need to show your ID to get them. Vouchers will be good from the Friday prior to your respective workshop and run through the following Thursday (1 week) and can be used for in-store or on-line purchases (for those that fly in) throughout that period. Jay’s is a full line retailer that carries everything you could possibly need, including Baffin Titan boots (best boots for extreme cold weather), full line of ScentLok, Tethrd saddles and accessories, full line of Cranford tree steps and camera mounts, Silky saws (best saws in the country), and basically anything you would need for anything to do with any type of hunting, fishing, camping, and a large assortment of casual clothes. Discount vouchers will not apply to the purchases of firearms and electronics but will be good on bows, optics, canoes, kayaks, gun and bow cases and almost everything else in Jay’s 70,000 sq. foot retail store. John also has about 65 deer heads hanging in the store in different places (his 7 biggest ones are at home).
Travel, hotel and what to bring for Workshops:
Before we set afield on Day 1, all attendees will be required to sign a waiver of liability form and attendees under the age of 18 will also be required to have a parent or guardian sign their waiver.
Listed below is where each of the 2 workshop dates (Saturday-in/field and Sunday-classroom) will take place.
*Day 1 of the workshop (Saturday) will be the in-field day and you should be there no later than 8:15 am. The property is located at:
8877 N. Derby Rd.
Six Lakes, Michigan 48886
Some attendees using their cell phone GPS’s have had issues finding 8877 N. Derby Rd. on Saturday mornings whereas the attendees using vehicle GPSs haven’t, so below are printed directions in case you get lost in the vicinity. Or you can call John on his cell phone at 989-429-7970.
-Coming in from northern Michigan: Take Highway 27 south to M-46 then go west about 23 miles to Derby Rd. then turn north to the first farm on the left side of Derby Rd. or come south on M-66 to M-46 and turn east on M-46 and go 1 mile to Derby Rd. then turn north to first farm on the left.
-Coming in from southern Michigan: Take Highway 27 north to M-46 then go west about 23 miles to Derby Rd. then turn north to the first farm on the left side of Derby Rd., or take highway 131 north to M-46 east then go east about 18 miles to Derby Rd. then turn north to the first farm on the left side of Derby Rd.
Please call John’s cell on 989-429-7970 if you have problems locating the property and please park in front of the white barn on the west side of Derby Rd.
On Saturday, bring whatever you wear for scouting during that seasonal time frame. Bring a pair of walking boots and depending on the amount of rain or winter runoff we have; you may need to bring a pair of knee-high rubber or neoprene hunting boots. You should also bring a change of clothes for lunch as we might get a bit wet (if it’s raining) or sweaty if it’s hot out and you can change in the field before heading to lunch. Bring some bottled water and whatever snacks you might want. Bring a light rain suit as we will continue no matter the weather. If you want to take pictures or film, that’s fine.
We will visit over a dozen pre-set locations and go over every detail at each concerning why; this location, this tree, this height, this side of the tree, this number of shooting lanes, this entry and exit route, etc. We will discuss; location preparation, tools used, the best seasonal timing for each location, whether it’s a morning, midday, evening or an any time of day location, scent control, flashlights, how to properly enter a morning location, how to properly exit a location after dark, how to be as inconspicuous as possible before, during and after a hunt, how to properly set up in the tree, how to hunt at a destination location without getting picked such as at a mast or fruit tree or a primary scrape area where there may be many eyes searching the trees for a period of time, and how to hunt and take advantage of standing corn.
We will cover tactics like sparring, rattling, calling, decoys, vocal matting to stop a buck in his tracks for a standing shot, scents, the non-use of scents when hunting destination locations, use of reflective tacks and ties, entry and exit routes, heights in trees, tree diameters, types of trees, security cover and how mature bucks use it, wind, thermals, swirling winds, tree set-ups, morning, midday, and evening hunts, parking your vehicle without interfering with deer movements, different steps and climbing apparatuses, shot angles, bedding areas, transition corridors, preferred mast, and try to cover whatever questions are asked.
Either John, Jon or Joe will get into some of the prepared trees with their modified Eberhart Signature Saddle (ESS) and as previously mentioned, later in the day they will have several trees set up (just off the ground) to show how a saddle is properly used and will allow anyone to try whatever they want.
John has exclusively hunted from a saddle since 1981 and Jon and Joe combined have 76 years of saddle hunting experience for a total of 119 seasons of saddle experience and they will show how the saddle process works in comparison to conventional metal stands and this will lend to some serious thought-provoking discussion for the hunters that are using conventional stands. If you use a saddle, bring it along as they would like to see how you use it and maybe offer some pointers.
There will be a break for lunch around noon and we will come back after lunch and continue until around 4:30 pm or however long it takes. There will be no scheduled ending time and John will answer all questions within reason if they don’t pertain to a personal piece of property.
*Day 2 of the workshop (Sunday) will be the seminar and it will be held in the Outback room at Jay’s Sporting Goods (largest independent sporting goods store in the state) just north of Clare from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm (store closes at 4) with a break around noon for lunch (we typically order a few pizza’s).
Jay’s Sporting Goods – 8800 S. Clare Ave. – Clare, Michigan 48167 – 989-386-3475
The classroom day will be an in-depth seminar on absolutely everything that has anything to do with killing mature bucks no matter where you hunt and there will be some time for Q&A. John’s scouting and location preparation gear will be in the room as well as some of his plat books, maps and notebooks from hunting out of state and several of his old notepads with handwritten diagrams of hunting locations on the properties he’s hunted over the past 50 seasons. Of course, OnX is what John mostly uses now. The older archaic items are not to be confused with “look at me, I’m really good”, but rather as examples of the detail required to be consistently successful and make as few mistakes as possible.
For those coming to Clare on Friday or Saturday night, Jay’s Sporting Goods is just 1 mile north of town if you want to buy anything and they have everything.
Closest Airports:
-Gerald Ford-Grand Rapids airport is about 2 hours from Clare and 1 hour and 20 minutes from Edmore.
-Lansing Airports is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Clare and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Edmore.
-Midland-Bay City-Saginaw (MBS) airport is about 45 minutes from Clare and about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Edmore.
-Bishop airport in Flint is about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Clare and 1 hour and 50 minutes from Edmore.
If coming in on Friday afternoon, you have 3 options.
Option 1: Book a hotel in Clare for Friday and Saturday night and then on Friday evening you could go to Jays and look around and use your 15% discount voucher.
Clare hotels: Doherty Hotel (my preference) – 989-386-3441, Days Inn – 844-575-9332
From Clare on Saturday morning (day 1) it will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to Six Lakes where the in/field property is located, so if staying in Clare on Friday night you will have to leave by 7:00 am to get to the in-field property on time (a bit early).
Option 2: If driving in from the south on Friday you can pre-book at one of the 2 hotels in Edmore which are 10 minutes from the workshop property in Six Lakes on Saturday.
Edmore hotels: Maxfield’s Inn (my preference) – 866-550-8838, Edmore Inn (not as nice) – 989-427-5163.
If staying in Edmore on Friday night you may want to check out on Saturday morning before heading to the property as you may want to pre-book a room in Clare for Saturday night at one of the hotels listed above so you are closer to Jay’s Sporting Goods. There are also more restaurants in Clare to choose from.
Option 3: Gammy Woods family campground is halfway between the in/field day location and the 2nd day location at Jay’s, and they rent daily campsites with electric hook-ups and water for trailers or for tents. There are 8 showers in the campground, several bathrooms, and a small general store.
Gammy Woods phone number is: 989-644-2267 or 989-506-8005
If this sounds confusing or you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at: 989-644-6067 or e-mail him at: deerjohn51@gmail.com or try his cell at: 989-429-7970 – John Eberhart