Redemption!

This week's episode of Michigan Wild is all about Nate's October buck! Drew Hasler and Mason Houston once again join and they hear the story for the first time as well. Nate goes through the full breakdown of the hunt and hits on some key topics he felt led to his success. Being mobile, having great access, sticking to a plan, and having history with a property helped him kill the 7pt. 

The 7pt is a deer Nate has had history with since 2019 and he has hunted this deer more than any other deer. With minimal sightings and no trail cam pics for 2 years he didn't even believe he actually shot the 7pt. After digging through years of trail cam pics there were a few characteristics that makes him believe he did finally shoot the 7pt at 7.5 years old. 

The guys end the podcast discussing their plans for Illinois bow camp and they look forward to recording a few podcasts for all the listeners to follow along on their first year down there. 

Check out the Sportsmen's Empire Podcast Network for more relevant outdoor content!

MW Ep19 Redemption

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Michigan wild podcast.

We're just here walking around. We're going to go set a tree stand. Don't worry. My dad's weird. He never shot a huge buck. I just shot a fricking big buck.

Oh, you got a. Go get that one, Henry. Right here.[00:01:00]

All right. Welcome to another episode of Michigan wild. This, uh, this is kind of getting to be a recurring thing for Drew. I don't know how many podcasts he's been on recently, but he's going to find himself, uh, as a, quite the regular. We drug Mason along on this one too, because we have a buck down boys. I got one finally.

So we're going to do a little deep dive into that today. And then, uh, also we have Bo camp, uh, staring us in the face, not this Friday, but the following Friday. So we're recording this on the 20th. Is it 24th today? Yeah. 24th today. So. Yeah, well, I don't know when this is going to drop because some of these podcasts are going to be kind of, I had to bank some up because of hunting season and guys are going to be out of town and doing that, the uploading stuff.

So we're just banking them up and this is going to be the official, the first kill for me buck wise of the year and quite the [00:02:00] saga I've had so far, but it's been a good October, but let's, uh, we'll skip over Mason because he doesn't hunt apparently until deer camp or whatever. Cause he's, he's working out.

He's just saving all his energy, you know. Yeah, but no, poor dude's working out of town and he's kind of got last second and in Indiana, it hasn't had much luck finding stuff. Have you? Nope. Unfortunately, no, the trail is kind of dried up. So like I said, uh, Bocamp will be my first time in the woods. Yeah, but I shouldn't say, but I guess it's got the hunting bug real bad.

So I'm trying not to. The days just keep getting longer. Let's just put it that way. Yeah. Hey, well, we're, we're close, man. We're like right there and you're going to be just smiling the whole time. So, but Drew, how has your week been? Oh, it's been good. Uh, deer movement's been good. I've, uh, had a quite a few bucks show up.

Uh, as you know, the start of the week wasn't, wasn't exactly the best. I, uh, hit my [00:03:00] target buck and unfortunately weren't able to find them, but, you know, hindsight's 20, 20, you get past it. Yeah. Move on. I can really get better. Gotta Yep. Late. But, uh, no. Overall it seems like, uh, but you smashed a dough though.

Smashed, smashed a dough. Yeah. Yep. You did smash AD up from bat? I, uh, we lost that deer and I think I waited two days and then got the dough stand and whacked a dough. So . So feeling good? Yeah. Yep. Got that, got that feeling back and, uh, nope, it's been, uh, it's been hot. The, a lot of bucks have moved in. You know, a lot of, a lot of, a lot of those more mature bucks are searching.

So just wait for the right time that they are. What, uh, I do want to say I am getting ready for a bow camp. Thank goodness. I shot a buck already because I was almost burning some bridges with the homestead because. Like the, the weather conditions we were having and the luck I was [00:04:00] having. I was like, I hit it pretty hard.

Uh, and knowing that November was kind of going to be just all out of state. So today I borrowed one of those walk behind leaf blowers from a guy. Have you guys used one of those yet? Dude, they move leaves like you would not believe I was, I was so happy. Cause I want to get as much stuff done before I go on this trip, you know, just to make it as easy as possible in the family, but you know, I, uh, I do remember one year.

I left before taking care of leaves and, uh, we ended up getting a bunch of snow and then, uh, ended up just not taking care of leaves and my grass kind of looked the greatest and that was brought up a couple of times, you know, so just, uh, it was nice to use that. Yeah. You might be onto something there because I pulled into the driveway today and I'm, I was already shaking my head.

I'm not ready for it. There's leaves everywhere and I'm not in the mood to take care of them. I'm in the mood to sit in the stand. So I know it's a rough, it's a rough time, you know, but, uh, [00:05:00] no, dude, I highly recommend if you've got leaves, rent one or find someone one. Cause what I did in 45 minutes tonight would have taken me hours to do with a rake and a tarp.

So quite the investment on that ordeal. And I'm happy to have friends that have one. So, but anything else? Like, I think for me, like prep wise for the trip, I obviously take care of some of the outdoor stuff and just kind of getting as much me and things lined up as I can, but I'm doing pretty good. I feel it's feels good to have one feels good to have one dead.

That's for sure. It's got to. So, so why don't you give us a good rundown on that one? Because I think that's the first time me and Mason have really even. I've heard most of the story. Yeah. I mean, absolutely. So, I mean, I've talked about, you know, the debacle of this year so far. I had those two four year old bucks that I knew about that were kind of on the front of my lot, my mind.

I think I did an intro a few weeks ago and I said, but my number one was this old seven point. And. The seven point is a buck that I've hunted [00:06:00] hard since 2019, but I've only seen him. So I guess we can back up all the way. 2019 I was hunting and obviously had some deer, you know, that were, I didn't really quite, I mean, I was really figuring out some properties.

I'd shot my first really nice buck in 2017. Uh, 2018, I gun shot a really nice one, the gun and the 19, I shot a, um, a nice eight point up North, uh, like October 4th. So I did a hanging hunt in the morning. So like I was on a pretty good roll there, but I still was figuring a lot of things out. So I was trail cam placement and like making my own mock scrapes and like kind of locating deer.

But there was, you know, these properties always had really good deer, but I was never really hunting them at the right time. And I was kind of taking an approach back then where. I just wouldn't even hunt them unless I got a trail cam picture of a deer. And what happened was, uh, gun season came along and, uh, my brother in law and father in law were [00:07:00] hunting the one spot cause I was up North gun hunting.

And they ended up seeing a, quite a few bucks pile out of this one area. And fortunately for me, I had permission pretty close to there. So I remember he told me like, he's like, there was a 10 point and maybe a big eight point. And I was like, that's all I needed to hear that night. I left. Up North and bomb back down South, you know, got home late, slept, woke up in the morning and went to the hang and hunt on the area.

And it was a spot that I had just got permission to hunt. And, uh, sure. And then my brother in law just started hunting that year, kind of, or the year before, so I would always let him use my four 50 for gun season because I was up North rifle hunting. And so I was like, dude, don't need to buy anything.

Like just use what I have. So I gave him that. It was four 50 and he was using it. And I almost took it from him that morning, but I did it. And I was like, I'll use a muzzle loader, but I hadn't shot a muzzler that year. So I have this, you know, my nice waterfowl, super black Eagle Benelli, you know, [00:08:00] shotgun.

And I was like, man, I'm got pretty good barrels. And I'm like, I should be able to shoot a slug. No problem out of that thing. And where I plan on going, my father shot was 50 yards. So before I went to bed that night, I kind of had that all gathering situated, put the right choke tube in and all that. And I woke up in the morning and I go out and I'm like, Man, do I take the shotgun or do I take the bow?

I was like, my father's shot's gonna be 50 yards. I should just take my bow. And I was like, but like how do you, how bad could it be with a shotgun at 50 yards? Like you should be able to hammer anything, you know? Well, come to find out, I did a hanging hunt and this seven point came out and he kinda, it was a east wind, I remember.

It was kind of a weird wind and I did a big loop to get into this property and I sure enough, caught some movement like nine 30 in the morning. And these bucks were, that came from like an area. I didn't really anticipate them to come from because back then I didn't understand as much as I do now, but came sneaking through 50, 52 yards.

I ranged it because I was like, wanting to [00:09:00] know where it was. And, uh, he was with the 10 point that I ended up shooting in 2020. And I was like, 10 point was that I figured they were the same age, which I pegged them both at like three and a half years old. Maybe the 10. 2 and a half. Cause he was smaller, more points at smaller, but that sound point was just big, chunky, and I was like, he's for sure a three year old.

So I bared down on him. I was in my saddle, leaned up against the tree and just let one rip. And I thought I smoked him because he just took off running. Well, tracking dog. Was this like, was this iron sights and everything? Oh yeah, my frickin my, my normal bead for shooting geese and stuff. You know, nothing.

Just let one rip. Not quite like shooting a bird, huh? Yeah, and what I, exactly. What I messed up on though, for like, I had no other. I was on the one side of the tree. So like tree is on my left shoulder. So I was actually shooting my weak side of the saddle, but for a gun, it's perfect. Cause you can lean up against the tree and shoot.

So I like had turned my body and was like leaning against the tree, cranked one off. And then as he's running by it, like [00:10:00] 50 yards, I couldn't swing anymore. Cause the tree was in the way I thought for sure I hit him and he ran off into this, this one thick area and I was like, Oh, he he's dead over there for sure.

I didn't hear anything else. Well, I get down and just nothing, just no hair, no blood, nothing. I'm walking. I'm like, man, there's gotta be, gotta be something. I go, I go like, I don't know how long, two hours of looking. I found some blood and I was like, oh my gosh, I found blood. Like, this is like 150 yards for a shot.

I'm going to find out a neighbor had shot a deer the day before, and that was the blood trail from his deer. And I found, followed the drag marks to a jet sled and the jet sled it out. And I was like, did someone steal my deer? Like what, like, that's what I thought. But then I did a little more investigating, made some phone calls without having to be a dough someone shot at the floor, but cracking dog came in.

Even, I mean, I exhausted every opportunity. Cause this would have been like one of my biggest. Deer at the time, like I hadn't shot very, I mean, I'd shot a handful, but this, this was a cool buck. Like I was like, I'm, I'm invested. Well, fast forward to 2020. [00:11:00] I got some trail cam pictures of them, hunted them hard, never seen them.

21 still got pictures of them. Not a lot, but he was around. And then I actually seen him. Uh, bumping a doe. I talked about the hunt, how I screwed up on a hanging hunt. Um, I was up North again, got a picture like around noon on a cell camera. So he was, he went through that morning. So I was like, I'm going to go hunt that area.

And I drove home, hunted, got busted, setting up with some does. And as the does ran, I thought I saw a buck behind them. They ran to the neighbors. An hour later, here comes bumping does out like grunting. And I could, I couldn't hear him grunt, but I lip curl in and running bucks off. So other than those two times, since 2019, when I shot him at 21, when I seen him that one time, only time I laid eyes on the deer until the 22nd of this year, so it's been just, I've tried to kill, I've hunted this, like I've burned a lot of sits trying to shoot this deer because I wanted them bad, like first year I had history with.

[00:12:00] Yeah, and I think we were discussing it earlier, but like he didn't really like tell you from his antlers Anyways that he was as old as he was. I mean he didn't doesn't really show as a What seven and a half year old deer, is that where you, you put them at? Yeah, I would say minimum six and a half in case he could have been two and a half in 19.

But I mean at that point in time I passed a lot. I've been passing deer for a long time and that never screamed two and a half to me. But uh, so even if he was two and a half then this year he'd be six and a half and his teeth will get sent in to confirm all this, but yeah, right. So, but like, yeah, what do you think?

I mean peaked out. I mean Mason I can show you some, uh I can show you the picture for 2020. I think was his best rack. Um, and which would have put him at four, right? I mean, four and a half is what I figured. Yeah. Um, and it, I mean, to me, it sounds like, you know, I hate to say it, but like the, the stereotypical Michigan deer.

I don't know if they say it on, uh, I [00:13:00] think it's on the Exodus podcast intro, uh, Eberhardt, he's like most of the deer he shot, like all but one have at least one wound and some as many as four. I know, I know when they get, they get hit, they lose quite a bit. So, so Mason, this picture right here is in the summer of 2020, and this is probably his best rack and you can, I mean, to you that, that it looks bigger than a three and a half year old buck to me, I would say.

Oh, absolutely. Like chunky. Oh, he's got good same characteristic with that fork on his right side and kind of goofy brow tines. And then I, so like I had gotten, you know, summertime I had lots of pictures of this deer and then I would get like the random pictures in the fall and. I could never, here he is, you can see the same, the same fork, um, there, but like right there, I mean, that's the same deer, like drew pointed out.

He's got this little, his fork side. So where he's only three on the one side has a [00:14:00] G2 that is like squiggly. Was that the word you'd use drew squiggly. Yep. So it's a cool characteristic. Yeah. I mean, and he, he kept that like, yeah. And then, you know, he's got the entire side is just, it's his four by side is a great up until the G two.

And then everything after the G two is just like, man, like I'm done growing this now. So he's never been a month, like monster scoring deer, but he was just like the first deer that I was. History with like confirmed history and it was personable, personable, actually. Like, I always felt like this deer was just, I couldn't get on them and you'd get the random trail cam pictures and like in the area, it's like, man, am I just blowing this deer out?

But, um, but then, like I said, last year and this year. No trail cam pics. I just assumed he died. I actually assumed he was a different deer because I convinced myself he was this other gnarly old deer that I think I [00:15:00] have, that was a fork on one side, a big spike. I think I've sent you guys that picture before.

I thought that was him. And I was like, that's my number one. Like I want to keep his old and yeah, I just failed miserably. I mean, I don't, I don't even know if I had kept track of how many hanging hunts I did for that deer since 2019. And I hunted, even after I missed him in 19, I hunted them the rest of the year.

You know, pretty hard. So, well, and it's something to say about, you know, closing out the story. I. I know me and you both, we kind of try to target a specific deer every year. And when you finally, finally comes to the moment to try and capitalize on them, it's definitely a good feeling to see them on the ground.

Oh, the fist pumps, the fist bumps and like almost disbelief. Like, you know, you always hear guys say that like. It's weird that he's dead, like, uh, you know, you sealed the deal on him when you've had so much, you know, thought and effort put into it. And then I don't get like super like emotionally attached.

It's just like, that's a deer. There's always in my mind. And like, you know, you have [00:16:00] all these game plans, right? Like I don't, I have a lot of spots, but like none of my spots are giant. So like they're little properties get to be really smart. And just, I guess from 2019 to this year, like how I hunt the properties are just completely different, you know, and, uh, you still gotta get lucky though.

Now, did you expect, I know you didn't have any, many pictures of him, but did you expect to see him at all? Or was it kind of a complete surprise when you did see him? So like this year, my, I had like my game plan, I guess we're going to kind of break down the game plan early the first two weeks of October.

I want to target my food plots on this one piece of property, because just historically, That's where I'd see mature deer early season and daylight. And I had shot a deer, uh, 2020 there that close by. So it was kind of like just playing the historical game and just playing on the rain fronts and all that stuff.

And just have had good luck with that. And then, so like. He was a deer that I've never have seen early season, [00:17:00] or, you know, it was always like, I'd get pictures of him, like late October, November, and December, like kind of when he would hang out and do his like rut circles, I'm assuming. And I always assume that.

So my game plan in the first two weeks of the season was to target one of those four and a half year olds. And I just ended up messing up on both of them, which crazy, you know, completely messed that up. So then I threw like one more hunt at the food, maybe I threw two more hunts in the food plot property.

Um, before the 20th of October, and then my whole game plan for this year was, I was going to hunt that, and then if I was pressuring the deer, if anything was not going well, um, the deer would kind of be stacked back into some of my other properties I have permission to hunt, which are there in close proximity to where I can hunt, like these properties, they don't touch, but they're, I'm hunting the same deer to an extent, um, or it could be, um, so my game plan was.

Once the 20s of October hit, whatever felt right from wind [00:18:00] condition is when I was going to start hunting this other property. So the 20, I want to say I did a morning hunt right after I missed the 10 point. I went in there earlier. I went into that property. It was a really safe hunt with the wind. Did a hanging hunting tree I've never been in before.

On a mock scrape I had made just, just seeing what would happen. I got completely skunk, no deer, like nothing ghost town. And, uh, so I was like, okay, I'm too early. They're not here yet. So then the twenties roll around and I think the, yeah, Saturday, the 21st, I did another morning hunt and had, and had no, sorry, I did not hunt Saturday.

I didn't hunt Saturday at all. Cause it wasn't what I wanted from a, from a condition standpoint. Sunday morning was the. The second time I hunted that property and it's, uh, kind of give a little backstory on that property. It's small, it's a permission piece, but I park nowhere near this property because access is hard.

I, uh, fortunately have a friend, a friend of a friend kind of thing has a house and I'm able to park at his house and I walk down the road [00:19:00] a good ways. And. I've usually liked to hunt in the mornings. I always thought it was like a really good morning spot. So I had interactions with Mr. Krabs there two years in a row, and I've seen some nice deer, but I've never shot anything back there.

So my, I've always just had it kind of in my head that I'm just, that's my morning spot because of access and all that. Every year I will hunt it like. In the 20s of October, I'll hunt a morning set, a few of them. And then I, when I go back there in like November to hunt for like a rut hunt, because there's a bunch of little bedding areas all around.

So I catch deer going between bedding areas. There's rubs everywhere, giant rubs. Like they just pop up out of nowhere. And I'm always like a few days behind is how I felt. So this year I was like, I'm actually going to hunt it a little bit more than I normally have. Just use a smart, you know, access and stuff.

And I think I can get away with it. Cause I can actually hop in a Creek and I can like walk in the water for a ways. So that was kind of my goal going into this, like [00:20:00] late October. I was going to do that because we have the trips planned. So like I knew I wasn't that much of a rut hunt in Michigan. Like I was going to be all pre rut.

So, and like I said, these, I mean, these rubs, I'm not, I'm talking like. Top 5 percent rubs in Michigan that I found like shredded trees, big tracks, you know, but I don't always get like the trail cam pics to, I don't always get them on trail cam because it's a thick area. So, I mean, you have to like literally have your camera, you can only see like 20 yards.

So I just would not hunt in years past because I had no pictures and I'd walk in there to like do a little scout and I'm like. All these rubs, like I have to hunt and then I'd hunt and then just see does and spikes. And I was like, I just missed the party, you know? So that was kind of my thought going into this year.

And I don't know if you guys have any experience with that or trying to hunt, like find like that sign in late October or what you guys like, maybe don't have anything to back that up or not. I mean, there are, there are areas that, that we have on our property that are, you know, like you said, thicker, it's more of a, more of a bedding area, and you have to be very cautious when you, when you do [00:21:00] get into there, and it's usually, like, first or second hunt in there is when you can capitalize on something.

I mean, if you, like you said, if you miss that window, or if, if, if you blow it out the first hunt or two, then it's, washes up, you know, it's not that near as good as it could be. Um, but I think it goes to show just planning out your access and, and, and making the right moves to get in there and, you know, you're kind of more moving in undetected versus blowing in there and trying to find the deer you're after and, you know, I think that that may play a little bit better for you and that's probably why you capitalized on this deer.

You know, he's probably had no idea that you're even in there. No, it was, it's it, we got Northwest winds, North Northwest winds, which, you know, sometimes you don't get very many, you'll get them, but they're not like great hunting days, even though you have a North wind in the front. But the couple we got this [00:22:00] year have been like a couple of things lined up.

Moon, you know, moon, if you already believe in moon phase stuff, like the cover of darkness and like a clear day. And then a North wind moves in. It's like, okay, deer on their feet a little early. The access I can, I can park a ways away and I walk like perpendicular to the property. And then when I turn to go into the property on a North, any sort of a North wind, I'm walking into the wind.

So a Northwest wind is a quartering wind for me, and I only have to walk. On the property, like on land for probably like 75 yards. And then the rest is all water. Cause fortunately for me, the water access is North South. So it's, it works real nice. So I was able to hunt that morning, snuck in there, walked in, you know, in the water, sat in the same tree.

I sat like early October and had a great hunt. Like that North wind is coming in my face, deer, there's a bedding area to my North. There's a bedding area to my East, [00:23:00] there's a bedding area to my West, and there's a bedding area to my South, but the South bedding area is primarily like does and little bucks, which I just know that from years of hunting.

Like I've hunted this for four or five or since 2019. So I've hunted for four years. So I've just had to learn that. Cause I would always set up on the first sign and it'd just be. Like watching preschoolers, you know, have you always accessed access with the same wind? No. Did you play it with Northwest wind this time?

So, you know, again, one of the things that I might just take the right access to get in there. Yup. So I've had to learn that that's my best. So I've hunted it on, I can hunt it on multiple winds, but Northwest North, anything North is my bet. Like that, if you look at the maps, it's like, duh. Like that's like textbook, you know, have a thing.

Um, but the Northwest wind works really good because there's a good, so I used to blow deer out of the bed near to my North because I would act, cause I can access it from the North and from the South. So I would sometimes on a different wind, I would just be like, Oh, I'm going [00:24:00] to come from the North and drop into here.

I can sneak in. Well, I'd always blow one of those bed areas out. And then the common thing in Michigan, you blow one out that run to the next one that blows that one out, and then it's just like this. This domino effect, because there's a lot of deer. So I've abandoned that, like give, and then I would set up really close to that North bedding area because I just, that's where all those giant rubs would pop up.

And I think I was just going too far. Like I said, I got busted setting up before. So this year I kind of was like, I'm done. I'm not walking on dirt. Unless there's water in it. That's kind of like how I was like my mindset, because I'm just going to try to hunt it multiple times. Cause you know, you go in there and you don't kill that deer.

The other deer find out where you walk and they'll blow the minutes. You just pressure them too much. So I was like, if I'm hunting this thing multiple times, this is how I'm doing it. So. Sunday morning, I get it all set up. I kind of felt like a rookie that morning. I don't remember what was going on, but I was like, I was kind of blumbling around a little bit.

I just kept saying, man, am I a fricking rookie or [00:25:00] what? Like I just, nothing was, I had done quite a few hanging hunts this year, but it just wasn't feeling that good. But then I ended up having a great hunt. Like I only saw one two year old buck, but he came through perfect. And I saw 10 does. And I just remember like really watching those does.

And I was like, I'm 30 yards off. Like I need to be 30 yards down the Creek a little farther and set up in that tree right there. If I come and hunt this again. So great hunt. Um, I got down, we had some errands to do for the day and like running around and taking care of some stuff. And it was getting to that point in time where I was like, I'm hunting.

I need to hunt tonight. Cause the weather was all just making sense. And, uh, I was like, Hey, Henry, it's kind of one of those. It's kind of one of those feelings, you know, it's funny as it sounds, it's like you can almost feel and the time's right to head back in there and, and is that what you did? I mean, you, do you go right back into that same spot?

So I knew I needed to hunt. I just didn't really know where to hunt. A [00:26:00] little bit of me was like, man, there's a lot of does in there. There's gotta be, and there was none of these big rubs have popped yet. Like, cause I had like, when I walked out that day, like usually where these rubs are, I can see my binos, like I've walked up to them, but if I get down on the ground, I can glass and I got down on the ground and I started, I was glassing back and forth and I couldn't find any of them.

Um, but I knew that some of these bigger deer were in other areas from scouting and stuff. So I was like, it's, it's going to pop like, and I just know that I need to be here. So I went, so it was like, I'm running late, like Sunday night. One of those things where I was like, Hey, I'm, I'm going, I need to go now.

And, uh, wife was like, I'm going to hang out with the in laws with Henry. And I was like, okay, I'll drop you guys off before I go out hunting. So it just made sense to do that my way. So that kind of took a little longer. And then I get to my spot and then the guy who I had to park at his house, you know, he's a sweet dude.

He he's, he was probably like ahead of his time with hanging hunting on state land and doing stuff. And like, you know, he [00:27:00] shot some dandy bucks back in his days as older gentlemen now, but like the whole time, I made my backpacks on bulbs in my hand. And like, I'm like looking down at my watch, like every like three minutes and he just, we're just.

He's just chitchatting. He's just chitchatting, . It's like, it's like five 20, you know, like, I mean, it's that late. I gotta go. Yeah, yeah. Like I'm, I'm under two hours before dark and, uh Mm-Hmm. , he's just chitchatting with me and I'm like, I gotta go. So as soon as he is like, I'm like, see ya, pme. I like, am like jogging almost like, and this is like 800 yards from where I park my truck.

Oh. Maybe more. It's a long ways, like it's 800 yards and I just take off going and I get to, once I get to the woods, I'm like, okay. I'm going to be slow as I can. I'll start sneaking through doing my thing. Boom, bump a doe like son of a gun runs to the one bedding area. I'm like, man. And it was a fawn. I could tell.

Cause it like ran like 20 yards and stopped. So I'm instantly bindles up like looking okay. Make sure there's no buck or nothing. And she kind of [00:28:00] never blows, just kind of trots off. I'm like, perfect. Keep sneaking, keep sneaking, get to the tree I hunted that morning. Oh, and I forgot to say, like, Henry, I asked Henry, where should I hunt tonight?

Should I hunt the food plot or should I hunt the other spot, like by the creek? He's like, Dad, where'd you see all the deer this morning? I was like, well, I saw them on the creek. He's like, go back to where all the deer are, Dad. And I was like, yes, sir, I'll do it. You know, and uh, don't leave deer to find deer.

Yep, exactly. So I get past the tree. That I had to hop out of the creek to get in. And I'm like, yep, I need to go up there 30 more yards. Cause that's just, it just felt right. And my, and one of the reasons why I wanted to go farther was because I, my first spot was right where my trail camera was and mock scrape and lots of does and little bucks, but nothing big.

So I was like, man, there's nothing moving through here. Maybe I'm just missing them. And, uh, cause you don't see everything on trail cameras. And like I, like earlier in the year, I didn't have any trail cam pics of those bucks in the food plot before I shot at them. You know, I got one after I shot, but nothing before.

So, [00:29:00] like, I don't really put a lot of merit in trail cameras, like a hundred percent because I've been burned in the past, but anyway, so I sneak, I'm sneaking to the tree. I want to get in, I get about halfway there, jump another deer that was laying down really close to it. It was another fawn and it runs into the bedding area to my North, which is like the area I'm thinking, like, if I'm going to see something that's going to come from there, but it doesn't blow.

Doesn't, I think I didn't smell me. So I think it just heard me walking in the water. So I was like, okay, we're good. So. The tree I pick, I've never hunted out of it before, but it is doing the old lean back. So like where I want to climb up to be hidden from the deer. Cause I mean, I'm talking, I'm a hundred yards and in possibly from like bed of deer, obviously really close.

Cause I bumped a doe right by the tree. So it's the lean back tree, which saddle hunters, tree stand hunters is not a fun tree to hang on that side, the leaning towards you. So I kind of had, I kind of had to like saw a couple of tree branches out of the way because [00:30:00] there's a fall down that was like right into this tree.

So it was kind of like not the most fun thing to get up. So here I am going up the street. I'm way late. Like I'm two hours later than I normally like to be, and I'm just going slow and I finally get set up. And I don't pull my camera on my backpack. So I've been trying to film all this year. I filmed every time I've hunted, but that's why I shot a deer for sure.

I got the GoPro hooked to the tree, but I did not pull the camera that day because way I had my backpack. I hang in, it was right where I like to have the camera for a height perspective. And I was like, dude, if I start fumbling around with his backpack, like I'm going to be, I'm going to be in trouble.

And like when my release was clipped onto my bow, it was six o'clock. So at my release on my bow, my phone goes off. It's my neighbor, my Beagle got out. He's like, Hey, we have your Beagle Ruby. Uh, which Mason's seen these dogs, like she's the [00:31:00] most sweetest thing ever, but she likes to take off and she's a little, and, uh, she's determined when she hunts.

She's one of those ones, the sweetest dogs ever, you know, when she cuddles with you, but when she's in hot mode, she is just the little devil. And so he, he texts me, he's like, man, I'm like, Oh my goodness. I just got set up. I'm like. I should just get down. I'm late. I've already blown this whole place up.

Like, and I was like, no, I'm hunting. Like it's, I got, everything's right. Like stick to the plan. So I'm like, Hey, just throw them in the, I have like a really nice hand. I custom built a crate in my garage for my other dog. So when we're gone, he just goes in there. It's like six by eight or maybe not quite that big.

It's probably like six by five. And, uh, it's tall and I was like, Hey, can you just throw her in there with him? They're buddies. Like, and he's like, yeah, no problem. We'll do that. Like sweet. Took care of that. 10 minutes later. Hey, we, uh, the other dog was barking at us a lot. We didn't really feel comfortable putting her in there.

So she's just running free in your garage. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, like I got a beagle running free in my [00:32:00] garage. It's like six, 10. By this time I'm like, Oh my goodness. So I, thankfully I live close to my parents. I texted my mom. I was like, Hey, if you're home, can you take care of the dog? You know, she's doing that.

Nothing, nothing. And like, I had like, I think I'd seen a deer maybe in the distance. I go, and I just assumed it was like one of the fawns, but I was like, I got to call my mom because I got a dog running free in my garage. Like I got so much stuff and like valuable things. And you know, I don't know. She's usually good, but who knows.

So I just like call my mom, like it's six 15, six 20 on the phone, my mom. And I'm like, Hey, uh, can you, and I'm, I'm whispering, but I'm also talking kind of loud because I want, she couldn't really hear me. And she's like, yeah, I'll take care of it. No problems. Like sweet. Got that taken care of. And I just started putting the phone down.

I was like. Wow. What? Just chaos. Like what? Just absolute chaos for today. But I was like, you never know what that's, that's usually when it happens. Seems like every time you, you'd almost count on it. So [00:33:00] everything goes wrong, but so I looked down, so I never put the phone back in my, I use a muff or whatever, hand muff, put my phone in that, zip it up.

And I look, and I had just done some service on my. Platform. I, uh, for my saddle, cause it was making a popping noise. So like I took it all apart, wax it all down and got rid of the pop. And, uh, but I looked down and the top of my thing is like hanging off the tree. Cause I didn't toe seated enough or whatever you call it.

Toe kick. You guys know what I'm talking about? So I was like, dude, my bottom, my platform is like buried in, but I'm like a half inch off and I was like, do I like get down right now? And like. Crank that thing over. And I was like, no, I'm not moving. Like it could happen any minute. And I look up and there's a doe at like 30 yards walking and ended up being a doe fawn.

And I'm like, okay, perfect. And I can, then I just instantly start hearing deer walking all around me. Like. It felt like they were all surrounded and it's really thick. I [00:34:00] can't, I can see like pockets far, but the farthest I can shoot is 30 yards. So well, then the wind was Northwest. So I'm facing due North, kind of Northeast a little bit.

So the wind's kind of coming from my slightly left going over across my body and then angling back to my right. And where it's going is kind of risky because deer do come from that way. And that's where the scrape was that I had made the mock scrape, but I kind of assumed if anything came that close to me, I'd be able to get a shot before they smelled me.

So I felt pretty good about that. Um, I was a little worried about that platform because I was like, man, if I really got to lean on the side, I might not see it all the way, but I should be good. So I instantly, that was out of my head and I wasn't thinking about that anymore. And then I hear all these deer and I hear all of a sudden I hear like loud, deep cry and I'm like, Oh boy, here we go.

Grab my boat instantly. [00:35:00] And I, I, but I can't, I don't, all I see is now I see two fawns. And then I see a third fawn and I'm like, Oh, one of those must be a button buck. That's just being funny. You know, a button box to just get weird, you know, and I keep hearing deer walking from behind me to my right. And I'm like, where is that?

Where is that? Where is that? And then finally I see it. Skirting behind me, it was probably 50 yards away and I see a rack and then it hops in the crick and hops the other side. So it went right where I'd walked in, but didn't get boogered and ended up being, I think like a nice eight point, probably like a two year old eight point.

And he went off and I was like, okay, that was that deer, but it. When he did that, that was like shortly after I heard the big brr, so I wanted to find out the buck I shot was doing all this grunting. And I think he kind of bumped that buck off because I could hear that buck from a distance walk, and then he just like left.

He like vacated the area. And then I just keep hearing... I bet I heard 20 or 30 grunts. It was nuts. And I remember like turning my [00:36:00] GoPro on and I was like, I hear all these grunts, but I think it's a button buck. And I'm like glass in these three fawns and none of them had nubs in their heads. And every time you hear the grunt, I don't see them grunting.

And I'm just like, what is going on, but I'm just going to hold out, you know, well, then all of a sudden I look, and this is probably 20 minutes after the phone call my mom, maybe not even 20 minutes has gone by. And I look and I just see this giant body deer, like appear out of this thick stuff and lip curling.

Lip curling, head up, lip curling, and he was downwind of the dose, so he had like done like a little j hook and got into that northwest wind, and thank goodness my scent stream's like parallel to him about 25 yards farther down to his south or whatever, you know, his west, southwest or whatever, so I mean I'm skirting this like close, and Thank goodness.

He started grunting. He bumped those does and instantly I saw the body and I saw the frame. I put a bindles up and I saw the big fork. And I was like, that's a giant body deer. And he's got a great [00:37:00] frame, like mass high office had still hadn't really realized it was the seven point. But he worked perfect, came back, came crossed from my right, worked across to my left, went behind the tree I was sitting in, and then I leaned over and you can see this on the GoPro.

I like swing over to my strong side of the tree and my platform goals. And I dropped like, dude, like two inches. , . Now it's, I was like, oh, but it didn't make a noise. Somehow it was like quiet and I remember it happening and me like, oh man, like, but when I watched the video I was like, dang, I dropped a long ways.

So he, he goes to clear this big pine tree and I turned the GoPro. 'cause it's like, oh man, I'll get on the GoPro. Well, the tree was in the way, so I didn't get it. But as soon as he cleared, I pulled my bow back. And the does clear through, and that trail was 23 yards because I had ranged it. I knew that trail was there.

I'm going to hit everything. Great. Anchored level, my bubble. Like I have all this [00:38:00] checklist going through my head. Cause I've screwed up twice this year, you know? Yeah. So 23 yards, he clears this tree perfectly broadside, but he, I had like a window between two trees and I'm, I'm always like shoot the first opportunity I get, I shoot.

So I kind of went. Like that. He stopped perfect broadside shoulder forward. I put it right on his elbow, like just to the right of his elbow. Cause he's facing left and I just let her rip and dude, I watched him duck into my arrow at 23 yards. Like he was key to Emil. He didn't see me, but he just like did the drop and I hit him perfect behind the shoulder.

And I was like, and he ran off and dude, I was just losing my mind in the tree. Cause when he, when he cleared at 23 yards, that wasn't, I got the first like good look at him. And there was no doubt in my mind that this buck was five and a half years older, older, like the biggest body deer I've ever shot at Michigan, like huge tank and just this, his frame just comes straight up and gnarly buck.

And dude, I shot him and he took off running and it was like what you [00:39:00] dream about hearing, just smashing through stuff. And 15 seconds, I don't hear nothing. And I am just losing it, dude. Like, ah, everything went wrong. And then finally, you know, he comes in and everything, everything goes right. It's just like, you kind of come off guard by the situation and it almost makes you freak out more, right?

Yep. Look down at my watch. Six 42. So I hadn't even been sitting for 45 minutes and I had that happen. So, and that is not ideal. Like I'd never tried to do that. It's just how the night worked out and everything. And sometimes you just gotta be lucky. And, but I mean, I still snuck in there, you know, you do all, you follow the plan and like I, I never, I never say in a little interview, I didn't look, cause I like to do little interviews on the GoPro just so I like, and I save them so then I can like, look back and be like, Oh, on October 27th, I was sitting here and there was this wind and I didn't see crap or I had really good movement, you [00:40:00] know, that's kind of my logging I do.

And. I never telling it like this spot blows up with rubs. I'm hoping to be here when they're actually here. I always feel like I'm behind them. And yeah, I did, man. And it was first time. And since 2020, I shot a buck on my bow and it felt good, real good. And then, uh, We went and I got Henry and Ashley and brother in law climbed down, you know, did the whole thing, found my arrow before I got them.

And there's blood on a tree, like where I hit them and where I found my arrow, there was like blood in front of my arrow. So like instant blood when it went through them. So I was like, Oh, we're, we're golden. And we tracked that deer, Ashley and Henry led the way. And it was just, it was what you want, you know, double lung shot, blood pouring.

It was, uh, I know you, you, uh, you took some, some video of that track job. It looked like a good time. Oh yeah. Henry was, Henry was right on it. Yup. He was following, he, he smelled the deer, you know, he like, [00:41:00] I had just seen the deer a little bit. So I started recording the last time and he's tracking and he's like, dad, I, I, you said you smell that I smell buck.

I smell either blood or I smell buck. I was like, I think you're right. I smell that too. And you know, just a seven year old that just has done a lot of tracks. He knows he knew to look, you know, look for that, but yeah, he walked up on it. Oh man. Yeah, dude, he was so rutted up. It was nuts. Like tarsal glands, black.

He just was that old mature deer that just knew the system. And he was, I just, I think all these years I've just been behind them, you know, like I've been hunting them and just, he's already through because, I mean, you know, he kind of focused on that Halloween time or, you know, later in October, like October, or even, you know, a good, a good means to, to take note of all your shotgun pictures throughout the years or, I don't know about you, but, you know, I say folders of specific deer.

Throughout the years and then, you know, there is some truth to them coming through a certain property at a certain [00:42:00] time or in a certain wind and, you know, as long as you're able to take note of that, you can use that to your advantage in the future and maybe, you know, if you had a camera where he was at, you would have been able to see that, okay, he's coming through this property at this time.

And you just happened to be there at the right time, you know? Yeah, exactly. Like if my camera was, if I had put my mock scrape, I picked one, I picked, there's two good trails that deer like to go through and I picked the wrong one. Obviously, cause I never had any of these bucks on camera. I just have does.

So, I mean, we're talking 30 yards. You know, if my camera was 30 yards different set up a little bit better and I made probably a mock scrape there, I probably would have had all of them because that's what, because when I tracked that buck, Oh man, like I'm talking, we found trees that had like, he had the, you know, rub in it, he had bark in his antlers, but like these trees were like bleeding.

Like he made these, this sign was made within like two days, you know, like just started popping. [00:43:00] So, I mean. That's why I like, and I've been sending truck cameras up for a long time in these areas and each year is a little different, you know, and this year I just missed it by that little bit, but thank goodness I didn't let that, you know, that like the history, I relied more on my history.

Like you were saying, like that timeframe, like in the twenties of October is when these bucks moved through this area and for the first time of the year too. So that's a great point. And, you know, maybe I should do a little better job of like the wind, like, you know, coordinating my wind, you know, you can look up the winds from years of the past, but.

I think that's, yeah, that's some good solid advice for sure, right? And I think, and I think some areas play different based on different deer too, you know, as, as a deer gets older, you know, a different mature buck moves into an area, he's going to make sign a little bit different than, than the buck before him, so.

Um, you know, I think what played better for you is you knew that time, but I think, you know, by the sounds of it, that same buck was making all that sign, you know, because the trees would be short [00:44:00] guys always talk about, they like, feel like they know a deer. Like, I feel like I knew this deer's track, like I always had this, like, like.

Last year, I didn't feel like I was on him and maybe he got hit or maybe he just kind of had an off year, but last year was the first year. I didn't really have them like sign that I was used to seeing because the way he rubbed trees with his brow tines and he ended up having a dagger, like a three inch dagger below his brow tine.

So brow tines go straight up and down. And this was like a 90. So like when he rubbed a tree, he just. Gouged it hard. Like on one side too, would just shred, you know, I'm talking like six, eight inch trees and they would just be shredded. So I hadn't seen any of those rubs last year. So I just kind of thought maybe this deer's dead.

Um, and then when I went and recovered that deer going through this thick and just, it was a heck of a drag. Um. I, we found trees shredded just like that. And I was like, this is where he's been like, this is his spot. And then when I saw that, I was like, this is him, this is the deer. And then when I finally, the next [00:45:00] day really dug into my trail cam pictures and started sending to everyone else to make sure I wasn't crazy.

That's when I was like, I, I did it. I shot him like, this is just, and then the whole time I'm sitting there looking at him laying there, I'm like, this has gotta be him, you know? But now it's like, I don't like to like react right away. Cause you know, adrenaline and I hate nothing more than someone, you know.

You know, thinking, thinking they're, you know, telling facts and I mean, obviously I could be wrong if this, if the teeth come back and he's five and a half years old, then it's like, it might not be the same deer because I doubt I shot at him when he was a year and a half old, you know, but you know, those things are pretty accurate.

But for me right now, I'm. Fairly confident that he is, I, I, I'll put money on seven and a half years old and that's pretty incredible here in Michigan, you know, especially where I hunt, there's a lot of hunters, so he's just figured it out. But you know, there's some deer that, yeah, like you said, they can just figure it out and stay alive for that long, somehow evade everybody.

But if he finds the right pocket and he knows where to go, then. It's easy for him. I mean, you got to [00:46:00] play it exactly right to be able to get to that deer. Yeah. 20 yards. If I was set up where I had set up, you know, the morning just got lazy, maybe, or, you know, just like I tore all my stuff down. I got to tear my stuff down every time, because if you leave it there, you're like, ah, let's go hunt there again.

And then I never have a really good hunt because that first time in is usually pretty good. But yeah, I tore it down. Didn't get lazy, but if I had set up in that tree. I would have been out of the game. Like I would have, I couldn't know shot, you know, he might've gotten within 50, 60 yards of me, but like, it just wasn't, wasn't a realistic opportunity.

So there's a lot of things that take, you know, like you said, feel, you know, you get lucky and, uh, um, it feels good, man. Like I said, it's been since 2020, a shot on my bow. So I feel good. Yeah. So, uh, so where do you go from here? I mean, I know obviously you, you hit Jake, you hit Mr. Krabs and. I missed Mr.

Krabs and I hit Jake. So, like, well, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, now, now this is your, this is your cleanup, right? Yeah. Like, where do you go from here? Do [00:47:00] you plan on, plan on getting after those two still? Or, um, so, just banking on Illinois and the rest of your out of state season? So like, if you were to ask me what deer I wanted to shoot the last three years, since I, since 2020, um, I even actually hunted the 7.

20 20 also, like I shot that buck opening night and I still hunted him, but then I ended up shooting different deer opening day gun season. So I was kind of done, but I still ran a lot of cameras, but if you would ask me. What do you want to shoot? It would have been the seven point. Like everyone knows all my friends, everyone's like, when I sent a picture, like, Oh my gosh, is that him?

And I was like, I think so. I think so. Like, um, so I feel very fulfilled in that department. Um, and then the night I went and tracked the seven point I access from the other way, um, and drove my truck at by the food plot. Um, that I missed Mr. Krabsman and guess who was standing right by that food plot at 8 30 at night, Mr.

Krabs, let me drive the truck right on to him. So that deer is still in the area. Um, [00:48:00] but I kind of got this. So Henry really wants to shoot a deer with a gun this year. So that's like my one priority. I actually still kind of hunting in my brother in law's hunting. Um, so not going to lie. I don't think I'm going to shoot Mr.

Krabs or Jacob. I see him this year. I think I might let them go another year just because I know they're four year olds and I, not like I'm trying to be greedy or trying to be better than anyone else, but it's like, I feel very like fulfilled and thankful for the opportunities that I've had this year.

And I got one of them. So I'm kind of like, I'm pretty content with Michigan right now, at least for those deer in that area. Um, Because they are special deer. Like they could blow up, uh, into something else or my brother in law could maybe shoot one of them or Ashley. Uh, Henry, I'm probably not going to let you shoot one of them because he needs to shoot smaller deer first, but, but, uh, that's kind of where I'm

standing. Yeah, absolutely. Like we, we already talked about it. I was like, that's a good buck for you, Henry. Every spike we see or six point or a little eight point, you know? So [00:49:00] he's on board with that. Um, But, uh, so I kind of feel pretty good about that. Um, I'm going to try to get my brother in law. I got a good game plan for him, uh, here in the next like eight days, probably if we get the right weather, um, And then I have some public land spots.

I have to pull some cards on that. If I get time to do that, I might do that. Otherwise I might just hunt before our trip. I might only make it up North and maybe hunt once or twice. Um, cause I haven't hunted up there yet this year. And then, yeah, all, all guns a blazing for Illinois when we go there. So I tell you what, that's kind of what makes it fun though.

I mean, you get the, you kind of get the monkey off your back, you know, we got Illinois coming up here next week. So, you know. You can kind of play around a little bit for, for the whole next week. Cause you know, you got a deer, I mean, yes, sir. Everything's open. Yeah. Me and Drew are just, you know, having opportunities left and right.

And there's poor Mason, just twiddling his thumb, just ready to get [00:50:00] after it. So I do have to ask you, Mason, have you been like scouting digitally, the property, like good after bad picking out stand locations or what? Uh, not so much the property because I mean, the amount of time we spent on foot in there, everything's probably mapped out.

So I've been, um, pretty much every night probably until I go to bed. I'm like searching all over the place because like I said, I tell when Drew and I talked the other night, both him and I both said, Like nobody's even stepped foot on public. No, and there's ample opportunities. And the more you actually look at public and get a 3d and lay it down and start actually looking for stuff, the better it looks.

And like, like what I was telling him. I mean, the beans are still on, so there's a good possibility the corn's still on, on that one piece. Yeah, that's a good point. So, yeah, so, [00:51:00] like I said, the more I look, the more pins I, I gotta start cleaning it up, cause every, where I look and that I like, I just drop a pin and I go back and look at how you'd number one, you'd get to it.

But there's. There's too many options for only seven days. So let's just put it that way. Yeah. So are we all going to get there Friday afternoon? Are you guys getting there Thursday night or what's the, um, so the third is Friday. So the second, is anyone heading there the second? So I w I will be headed there the second I, uh, I get up.

I work allows me to take two days for free, basically. So that Thursday, Friday, I just. Figure I'll take Thursday off too. So nice. I'm uh, I'm headed down early Thursday morning And I'm gonna hopefully get a hunt in Thursday evening nice and half Friday. So nice. I'll be I'll be sleeping in the truck somewhere Thursday night, but Hey, if it means deer hunting in Illinois, I'll be, [00:52:00] I'll be all for it.

Nice. And then the exit, we, we might head down Thursday night, me and dad, uh, but we won't get there until after dark, obviously we probably won't leave until later. Um, and then, so I guess. Cause a lot of guys are in this position. I'm sure that, listen to this, if you're in Michigan, you know, people are, you've done these hunts, uh, out of state.

I mean, I don't think, I don't want to go in there and hang out my first hang hunt with my dad or whatever, if probably Friday morning, unless we think that's a good idea, but I'm thinking we might have to wait until Friday night or evening or middle of the day or something like that to go in there. And my kind of approach to this is like me and my dad are going to kind of hunt together because, you know, we got, uh, Like I, we always do this, like we kind of tag team, like when we go to a property, we'll kind of set up pretty, we don't always set a brand top each other, but we kind of, we'll hunt close proximity to each other just because you get down at the same time.

You're not really like blowing the whole area up. You're kind of like being [00:53:00] streamlined. And to tell you the truth, me and him might actually hunt in the same tree a couple of times. So I think I'm just going to really embrace that because. You know, we don't really get much time to hunt together, you know, like I don't sit with them with a gun anymore because I have my family and he's always got, you know, my siblings with them or, you know, little sister that's, you know, the youngest one, but they're my mom.

So I think we're going to take advantage of that. Um, and yeah, like, I think, what do you think, Mason, are you going to go in there? You think not, you're going to try to hang out in the morning in the dark because your dad's going to be there too. What are you guys thinking you're going to do? I probably won't go in there in the morning, because, I don't know, I always struggle with going to, not that this place is new, but nobody's ever been in there in the dark other than Drew and I.

Walking out of there with phone lights. The last time we were down there. And we saw how that went. I mean, it didn't exactly go well, so. No, and yes, we have ideas where we want stands. Or what we've decided on certain wins and what [00:54:00] not. But no, I probably won't go in there in the morning, unless. And if it is a morning, it's that first tree right in the center of the property, right off the two track.

That splits the two fields, like something that's not super infringing on the entire place. I mean, you're not, your son's not going to kill it because it's just going to draw back down that ditch in the middle of the field. So, but to go anywhere else. No, like, I don't know. Uh, I'll probably, like I said, public's everywhere.

So there's tons of options and then I don't know. I've even thought about first day, just not even. Not even hunting. You know what I mean? Just taking, taking the morning, take your bow and then just kind of creep into an area of public somewhere in the area, whether it's two of us, I talked to Drew. He said he's all in for that too.

Oh, yeah. [00:55:00] So we've, we've done it before in Illinois and it's. It's not Illinois, but in Indiana and we got, we got close a couple of times, but nothing. I tell you what, there's something, there's something special about just like being on a state, wake up in the morning with a cup of coffee and it just kind of just making your, making your, uh, taking your sweet time, getting into an area and, you know, really trying to figure it out in the morning and, you know, taking a full, yeah, a full day of scouting.

You know, I, I feel like you're just, you have so much more of an advantage than just trying to dive into somewhere you've never been to before, you know? So, are you thinking the north, the northeast and then the south? Are you that property you guys are kind of looking at or what, what, what, what are we thinking from us?

Like how close proximity to our property or are we going to travel, are you going to travel on some of this public land? Well, I know, you know. As you guys know, we, we kind of changed the Airbnb up a little bit. So we're a little bit farther [00:56:00] from the property. We're more, we're north northwest of the property now.

So there's quite a bit, uh, of state ground up that way too. So, um, it's substantially more rugged if you've looked at it. Oh yeah. I have not looked at that. I'm just kind of anxious to, to give that a good look over to, yeah. It's steep.

I sense some excitement in your voice with that, Mason. You seem to be drawn to that stuff. I won't. Like I said, I'm excited to go anywhere. Like I said, I haven't even been in the tree this year. It's just, it's even alive. I live vicariously through you guys. You know what I mean? Yep. Honestly, I'm about to just shut all my cell cameras off, too, because it's irritating.

So. Mason. To speak about Hills, too, like, I feel like Mason just loves Hills. Like, if he could just take a sled with him any time we go hunt public land, he's just, [00:57:00] he's all about it. Give me the steepest hill, he's all for it. He'll ride down that bugger. Well, I. I mean, I'm sure we're both on the same page, but if our dads, cause your dad's going to be in camp too, right, Drew, he's not on the lease with us, but like all of our dads are going to be there, right?

Yeah. My dad's actually, I don't know. He's. He's retired now. So he's just kind of taking everything lackadaisical and he's just enjoying life. He's not, he told me the other day, he's not even buying a license. He just wants to go scout. So us,

you know, buggering up many spots or anything like that. So here I was hoping all of our dads would shoot something, you know, cause we're kind of all, we're kind of all that age now, you know, like our dad did so much for us. Yeah. Yeah, I said, uh, you're not, you know, since you're not buying a license now, you're going to see a 180 walk right, right in front of you.

And you're not going to have a bow on your hand. He's like, Oh, I got my phone camera. We'll be [00:58:00] good. Oh, good dude. It's like, I wish I had that mentality. Yeah. There's going to come a point in time, you know, like it's just the way nature is. And you know, father time's the only thing undefeated in this world, but.

Seeing everything kind of come full circle, their dads, and they got us into it. And like, I was kind of chit chatting with my dad a little bit and he's just like chomping at the bit to get down there, you know, cause he didn't get a chance to scout it at all. So he's just going off of trail cam pictures and what I've been telling him.

And, uh, something about being like, if I could be in the tree and watch him shoot a deer with his bow. I think that would be probably like my most like memorable thing short of watching my son shoot a deer, because he's been there so much for me. Like he's allowed me to like, do what I do. He's watched me shoot a lot of deer.

He's taught me all these things and he's got just so many years of experience and his approach to how he's hunted, you know, learn how to do things. And it's like, man, dude, if we could be in the same tree and I watch him just smash a buck, like we are going to lose our minds. [00:59:00] Because like when I call him on the phone, after I shoot a deer, I say, dude, I'm just like, dude, just going nuts.

You know, it's kind of our thing we do. And, uh, so I think if a success for me, like number one would be to have that happen and then two would be just, if any of us shoot a nice buck, like if we can get one down and it's going to be just a good time, good time, I'll give up. An opportunity to shoot one to have my dad be able to be successful just because I don't know he uh, we went to New Mexico last year and I was the one behind the gun.

So like I'm more than willing to trade places with that. Not so much, uh, being in the same tree, but just to be there. Does that make sense? Oh yeah. So, yeah, we're, he's pretty, pretty jacked up. So I talked to him about three nights, three nights a week about it. Good. Oh, this deer, this, he's got deer. Can't feel all about it.

And I love it. It's just [01:00:00] going to be good and we're going to eat good. That's another important thing. Like you gotta have, you know, going out to eat every night and, you know, doing those kinds of things can kind of, you feel like crap if you fast food it up or whatever. So my dad's got the hobby farm and we got.

We got fresh pork and fresh chicken, fresh meat. So we're going to have instant pots, crock pots, and that kind of stuff. So absolutely. I know my mom, my mom is going to send us down a big batch of cookies. Yeah. Mama's cookies. They always, they always turn out well. Yeah. She's, she's already asking what do we want?

She's like, wow, we're low. We're all in there. Mid late 20s, like we're, we're self sufficient here. Like what do you want? Like you make a batch of cookies and I don't think anybody's going to be mad about it. Never, never say no to that. Cookies are my weakness. Yeah. So everybody, everybody excited. Good. Oh yeah.

I mean, What else we got going on here? Like, I know, I don't even know how long we've been chit chatting for already. It's been a while, but, [01:01:00] um, any questions for me on my hunt? I guess that I maybe didn't touch on just to try to help someone out. Um, I guess I feel like I tried to break down all those important details that kind of go through my head, but like if the buck's not there, you're not going to kill them.

No matter how good of access, no matter how good of a spot it may be or whatever you do, silent. Get in there early enough or late enough in my regard. If he's not there, you're going to have, you're not going to have it. So don't get discouraged. If guys are going through this time, you hear me like here I am.

I sound like the biggest tool ever because I've had three awesome opportunities already this year, but that's a rarity for me. Usually it's one a year. Um, so just stay with it. Keep your plan. You know, going through your head, like develop a game plan and go out there, but have fun. Like, I never tell myself that too, like, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna hunt this other tree.

I've never sat this tree. It's gonna be kind of cool, like kind of a good experience. So, but yeah, is there anything else? Well, and I know for you, like with what happened to you earlier in the season, [01:02:00] obviously, as you know, same, same kind of thing happened to me. And, and like you said, don't get discouraged and enjoy.

The fun out in the woods. And I think those situations really teach you just enjoy being in the woods. I mean, it's like, you get so beat down about hitting a deer and not finding it or, you know, whatever, everything goes wrong. Everything went wrong for you on your hunt going in there. Literally nothing went right.

You got in there an hour, some late, you know, you had only 45 minutes in the tree, but like never get discouraged. I always have some sort of confidence in the tree and usually pays itself off. Yeah, absolutely. And that goes into this like November hunting thing to me. I'm like, we're gonna, I mean, I sit all day, most of the time, you know, I might not do it every day in our trip that we're there, but when you're, you're grinding it out all day, or even if you get down midday and go set up another tree.

Yeah. You got to just keep that good, good attitude because it happens quick, like [01:03:00] especially rut hunting. Like that's kind of what it was. I felt like a November 7th hunt for me, like grunting deer going all over me and all of a sudden went from there. He is to like bow, pulled back and killed them. I mean, I'm talking.

Maybe a minute and a half, you know, maybe, maybe two minutes, like, and that was trying to pushing it. So keep it, keep you on edge. You gotta keep that like killer instinct, you know, guys always talk about that. I think I was kind of lacking that earlier this year. I wasn't really in the right headspace. I don't know how, if that's the right way to explain it, but.

I was kind of rattled, you know, because like the fiasco, the first year getting down and I'll see my platform and popping back up and all of a sudden, boom, there he is full commit to the food plot, jacking around with the camera. And then the second shot, you know, I was, I felt like I was calm and did all those things, right.

But then it was like, I wasn't in the right mental spot because I'd made some rookie mistakes in my arrow setup and not like being prepared enough. So like, there's all these like little minute details that when things go bad, those rear their head. [01:04:00] You know, like it only takes the bad things to have that happen.

So, and it's crazy how rattled we can get about all this and everything going wrong. But I think we lose sight of the fact that we're not at work. We're just chilling in a tree. Nothing could be better. I mean, I think you take that for granted. Yeah. You know how that feels to be in a tree, right? Mason . No.

I, I done not, not this year. I couldn't tell you, dude. I hope after giving you all this crap, the next podcast we do is gonna be the dead deer. Like, you're gonna just be like, mason's like, I found this permission ground 20 minutes from work. Kill a one 40. Or he is gonna go to a piece he's been scouring digitally in Illinois and be like, you know what?

Piss on you guys. I'm gonna go sit this public piece over here. You're going to smash a buck and you're like, what's the big deal? You just pull your bow back and kill one. And

yeah, uh, but yeah, we can wrap this up [01:05:00] guys. If there's nothing else, I mean, I think we'll definitely do a podcast and we're down there. Maybe we'll do more than one, but give guys kind of update. Hopefully there's some dead critters involved, but, um, I think it'd be cool to have a, have a camp podcast. You know, we got, we got quite a few guys and I think we could have put a good time on these nights.

I know I should buy, I should buy more mics, but I think we might have to do the whole share mic thing. Cause I'm not making no money on this yet. So, and tags ain't cheap or tax bills. Oh man, this buck is getting mounted. I mean, I just can't not mount a deer like that, you know? So it's like, Ooh, there goes the hunting budget, you know, for the year.

So, which, you know, not, I mean, here I'm pretty blessed. So, I mean, I'm not trying to complain, like having the opportunity to say. is awesome. So I think we'll, we'll make a deer camp podcast somehow with these things. So I'd be mad if you didn't mount that deer. Yeah, I was, I, I didn't really entertain it. I kind of did do just a rattle my dad.

Cause he came, he met me at the house [01:06:00] and by the time he got there, I had the buck. All the truck is laying down on the grass and I have the mercury light and he pulled this truck down and he shined the headlights on and he walked out truck and he was like. Chewed us, did you shoot an Iowa buck? Like this thing is just giant, you know, rutted up.

And I was like, yeah, it kind of reminds me of the Iowa buck. And I didn't mount my buck. I shot Iowa. Cause I kind of had some standards before I was going to do it. And he just missed the mark for that. And I was like, you know, that European amount looks. Purdy. And before I can even finish my sentence, he's like, I'm going to punch you right in the mouth.

If you don't mouth that,

he's like, you cannot, you have too much history. Cause he was convinced instantly. That's that deer, like he was dead on. He's like, that's that buck. He's like, I've seen a lot of dead deer. He's like, this deer is older than you think. And it's, it's him for sure. So yeah, I was like, yep. So he got brought to the taxidermies.

So history, history goes a long way with a deer. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. He's probably, he's probably close to 130. I didn't get a chance to throw a tape on him, but I mean, we're talking [01:07:00] 17 and a half inches wide on the inside. Um, his tallest time on his one side is probably, you know, knock on the door, 10 inches, probably nine, nine, a little bit, nine, some change.

Um, he's got mass. Yes. He's got a lot of mass. Good mass. Yeah. Good mass. So, and, and, you know, by the time this podcast launched, I'll probably throw some pictures on Instagram, which is weird for me. I mean, I know we all kind of post some of our kills, but like, I never even thought about posting the night I shot him, you know, I just more intrigued with sending them to my buddies and, you know, kind of doing that.

Then I'm like, Holy crap. It's Wednesday or Wednesday tomorrow. I haven't even posted I'm, you know, doing this, this podcast thing and Instagram page and I'm like, I don't even, I ain't posted it. So we'll just wait. Who cares at this point, right? You know, the people that know I shot the deer, the people I care about, and I don't really care about anyone else.

So, but dude, it's a sweet deer, man. I mean, yeah, I don't, it's going to be really tough to ever shoot a deer. I think that old again in Michigan. So, um, it can happen obviously, but. [01:08:00] I feel blessed. So yeah, let's wrap this thing up. Yeah. Let's wrap this thing up. So, um, thanks everyone for listening to this. Uh, appreciate you listening to us bumble around and tell our stories and hopefully you can tell how much we like hunting and, uh, yeah, go outside.

Enjoy creation. It's October 24th. The weather looks like it's going to suck for the next couple of days, but this weekend could be good hunting. So Saturday looks hot. Yeah, Drew's over there smiling, shaking his head. So, I mean, that like we've, me and Drew have talked about on here before. There's a few things that got to check the box for us to be really excited.

And from looking at the forecast, Saturday is kind of looking like one of those days. So if you guys don't give up, you know, we got that pre rut, get out there, get after it and may shoot straight and aim small, miss small and aim low. That was another point. So I aimed low on this deer at 23 yards and I bet I hit him three and a half inches higher than where I was aiming, which missed the heart.

I double lunged them beautiful blood trail hit all the main arteries coming out of his heart out of the top of his heart, but [01:09:00] where I was aiming was probably like center to bottom of heart and he did duck my arrow at 23 yards. So once again, just aim low, you know, uh, listen to, uh, listen to Levi Morgan.

He talked about how he's aiming low at all sorts of yardages and that dude's. Probably one of the best archers in the world. 3d shooting. I think he is. So hearing someone like him, who's that fine tuned with his shooting ability and how he talked about shooting deer. Yeah. Go on meat eaters podcast. It was in the recent ones they've done last like few weeks, but give that a listen that just really, I learned a lot.

And I remember when that deer came through that tree and I hit everybody points. I was like, I need to be here. I'm going lower. So I aimed three and a half inches lower with a 20 yard pin at 23 yards. So I was probably more realistically in the four to five inches low where I hit them. So do that guys. I want everyone to be successful.

So thanks for listening. Go outside, enjoy creation and good luck the rest of this fall. See ya.[01:10:00]

‍