2012 South Dakota Bird hunt

                                             Day 1 limit of roosters with Partridge and Grouse mixed in.

                                            Day 2 limit of roosters

 The back of the Pedestal mount from Buck # 2 in 2011

Buck #2, mid 140's 8pt.

Buck # 1 from 2011, gross 144, 9pt.

First Bear Kill!

September 24th, 2010 is a day that will be etched in this hunter's memory for the rest of his time! It took me 5 long years to draw a bear tag and even if I did draw a tag I didn't know if I would have a place to hunt a bear or someone to bait for me.. Last fall I saw a picture of my buddy I knew through wrestling with his bear kill, I quickly sent him an email and asked if he could help me out, he didn't even hesitate to say you can count on us; I started planning for the hunt by making a scouting trip up to Medford, WI in August and talking on the phone with his Dad (Mike) from time to time to see how the baits were doing. Through the summer the baits were being hit by nice bears consistently, but the opening week of season the baits really slowed down and were not being visited consistently anymore due to the corn and acorns being so plentiful for the bears; the only thing I saw the first couple weeks was a big bear way off in the distance and triplet cubs, which was still pretty good considering with my work schedule I was only hunting the weekends. I got the call from Mike early in the third week that 2 baits were turning on again and being hit everyday by at least a couple different bears in each location, I could not wait to get up there on that friday and sit over the baits. We chose a bait site for that Friday that I had put many hours in the tree previously with no sightings, but our camera's showed this bear was less nocturnal than the bears at the other bait. It was rainy and windy and something about that weather must have made this big bear hungry early: 6:45 while in the tree stand I received a text from Mike that this bear was on the camera at 10:45 pm last night, needless to say that was not going to help me get him; I put the phone in my pocket looked up and ten yards away sat a 240lb black bear on its butt like a dog just looking around! My heart rate sky rocketed and I went into auto pilot the bear waited a few minutes and eventually got up and walked around behind the bait presenting a nice 15 yard broadside shot. After the hit the bear ran 5 yards started to climb a tree changed its mind and ran off into the brush; A flood of emotions came over me at this point it was an emotional roller-coaster only a hunter knows, from thinking dream come true to wanting to jump out of the tree-stand worrying that I might have missed the bear and will never get another chance. I quickly climbed down and much to my relief found lots of blood immediately, I turned and jogged/sprinted a half mile out of the woods on a pure adrenaline rush down the road to my buddy's friends house to call Mike and excitedly let him know it was time to gather the troops for a tracking job and that's where the excitement of hunting bears really begins, tracking! Lets just say you have to be mentally prepared to follow one of these beasts in the middle of the night right into its bedroom during a rainstorm, it was gut-check for me and added to the memories and made me think twice about ever wanting to bear hunt again, but when the bear was retrieved it was all worth it and then some. I felt like I did when I was 13 years old and had just killed my first deer which happened to be a nice 8pt with a bow, just pure excitement, it's like the experience took me back in time as hunting always does and made me realize why I do this and what I am thankful for: I first thought about how thankful I was to my buddy Lee Storck for so graciously offering up all of his Dad's free time since July to bait bear and hang stands and strategize a successful bear hunt for some guy whom he had never met before mid August; the Storck's invited me into their home cooked for me, gave me my own room and put me on bears and I sometimes questioned if they wanted me to get a bear worse than I wanted to, they cared that much! Mike's best friend Mel who is also in my bear kill pic deserves a thanks for helping bait, track and butchering duties and even more importantly all of his years of bear hunting wisdom he shared this guy is a bear hunting guru, when he talks you listen, bottom line. When Mel found out our baits were slow he walked corn fields until he found one that had bears ruining it and gained permission from the farmer for me to hunt and him and Mike quickly fired up another bait for me, these guys just went the extra mile with a failure is not an option attitude! I am excited to meet such selfless people like these folks and make more great lifelong friends, that's definitely what hunting should be about not competition,resentment and lying between fellow hunters.

This hunt gave me time to reflect (when the mosquitoes were not feasting on me) and I thought about how thankful I am for my brother and my uncle Dennis for getting me started on hunting and kindling my unhealthy obsession and love for the sport and my entire family that supports me in my singled minded pursuit of whatever trophy animal I set my sights on and pursue religiously. And for my friends who all offered up the congrats and the "I know how hard you worked and wanted this man you deserved it" Without these people being there for me hunting is pointless. And lastly I have to give a shout out to all of our veterans past and present of the greatest country in the world, they make it possible for me to live the good life due to their sacrifices, God Bless them!

Final hunt of 2011

The unlucky three that won't see the New Year

Carl with his buck he made a tough shot on.

Brisky's buck

The final hunt of 2011 proved to be a great one as we saw lots of deer and Brisky was able to kill a solid buck and Carl made a great shot at probably 100 yards with his shotgun on a very nice buck, I was doing the driving and walking all day and jumped a herd of deer and was able to knock down a small buck as well, it was a running shot and quick drag back to the truck and I'm sure once again I proved luck is better than talent, ha ha. 2012 hunting season will have to be pretty special to top 2011; I got 2 of my best bucks with a bow, Jesse added his personal best deer with the bow and one more nice one with a gun, Dustin killed a Muley and this is how it ended up for Carl. Along with an amazing pheasant hunt we are pretty darn lucky as a whole and have a lot of great memories and experiences together to be thankful for.

North Dakota

 a pic of the terrain we were hunting

 The porcupine that watched me pass by three times hauling Dustin's deer out of the bottom of the Butte's

 Dustin with his first muley a solid 4x4

 getting ready to feel out of shape hauling a head, cape and 2 hindquarters up the butte to the truck

 Rancher's shed behind the house and the round bales the deer were feeding on last year each afternoon

 pile of crap house we stayed in, but it kept us warm and did the trick just fine.

preparing to hike out into the frigid wilderness and try to stalk  a muley buck ( I look like I know what I'm doing, but really I have no clue, what I am suppossed to be doing).

Stormy style celebration!!

Dustin and I have been hunting together since we were probably five years old trying to exterminate every pigeon and sparrow from the entire farm, we were always fairly successful and this hunt was no different of course Dustin is the one bagging the trophies and I was ok with that. We had a ton of fun chasing these awesome beasts all across the badlands of North Dakota and I blew stalk after stalk and Dustin had some close calls before he finally connected on this buck, it was a solid team effort as I glassed him from about 800 yards away and got Dustins attention and we put the plan together where I would spook him out of his bed and hopefully he would head up the ridge where Dustin would be waiting. It was a huge releif to me when he got this buck because his knee's were really hurting him with all the hiking we were doing and I knew my body would be able to handle this stuff for a long time I hope and him being a dairy farmer limits his time as well; as busy as we both are its always nice how hunting can help keep a friendship strong and the funnest parts of the hunt probably were not the hunting, but the nights at the cabin shooting the breeze, striking up new friendships, playing some cards and joking around. The other guys in camp were great to hang out with as well Deano's friend Cunningham had the experience and taught us the ropes and Brandon Storm was a rookie this year with Dustin and I; Stormy is a hunter I have always admired for how he bags trophy's year after year off of knocking on doors to gain access and sitting all day for weeks on end during the rut even if he isn't seeing much, plain and simple he is successful because he outworks all the other hunters I knew it would be beneficial to learn from him as he was a big part of the reason I decided all day sits in my treestands and having more patience are neccessary for me to be able kill trophy deer; main thing he taught Dustin and I is you always have to have a victory beer in your pack for the rare occassion that you kill something and need to sit and have a beer and savor the moment, he said it might sit in your pack for two years, but no beer will taste better than that one, Dustin and I each put a beer in our packs and the next morning we got lucky! I was not suprised when he was the first one out the door in the morning and the last one to give up at night. Ironically Stormy and I were the only two hunters that never drew our bows, but we are all the more determined and excited to go back and I believe there is a big muley buck in our near futures. Dustin and I left a day early, so he could get back to help on the farm and also, I wanted to see Jesse and Bryce wrestle at the first tournament of their senior seasons, it turned out to be well worth it as Jesse came away a champion and Bryce was third that was great to watch; family is always more important than any hunt and that is exactly why Deano missed out on the hunt he planned, because he was being a good husband and taking care of his wife after she had surgery, we missed him in camp a lot and were really hoping he would make it, but more importanly hoping everything went great for his wife and him. The whitetail numbers were decimated from a disease they all got over the summer and they were not feeding on the ranchers round bales all around the house like last year, but we were not really there for them anyway, there is just something beautiful about a steel gray giant muley buck that we all wanted so bad. The house was a little rough with holes in the ceiling about the right size for raccoons to crawl through and a toilet that never really wanted to flush along with beds and couches that seemed to be cloth on top of bricks...LOL, but hey thats the North Dakota experience. I am already fired up to get another crack at the muley's next year.

Save the Best for last!

"The Big Eight" on a Snow Day

Summer pics of the "Big Eight"

Moments after he expired in the brush pile I first encountered him in.

Dream hunting weather!

Jesse thinking: "dang this should be mine"

Him as a 3 1/2, in 2010

shed matches up perfect!

 The Buck Jesse had right in front of his stand while we were registering my deer. Deano's buddy shot this one opening day of gun season.

 Jesse walking back in noticing some big fresh tracks!

 Another summer pic of my buck

 Scrape action where Deano was sitting.

The buck Deano was hunting on the next ridge when I shot mine.

The Story on a deer I dubbed "The Big Eight" played out like something from a whitetail magazine, too perfect to be true: I have been extremely fortunate to make great friends throughout my life and when I took a temporary job out of college removing piers and boatlifts, I wound up making a friend that might be crazier about hunting than myself, The owner of the company (Deano) I quickly found out was a hunting fanatic, needless to say we got a long pretty well, but I was still shocked when he offered to take me to his parents farm to hunt the big whitetails they had running around. Deano's hopsitality caught me off gaurd considering I have lived my life in a hunting area where its generally an "every man for himself mentality" and I have witnessed grown men:  complaining, making excuses,  actually shedding tears and lying to landowners to try and eliminate the competition on properties these deer live on, rather than share the joy and pass on the tradition with others while pursuing them, its turning into a dog eat dog and rich mans sport. All of this drama can really suck the fun right out of the sport, so it was very refreshing to find someone that still cared about other hunters besides themselves. Deano's only stipulations: don't shoot a buck smaller than one you have already killed and no doe's; if you can follow these rules you won't be asked to pull your stands and leave, but he told me he had many friends who could not help themselves, but shoot whatever deer came in range. I knew if anyone was determined to be disciplined enough to pass on deer and retain rights to such trophy property it was me. 

I caught a glimse of "The Big Eight" in 2010, when I guesstimated him as a 3 1/2 year old 135 class deer that I could not pass on, he was so symmetrical and his G2 length was outstanding; I watched him cruising a ridge staying tight to brush piles from 40 yards away, I vowed to hang a stand on that ridge for the following season. That spring I went shed hunting through that valley and on that ridge in the exact spot I watched him walk five months earlier I found his shed, 11" G2's, 9" G3's roughly 60" of horn on his right side, I showed Deano the shed and he pulled up a trail cam pic of him cruising that same area on October 27th midday. I don't think I deserve much credit for being able to figure out this deer's home turf and decide on a stand location, all these clue's "The. Big Eight" was leaving me, I probably should have retired from the sport if I would not have hung a stand on that ridge for the fall hunt. I got the stand up and brushed in during the month of June and told my cousins I was going to kill that buck there. August 26th he showed up on the camera's showing off the growth, I figured it was game on come rut. The first weekend in November we went down to hunt I fell into bad, rookie habits and second guessed myself and sat different stands both days; second guessing myself and making up my mind on a whim that a different stand site will be better than what my gut is telling me has been my problem since I was 12, my brother always preached to me then "pick your stand and go to it and stay put, dont always feel some other spot would be better". I don't want to give him credit for teaching me too many things growing up besides how to take a punch, but he was right at times... ha ha. I got what I deserved that first weekend with no big buck sightings, that week I started thinking to myself "hey bozo get in the stand you picked and set for a specific reason and your gut instincts are telling you is the honey hole and quit making stupid choices." I vowed I would be on that ridge all day the next time we went to hunt. It rained and snowed hard for two days with high winds, Jesse actually tryed hunting in that weather and caught a glimpse of him on the evening of the 9th, sending me a text saying he managed to keep brush in the way of his vitals and out of range, I told Jesse no worries hopefully he beds in the woods with a doe and tomorrow when the weather breaks one of us will get  a crack at him. The next morning was cold and light snow absolutely a hunters dream, I got to my stand on that ridge, dressed like a polar bear and ready to sit it out as long as needed, if it was a battle of wills between the Big Eight and myself I was ready, it didn't take long though and a doe came feeding along the hill right to me and low and behold Mr. Eight Pointer was tagging along. The doe took her sweet time feeding on shrubs as she slowly walked to my stand with her boyfriend in tow dead downwind, he seemed to sense something was not right or as I am finding out these mature whitetails are such intelligent creatures they just rarely let their gaurd down for a second; he would move from brush pile to brush pile staying 20 yards behind the doe focused on her, when she would move he would walk to the next thick brush pile and stand in the middle of it offering no shot! The doe was oblivious to me and walked up to my tree finally and bedded close enough to be spit on! At this point my nerves about had it, I had been holding my bow up ready to draw worrying about spooking either deer and wondering if my worthy adversary was ever going to come into the open, my arms shook and I needed to calm down and focus since he was at 30  yards buried in the branches like a cottontail rabbit and contemplating his next move, he finally decided he was in love and broke free of the brush and hit my opening at 25 yards and made the mistake of glancing down the hill giving me ample time to draw and send an arrow on the way, he fittingly died in the exact brush pile I first encountered him in, it was quick and efficient, but for me never easy to watch; Such a magnifecent animal in my eyes: displaying his intelligence time and time again he just found out what most men do...women are gauranteed trouble! It was celebration and elation turned  slightly bittersweet, I really cannot explain it. I called Jesse and left him a voicemail saying I got the Big Eight he is on the ground, and then called Deano who was a ridge over sitting a hot scrape to thank him, he was happy and congratulating me one minute to saying "you lucky SOB!" the next.. ha ha! Jesse called me back after getting my voicemail and told me he would be down in a half hour to help with the drag, I told him he may want to sit longer, but this was too great to not share together. He came down around 8:30 am we took some pic's, registered the deer, ate lunch and celebrated a little and got back in the stands around 1pm only to find Jesse's stand had big tracks right in front of it, we later checked the card on the camera and saw a 145 class ten (see photo's above) walked within 15 yards of where Jesse was sitting that morning at 11:20 am. At this point Jesse was probably sick of me and I was worried he might loosen the ratchet on my stand, I will be double checking that now before I climb in.

The buck now has 12" G2's, 10" G3's not signigicantly longer than last year, but his main beam length, mass and spread (19") were significantly better than last year. This deer is going to be a pedestal mount on a fence post from my Grandpa's farm, with a laser engraved picture of Jesse and I posing with him. The scenery that morning in the snow just added to the great memories. North Dakota Mulies next. Special thanks to the Tydrich family, truly giving not taking type people.