A Legend Has Fallen - The Story Of Bullwinkle
Deer hunting is without a doubt an emotional rollercoaster. 98% of the time it typically does not go down how we planned it in our head. Last month, I had a buck-of-a-lifetime walk out in front of me; the rest is history. Bullwinkle is a buck that we have had a lot of history with, and we obsessed over him. Instead of giving y'all a recap of the entire episode, I want to dig a little bit deeper into what goes on behind the scenes on my farm.
Every spring we coordinate with our farmer on what needs to be planted in our food plots (the portion of land we dedicate to feeding the deer and other animals on our land) and always make sure to leave standing corn and beans in the late fall, so the deer have plenty of food for the winter. This is also essential to us to ensure that the deer stay on our property and do not venture onto the neighbors with the chances of being shot.
We make sure that the deer have good bedding areas so that when they have their babies there is enough cover in the woods for fawns to hide from predators. An example would be hinging our trees in clusters around the timber. This takes time and strategy as well.
In August we start to hang our trail cameras to see what type of deer we have in specific areas while crossing our fingers that our target bucks made it through the gun season and the winter. Around this same time, we go to each tree stand that has been hung around the property ensuring that they are sturdy and the straps are well managed that hold the tree stand in place. We also hang new stands in the woods to prepare for opening day.
During the season we are constantly hanging new stands, checking trail cameras, and most importantly not over-harvesting (killing too many deer that could impact the population).
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A lot of time goes into the preplanning and the hunt itself. For example, in one season I sat over 90 days before getting the opportunity to shoot a mature whitetail deer. This sport can be so frustrating, which is why it makes success that much sweeter!
This is just a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, but in the meantime, check out my latest episode at Barstool Outdoors presented by Rocky Boots!
