Catholic Hotdish

I took some time yesterday to do some deer scouting down in Goodhue County. I found a new piece of property to bow hunt, and I will be taking my disabled friend, John Nesheim, out this fall. The plan is to set up several spots for both of us to hunt, then hunt together during the archery season.

We actually have two pieces of private property – at least John does. One landowner gave both of us permission to hunt, while his next-door neighbor will just allow John to hunt. That’s fine with me. There are plenty of good spots on the one piece we both have permission to hunt, which is about twice as big as the other.

This will work out great because John is the only one who will be hunting the one piece, so he will get a chance at unpressured deer. That’s always the ideal. And, I can set up on the other piece near the border of the piece John will hunt. Thus, we both will end up being able to hunt unpressured deer.

My friend, Rod, and I walked the larger property and found several good-looking spots. Now, we have to get some stands and ground blinds set up. It would be nice to do this before the trees green up, but we won’t have long before that happens, with the weather warming up fast.

I hope to get out there again in the next week or so. Meanwhile, after we finished hiking around, we went to Rod’s place in Red Wing and had a nice venison dinner. I made one of my favorites – venison cheeseburger on a stick. It included two of his favorite ingredients: ketchup and bacon. It was delicious.

After dinner, we headed outside for some archery shooting. That proved to be an amazing experience. Rod said we were going to try shooting at longer distances like 40, 50 yards and even more.

I freaked at the idea of shooting at such long range. I shoot at 20 yards about 90 percent of the time, and only rarely have tried 40 yards – never 50.

The results proved shocking to me. After painting a black bullseye on his target block about the size of a softball, I tried shooting at 20, 30, 40 and, finally, 50 yards. I was worried about even hitting the block, which is about 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall, at that distance.

Turns out, I did much better. The first few shots, I was within about 6 inches of the black mark. Then, a little later, I actually put one in the bullseye and the others close to it. Finally, on my last group of three shots, I put them ALL of them inside the bullseye.

Needless to say, my confidence took a big leap forward. As Rod pointed out, it’s not so much that I will necessarily try to shoot at a deer  50 yards away. It’s more that I will feel much more confident at shorter distances like 20 yards. I have heard many times that the average length of an archery shot at a deer is about 18 yards. I now am confident that I can make that shot.

Now, I need to keep shooting and get stands and blinds set up for the fall. Oh, and I’ve got a little turkey hunting to do in the next few weeks.

Q: What has been your favorite way to enjoy this beautiful stretch of weather we’re having?

All of the deer shown here were shot illegally and now reside on the Minnesota DNR's Wall of Shame.

For the first time in my life, I attended the Minnesota Deer Classic, which took place over the weekend at the State Fair Coliseum in St. Paul. Thought I could get some tips both for my upcoming wild turkey hunting seasons this spring and for deer hunting in the fall.

It wasn’t easy finding time to go. I spent most of Saturday at the state high school hockey tournament, taking photos at both the Class A and AA championship games. Then, I had two photo shoots on Sunday.

Fortunately, there was a window of about two hours to check out the show. What I noticed most inside the coliseum were antlers and lots of them – and very, very large. Seeing huge rack after huge rack made me ask myself a fundamental question: Why don’t I see any bucks like these when I’m in the woods?

I’m not sure why, but it’s nice to know they’re at least out there. Hopefully, with at least another decade of deer hunting left, I’ll encounter a trophy like these.

In the meantime, I’m looking for ways to improve my hunting skills. One way came via a product I discovered at the show. It’s called FireBUGS trail lights and will help me with a very annoying problem – finding my deer stand in the dark.

I started using trail tacks this year and they did work. However, you need to turn on some kind of light so they will illuminate in the dark as you’re making your way through the woods. That risks being seen by deer and spooking them. FireBUGS are small, battery-powered lights that are advertised to be visible for up to .8 of a mile away. They are dark during the day, then light up at night. They come in both red and green and are said not to spook game.

I got a nice deal at the show – six lights, plus 12 batteries for $15, half the price that they sell for online. They are supposed to last two weeks or more, so you can attach one to your stand and to key spots along the way a week before the season, and you’re good to go.

There is one stand I hunt out of during the gun season that has always been tricky to find in the dark. It’s only about 30 yards in the woods, and I can see it plainly in the daylight. But, darned if it doesn’t become very tough to find in the dark. I can remember two mornings in particular when I ended up wandering around looking for it in the dark. In one case, I thought it had been stolen.

The good news is, on both occasions, I eventually found the stand – and killed a buck from it both times.

This year, I had a little trouble finding it, but not so bad. And, after sitting in it for more than eight hours, I killed a nice 8-point buck on Opening Day of the gun season.

Another interesting booth was the Wall of Shame, put up by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. There were some impressive mounts (see photo above), plus the set of antlers from the now-famous Cannon Falls buck that was poached in the fall of 2009. It is believed by the DNR to be the highest scoring 8-point buck ever taken, with a net score of 185 inches. Most hunters will never even see a buck in their lifetime that would score that high, no matter how many points it has (generally, more points yield a higher score).

I’m glad I got to see the rack, and I’m really glad I bought a set of FireBUGS. I’m always happy to be able to find a good product at a low price.

Q: What is the best hunting product you’ve ever bought for under $20?

If it wasn’t for the state high school hockey tournament, I would be checking out the 30th annual Minnesota Deer Classic  at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Coliseum this weekend. For serious whitetail hunters, it’s a great event, and it kicks off today and runs through Sunday.

I know, deer season is a long ways off (eight months, to be exact), but now’s a good time to learn things that could pay off handsomely this fall in the form of a big buck. Or, if you happened to have shot a nice buck this past season, you can bring in the antlers and get them scored.

That’s what I would be doing if it wasn’t for hockey. I didn’t shoot a trophy buck last fall, but I did take a dandy 8-pointer down near Red Wing and I am a little curious what the rack would score. With the antler-point restriction in place for the second year, I’m starting to see nicer bucks, like the one I got in November. I wish I could check out some of the Deer Classic presenters, like Myles Keller, who started bowhunting in 1962 and is still at it. Outdoor Life named him one of 10 great outdoor legends and he’s considered a storehouse of information.

It would be nice if the event didn’t coincide with the hockey tournament. Maybe they figure there aren’t too many serious deer hunters who are hockey fans. Unfortunately, I am one of them.

Pink turned to red Saturday as two young deer that frequented the home of a resident there were shot and killed by a Forest Lake police officer, according to a story about the incident in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The deer wore pink collars and were pictured in the paper with property owner Jeff Carpenter while they were still alive.

Carpenter’s outrage is detailed in the story, and it must have been unsettling for him to hear gunshots in his yard that morning as the officer killed both deer. Though Carpenter is quoted in the story as saying he did not consider the deer his pets, I am skeptical about his claim.

It was clear to me from reading the story that he was livid about the shooting of the deer. In my mind, there was an obvious emotional attachment to the whitetails. And, of course, there’s the pink collars. Generally, the only collars ever placed on wild animals are for research purposes.

In this case, I think Carpenter crossed a line he shouldn’t have, and his extreme anger over the deaths of the deer was a consequence. Too often in our culture, animals are treated like people (and sadly, people like animals). This leads to what we saw in this case — someone putting a collar on a wild animal.

For people of faith, we have to discipline our thoughts and emotions and be careful not to “humanize” animals or try to make a wild animal our pet. Though wild animals are beautiful and can bring us enjoyment, we must refrain from emotional attachments to any specific ones.

In other words, we should not go beyond simple admiration. Putting a collar on a deer and acting like it’s your pet is excessive. With the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease only a year ago near Rochester, the state Department of Natural Resources is wise and right to monitor the deer herd closely.

And, in this case, the collars seemed to be an indication that the deer were captive, and the DNR has determined that captive deer present a higher risk for the spread of CWD. So, ultimately, the DNR, which received reports about the pink-collared deer and instructed Forest Lake police to shoot them, was simply being protective of the entire deer herd. We don’t need more cases of CWD in Minnesota.

I hope Carpenter cools off and doesn’t decide to escalate the conflict by filing a lawsuit. I think this incident could be a source of learning for those involved and those hearing about it in the media. I do feel there may have been a better way for police to have handled the problem (maybe tranquilize the deer rather than kill it, then try to determine whether it was captive or wild). I also think it would be beneficial for police, DNR staff and Carpenter to sit down and have a civil discussion about the matter.

That’s the way it should work. Unfortunately, rampant individualism makes such conversations all too rare. Instead, people get outraged over anyone who they feel is getting in the way of their personal enjoyment and then go on the offensive to beat down their perceived opponents.

Too bad. I think a lot can be learned from an incident like this, but I suspect Jeff Carpenter likely has no interest in that. The good news is that, with hundreds of thousands of deer in our state, he’ll have plenty more chances to enjoy them.

I offer just one small suggestion — leave the collars inside.

The hunting season is over, but the wild game cooking season is underway!

For me, this is the payoff of a successful deer hunt — lots of good venison dishes to eat. Now that I have a freezer full of prime deer meat, I have turned my attention to preparing it for family and friends. One of my favorite menu items is venison meatloaf. My wife, Julie, found an awesome recipe for venison meatloaf on a website called allrecipes. I have made it twice already, and I gave some away as Christmas gifts to some of my family members. It was a hit last year, so I decided to try it again. One nice thing is it’s very easy to make.

Two of the key ingredients are Ranch dressing and French Fried onions. I know the Ranch dressing sounds odd, but it works. Here’s the recipe:

Not even 24 hours after returning from a wonderful trip to Montana with my family, I heard the tragic news about Johnny McClure, a member of my parish, Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, and a sophomore at Trinity School in Eagan, where I have been sending my kids for the last seven years.

Johnny died in his sleep the morning of Nov. 28, with no warning that anything was wrong. I got the news about 9:30 a.m., when someone from the school called with the news and said all students were being dismissed for the day.

Of all things, a deer sighting on Saturday evening, hours after his funeral, gave me some encouragement as I mourned the loss of Johnny and felt just a small portion of the pain his parents, Randall and Mary, and siblings were experiencing.

I had planned to attend the wake on Friday evening, but when I arrived at a little after 7 p.m., a line of greeters stretched outside the funeral home and around the corner. I didn’t think there was much chance I would get to greet the McClures before the scheduled 8 p.m. ending time, so I turned around and drove home. I talked to several people who waited in line more than two hours.

I chose to go for a walk that evening and offer prayers for Johnny and his family. I did the same thing the next night, and was greeted by several inches of fresh, powdery snow that made a distinctive crunching sound under my feet as I made my way down Hamline Avenue toward Highland Golf Course. During my 3-mile journey, an almost magical scene unfolded, with flakes falling quietly as I made new tracks in the now-snow-covered links. All of the white lit up the landscape under the soft glow of the city streetlights.

Normally, when I walk in the darkness, I cannot see very far in front of me. But, the fresh, white snow illuminated by the streetlight gave me visibility that stretched more than 100 yards. That made me optimistic that I might see a distant whitetail dining on the course’s lush green carpet. Over the past few years that I have taken walks and runs on the perimeter of the course, the deer have shown an affinity for the smorgasbord of browse contained therein.

Turns out I didn’t need such far-reaching vision to spot a deer. On the edge of the woods just past the police station near the corner of Hamline and Montreal, a doe was grazing in the snow to my left. She was beautiful, plump and completely unconcerned about my presence, even though I strode past her at only about 10 yards. Deer here are used to human presence, but almost always they still will pop their heads up and remain alert as I walk by.

Not this time. The doe looked up briefly and glanced at me, then quickly put her head down to continue feeding. During that brief time when her eyes locked onto mine, she seemed to be saying, “Look at me, see how beautiful I am and know that, in the midst of tragedies like Johnny’s death, God is still radiating his goodness to you and the whole world.”

Perhaps I had that sense because of the way the doe stood so peacefully in the falling snow, it’s beautiful, sleek coat softly glowing under the streetlight. Or, perhaps, it was because the words of Father Michael Keating’s amazing homily still were resounding in my mind. Or, perhaps it was a combination of both.

Whatever the reason, I finished my trek in the peace and comfort of God’s loving presence, which I prayed he also would give to the McClures. As Father Keating emphatically noted at the funeral Mass, “Johnny is fine.” It is the rest of us who are sad.

But, as Father Keating pointed out, such an event like Johnny’s death doesn’t go against the message or the season of Advent. Rather, it is as reminder that we are sojourners on this earth, and that our place is not here. Rather, our ultimate place is with God in heaven, a reality that Johnny McClure now knows.

As for me, I believe I saw a glimpse of Johnny’s heaven on a snowy Saturday evening in St. Paul.

As the sun dipped to the mountain tops near Great Falls, Mont. on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, I figured it was now “Jesus time.”

We had about an hour of legal shooting time left, then just a few more hours of hunting the next morning before our trip would end with the 15-hour drive back to Minnesota. I had already tagged a whitetail doe, and my son, Andy, was still waiting to fill his buck and elk tags, which he bought as part of a special youth combination license. My son, William, also was waiting to fill his whitetail doe tag after a few close encounters but no shot taken. With time running out, I turned to the Lord and asked for his help to bring some deer our way.

Throughout this  trip, we had seen lots of animals, many of which were on land we couldn’t hunt. Still, it was cool to see so many whitetail and mule deer in the hills, mountains and lowlands of North Central Montana. I was able to shoot some with my camera, including a nice group of muley does with a buck (shown above).

Seems like every year God does something special late in the trip to put smiles on our faces and meat in the freezer. Two years ago, again on the Friday after Thanksgiving, my son, Joe, and I tagged mule deer bucks on the same stalk. Last year, I shot my whitetail doe on the last morning of our trip, and Grandpa Bob Guditis got an elk on the following morning, which was the last day of the rifle season.

So, I was not at all giving up hope as we continued looking for deer in the twilight of this day. In fact, I coined a popular sports phrase when I told Bob we should hunt until the final whistle.

That’s exactly what we did. There was a grassy lowland area near the mountains that is a whitetail magnet. It is a crop field with a double row of trees on the western edge. Because the lowlands are mostly grass, this gives the deer a rare piece of cover.

We have seen deer bedded or standing in the cover many times. In fact, last year we saw a beautiful 10-pointer that Andy came close to getting a shot at. It ran out of some cover and right past Andy at about 100 yards. He was waiting for it to stop or at least slow down, but it did neither. In wide open spaces like these, deer will run a long way before stopping.

We saw the 10-pointer a few days later when my son, Joe, was with me. It was with some does, so we went on a stalk. Because we had only doe tags, we had to leave the 10-pointer alone. Joe ended up getting a nice doe on the stalk. I probably could have gotten one, too, as they ran out of the cover when we approached to get Joe’s deer. Ever since then, we had been wondering if we would see that buck again this year.

Time for a stalk

On our final look at this piece of cover on Friday, Bob spotted some deer just outside the cover and walking in a grass field. Quickly, he saw that one of them was a nice buck. So, Andy grabbed his .308 caliber rifle that Bob had given him, and the stalk began. William joined in, hoping that maybe he could get a shot at a doe.

I tagged along as well, but mostly to carry gear and help William. Andy has been on stalks like this before, so I knew he would do fine on his own. We started on the opposite side of the tree rows from the deer, and walked down the outside row of pine trees toward the deer.

We had gone about 300 yards or so when Andy decided to poke through the trees to see if he could spot the deer. He did, and held his hands out wide to let me know that the buck had a very good-sized set of antlers. That got us all very excited.

He went about another 100 yards, then looked again at the deer. William and I stayed back a little bit so we wouldn’t be seen. Andy then got down on all fours and crawled to the other row of trees, which were only about half the size of the pines. He slipped all the way through, then sat up to a shooting position. At that moment, I made my greatest contribution of the stalk.

Finger on the  trigger

When he was ready, I asked him if he wanted the shooting sticks. He motioned me over, and I belly crawled just a few yards to him and handed him the sticks. I was itching to see the buck, but I stayed in the trees so I wouldn’t spook either the buck or the two does that were with him.

Andy didn’t wait long to put his finger on the trigger. He actually pulled back once without firing, because he had forgotten to take the safety off.

Once he put the gun on fire, he settled in and locked the crosshairs on the buck’s chest. He fired, then I heard the telltale thump of the bullet hitting the deer. The buck wheeled and ran straight away from us. Andy fired again, not sure whether the first shot had found its mark.

The search

After that, we all stood up and I asked Andy what he saw. He said he watched the buck do the classic mule kick after the shot, then run toward the trees. So, we walked the edge of the tree line looking for blood or a fallen deer. We went about 275 t0 300 yards, then decided to duck into the trees.

That was a mistake. There was neither blood nor beast in there, though we scoured the tree lines for another 100 yards or so beyond where we started.

Meanwhile, Bob was back at the truck watching us. He had seen the whole thing, and witnessed a very important part that we all missed — the buck falling 30 yards from where he had been hit.

Trophy found!

So, Bob got out of the truck and made his way toward us to let us know the buck was down. In fact, it never made it to the trees. William spotted it first, then told the rest of us. Turns out, I was only about a step or two away, but I was looking farther ahead.

It was a magnificent buck with a beautiful, wide 10-point rack. We knew instantly this was worthy of mounting, so we made a decision to take it in to a taxidermist in Great Falls. We chose Waylon’s because Bob had used him to mount a black bear he shot a year ago. He also has a butcher shop in the same building, so we could get the meat processed there also.

The look on Andy’s face when he saw the buck was priceless. I think I had more joy than if I had shot the buck. We had a brief celebration and photo shoot, then got busy field dressing the buck. I gladly volunteered for the task, with Andy serving as my assistant. This marks the fifth deer I have field dressed this fall.

Once back at the truck, I performed a very important part of the process — removing the tenderloins. The two oblong pieces of meat near the hind end would look very nice on the grill back home. We have a tradition of grilling the tenderloins within a few days of the hunt. Because Andy was going back to Winona State University Monday morning, we decided to have them on Sunday night right after we returned home from the trip.

 
 Other good news

It wasn’t just a good trip for us. Jerry Gray, Bob’s son-in-law, shot a  nice eight-point buck during the trip, plus a bonus cow elk on the last  day of the rifle season, which was Sunday.

Due to a lack of snow caused by warm weather, the elk were higher up. So, he hiked to the top of a  small ridge on Bob’s land to gain some altitude. He looked across a draw  and spotted a group of several cows on the other side. He took a 400-yard shot with this .30-06 and hit the animal. After running down the  draw and up the other side, he found blood and, eventually, the elk. It  was still alive, so he took a final shot.

Once again, God blessed us tremendously on this hunt. Not only did we enjoy great food — courtesy of Grandma Sharon, a fabulous cook — but we had some awesome stalks with great results.

Over and over, I have thanked God for his great generosity. So did Grandpa Bob, who responded to my words of gratitude by pointing to our Heavenly Father and noting his abundant blessings.

Thus, during this Thanksgiving — now Advent — season, I think it’s only appropriate to thank God for creating the deer and the elk  and the great habitat that they live in, and to celebrate his vast and unending kindness toward us.

Praise the Lord!

I came across perhaps the most amazing deer story I have ever heard. It’s from Rodney Ries, whom I have known for more than 20 years. An avid deer hunter, he has taken both of his sons out over the years to introduce them to his fall passion.

He sent me a text message with a picture of his son, Marcus, with a nice buck that he got on one of the Ries family farms near Red Wing. Here’s the amazing part: Marcus is 11 years old, and he shot an 11-point buck on 11-11-11 (Friday). So, this hunt was all 11s.

This story began earlier in the fall when Rod observed some big bucks on his trail cameras. The buck Marcus ended up shooting was one on the nicest ones, and eventually Rod focused his attention on this one.

Trouble was, throughout the fall, all of the pictures he got of this deer were taken at night. It’s not unusual for big bucks to move exclusively after dark. But, Rod was hoping that when the rut kicked in, this bruiser would start cruising for does during daylight hours.

That’s exactly what happened early last week when he checked his trail cameras once again. Actually, the buck passed by the camera near his stand twice during legal shooting hours, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. But, no one was in the stand either time.

Rod felt almost sick about missing these two chances, then vowed to spend some time in the stand with Marcus. Friday evening was a perfect afternoon for hunting. Soon after climbing into the stand, they started seeing deer. He almost told Marcus to shoot at a small doe, but decided to hold off and see if the big buck would show. They had plenty of shooting time left, so they were confident Marcus would get a shot at a deer that evening.

Sure enough, the big guy showed up and Marcus took a perfect broadside shot at about 60 yards. Rod has trained him well. I have a feeling this young hunter is going to shoot plenty more bucks like this in his lifetime.

So, to Marcus and his proud father, I simply say: Congratulations!

I couldn’t resist the urge to get out in the woods yesterday morning and sit in my stand for a few hours of bow hunting. I was hoping  the deer would be moving during the cooler weather we’ve been having the last few days.

But, what greeted me in the opening minutes of legal shooting hours were not the footsteps of whitetails heading to their bedding areas, but shotgun blasts. Apparently, there were some busy waterfowl hunters nearby. The area I hunt near Lino Lakes in the northern suburbs features a lot of wetlands, and it was obvious that ducks were flying in the area.

So much for peace and quiet. It sounded more like the firearms deer opener. Yet, being in an archery-only area, I figured maybe the deer wouldn’t get spooked so much by the noise that they would sit tight.

Nothing moving

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Whether for that reason or some other, no deer were moving. With most of the leaves down on the ground, I could see much farther than I could on opening weekend, so I figured I might see deer a ways off.

No dice. I suspect that there were at least two factors that led to the lack of deer activity in the woods. The first is what my experienced bow hunting friend calls the October lull. It seems that in mid-October, the deer will slow down their movements for about two weeks or so right before the rut kicks in. He thinks it has to do with the deer wanting to rest up a bit before the breeding starts and they move much more than normal. In fact, the rut features the highest amount of deer movement of the entire year. That’s a big reason why hunters like getting out in the woods in November.

Reason No. 2 is the wind. It has been very windy the last few days and, although the wind died down a little bit, it still was strong yesterday morning. That will often shut down deer movement, except during the rut, which is about two weeks away.

Time for some scouting

At 9:15 a.m., I climbed down from my stand and headed over to a second stand that I had put up last week. It’s much farther back into the woods and I needed to finish putting up some trail tacks on trees so I can find the stand in the dark. I began that task last week, but ran out of tacks. So, yesterday, I was able to finish the job.

I also did a little walking around the area to see where deer might move and where I might see them. Turns out, I am in a nice bottleneck area that features a point of tall grass coming in from the west and a big swamp coming in from the east. And, to my left is a creek bottom with a thicket of woods behind it. There is a crossing to my left that’s about 15-20 yards from my stand and one to my right that’s about 25 yards. Both crossings lead right into the thicket. I know deer will use them to come in and out of the thick cover, so I think there’s a good chance of some movement on these trails when the rut kicks in.

Preparation is key

When it comes to bow hunting, advance planning and preparation is crucial to success. Of course, it starts with practicing with your bow and developing shooting proficiency. I think hunters should be good to at least 20 yards, if not 30. I have been practicing at 20 yards for several months, so I feel confident I can make shots up to that distance. I tried a couple at 30 yesterday. One was wide right, but the second shot hit the center of the bullseye. I adjusted my sight a little because I had been shooting right of the bullseye consistently. After moving my sight, I was back on the bullseye. Experts say not to correct for mistakes in your shooting form, but I had been shooting to the right for two whole sessions, so it was time for a change. If I start shooting left, I will simply move the sight back.

Another part of preparation is having the right setup in your stand to accommodate all the directions where you might have to shoot. One change I made to accomplish this is getting a new safety system. I was using a safety harness that attaches to my upper body and both legs. But, I found it to be cumbersome and restrictive when I would try to rotate a lot to the left or right.

Silent Slide is the answer

Then, I found out about a product called the Silent Slide. It’s a marvelous device invented and patented by a couple in Wisconsin that is very simple in its design and well made. I was nervous about trying it at first because it’s a belt and not a full body harness. But, once I understood how it works, I felt it was worth a try.

I bought one and used it for the first time yesterday morning. All you do is put the belt around your waist before you go into the woods, and roll up the belt that attaches to the tree. Then, once in your stand, simply put the belt around the tree at waist level of a standing position. The tether on your waist belt allows you to move however you need to with no restrictions or binding. And, it has quick release buckles that allow you to get out of it when you need to. Because there is only 12 inches of strap from your waist belt to the tree belt, you’ll merely fall against the tree if you have an accident. When this happens, you simply turn your body to the tree and either climb back into the stand, or release the belt and shimmy down the tree.

I have full confidence in this product and I think it’s a brilliant piece of engineering. It’s easy to set up in the dark, and that’s something hunters should always think about when trying to get a stand ready for hunting. During the rut, mornings can be very good times to hunt, and experienced bow hunters often preach about the benefits of getting into your stand before legal shooting hours. Now, I’m ready to do just that.

Bring on the rut!

On a day that seemed more suitable for fishing than hunting, I went afield for the annual Wisconsin youth deer hunt, which took place on Saturday and Sunday.

I led two young hunters in a quest for whitetails — my son, William, and Pete Thompson, son of Chris Thompson, academic dean at the St. Paul Seminary. A year ago, the four of us went to a nice piece of private land in Dunn County and William took his first deer ever. This year, we were all hoping Pete would do the same.

We hunted two ends of an L-shaped field of clover, which the deer love. The landowner had been seeing deer in the field all summer and fall, so we were optimistic.

In the heat of the day

We decided not to hunt in the morning, and go out in the afternoon instead. William isn’t a huge fan of getting up at 4 a.m. to drive an hour to our spot, then climb into a blind in the dark. Plus, we figured it was more likely that deer would visit the field in the evening, as they typically do.

We got to the property at about 3:30 p.m. and prepared to go to our separate blinds. The temperature was in the 80s, as it had been all week. I knew that would put a damper on deer movement, but was hoping at least one or two would move into the field before the end of legal shooting hours (about 7:05 p.m.).

William and I settled comfortably into our blind, then waited quietly. Within an hour or so, a group of wild turkeys came out into the field to our right, then turned and walked right in front of the blind. I used my rangefinder to measure the distance — 21 yards. I wish I would have had a turkey tag and my bow. It would have been a very makable shot, as I have been practicing at 20 yards for several months.

William did have a turkey tag, but we did not bring a shotgun to the blind. It didn’t matter. He didn’t want to shoot anyway because he didn’t want to risk spooking any deer that might be in the area. So, we enjoyed the show and watched them feed their way across the field and into the woods.

Approaching the magic hour

As we reached the final hour of legal shooting time, I started getting pumped up for a deer sighting. This is my favorite time of day to hunt deer, and I had a feeling something might show up. All was quiet until about 6:15 when I heard a shot ring out from the Thompson’s blind. After a brief pause, Pete’s 20-gauge shotgun boomed again. Then, one more time before falling silent.

We had agreed that, no matter what happened, we would all stay in our blinds until the end of legal shooting hours, so that the field would not be disturbed by human traffic. That way, more deer might eventually come out.

Thus, William and I waited until 7:05 before hustling over to the Thompsons. I was hoping they would say that a deer was down. But, no such news greeted my ears — only the heartache of Pete telling us that he fired three times and watched the deer walk away and into the woods on the far end of the field with no signs of being hit.

We searched for a while for blood on the ground, but found none. Thus, for the second year in a row, Pete shot at a deer but didn’t hit it.

Unfortunately, that was the only deer sighting of the weekend. The Thompsons went out Sunday morning and didn’t see anything, and we all went out that afternoon and didn’t see a deer. This year, we would return home without any venison.

A time for learning

I told Chris that it is not at all unusual for young hunters like Pete to miss. In fact, it’s more common for them to miss than to bring down a deer. My two oldest boys, Joe and Andy, did not harvest their first deer until they were 15. Both either missed deer altogether or had non-fatal wounding shots prior to that.

That being said, I also told Chris that it will be very important for Pete to do lots of practice shooting before next year’s hunt. I did that with William last year and I feel that is a big reason why he was able to make his shot. Pete only went to the shooting range once before this year’s hunt, and I don’t feel that’s enough. I will do what I can to make sure he gets more practice next year.

I felt bad that William didn’t even see a deer, but he has two chances left, in Minnesota and Montana. Minnesota has a youth deer hunt over MEA weekend, Thursday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 23. We have permission to hunt a piece of private land near Cannon Falls that weekend, so we’ll probably give it a try.

Then, we’re planning to go to Montana over Thanksgiving to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sharon. We’ll buy whitetail doe tags, which are modestly priced. Plus, there are lots of does in the area we’ll be hunting near Great Falls. So, I’m confident William and I both will get some good chances.