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Date: December 12, 2007
Harvester: Travis Lambert
Animal: North Dakota Whitetail
The afternoon of December 11th, my dad and I set a couple stands in a wooded gully in North Dakota and headed out to try and video me getting a bow kill. That morning I had videoed my dad shooting a nice 9pt with his muzzleloader and with all the sign in this gully, we had high hopes for the evening hunt. Well, we got some swirling winds and had some nervous does close by. We did see a couple good bucks, but they were quite a ways away. My dad was getting a pretty bad cold and wasn't able to control his coughing very well, so I told him we wouldn't be filming in the morning because he'd just scare the deer. I wanted to sit the same stand in the morning, but I needed the winded to switch from the NW to something out of the south. Well, come morning, I got my wish and had a SW wind...and 10 below temps without the windchill. I headed out to the stand early because I knew deer would be filtering up through there then and didn't want to spook any going in. In the dark, I could see deer crossing the hill up above me, but nothing was down in the gully. A bit after first shooting light, I heard the steady crunching footsteps of what sounded like a buck walking. He came through the brush and worked a scrape a bit. I could see he was decent and knew I was going to take the shot if I got one. He cleared the brush at about 13 yards, I bleated to stop him, and sent a muzzy down through both lungs. He took off into the brush and I didn't hear him go down. I could see my red arrow and a huge area sprayed in blood on the snow where he stood, so I knew I got a good shot. I snuck out to wait for my dad and then we tracked him the 100 yards to where he laid. |
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Date: December 11, 2007
Harvester: Dave Lambert
Animal: North Dakota Whitetail
Muzzleloader season in North Dakota can be cold and windy. After a few days of trying different stands and seeing some nice bucks, we decided to set up in the middle of a huge hay field near some small patches of brush along a fence line. As daylight broke, a group of does comes by and gets within 10 yards of the "bed sheet blind." Next, we noticed a coyote heading directly towards us. Travis catches him on film as he gets within 30 yards, catches our scent, and almost does a back flip in an attempt to get out of there. As I'm glassing the field, I see something coming about 500 yards out. In seconds, I can see its a nice buck along with some does headed right towards us. As I get ready, the deer are quickly approaching and decide to kick it into high gear. The does go by in a flash and at 100 yards, the buck, for some unknown reason, decides to slam on the binders and stop. I squeeze the trigger on my TC Encore muzzleloader. As the smoke clears, I see the buck in high gear disappearing behind the brush line that we're sitting in. After thinking that it was a clean miss, I go to check the spot and am very excited to see that it was definitely a hit. After walking only a few yards, I see my buck lying in the snow. |
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Date: November 24, 2007
Harvester: Jordan Feller
Animal: Iowa Whitetail (taken on public land)
On the morning of November 24th Russ and I headed to a great area we had scouted this spring on a large tract of public land. This is a great rut spot that the bucks love to travel and we were hoping to catch a buck cruising or freshening some of the scrapes near by. We couldn't ask for better weather with highs around 40 and lows near 20, it was great. We hadn't seen any deer until 8:30 rolled around and coming up the green valley was a great buck. He was on a mission working his way to a huge scrape that was 100 yards away from us. We were posistioned on the ground and when he went behind a hill for a couple minutes we were able to prepare for him to sneak back out. Right as expected he pops over a hill 20 yards away from us, turns broadside and the arrow was on its way. He made it 60 yards and piled up! It is our second harvest on video and we were pumped!
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Date: November 21, 2007
Harvester: Jeff Burkley
Animal: 9 pt Iowa Giant!
As told from the camera-man...it was a day to never forget as I called Jeff Burkley to see if we could possibly do an afternoon hunt together. He quickly agreed as this is the time of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas) when we do one of our annual "Holiday Hunts." We haven't brought a camera with us ever as we love to just get away and relax, but I felt today was the day to bring one. With a few stops on the way to Central Iowa to retrieve a camera from the ever gracious Matt Strayer, we finally made our way into the stand around 2:45 hoping to take a buck or doe. It was about 27 degrees with a 20 mph wind out of the north and it had just finished snowing pretty hard. Jeff quickly spotted a couple of fawns and a half-rack out in front of us and the action was pretty consistent most of the rest of the evening. A slight lull in the action was interrupted by a fully mature doe skirting us about 40 yards away. It wasn't 5 minutes later before a giant 9 pointer walked out of the white pines on the trail of the doe. I whispered to Jeff there was a big buck coming, but I'm not sure he believed me at first. It was getting really dark, and I couldn't find the manual mode on the camera to lighten it up, so we just went with it hoping all would turn out. And as fortune would have it, he came right down the path towards us and stopped about 15 yards for a quartering away shot. Jeff Burkley put the smack down as the buck dropped right in his tracks. From the mouth of Jeff Burkley, "Now I REALLY have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!" We thank the Lord that this all came together the way it did. It's amazing how every piece came together - from the camera to the shot to the weather to the footage turning out...congratulations to Jeff on a great deer; you deserve it!
 
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Date: November 18, 2007
Harvester: Dave Lambert
Animal: Wisconsin 8 pt
It was the afternoon of the second day of the 2007 Wisconsin gun season. After sitting in our tree stands 11 hours on the first day, and all morning on the second day and seeing 6 deer total, we decided to take lunch and head back out to give the trusty stand another shot. Having shot several nice bucks out of this stand in the past years, along with a couple misses, I knew it was only a matter of time before something good came out. At least that's what I kept telling my son who was behind the video camera. As the day was quickly coming to an end, Travis told me to hit the grunt call a couple times. Before I was finished with my first series of grunts, Travis whispered that there was something coming through the brush. I quickly readied myself for a shot and out of the thick swamp brush, steps a great 8 point buck. The buck had his head held high, with vines hanging off his antler, looking for the buck who was in his territory. The buck started heading directly towards us and stopped. With only a couple of yards between him and the thick brush, I decide that its time to take the shot. The shot was true and the buck didn't take another step. The trusty grunt call worked again as it had for me a few weeks earlier in North Dakota. |
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Date: November 13, 2007
Harvester: Mackenzie Lewis
Animal: 1st Buck with a Bow!
On Sunday, November 13th, 2007, I was hunting in a timber I had never hunted in before. It was only the third time I had been out with my bow. When we got in the woods my dad put his stand above mine. I tied a rope to the back of my coat and said, "When I pull the rope the first time stand up, then I'll pull it again. If I pull once that means use the green pin, and if I pull twice aim between the green and red pins." So we waited a little bit longer and it started rain and it was already cold and windy so I thought I was going to freeze. I huddled up to keep myself warm. All of a sudden a seven-point buck ran in and started walking right when it got in front of my stand. It was perfect; it was like he had to have known we were there. My dad thought I was sleeping because I was hunched up, so he started jerking on the rope so I stood up. He pulled that rope again so I drew back my bow. So many things were running through my head I couldn't remember what pin he told me to use. So, using my own judgment I thought I should use the green pin. I put the green pin right behind the shoulder of the deer, but it was still walking and I didn't feel comfortable shooting it when it was moving. Finally, it stopped behind a tree. I didn't know if I should let down my bow or keep it drawn back. So I just kept it drawn. Then, it took a few steps. I could see it. I put the green pin behind its shoulder and shot my arrow. I didn't really see where the arrow went but I saw the deer run away. I was so excited! It was the most thrilling thing I had ever experienced. My dad climbed down before I did. When he was climbing down, my stand was moving because he was shaking so much. When he got down to the broken arrow on the ground he gave me a thumbs up. I climbed down from my stand and we started tracking. We tracked him for about 80 yards across a creek and saw it down! I was so happy! My dad field dressed it and he and his friend drug it out. It must have been pretty heavy because they were huffing and puffing by the time they got to the truck. That was the first deer I'd ever gotten with my bow and the biggest deer I've ever gotten. This is probably my new favorite hunting experience. It was so exciting and I'm looking forward to bow hunting in the years to come!
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Date: November 9, 2007
Harvester: Matt Strayer
Animal: Southern Iowa 8 pt
November 9th proved to be a great day for the Outreach Outdoors team. Matt Strayer and Matt Thede were at it again as they started the day in a new funnel stand that Thede had discovered and wanted to hunt during the rut. It was a great set, by 11:00 the two had seen 8 different bucks and 1 shooter that stayed just out of bow range.
At noon the two headed south to a new farm that Strayer filmed Matt Hoffert shoot his buck on earlier in October. Strayer had found another great spot for a rut stand earlier in the year when he was scooting, but had not yet prepped a tree. They arrived at their spot at about 2:00. It was definitely a team effort as it became challenging to find a tree that covered all the different parts of the funnel/ridge that the two wanted to hunt. The two worked together and decided on the right tree. Strayer admits it was not the tree he would have chosen if he alone had made the final decision. At 3:00 they were sitting and ready for the action to begin.
It was at about 4:00 when the first deer appeared. (The hour between 4:00 and 5:00 is what Thede has coined the hour of power based on deer movement.) A doe crossed over the cedar covered ridge above them and stopped just before exiting the thick trees. She was about 20 yards broadside at this point. She had them pegged, as she must have caught movement somehow. However, there was a buck approaching fast as they heard deep grunts and stomping coming up behind her. She decided to break the cover of the cedars and cross one of their shooting lanes at about 23 yards. The buck followed not far behind and Strayer stopped him in the opening for a shot. The rest is history and Strayer's 2007 season came to a close with a great Iowa 8 point. If it had not been for Thede's suggestion on the tree, the shot would not have been possible due to brush and tree limbs. Once again a team effort.
Proverbs 19:20
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. |
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Date: November 7, 2007
Harvester: Troy Lewis
Animal: NE Iowa Mature Buck
I take the first week and half of November off every year and head to NE Iowa my hunt started on the 2nd of Nov. I was in the stand at 10:30 that morning and made my first mistake of the year. About 40 minutes after my second sequence of rattling, a crusher came running in 15 yards from my stand and I was caught cold without my bow in my hands. By the time I had my bow, the buck had got behind me where I didn't have a shot. On Monday and Tuesday we had 50 mph winds; I hunted hard and saw deer running in the wide open -bucks really trailing the does hard. The night of the November 6, I called my wife and let her know I hadn't been blown out of the tree and asked if she had caught the weather forcast for the morning. I told her I prayed for a morning with no wind or a slight wind out of the south. The morning of the 7th of November, my prayers where answered; it was a cool, crisp, calm morning . Right after light I watched a doe about 160 yards to my left bust out of the timber into the CRP being pushed by 2 bucks, one of which looked pretty good. I then watched another buck join the chase. The CRP was about 5 feet tall so I could only see them every now and then. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice so with bow in hand, I watched and waited. I heard a couple of pheasants cackle and get up be hind me so I stood up and looked to my left to see a doe running right to me with a nice 8 point right on her tail I bleated but he wouldn't stop. I watched them run into the timber about 40yards in front of me. While watching the buck chase the doe I heard 2 deep grunts coming down the same trail the buck and doe had just come down I saw this was a good buck; it had 7 points on one side and was a good mature buck. This time my second bleat worked , and I put the arrow right behind his shoulder quartering away. I knew at that point I had been blessed with another great buck exactly 1 year to the date of my 2006 bow harvest - which was a mature 10 piont. This deer went about 40 yards and when I got to him he had 7 on one side and 5 on the other. I sat and watched 5 more bucks come through on the same trail that the doe and bucks came in on (a total of 7 bucks after one doe!). I am thankful to have had another great Iowa bow season. And am now looking forward to bowhunt with my daughter Mackenzie this will be her frst year with a bow. |
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Date: November 3, 2007
Harvester: Mark Matson
Animal: 10 pt Iowa Whitetail
I think it was the good Lord's guiding hand that put me in the exact tree that I sat in because it turned into one of the most exciting afternoon/evening hunts I've ever had, with almost constant deer movement from 12:00 noon until dark. It was amazing! It was definitely one of those days you look forward to and occasionally get during the magical month of November. I had young bucks sparring, does wandering, and does getting chased. In fact, before I even got my bow pulled up into my stand, a 1.5 old buck almost stepped on it! The buck I harvested was chasing does from 12:00 until 2:30, then, another hunter spooked he and the doe out of the area. I thought, ok, it's not meant to be. Little did I know, but God had a better plan in mind. I decided to take a doe if I had the opportunity. About 20 minutes before dark, a nice mature doe came below my stand and offered me a 15-yard shot. I put a perfect hit on her and she laid only 20 yards from my stand. A small buck and doe witnessed her going down, but they didn't spook at all. It was very surprising to me. In fact, they came to investigate. All of a sudden, the young buck and doe trotted off and out popped this buck. He was the same one that I had filmed earlier this afternoon and the same one the other hunter spooked from my area. He too, walked up to the doe as she lay on the ground, but much more cautiously than the younger buck, but he stood broadside, and I let er' fly! Thank God for those new Rage broadheads. I didn't get the best shot off due to lack of light, and I didn't hear him crash, so I decided to not push him and just checked the arrow and got out as quietly as I could. I then came back the next morning to take the doe out and track him. My daughters (7, 5), wife, and good friend came to help me trail. It was an incredibly fun and rewarding morning to share this buck with all of them. This hunt has helped remind me that we are not the ones in control, and to trust in Him always! |
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Date: October 31, 2007
Harvester: Jordan Feller
Animal: Iowa Doe
It has been heating up the last couple days! Starting to see a few more deer in the Urban Management Hunt and I was able to harvest a doe. We let her sit the night and found her right away the following morning. Another deer down and one more for that buck tag! |
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Date: October 30, 2007
Harvester: Jordan Feller
Animal: NW Iowa Mature Doe
On Sunday morning of Oct 28th Russ grabbed the camera and I had my bow as we headed to the stand, we immediately had deer all around us. We brought the decoy and had it over a large bean field with hopes of bringing in a big buck. At 7:45am 4 does came in to investigate the decoy and I smoked the lead doe at 23 yards. That same morning my dad shot a nice doe and now the focus is on hopefully harvesting some nice bucks!
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Date: October 26, 2007
Harvester: Matt Hoffert
Animal: Southern Iowa 8 pt
]It was October 26th, and Strayer and I were headed back to the same field I shot a doe on opening day. It was our first time back since opening night, and I had two more doe tags that I was looking to fill. In the back of my head I was thinking, as the month of October goes by, November (the month we live for as bowhunters) is that much closer, and the possibility of catching a buck on his feet during daylight hours increasesdramatically. We were up in our stands by 4pm and by 5pm we had a doe enter the field corner just like we anticipated, only we were both sitting down and she caught us trying to get into position. Although she was only 12 yards away, it was impossible to get her on film and get a shot off before she took off.
Things calmed down until just after 6pm. Entering the field on the same trail as the doe was a small 2.5 year old buck...we were ready and the camera was rolling, but the buck was too small. As the buck was milling around in the field, I looked back into the timber and saw a bigger buck destroying some small trees. I told Strayer here comes a bigger deer. He entered the field and the camera was on him. I made a perfect shot at 15 yards and Strayer did a great job getting an over the shoulder view of the shot on camera. He did not go 40 yards and crashed. It might not be the biggest deer in the woods, but being my first video buck kill, it was a night I'll never forget!
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Date: October 24, 2007
Harvester: Dave Lambert
Animal: North Dakota Whitetail
After arriving at our North Dakota hunting cabin and touching base with a couple of the local ranchers, I decide to start my hunt before my son got there with the video camera. After glassing and scouting for a couple of days, I decide to try what seemed to be a hilltop hotspot. That evening was filled with excitement as various does, fawns, and small bucks came through, along with close encounters with two shooter bucks. This had me more than fired up for the next morning. The next morning dawned clear, quiet, and cold...a perfect setup! After watching a small buck work a scrape at 15 yards, and numerous does coming through, I see another small buck skirting the wood line about 60 yards away. He stopped and was looking back with his ears perked up and then continued on his way. Within seconds, a good 9 point came through on the same trail. After 2 grunts on the True Talker I had his attention, one more and he was headed straight towards the scrape that the smaller buck was working earlier. I had already decided to take the shot if it presented itself and as the buck stepped into the opening, I was already at full draw. With the buck at 15 yards, I let the muzzy go to work. Within seconds I had that great feeling of seeing your buck pile up about 60 yards away....and then the thought that, that would've made the perfect video. Maybe next year. |
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Date: October 22, 2007
Harvester: Matt Hoffert
Animal: Iowa Doe #2
It had been a pretty slow season since my opening day success. Steve Nelson and I participate in a local Urban Management Hunt and try to shoot as many does as possible to help control the population, and to possibly draw a buck tag. We have been hunting hard, but the high water conditions and hunting pressure had these deer very difficult to pattern. On Oct 22, Steve and I were about 300 yards apart and we each shot a doe at 7:30 in the morning. Another deer on the year and one step closer to a buck tag for both of us... |
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Date: October 22, 2007
Harvester: Steve Nelson
Animal: Iowa Doe
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Date: October 15, 2007
Harvester: Brian Kightlinger
Animal: Pennsylvania Whitetail
October 15th was a beautiful fall day! The sky was clear of any clouds and a high pressure system was moving through the area. Temperatures were in the mid 50's dropping into the low 40's be evening time. I spent a lot of time during the school day looking outside and wondering which tree stand would be right for the evening hunt. Checking the peak movement times on the computer I found that the key time would be from 4:00 to roughly 5:10. The students left the building at 2:45 and by 2:50 I was in the truck headed to the 47 acre farm I hunt in Erie County. I dressed in my scentlok, grabbed my mathews and sprayed down with Dead Down Wind. Lastly I grabbed my pack and headed to my ladder stand along a funnel area. The stand location was perfect for the wind and for watching bucks on the move. Of all my stands on the farm this stand has produced the best results for me. My season had just begun but the deer encounters had been minimal. Having many great pictures of half a dozen 2.5 year olds I was confident that I would have an encounter that evening. Sneaking to the stand not to bump anything around the area I reached my ladder stand and was ready to hunt by 3:30. I closed my eyes and asked the Lord for a relaxing evening in his creation and that if the opportunity arose that I would shoot straight and true. At 3:45 I started my first rattling sequence with several others to follow. At 4:55 I grabbed the rattle bag and the grunt tube and worked them over again. I put together a longer sequence this time with more grunting and at a louder tone. I hung up the bag and the tube and waited. This time I could hear walking my way again. I looked to my right down in the draw and saw movement and then a rack. The deer was coming in the wrong way. He was down wind of me and closing quickly. He climbed to the top of the ridge and stopped. With his nose in the air he turn to walk back down the ridge. I grabbed the grunt tube and grunted 3 times. He turned around on a dime and started to close the distance. I was still looking at his rack to make sure he was a legal buck. In the area hunt a legal buck must have 4 points on one side to be legal. I grabbed the Drenalin and hooked my release. I recognized this buck as one of the 2.5 year old 8 points I had pictures of from earlier in the season. He continued to walk to my right and I decided that I would take the shot if he presented one. Being left handed this was going to be perfect situation for me to draw my bow and ready for the shot. He closed the distance to 20 yards. He passed behind a hemlock tree and I drew back waiting for him to emerge from behind the tree. When he came out from behind the hemlock I grunted to him with my mouth and he stopped. The 20 yard pin was anchored behind his front shoulder and he was looking away from me. I released my arrow and watch the arrow enter directly bedind the front shoulder. The arrow stopped in the opposite shoulder. It was not a complete pass through but I knew the arrow was good! The 8 point took two big hops and was down the ridge I lost sight of him but heard him crash. I was straining trying to listen to make sure he was down when I heard footsteps again. I immediatly thought the buck had got back up and was on the move. I soon saw movement and was watching a lone deer follow the path that my buck had run. The deer, a 1.5 year old 6 point, soon was getting his picture taken as he was standing directly in front of my trail camera. The flash startled him and he continued walking away from me. I grabbed my cell phone and called my wife to tell he the good news. My 3 year old son, Samuel, answered the phone and I told him about the nice buck. He was excited to see the deer daddy would be bringing home. Samuel relayed the message to my wife and he hung up the phone. I was out of the stand and on the trail of blood immediatly. The Rage 3 blade really opened the deer up. I found the buck at the bottom of the ridge and was pleasantly suprised by the bucks size. He was a nice typical 8 point with a 15 inch spread. I knelt beside my fallen quarry and gave thanks to the Lord. I thanked God for the food he had just provided for my family and friends. I also thanked Him for the exciting hunt which the memories will last a lifetime.
Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field and take me some venison.
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Date: October 11, 2007
Harvester: Russ Feller
Animal: Iowa Doe
Russ Feller headed out this morning in hopes of filling a park doe tag in chance of earning a buck tag where there are some real Iowa Giants!! Well, he was successful as he landed this beautiful doe! Way to go Russ and way to keep the momentum going...one more tag to fill to get that buck tag! |
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Date: October 2, 2007
Harvester: Matt Strayer
Animal: Southern Iowa Doe (B'day deer #3)
In hopes of doing some early doe management, Matt Strayer connected on what was called the "perfect shot" as he double-lunged this awesome doe. She ran a total of 15 yards before expiring on camera. |
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Date: October 1, 2007
Harvester: Matt Hoffert
Animal: Southern Iowa Doe
As the season starts, Matt Hoffert got us off to a great start by taking this awesome doe at about 25 yards. She walked out into the alfalfa field a little weary as she jumped the string a tad. She dropped in her tracks as Matt Hoffert harvested the second deer on film for the the 2007 season. We are excited to post doe harvests as well as bucks because we believe that taking does off our properties increases our chances at shooting a bigger buck, not to mention keeps the herd in check. Great job Matt! |
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Date: September 22, 2007
Harvester: Dave Lambert
Animal: 11 pt Wyoming Whitetail
It was the last morning hunt of our 2007 Wyoming whitetail bowhunt. I slipped into a stand that we hadn't used yet but had confidence that it would be a producer. Daylight comes an immediately a doe walks
through on a trail directly under the stand. At this point, due to rain the night before and an abundance of leaves on yet, I realize that there will be short notice for any deer coming through. Minutes later a buck appears and with seconds to judge the buck, I decide to take the shot. I shoot when he's right below the stand and with a passthrough shot, the buck disappears into the creek bottom. Minutes later, out walks an extremely nice eight point that follows the same path, directly under my stand. I kill some more time reviewing the shot in my mind, then sneak out and get my son to help in the tracking job. Twenty minutes after we start the trailing, we find the buck piled up in the willow brush. Unfortunately, due to weather and pressing time, we were not able to get this buck on video. |
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Date: September 20, 2007
Harvester: Travis Lambert
Animal: 12 pt Wyoming Whitetail
Went out for an evening hunt, 5:00 pm, with the temps in the mid-80's. We set up on the corner of an alfalfa field, near a river bottom, on a trail that lead through a neck of woods into another alfalfa field.. About 7:00 (an hour before shooting light was up), I looked over to see that a good buck had come out of the far side woods and was feeding in the field. I pointed him out to my dad to get the camera on him. Within seconds, he was running straight towards the trail we were set up on. I heard him walking down the trail and put some tension on the string. He came into the clearing and I drew and bleated to try and stop him, but he didn't stop. He was at 16 yards. I put my 25-yard pin low on his front shoulder and released. The lumenok went off, showing me the path of the arrow. It looked like a good shot, maybe a touch back. We followed a good blood trail about 50 yards to where we heard the deer cross the river. We scoured the thick brush in the area but with no luck. We would later find the deer out in the same alfalfa field that he came out of. |
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