Late Season Success

Hunting in Minnesota this year was quite challenging. We experienced warm, dry weather in early September, but as October arrived and the rut began, the rain started and didn’t let up. Our Deer Ponds were lively at the start of the season, but the continuous rainfall created water puddles throughout our farm, disrupting the regular activity at the ponds. We struggled through the season and couldn’t manage to get a big deer in front of us when we had our Mathews bow ready. We were hopeful for a strong late season, having done all the necessary groundwork to set ourselves up for success. We planted corn, soybeans, and Evolved Brassica blends to provide the deer with ample food. However, one of our soybean plots didn’t yield well this year; the deer browsed the beans as they emerged and kept them clipped while trying to grow. So, in late August, we decided to till that plot under and plant a blend from Evolved called Hail Mary. This mix was specifically designed for last-minute planting and was made to grow quickly. The plot turned out to be one of our best of the year. Additionally, we installed Deer Ponds in each plot to ensure the deer and wildlife had plenty of food and water, making it convenient for them to find everything they needed without having to venture elsewhere.

As cold weather began to settle in towards the end of November, the deer started shifting to a more consistent feeding pattern. We monitored all our plots and Deer Ponds for intel using our Stealth Cellular Cameras.

On December 1st, a big mature ten-point buck we named Forky Jr., who is five years old and has stickers with a forked G2, visited one of our Deer Ponds a few hours after dark. This confirmed that Forky Jr. had indeed survived the gun season. Just like in previous years, he typically appeared during the late season, and we knew that if we were going to have a chance at him, we needed cold weather and snow on the ground.

Fortunately, the weather turned cold, and snowfall occurred during the last few days of the Minnesota Muzzleloader season. The Hail Mary Plot was being heavily utilized each night, and I recognized that my best opportunity to see the buck would be to hunt that plot.

On December 11th, I settled into my Muddy Blind early, loaded my trusty TC Encore Pro Hunter, and prepared for a cold night of hunting. It wasn’t long before deer started filtering into the plot—first does, then smaller bucks, and finally…Forky Jr.! I couldn’t believe he was in the plot as I positioned my crosshairs behind his shoulder at 250 yards. Taking a deep breath, I slowly squeezed the trigger, and Forky Jr. hit the ground. All the hard work had paid off as I held his magnificent antlers in my hands. 

Those who manage their own properties will understand the thoughts and feelings I experienced at that moment. I believe the effort put into improving our land for deer brings me more satisfaction than actually harvesting them.