Gary was an extremely nice guy, and did a great job running that bait shop. Mine and my family’s sympathies go to Deb (Gary’s wife) and the whole family there.

Congrats to you and your son on a fun and memorable hunt! It’s always fun to leave the gun on the lap and just “watch” deer.

By the way, was the photo next to a rub?! That tree looks like it’s been shredded!

Hunted in 214 and saw a doe and fawn on Sat. Doe and fawn on Sun. Went out weekend #2 and saw NOTHING saturday (sitting dark to dark), and saw a couple does Sunday AM.

Although after seeing one of the does, I heard a SNOOOOOOOOOOORT from the thick marsh to the west of me that dang near stopped my heart! Never got a look at him though. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since, and I’ll be back out Sat AM for Muzzy Opener!

One thing to note…even without seeing a lot of deer…it’s still the best time of the year, and I wouldn’t trade it in for a thing!

Good luck out there!

“called 2 in tonight”

shednut…out of curiosity, how were you calling them in?

I KNOW they are on the farm I am hunting this weekend, and would love to take one down if I could. I just don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize the deer hunt too.

Super Do…couldn’t he have registered the deer online or over the phone this year?!

I can easily admit that I’ll be driving around looking for JUST the right registration station to use if I have anything like Gravedigger in my truck this year!

Had a basket 6-pointer run right in front of our car on Cedar Lk Road near hwy 169 in Hopkins last night! He sure looked stupid with his nose in the air!

AWESOME story, and congrats!

On a side note…does anyone else think it’s funny that the guys who get monster bucks always seem to need to stop and fill up the gas tank on the way home?! Is there some unwritten rule that you have to retrieve a deer with a semi-empty tank…that way there’s a reason to hang out at the gas station for a little longer in order to show it off?!

This is in NO way a slam against you or anyone else either! I have never shot a trophy before, but when I do, I’m sure I’ll stop to fill up the truck, maybe deposit that roll of dimes I’ve been meaning to get to the bank drive-through, swing through Burger King for a Whopper, etc!

Again, not a slam…just a funny observation!

Congrats again!!!!

I suppose I’d better share mine since I started the post!

My favorite part is as soon as we arrive…having that first adult beverage with the family Friday night, and then getting the big, laminated map of the farm out to talk strategy, weather, past deer sightings, etc…getting ready for the next morning!

Sorry to hear of your troubles gobble…but I would say, keep with the search if you can. It’s only been 24 hours. He’ll be bloated, but not competely coyote food yet. Plus, going out for one more search will only make you feel better that you searched as hard as you could, and could give you quicker closure if you come back empty one more time. Just a thought.

Good luck, and thank you for sharing your story with all of us. It’s a great reminder that hunting isn’t just high fives and polaroids. It can be extremely difficult and an emotional roller coaster sometimes, and your story is humbling for us all.

Sounds like you are a responsible outdoorsman though, and showing as much remorse as you already have shows a lot about you.

Good luck!

Thanks Kooty! Just counting down the hours (3 left) until I can stand up from my desk and head west to SD!

I’m not “worried” about there being corn in the fields, I’m just making sure I factor it into the plans when I am leaning over a map of the farm and a Jack n’ water tonight and talking strategy!!!

I don’t have a photo of this bruiser in the field, but the mount sure turned out swell!

Hey Kooty…any corn updates around the Brookings area this morning?!

I know I’ll see it with my own eyes in about 12 hours…but I’m going a little nuts here at the office thinking about it!

Thank you, and good luck out there!

There’s been 5 straight days of warm, sunny weather since Kooty last posted about crop condistions in SD. Anyone see the fields this weekend? Can anyone give an update on the corn/bean status around Brookings by chance?!

5 days from now I’ll be at the brother-in-law’s farm outside of Brookings for the non-res opener extravaganza! I know, I married into a great family!

The best part is the after the hunt in the shack with the family!

I thought I would just reply to this post again in order to bump it up to the top of the forum list.

This is such a great story, and since I last posted, my wife and I actually had a baby boy. I will for sure be cherishing our time in the woods (and on the water) a little more because of this story.

Thank you, be safe, and good luck to everyone in the woods this year.

Phunny

I’m sorry about the redundancy, but I just wanted to make sure the information got out there in the right spots where wader-using fisherman would see it.

The guys that started the company are really good friends of my family, and I’m excited to support what they do.

So I think I posted it 3 times the other day…and that’ll be it!

It’s a post like this that reminds me A) sites like this are awesome. B) Deer hunting is MUCH more than than hunting deer. C) I can’t wait to share the experience with my son/daughter someday.

Thank you for posting this, and a whole-hearted congratulations to you on a superb hunt!

If the Mrs is giving you the OK to fish, you fish. If it was open water season, raining, and chilly…put on the slicker, finish your beer before it fills with rain water, and get out there!

Unless it’s your anniversary weekend of course.

I need to get one of these slime rockets on the ice before I can worry about making the perfect fillet.

Speaking of, rainy, can you diagram how to fillet a sucker minnow and/or shiner? That would help me out this season!

Regarding the noise on the ice…do you guys see an effect when snowmobiles and/or 4-wheelers are around you? I know on some busier lakes, that can be a factor. There’s also times when it’s fun to take the sled or wheeler across the ice to buy bait (instead of driving on the roads), and I just want to see if there’s any opinions out there.

I am WORTHLESS this week! I told myself that I would keep my nose to the grindstone this week in order to make it go faster. Instead I’ve come back to my usual ways of reading this site, checking the weather, and basically doing everything like pahaarstad posted!

So I am setting myself up for a long 4 days here at the office…but who am I to throw away an annual tradition of unproductivity?!

BEST of luck to you guys, to your first time hunters, your fellow deer camp family/friends/knuckleheads, and most importantly…SAFE HUNT!

did I drive?

I’m in like a dirty shirt!

Beautiful animal! Boy SE Minnesota sure is bringing in the giants this year!

Can you say where in Olmstead County you got him? I’m from down there (living in Mpls now though) and am curious.

Congrats!

Real Name = King Kong Striker

IDA Name = Mister [censored]

Heading to Brookings in 6 hours and 26 minutes.

Not like I’m counting though!

Heading to Brookings in 6 hours and 26 minutes.

Not like I’m counting though!

WOW…those might be the 2 MOST FAKE pictures of deer I have ever seen!

It looks about as real as this deer that I got with my trail cam over the weekend. WOW!

WOW…those might be the 2 MOST FAKE pictures of deer I have ever seen!

It looks about as real as this deer that I got with my trail cam over the weekend. WOW!

That would be 3 fish. Get your facts straight pal.