Daylight Activity is ON!

This buck has been completely nocturnal, at least in front on my cameras. I haven't been out much to get a glimpse of him in person yet but he showed his face last week right during the middle of the day. He sure is a goofy looking thing, I cant decide if he is old or just unique, I scored him close to a 150" with that dagger at about 5-6 inches. This is one of my favorite spots for motion cameras, eventually almost every buck on the property comes for a visit to scent check and grab a bite to eat. It is like a super scrape and bait pile that last for about 3 months. The only buck that didnt visit it was "The King" from last year, he seemed smart enough to stay away.

Big Brow Tine

The Brow Tine buck has finally run out of good luck and hiding skills as the Ultimate Muzzleloader has taken down another giant. It was really my first season that I have solely hunted a single buck on our property. I had my sights set on this deer and I wasn't going to shoot something else until this buck was down.

There were several close calls and through the month of October he was spotted multiple times during hunting hours. Several hunters had bow in hand but he just wouldn't cooperate and managed to slip away. On November 19 I managed to rush a 90 yard freehand shot from a tree stand at him that turned out to be a clean miss, lessen learned, use a rest.

On Thanksgiving eve morning I slipped into a pop-up blind I had set out in early October. This was a spot I was saving until later in the season when the deer had been pushed off the food plots during day light hours. When shooting light finally came the woods was very quiet with a faint breeze drifting through the trees. Less than an hour passed when some movement caught my eye about 100 yards out through the trees.

Through the binoculars I instantly realized it was the Brow Tine Buck and quickly grabbed my gun. Before I could even get my scope on the spot he was standing he was gone and it was so thick with trees I couldn't find him back. Suddenly a rack walked into view and I nearly squeezed the trigger when I noticed it was a buck I call Capt. Hook. He walked on and the monster 6 peeked out from behind a tree and slowly walked into my shooting lane. Now he is facing me wand walking straight towards me at an angle. With him at about 80 yards and a clear shot I decided to take it and not risk losing him in the trees again.

When the smoke cleared he was laying on the ground with what appeared to be a little life in him. I reloaded and started walking towards him to put the finishing round in him when he quickly jumped to his feet and started staggering off through the brush. I ran to a tree to use as a rest and waited for a semi-clear shot. I forced a tight shot between a couple trees and he took a couple big leaps through the creek and into some thick brush on the other side. I ran up to another blown down tree and used it for a solid rest to put in the final shot which finally put him down for good. Needless to say he was a tough guy that refused to go down, the first shot was found to clip the top of the vitals and exited in front of the hind leg.

The downside of being a great photog is you are always behind the camera. Thanks to Eric we have these great shots.

The evening after I missed him he showed up on camera. Unfortunately I didn't check this camera until Thanksgiving weekend when he was already at the taxidermist.

Early October and a picture from 2009.

I had a good encounter last week in the stand, it was a typical evening hunt that quickly turned into make or break decision. Who would think at 25 yards you would need to use binocs to check out a buck like this. Check out the video to see what happens when this buck presents an opportunity for a shot.
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1st Buck of the Season!

Jack took down this nice 8 point buck with his crossbow on the 2nd night of the season from a ground blind overlooking a little food plot. Check out the short video of the recovery and Jack telling the story of his first buck from Pigeon Creek.

Jon's Buck from 2009 gun season!

Jonny shot this buck late in the season by putting a little stalk on it after he spotted it bedded down in some thick brush.

Meeuwsen Doe Hunt

Brian Meeuwsen finally puts the hammer down on a nice doe. We had been trying to do this for some time and it all came together this night. We cooked up some nice venison steaks for New Years Eve dinner.

2008 Bow Buck

Jason's 2008 recovery of his bow buck.

Iowa Bucks 2009

Eric's 11 Point

Joel's big heavy 9
Jim's 8 point, the picture doesnt look like it but he is wider and taller than the other two bucks.

Jason and Jason Double Doe Down

Jason Bakker and I went out the other night looking to put some meet in the cooler. Did a good job putting the hammer down on these two does with the muzzleloaders.

Eric's Iowa Buck 2009

Here is a short recap of Eric's buck, I will hopefully have some video of the trip in the next week along with a fresh doe kill from the past weekend with a good friend of mine.

2 more Down!

Another good morning in the blind doing some doe patrol. Took down two more doe after missing an opportunity a little earlier in the morning. These two were tough shots through some thick cover but the old muzzleloader performed just as expected.

Video Update

Eric and I doing a little doe shooting one night a week or so ago. It sure makes it a lot easier having someone there to run the camera instead of trying to do it yourself. I shot the first one and there was one that didnt run to far off and we got her too.

Nancy shot this 7 point last week, the night before he was chasing some does around and I got some good video of him. I will try to get it up this week.

Aaron leech shot this 9 point on a neighboring property. This buck spent a considerable amount of time on our property given all of the motion camera pictures we got of him. PS. Don't leave your buck laying around where people regularly pick them up for the meat or you might be left missing something.

Outstanding Week!!!!

This opening week of firearm season has produced some good results for the hunt club. We have two very nice deer on the ground with a lot of good hunting time left and big bucks running around. Check back soon for some additonal video and motion pictures of these guys.

Monday morning, our opening morning, Mitch caught this 9 point chasing some does through the brush in front of him and was able to make a nice shot with his muzzleloader. Mitch saw him fall within eyesite of his blind.

On Wednesday night Brian was just getting comfortable in his blind when this giant walked out onto the field. Brian wanted to make sure this was the buck he was looking for so he glassed him for a few minutes before attempting the shot. The story of this buck starts last year when it was passed up a couple of times as he had some great potential and probably would have been a 110"-120" buck. Well this year he put on some incredible mass, a couple stickers and a I dont care attitude. He has been spotted roaming the property and probably on motion cameras 20-30 times over the past couple months. Well 4 oclock yesterdy was his final mistake and Brian made the shot count with his muzzleloader. Even with little sign of blood from a high shoulder hit they were able to track him a short distance into the woods. Great job Brian, we are all really impressed with your field skills you have been working on the past couple years.

This is last year in September just coming out of velvet. You can see the kickers starting to develop on his G2's. Look at the mass he put on in 1 year of growth, this is why we need to let them go so they can grow!

Finally got a doe to cooperate with me and got a good shot on camera. Smoked her at about 20 yards and saw her crash down in the swamp about 75 yards away. Recovery was so much fun and reminded me why I dont shoot doe on the edge of the swamp.

Eric and I went to try and shoot a couple does one night this week. We were just getting set up in the stand when a doe came running through the brush with a coyote not far behind.

Here are several bucks that have been shot in the last couple weeks by family and friends.

Ryan with a big wide 10 point bow kill in Illinois.

Shortly thereafter he was on them back in Michigan and killed this nice heavy 8 point with a 19" spread.

Merle shot this 9 which tipped the scales at 171lbs. 16 inch spread, 30 yard shot, went 80 yards, rough score 139, from a ground blind, 8 ½ inch brow tines, heavy mass. Lots of fun!!!

New video equipment

Had a couple does come in but wasnt able to get a shot off. I waited for about 10 minutes for this one to come out from behind a branch and when she did I was not prepared. Then my sat made a little squeak as I shifted my wieght and she was gone. Who ever said videotaping by yourself was so easy?

First Buck for Zach - First Buck of the Season

Here is a picture of Zach with his 1st buck ever. He shot it on Saturday night. It was a 15 yard shot and it ran about 100 yards and stopped just before the swamp. Great shot!! An hour and a half earlier he shot a doe from the same stand (10 yard shot) that went about 100 yards and died in an open field. Not bad for an 11 year old. Great buck Zack.

There has also been some good progress on the doe management program during the first couple weeks of bow season. Some of the young hunters have been very successful learning to take game with their bow and arrows.

Doe Hunt with Jeff & Ryan Elenbaas

Last year I took Jeff Elenbaas out doe hunting and had a good time in the blind with him and his brother Ryan. Last year Jeff fell from his treestand and injured his back and is now in a wheelchair but still loves to get out in the woods as much as possible.

It is getting closer....

It is getting closer everyday and will be here soon. Hopefully everyone is starting to shoot their bows as the early doe season is less than a month away. This weekend sure felt like it was October already and got me thinking it is time. I was doing a little work for our annual meeting and thought I would share a few numbers.

We started seriously managing the property and keeping records in 1999, so this year will be our 10 year anniversary of full out Quality Deer Management. I can say we have come a long way in that time, from the quality of our bucks and deer to the quality and condition of our land. We have done some amazing things like Native Grass Plantings, Irrigation, and Timber Harvests that have greatly improved the natural value of the land. To date we have shot 99 BUCKS and 399 DOES off the property, I call that an achievement that will be hard to beat in West Michigan.

African Leopard Hunt

How old are you?

Deer aging results from the past season.

1. Briana DeWitt - 11pt Hills - 3.5 years
2. Eric DeWitt - 8pt Hills - 4.5 years
3. Jason DeWitt - 10pt Hills - 4.5 years
4. Mark Huyser - 8pt Hills - 3.5 years
5. Alex Vanderkolk - 7pt Hills - 3.5 years
6. Mike Bursley - 7pt Hills - 3.5 years
7. Keith DeWitt - 9pt Hills - 5.5 years
8. Tom Norman - 8pt Reed City - 3.5 years
9. Marvin DeWitt - 8pt Reed City - 2.5 years (90 years old and still hunting – that’s awesome!)
10. Eric DeWitt - 10pt Iowa - 5.5 years
11. Jason DeWitt - 10pt Iowa - 5.5 years

Keith shooting his African bull elephant. Shot at 18 yards with his .416 and a perfect brain shot that dropped him in his tracks.

Lost & Found

This is Grandpa DeWitt's buck that he shot at Allen Creek this past fall. They did not find it when he shot it but all of them thought it was a good shot and would find it in the spring. Well they did find a little while ago. I belive it measured in the 150's.

In this video we are recovering Eric's deer after he shot it and did his own followup tracking it down through the creek bottom and shooting it again. It was work to get it out of there but well worth it.

Keith & "The Wide 9"

I had this on Youtube for a while but thought I should post it here because I have switched to a different video host.

Iowa Hunting 2008

A little clip from our hunting trip in Iowa, this is Jason shooting his 10 point on day 2 of the hunt.

Zman does it again!

Zman was at it again last night, this time in a different stand behind the house. Nice big doe who came in and presented a 12 yard shot and then ran about 100 yards and piled up right on the two-track that leads to the river. His brothers, who love to help track, could easily follow the blood trail in the snow. As of today, Zach has shot more deer than his Dad and Grandpa this year! From Steve DW.

Looking forward to the 2009 Season!