Deer & Deer Hunting

TRUE LOVE! Cal and Mary Huffman were in their mid 20’s, had young twin boys, and loved to hunt and fish. In 1956, they were invited to stay and hunt at a friend’s cabin near West Bloomfield, Wisconsin. Cal, toting a double barrel, flint-lock 12 gauge and Mary, a 16 gauge, double-barreled boom-stick, the two posted in a section of tight timber on the heart thumping end of a small deer drive. As the hoots and hollers of their hunting cronies closed in, a ginchy, boss buck coolly strolled out of the dense underbrush towards the couple. Instantly, Cal quietly whispered “get ’em” to his partner-forever, granitizing the extraordinary endearment he felt for his wife. An immediate blast from Mary’s barrel punctuated his loving sentiment. Unnerved by Cal’s self-sacrificing show of chivalry,…

It’s a nostril-freezing walk to the tree stand. Steam billows from my mouth, and the still morning air keeps it near my face like a slow-moving steam engine. Ice crystals are forming on my beard and mustache. I can’t help but touch my face with my ungloved shooting hand. My beard is “crunchy,” as my pre-school daughter would have said years ago. Crunchy like a popsicle, I guess. Frozen boots hit the ladder stand rungs, and a “ping!” echoes across the forest. “Oof,” I hiss. “Better slow down and not alert every creature I’m here.” It’s the second week of December and this “first snow” blankets the woodlot. That hunt took place more than 30 years ago, but I recall nearly every detail. It was muzzleloader season, and I had…

CONNECT & WATCH OUR 4 SHOWS WWW.DEERANDDEERHUNTING.COM DEER & DEER HUNTING • MODERN HUNTER • DDH PROPERTIES • DEERTOPIA SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITES/STREAMING APPS FACEBOOK: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/DEERHUNTINGMAG YOUTUBE: WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/DDHONLINE INSTAGRAM: WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/DEERANDDEERHUNTING PURSUITUP: WWW.PURSUITUPTV.COM/DEER-AND-DEER-HUNTING/ WAYPOINT TV: WWW.WAYPOINTTV.COM/DEER-AND-DEER-HUNTING WILDTV: WWW.WILDTV.CA/PROGRAM/DEERDEER RUMBLE: WWW.RUMBLE.COM/C/DEERANDDEEERHUNTING TWITTER: @DEERHUNTINGMAG PINTEREST: WWW.PINTEREST.COM/DEERHUNTINGMAG/ BROADCAST TELEVISION PURSUIT CHANNEL - SATURDAY NIGHT DEER CAMP WILD TV • WAYPOINT TV ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS TO USING A CROSSBOW FOR DEER HUNTING? —TOM MORPHET, RISING CONTRIBUTOR JULIAN ETHERIDGE Practice shooting and learn your crossbow. Just like anything else but make sure you wax your string and lube the rail/inspect every time you take it out to use it. WAYNE ALTENBURG Make sure you’re fingers are under/away from the rail. Always make sure the safety is on. Try to make sure the limbs are clear from…

Not all deer are hit perfectly and die within sight or hearing distance and in such circumstances knowing how long to wait is more critical to recovery than being excellent at trailing. You watched your arrow hit — now what? Upon impact, mentally-frame the hit, mark the deer’s last sighting with an easily identifiable landmark once on the ground, listen for the direction he travels and take a compass reading. If the deer dropped within sight or you heard him drop and thrash while expiring, you are in luck. If not, follow these seven clues and react accordingly. 1. ABUNDANT, SLIGHTLY AERATED BLOOD This indicates a lung hit where air breathed into the lungs mixes with the blood. With a double-lung hit and an exit wound, there should be lots…

KASSIDY DORNFELD ADAMS COUNTY, WISCONSIN In 2022, Kassidy Dornfeld bought an 11-acre parcel of land. “The price was excellent,” Dornfeld said. “As I walked it, I was told by the realtor that several people walked through it, but thought it wouldn’t be good for hunting since it was so small. I saw things differently. I saw a lot of potential and a big funnel for cruising bucks.” The same year, he harvested a monster buck on it. It wasn’t easy, though. “I had pictures and videos of him just after dark and just before light,” Dornfeld said. “Nothing during the day until he started looking for ladies.” After being in the treestand a half-hour, he looked up and spotted movement. It was a doe, then another one, and then Jumbo…

I was really excited, climbing up in the stand on December 8th. I’d learned something that I was set to take advantage of, and I was chomping at the bit do just that! I’d learned that there are just too many adult does out there to breed by the few remaining bucks, with the “out of whack” sex ratios occurring apparently most everywhere. So, all those does that didn’t get successfully bred, and there’s apparently a whole bunch, merely come into estrus 28 days later. Now settled into stand, at the peak of the second rut, I was set to fill my MO archery buck tag. The entire week I was able to break free was consistent rutting buck action, in that I never saw a bit of it. Though…