Deer Hunting Opening Weekend -- 3-4 November 2018

Another epic weekend of deer hunting is in the books! Great to see all the guys again. There is something so special about deer camp, and it’s an honor to spend time with a quality group of men. I know we all feel the same way.

The Reese Men - Nov 2018

A special thanks to Joe and Tom R. for putting in countless hours and $ to get everything ready for the season. It’s nice to just “show up and hunt,” but we know there’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes.

HUNTERS:  Dan N, Dan F, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian. Joe came Sunday, but wasn’t feeling very well, so he didn’t hunt until Monday.

WEATHER:  It was a scary couple of days leading up to the opener. The forecast called for rain both Saturday and Sunday. We got really lucky though, no rain, and no snow! Lows were in the 30s with highs in the 40s.

STANDS:  Dan N and Dan F went to their climber stands in the state land west of Palace. Mike went to Western Ladder. Bill went to Bill’s Stand. Brian went to Brush Hill Draw. Jared went to Corner (new stand this year), and Tom R went to T-Bone (new stand this year).

SIGHTINGS:  We saw a TON of deer this year to include a record number of buck sightings. Dan saw a 6-point buck AND an 8-point buck early on opening morning but decided not to shoot (smaller bodies).  Tom R saw a doe at T-Bone opening morning but wasn’t going to shoot a doe.  Around 8:45am, Dan F texted the group thread “Just had a 6-point buck go by…would have taken a shot but couldn’t get a clean shot. Big body.” Mike watched a spike buck for a while at Western Ladder but didn’t want to shoot. Jared didn’t see anything opening morning. Brian didn’t see anything at Brush Hill Draw … DEAD SEA!

On opening day, evening hunt, Brian saw two does at Ghost Hill for 10 seconds or so. Those deer were lucky; when Brian sees brown, they go DOWN! LOL.

Brian shot one of the biggest bucks we’ve shot in the property since Joe bought it in 1989. The inside spread measured 17 ½” making it a MONSTER buck. Huge 8-pointer with a thick rack.

Brian with The Monster Buck!

Dan F shot a really nice 8-point buck on day 2, evening hunt out of Bill’s Stand. He had to make a really nice shot standing up.

Brian shot two does walking out to Corner on Monday morning around 7:45am. He pulled a Grandpa Reese special! Joe, Bill, Tom R, and Brian decided not to walk in early since it was raining a bit. So we all went out a little bit later and WHAMMY, Brian blasted two of three does standing in the swampy area across from the old deer-hang area off the main trail.  

A bunch of the guys saw variations of bucks and does running around the property throughout the weekend. We saw more bucks this year than at any point we can remember. This was an encouraging sign for all of us.

Tom R, Dan F, Jared, and Dan N - New Deer Hang!

FORWARD:  T-Bone is too cut-off and not enough huntable land. Recommend moving it. We think we should put a stand back in the Ambush Alley area. We might also want to put a stand in the old Gunsmoke area. This is probably the last year for Jimmy Crack Corn. It’s an old stand and the wood is starting to rot.   

OTHER:  Tom R, Bill, and Brian built a brand-new deer hang right next to the parking area. It was a fun project and we got to hoist two big bucks! See pics below:

Deer Hunting Opening Weekend -- 5-6 November 2016

WOW!  An epic weekend of deer hunting has come and gone.  Great to see all the guys again.  There is something special about deer camp, and it’s an honor to spend time with a quality group of men.  I know we all feel the same way. 

HUNTERS:  Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian.  Joe came Sunday, and hunted for a little bit, but wasn’t feeling very well.

WEATHER:  It was one for the record books!  We all commented that we may never see an opening weekend that warm.  Lows were in the 40s and highs were in the lower 70s.  For the first time I can remember, NOBODY got cold.  In fact, the afternoon hunt required t-shirts. 

STANDS:  Dan went to his climber stand in the state land west of Palace.  Mike went to Western Portable.  Bill went to his stand near Grandview.  Tom R went to Brush Hill Draw (new stand this year).  Jared went to Ghost Hill (new stand this year), and Brian went to Cutover Alley (new stand this year). 

SIGHTINGS:  Dan saw a 6-point buck early on opening morning, but couldn’t get a good shot.  Tom R saw three deer on opening morning, but couldn’t get a real good look at them.  Around 9:00am, Dan texted the group thread “Just had a buck and a doe run through…I was facing the wrong direction!”  Jared texted a little bit later, and said “I had the same just now…6-pointer and a doe.”  And just a little while later, Dan shot a different 6-point buck out of his stand west of Palace (pic below).  Well done, Dan!  

Brian fired a shot at a buck out of Cutover Alley.  He and Tom R followed the blood trail for a few hundred yards before giving up the search.  Brian also saw a group of four deer for a second, but they ran off into the distant field by Cutover Alley. 

On opening day, evening hunt, Brian fired a shot at a 6-point+ buck out of Ghost Hill.  He pulled the trigger for the kill shot and forgot to cock the hammer!  By the time he tried again, he couldn’t get a great shot.  No hair; no blood. 

Brian shot a spike buck out of Western Ladder on Sunday morning (pic below). 

A bunch of the guys saw variations of does running around the property throughout the weekend.  Oddly enough, we had 5 doe tags, and didn’t shoot a doe! 

FORWARD:  24 was too thick.  Recommend moving the stand for next year. 

DRAMA:  On opening morning, the three vehicles left the Sylvan Lake homes around 6:20am.  About 20 minutes later, Brian called Dan to let him know about a big black cow wandering on the side of the highway.  At the exact same time, Dan texted the group thread that Bill’s vehicle had hit a deer.  Thankfully, nobody was hurt, except for the deer.  Bill’s vehicle had some minor damage on the front. 

On opening day, evening hunt, Brian had to yell at a group of four guys trespassing on Joe’s land.  Brian was in Ghost Hill, and one of the guys attempted to put up a climber stand.  After an exchange of words, the trespassers left the area.  

Deer Hunting Opening Weekend -- 8-9 November 2014

Another fantastic opening weekend has come to a close.  It's always fun to get our crew together for the big deer hunt.  While we didn't shoot da tirty pointer (in fact we didn't shoot any deer on opening weekend) we had a great time and saw a lot of deer.

HUNTERS:  Joe, Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian.

WEATHER:  It was a beautiful opening weekend overall.  It rained on Friday, 7 November, but the rain froze that evening, causing a little bit of crunch in the leaves.  There was also a slight dusting of snow, which made it a bit easier to spot deer in the woods.  A major snowstorm moved in on Sunday evening and into Monday, which changed some travel plans and disrupted normal deer patterns.  The Brainerd area had 4-5" of snow while Minneapolis had 11" or more.  Temperatures were in the 30s for highs, but crept into the teens as the week wore on.  There was a lot of snow on the ground for the Monday morning hunt. 

STANDS:  Joe went to Western Ladder.  Dan went south of Palace Ladder with his climber.  Mike went to 24.  Bill went east of Cutover Corner with his metal stand.  Tom went to the new Brush Hill stand.  Jared went to Bucksnort.  Brian went to Cutover Corner. 

SIGHTINGS:  Joe kicked up a six to eight point buck while walking around the side of Ghost Hill.  The buck must have been bedded down in the area.  The buck popped up 50 yards from Joe, but Joe didn't have a good shot.  Dan kicked up some deer walking into his climber stand south of Palace Ladder.  Mike saw a couple of flags out of 24 down in the thick stuff, but couldn't get a good shot.  Neither Bill nor Tom saw anything on opening morning.  Jared kicked up a buck and a doe walking into Bucksnort, but he could not get a shot.  Brian did not see anything out of Cutover Corner, but Tom R. kicked up a doe that Brian saw out of Ambush Alley.  In the evening, Brian could have blasted three does out of Western Ladder.  Overall, the crew saw a ton of does, but only three bucks.  This was an interesting year because the deer herd was way down.  That meant only 500 doe tags for all of area 246.  None of our hunters had a doe permit this year.  Oddly, Cutover Corner had no deer sightings either day for the first time ever!

OTHER:  The property had never looked so good!  The property featured numerous new trails and freshly tilled openings with a fresh fall plant.  We think the food source was a key factor in keeping deer on the property.  For example, Jared spotted four deer eating in the western field and gravel pit field on Saturday evening.  There was a ton of deer sign all over the property--probably the most we have seen in a long time.  The area south of Palace Ladder had a ton of scrapes and rubs.       

FORWARD:  We all agreed we should put a stand off the Ghost Hill trail next year.  Also, 24 will need a new look because it is getting too thick down low. 

FUNNY:  Dylan (19 months) came home with Brian and chucked a fried potato on-top of a bald guys head on the flight to MSP.  At 4:45 AM on opening morning, Brian dropped his iPhone 5S in the toilet.  Luckily, it worked fine afterwards!  Joe and Bill experienced a trailer nightmare when driving Bill's camper from Minneapolis to Pillager.  They had to stop twice along the way--once to change a tire and once to change the bearings.