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HELPING HUNTERS BE BETTER HUNTERS!
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HELPING HUNTERS BE BETTER HUNTERS!
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About the Book During 2008, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources asked myself and another avid deer hunter to put on a whitetail hunting workshop for whitetail hunters that weren't having much success. The challenge was accepted and significant effort was invested in developing course materials. The workshop was delivered many times during 2008, 2009 and 2010. Students and observers alike provided many favorable comments following the workshop. But this got us to thinking... Where are the beginner and experienced hunters that didn't attend the class getting their hunting information from? Trial and error? Standing around deer camp? Reading disjointed sound bites on the Internet or in trade rags? We concluded that hunters (new or experienced) wanted actionable deer hunting information without spending years on their own trying to figure it out. Thus the Whitetail Hunting Guide was created. It is a natural extension to and compliments the workshops. It is founded on years of hunting experience; things that we have learned the hard way and things re-inforced through research. The Whitetail Hunting Guide isn't a "dormant download" that is outdated and has been sitting on the web for years collecting "eDust". Any time a hunter calls or emails in an improvement of any kind, we update this book right away. The book is easy to surf and packed with information. The Whitetail Hunting Guide was created to generate enthusiasm and help maintain and preserve our hunting heritage. About the Author Mike Wock is a veteran whitetail hunter. He is President of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, St. Croix Valley Chapter. He has conducted MN Department of Natural Resources workshops for hunters that were not having a lot of success. Smitten By the "Hunt Bug" At An Early Age When I was around 15 years old I went on my first deer hunt ever with some buddies. No parents - no mentors - no coaches - nobody to teach us the ropes; just buddies and all rookies. We hunted in the river bottoms because we were told that's where the deer hang out. We busted some whitetails from the brush but didn't get a shot. We were heading back to the car when a spike mule deer jumped up out of the tall grass. He ran about 50 yards and stopped to stare at me. I peered down the sights of the borrowed 30-06 military issue rifle, fired and the deer hunched up, ran off and disappeared. The blood trail led me to the down buck. I stared at the buck. There was a long silence. I was mesmerized by the seemingly massive fork horns and his steel-gray and brown coat. But slowly I recognized the pure joy and proclaimed; "I got my first deer." That's when I got the "hunt bug" and an insatiable desire to learn and develop the skills to be a good hunter. Almost fifty years later, I'm still learning and trying new things. A Tribute to the Hunt With every hunt trip I collect new memories, though few are recorded in scrapbooks. All who hunt for whitetails across the land collect them too. They are the images from first light to last and from first deer to last. We'd share them in a minute. Some recall particular triumphs, sometimes preserved in snapshots, while others we tend to hide, at least until the time we're ready to laugh about them. We've experienced frosty daybreaks, cold shakes, heartbreaks, foggy evenings, getting lost and the smell of autumn leaves. A few things that worked and twenty more that should have. THAT'S DEER HUNTING! Here's a photo of a handsome buck that I'll never forget. He busted out of a dense thicket, ran straight at me then hit the brakes. Plumes of steam bellowed from his nostrils. He high-tailed it through the thick underbrush. Then he made his fatal mistake. He stopped broadside, 40 yards from where I was perched...
Please send your questions or comments about white-tailed deer hunting; "challenges or successes" to: I love to hear how you're doing with your deer hunting adventures so that I can make sure we're delivering the information you need.
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