As the ice starts to form on the local lakes and frosty mornings become the norm, I try to take some time during the winter months to reflect on the previous year. Part of that process involves looking back on the past hunting season. Every year I make an effort to take note of the highs and lows along with what I did well and what I could have done better. As I reflect on the 2024 hunting season, I can’t help but smile as I remember the year that was.
As a hunter myself and a producer for Michigan Out of Doors TV, life during deer season is pretty chaotic. Regardless of how present I try to be for every day in the field, the days just seem to slip away faster as the years go by. That was especially the case over the past year. In addition to the normal fast paced life of working and parenting, my wife and I were also expecting our third child in December. If that wasn’t enough, we broke ground on our new house a couple of months before the season started. As the hunting season approached, I remember worrying about how much time I would get in the field throughout the fall with everything we had going on in this season of life. As I look back, it’s easy to see why I was concerned.
The archery season actually started out pretty slow. My time was somewhat limited over the first few weeks of October, but the weather was warm and windy, which had the deer movement at a minimum. So, I wasn’t too concerned about missing time. As the season progressed, I started getting pretty consistent trail camera pictures of the oldest known buck on our farm. A 5 1/2 year-old eight point that I knew well from the previous two seasons. I hunted him hard throughout October and had multiple encounters with him. I actually had him within range on three different occasions but never could get an ethical shot.
As November rolled in, he disappeared for about a week only to return again on November 6th. Early that morning, one well placed arrow helped me put a tag on my oldest buck to date. At that point, the season was already a success. Taking any mature buck with a bow and arrow is an accomplishment and I was already completely content with my season. Although this buck didn’t score quite as high as some of the other deer I have taken, the back-and-forth during bow season along with the history I had with this buck made for one of the most enjoyable hunting seasons I have ever had. However, around the time I was able to close the chapter on that buck, a bigger buck moved in. A buck that I knew would be my biggest to date. I took a couple days off to get caught up on things around home. However, that was short-lived. With my wife’s blessing, I refocused on the new buck and the chase started all over again.
Over the final week of bow season I hunted every day, having multiple encounters with the new buck. Unlike the first buck, I couldn’t seem to figure out how to get within bow range of this deer, or even close to it. Throughout that week, I hunted six different locations, including three new tree stands that I hung specifically for him. He was living in a heavily used bedding area and getting within range of him was difficult. With the high deer densities of southern Michigan, he was constantly surrounded by a harem of does.
On the night of the 13th, the last night I was able to bow hunt, I decided to take a calculated risk and hunt a new spot in his home area. Long story short, I ended up sitting on a platform of an old gun blind about 8 feet off of the ground. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective. Around 4:30 in the afternoon the buck presented me with a 30 yard shot and I was able to make the most of it. He was indeed my biggest to date and capped off an incredible year in the timber.
Just when I thought my season couldn’t get any better, it did. On the opening day of gun season, November 15th here in Michigan, I was able to take my 88-year-old grandpa out for the morning hunt. He tagged a beautiful eight point to put a bow on what really was a year for the books. As an extra bonus, I was able to capture the entire hunt on camera which made for not only a memorable segment on the show, but a memory I can relive over and over again.
When my wife and I purchased this piece of property a few years back, it was hard not to think about what was to come. A constant battle of being present and also planning for the future. Here we are two years later expanding our family, building a new home, and creating memories we will never forget. This year was not only a dream season from a hunting standpoint, but from a life standpoint. I can’t imagine a time where we will ever be busier than we are now, but it only takes a little time to reflect on what we have to realize that we’re already living the life we always dreamed of.
To view the winter 2025 issue of Partners magazine in its entirety, click here.
