As the 2024 Deer Season concludes it is a great time to reflect on the season, lessons learned and continued areas to improve. I was very happy with the season and continue to increase my confidence in the woods. There were some patches during late November and in December where I was frustrated with the lack of deer I was seeing but in general I continue to see more deer and create more opportunities compared to previous seasons.

This season I hunted in 6 different counties in Wisconsin on 10 different properties between a mix of private and public. I had 33 sits equating to over 150 hours of hunting this season.  My first hunt of the season was opening day September 14th and last was January 22nd.

Lessons Reinforced

Wind continues to be the most tangible element of success. Temperature, precipitation, moon coverage and the rut will change deer behavior but if you don’t not put enough thought into your location setup in comparison to the wind you will likely see few to no deer.

Understand the Why? If you can identify bedding areas and food sources, you can apply the conditions to why they may or may not be using them or which ones they will be more likely to use during that time. Deer are logical creatures and are unlikely to stroll through an area because they feel like it.

Benefits of Saddle Hunting. All of my harvests with a bow in my career have come from using my saddle and every time has been a different tree or location. The mobility you have to incorporate the weather/wind and react to where you are seeing deer is a huge advantage and each season I feel more comfortable going deeper and deeper into a property. Additionally, you are not restricted to 180-degree vision you may have in a climber or ladder stand.

Don’t Hit the Snooze, I had most of my success this season on morning hunts where I gave myself amble time to get in the woods and setup before the lights came on. When you don’t give yourself enough time you are more likely to make mistakes; forget gear in the truck, compromise your strategy by choosing somewhere quicker to get to instead of your original plan, and make more noise as you are rushing to get there and up in a tree. Get there early, enjoy the sunrise and take a nap when you get home.

What Worked Well

Increased property experience, I tried a number of new properties this season but the ones I have hunted multiple seasons I have been able to pick up on trends of deer movement based on time of day and time of year. I have a better understanding of which properties which have an earlier season peak based on

heavier foliage coverage but drop off later when they become more open and ones that are better late season as food supply becomes more limited. Picking up on likely bedding areas and evening food sources. Knowing the why and how has made an incremental increase in deer sightings.

More confidence; to go deeper into properties, my gear setup and general comfort of being in the woods. In the first couple of seasons I would often limit myself to more accessible locations and would default to spots where I was more comfortable even if I had not seen heavy movement in that area before. I feel my gear assortment has come a long way making me more comfortable and confident while being in the field. Being less weary of walking in the dark and of noises I hear around me, I am growing in appreciation of morning hunts and previously would sometimes avoid them as it is easier to walk in during the day.

Fitness, physically I was in great shape coming off triathlon season. Being fit gives you confidence to give you deeper into a property, climb a tree without exhausting yourself and when that time comes you will be able to drag your harvest out of the woods.

Gear, my top 3 upgrades this season were:

125G Magnus Broadheads with 20G inserts in my arrows. After using mechanical broadheads the first 2 and a half seasons and having a couple instances where the mechanicals did not penetrate deeply I switched to Magnus broadheads in the 2nd half of last season. The additional weight increases the penetration and have gotten clean pass throughs on the four deer I have harvested with them since. They are also quieter, which in two instances when I shot the deer they reacted like they got stung by a bee and didn’t take off in a full sprint allowing for a quick recovery.

Lattitude Carbon Climbing Sticks. A 1LB pound reduction per climbing stick does not seem drastic but when you are climbing hills or going a mile plus into a property it adds up. They are a lot quieter, with less accidental clanking you might have with metal sticks. I also preferred the bite of the sticks and rope attachment that the sticks had.

First Lite Solitude Bibs. Windproof clothing makes sits much more comfortable, in the first three seasons I wore either the First Lite Obsidian or Early Season pants or had to switch over to heavier Red Duck Bibs. The First Lite Bibs were great for keeping the wind out, lighter and more maneuverable than the Red Duck Bibs and offered a wide temperature range based on what if I went with the heavy or medium long johns underneath.

Goals for 2025 Season

Finding more mature bucks, the amount of deer I have see season after season continues to increase but mature buck encounters are still rare. I saw 6 bucks that would likely be 3 years or older with >=8 points but only one of them was in bow range, which fortunately I was able to capitalize on.

Being constantly cognizant that Luck is not a gameplan when it comes to these animals. Deer become mature by not making many mistakes, moving in areas that most people do not want to go and being more sensitive to human pressure than younger bucks or does. If you find a spot that is easy to get to and one in which you can see a long ways in a lot of directions you will likely not see many bucks.

Improve my Rifle Marksmanship, I had two missed shots with my muzzleloader that resulted in me eating my gun buck tag and leaving muzzleloader season empty handed. I attempted both of these shots in my saddle freehanded on my left (weak) side. The confidence generated from sitting on a bench with shooting bags at the range does not translate directly to the field. This highlighted the

need to practice in more realistic scenarios, from different positions to make sure that I am not in an unfamiliar position when its crunch time. Opportunities are rare, need to be ready to capitalize on them.

Increased Preseason Scouting, I was very limited in time and energy this past season to get out and scout as often as I would have liked due to my triathlon training schedule. Effective scouting of properties can make some of your earlier sits more productive and enable you to go more extensively through a property with less impact on deer movement than you would have during the season (still need to be cognizant of not blowing out a property in August/Early Sept).

Highlights

My First Buck, after four seasons I was able to fill my first buck tag on October 13th in Fond Du Lac County. After waking up 3am I drove an hour and a half from Milwaukee to get setup ahead of daybreak and with a slight western wind, I was able to sneak in and pick a tree out in the dark and was able to deliver a shot at 30yards and had my tag filled by 8am.

A Full Hunting Cabin for opening weekend of the gun season. I enjoy the general gun season for different reasons compared to bow season. It is a different type of excitement as the woods fills up with kindred spirits hoping to find a wall-hanger or fill the freezer. This season I had all my brothers home: Brother Doug from Alaska and my second family of brothers Eric, Ryan and Alex for opening weekend. I was very appreciate of the opportunity to spend time with them. Additionally was able to sit with my nephew on the afternoon made for a memorable gun-season. Opening weekend feels like a holiday to me and something I look forward to all year.

A Full Freezer, I was able to harvest 5 deer this season (four antlerless/one buck). Venison is my primary source of protein throughout the year as I avoid buying meat in a grocery store. The combined total was approximately 200lbs of meat, I have the majority of the trim (non-steak cuts) turned into ground venison with pork fat added as a ground beef substitute (tacos, spaghetti, chili, and the list goes on and on). Also have hot sticks and summer sausage made that I enjoy sharing with family and friends.

Overall another great season for new reasons, that is leaving me already looking forward to September.