MN_Bowhunter4
Well-Known Member
I'll play.
I'm Travis, originally from Gobles, MI which is a very small town about 10mi west of Kalamazoo. I started small game hunting, and then took up bow hunting when I was 12 with my father, followed by gun hunting at 14. We hunted across from our house on a tract of land that was huge as a kid, but now I realize it's probably 200 acres. It was great to have such an opportunity right out our door. I think I was 14 when I killed my first deer (tiny spike) during the MI Youth Gun Season. I killed a few more in my teens up North at our deer camp with a gun, but never had any success with a bow.
I went to college in Traverse City and was a regular at deer camp, but never really did much hunting beyond that. I look back now and regret that a bit as there is so much public land in that area that I could have explored. Honestly, hunting wasn't as much of a priority as partying was, and those early morning wakeups don't mix well with all night drinking.
After graduating in 2011 with a degree in Business I moved to San Antonio, TX. My college room mates moved down there and I'd visited a few times. I was looking to spread my wings a little bit and see what else was out there, so I went. Public hunting opportunities are kind of tough in TX and especially so in the SA area. My buddy and I made a few trips over to the Sam Houston NF for deer, but other than that we really stuck with dove hunting on some of the properties closer to SA. I bought my first bow since I was a teen at some point and did a few trips for hogs that were very, very unsuccessful. I was definitely back in the archery game though!
Lived in SA for a few years and really started to miss the seasons a bit so started looking for jobs in the Great Lakes region. Ended up taking a job in Minneapolis and moved up in 2013 without ever having been to the city. Prior to moving I did a ton of research on hunting opportunities and was excited to find that there were tons of public properties near the Cities. I took my first archery deer (5 point) on the 3rd or 4th day of the season in 2013 from a climber on public land in the metro. From that point on I've been almost exclusively a bow hunter. I've gun hunted a bit but the public is pretty crowded and it was just not something I enjoyed living so close to the Cities. I do partake in the muzzleloader season though which is much more enjoyable than the regular gun. In the years I've lived in Minnesota I've taken 4 or so deer, all with a bow. I hunt as much as a weekend warrior can and certainly have deer on the brain pretty much every day.
I stumbled on saddles a few years ago and put it in the back of my brain as something that I was interested in, but never really pulled the trigger. I purchased my first saddle last year and hunted for the first time out of it last year. I think the tipping point was the noise of lugging my climber through the woods only to be limited to the trees I could use. Saddle has been both an education and a game changer in the way I hunt. Last year was mostly about getting comfort dialed in on both the saddle itself and my whole setup. I am very much looking forward to this coming season and all that it brings!
As far as goals, I am super passionate about archery and have taken up traditional archery heavily this summer. I hope to take a deer with a recurve this season. It would be really really cool to take one with both compound and recurve, but I don't want to get too ambitious.
I've dabbled in western hunting and am currently building points for another run at WY pronghorn in the next few years when my schedule allows. Elk is also a bucket list type item that I really hope to check off the list sometime while I'm still relatively young. At the end of the day, I guess I just really like being in the woods and think about it every day!
I'm Travis, originally from Gobles, MI which is a very small town about 10mi west of Kalamazoo. I started small game hunting, and then took up bow hunting when I was 12 with my father, followed by gun hunting at 14. We hunted across from our house on a tract of land that was huge as a kid, but now I realize it's probably 200 acres. It was great to have such an opportunity right out our door. I think I was 14 when I killed my first deer (tiny spike) during the MI Youth Gun Season. I killed a few more in my teens up North at our deer camp with a gun, but never had any success with a bow.
I went to college in Traverse City and was a regular at deer camp, but never really did much hunting beyond that. I look back now and regret that a bit as there is so much public land in that area that I could have explored. Honestly, hunting wasn't as much of a priority as partying was, and those early morning wakeups don't mix well with all night drinking.
After graduating in 2011 with a degree in Business I moved to San Antonio, TX. My college room mates moved down there and I'd visited a few times. I was looking to spread my wings a little bit and see what else was out there, so I went. Public hunting opportunities are kind of tough in TX and especially so in the SA area. My buddy and I made a few trips over to the Sam Houston NF for deer, but other than that we really stuck with dove hunting on some of the properties closer to SA. I bought my first bow since I was a teen at some point and did a few trips for hogs that were very, very unsuccessful. I was definitely back in the archery game though!
Lived in SA for a few years and really started to miss the seasons a bit so started looking for jobs in the Great Lakes region. Ended up taking a job in Minneapolis and moved up in 2013 without ever having been to the city. Prior to moving I did a ton of research on hunting opportunities and was excited to find that there were tons of public properties near the Cities. I took my first archery deer (5 point) on the 3rd or 4th day of the season in 2013 from a climber on public land in the metro. From that point on I've been almost exclusively a bow hunter. I've gun hunted a bit but the public is pretty crowded and it was just not something I enjoyed living so close to the Cities. I do partake in the muzzleloader season though which is much more enjoyable than the regular gun. In the years I've lived in Minnesota I've taken 4 or so deer, all with a bow. I hunt as much as a weekend warrior can and certainly have deer on the brain pretty much every day.
I stumbled on saddles a few years ago and put it in the back of my brain as something that I was interested in, but never really pulled the trigger. I purchased my first saddle last year and hunted for the first time out of it last year. I think the tipping point was the noise of lugging my climber through the woods only to be limited to the trees I could use. Saddle has been both an education and a game changer in the way I hunt. Last year was mostly about getting comfort dialed in on both the saddle itself and my whole setup. I am very much looking forward to this coming season and all that it brings!
As far as goals, I am super passionate about archery and have taken up traditional archery heavily this summer. I hope to take a deer with a recurve this season. It would be really really cool to take one with both compound and recurve, but I don't want to get too ambitious.
I've dabbled in western hunting and am currently building points for another run at WY pronghorn in the next few years when my schedule allows. Elk is also a bucket list type item that I really hope to check off the list sometime while I'm still relatively young. At the end of the day, I guess I just really like being in the woods and think about it every day!
. That first morning a doe and 2 babies come by.amd I shot the momma. I drug her all the way out to truck alone. Carry bow a ways set ut down drag deer to bow and repeat. I got to the road and couldn't get her loaded. A car stopped and fella helped me load it. Wish I knew who it was today. I went right to the dairy barn where dad was milking and dad was in shock. The next 2 days I killed the 2 yearlings too. From then on it was on.
