West Bend, WI – The fascinating part of Wisconsin deer hunting is the number of connections and camaraderie it produces. Farmers, small business owners, bars, restaurants, whole communities, the list goes on.
The passion deer hunters have towards the traditions of pursing one of America’s top big game animals is truly incredible.
As the Broker/Owner of Land & Legacy Group, I get to look firsthand at some of Wisconsin’s finest rural properties. It’s in this business I’ve forged so many relationships with property owners and hunters. To tour properties, hear stories, and share insights is something I’ll never get tired of.
For years I served on the Washington County Deer Advisory Council. This helped me understand the public input as well as gain knowledge about deer behavior and yearly trends.
All this interaction and making connections led to one special moment.
I received a phone call from an unknown number 4 years ago. The caller left a voicemail and must have been in a bad reception area as the message was a bit spotty. I made out one word: Wisnefske.
I called this gentleman back (Dave) and he told me he was watching my videos on YouTube, specifically some of my listings where I used my drone.
As we both shared the same name, it turned out this was my grandpa’s cousin.
The other reason he was calling was his brother passed away and had some acreage in Green County they needed to sell. I met Dave and toured the property and we put a plan in place to get the land sold. After meeting, we went over to his property, truly a tremendous work of art. This property has everything including high land, low land, open prairie, thickets, and funnels.
That year, Dave invited me, my dad, and younger brother out to bow hunt. We of course said yes. That year led to year 2 and eventually year 3. There were plenty of deer sightings, some great bucks seen, but I was never fortunate enough to get a shot.
Until year 4.
My dad and I headed to Monroe from West Bend at 10 a.m. and were in our stands by 3 p.m. I had action right away with a little 6 pointer making his way across the prairie. About 30 minutes later a small 8 pointer cut across the same path.
Then came the grunt.
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I was starting to doubt if I was just hearing things, but then a flash of white came into view through some branches. A very nice tall, wide 8 pointer was making his way to me.
Just as it looked like he’d head the complete other direction he was making his way towards about 20 yards out. There was a perfect broadside shot, only covered with a ton of brush. It looked like he was getting a bit nervous but he put his head down and walked 5 more yards before I stopped him and he looked up…the shot I played in my head so many times as a beginning hunter was finally there for the taking.
I let the arrow fly and saw where it hit. I felt confident that was going to end well. I was able to watch him run down a hill about 80 yards until he made his way into a wooded valley. I never saw him come up on the other side or out the ends, leaving me to believe he’d be just off the trail.
After waiting what seemed to be an eternity, I made my way down and slowly walked towards where he would be. After patiently scanning the area there was another flash of white…this time it was his antlers laying on the ground, ready for me to grab and appreciate the animal and moment that was being created.
It had 8 points with 17.5 inch spread.
This is what I dreamed of as a kid. I finally did it.
Do you have a hunting story? Send with a photo to judy@washingtoncountyinsider.com
