So You Think
You Can Hunt.

Prove It.

Join us and see if you have what it takes to compete against other hunters in your state and across the country, including Canada, in earning the most points for the deer you harvest.

Dates to Remember

Dragg'n Gear

Dec. 17th

Well I have not been able to go out hunting for over about two weeks now and I am just going crazy. I still have my late muzzleloader season coming up which will run until Jan. 10th and also there is a late antlerless season in late Jan as well. So there is still some time to hunt. I am hoping to find one more big dog before I have to put the weapons away for another 10 months. I just got word that the first sheds were found in North Dakota. A set of antlers was picked up yesterday by a hunter checking trail cameras. Wow! Thats early. I can't wait for the shed season. I hope everyone still hunting has some success and be careful when you grab that deer by the horns. They may just pop off! LOL

Good Luck!

Nov. 25th

I was out looking for a doe the other night and saw three real nice bucks. I have noticed that the rut seems to be coming to an end. These three bucks were all together and didn't mind eachother much at all. they were focusing on feeding. However the two nights later I did see tow good bucks cruising for does; walking through the corn field with out stopping to eat. I can't wait for the gun season in a couple weeks to go after one of those big boys. I have had my trail cam out at another spot for about a week now and was able to get a couple good pics. The one is a real nice buck and the other needs a year or two. Along with these two bucks plenty of does were on camera as well.

Nov. 15th

Well Ontario was a bust. It was too warm in the start of the week then rainy the last part of the week. The rut had not started yet. I saw two buck all week from stand. Well, thats hunting I guess. I was driving back from a job yesterday and I came accross this huge buck in the ditch of the road. I could not help but look at it and with permission from a officer I took the buck home. This huge bruiser scores a whopping 173 7/8" A true giant, its too bad that his life ended on the road. I will give respect to this buck with intensions of mounting him this spring. Here are a couple photos, sorry they aren't so great. The rut is on here is Iowa. Too bad I have to work so much.

Oct. 31st (Halloween)

I am off to Ontario. The forcast isn't looking great. Unseasonably warm and chance for rain 3 of the days. The rut should still be going on, so anything can happen. Normally I look for bucks cruising mid-day, but if it get real warm I will look more in the evening and morning when the temps are still cool. With the deer having their winter coats on they wont move much in the heat. I will be up there until next thursday. I have seen many great bucks, only one has fallen to an arrow by another guy I went with a few years ago, but thats hunting. Wish me luck.

Oct. 29th 2008

My first Iowa Buck.

This morning I got into stand around 6:00am and sat tight as the morning light came into the sky. Shooting this morning was at 7:12am. Well it was 7:15 and I decided to rattle my antlers a little and see what would happen. Just as I hung them up next to me I heard crashing as a deer came in from the field. I grabbed my bow with excitement. The buck closed the distance and then I saw that he was a shooter. He had 10 points, outside the ears and good mass. He came behind my stand where I did not have much room to shoot. He got to one small window where I grunted to stop him and as he came to a hault I released the arrow which impacted right behind his front right shoulder. The deer only ran about 50yds before expiring. The rack has an 18" inside spread and has one broken brow tine. He scores right at 130."

I also got a trail cam picture of him at 5:34am. The camera is right near my stand. The buck actually tripped the camera as he ran to me. He was moving too fast to capture a picture of him. I saw this buck two nights before in a field with 7 does. The rut is just getting going in Iowa. I still have my gun tag and I am on my way to Ontario in a couple days.

Him checking a crape just after a doe left. Little did he know I would be near by. This camera is only 40 yds from my stand.

Thursday Oct 16th

BDD- Big Doe Down. This morning just as the sun rose, I put the hammer on a mature doe. It was a great morning. I saw about 8 deer from stand. All were does. One doe had a droopy ear, which I guess must have been injured. Looks goofy to me though. I decided to take a different doe because she was with a button buck and they say if you harvest a doe that has a button buck with her that buck wont get kicked away and will remain in the area. We will see. So, venison steaks tonight. I will be out next on Sat. morning.

 

good luck all. pre-rut is here

Monday Oct. 13th

My wife just got her firearms certification and she and I went out tonight for the first time that she had a bow in hand. It was horrible. It rained all night. We didnt see a deer all sit until we got in the truck and left. We saw the buck we call the long beam 4x4 in a field under the headlights. But tomorrow morning looks good. The rain is going to quit and a cool front moves in. I am going to dry my clothes off and get ready for the morning. We did also get a new buck on camera. We call him the Fork G2 Buck. He has a total of 11points and hope to score pope and young. Below is a picture of him.

Friday Oct.3rd

Morning Hunt-

This morning I was out to my new spot again. I climbed up into a big oak. I dont have a stand in it yet, so I stood on the branch. It wasnt too bad. I saw 5 does and took a shot at a coyote, but my bow hit the tree. All in all it was an OK morning. I did check my trail cam and after just two nights I got this new buck. i call him the short G4 5x5. he looks to be 3 1/2 years old. The pic came from yesterday moring a 7:50am I was in the stand by the camera this morning till after 8:00am, but neve saw him.

Wednesday Oct. 1st

Opening Day-

I just got permission to hunt a property a week ago. I put my camera out right away and to my supprise I got 7 different bucks in 4 nights on one trail. I have posted a few of them here. Tonight I saw 4 of the 7 bucks. It was a great night. One was a 2x2 that we call "Twin A" and also a buck we call "Shortbeam 4x4" and a buck I dont have on camera which was a 3x2 that I will nick name Uni due to the fact that he only has one browtine. I saw a total of 12 deer. I hope the rest of the season has some great encounters for me.

Saturday Aug. 23rd 2008

I have now finally aquired some land to hunt here in Iowa. I am very excited to be getting my tree stands out soon. I have seen a couple nice bucks in the area. I did have time to get my trail cam out last week and to my amazement I got a pic of a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old. The first was about 105" and the other about 150" I will be looking for him this fall. I will be post the photo soon. I hope everyone is enjoying the site and we appreciate any comments that peole have. Please send me an email. I will be reporting more and more often now that season is almost here.

Dont forget to practice. You must shoot your bow in full gear and from many different possions to replicate the real thing. Don't forget to go throught your hunting pack and make sure you have what you need in the woods this year. Cany you guys guess what my buck scores from 2005 in the How Big am I page.

Sunday July 13th 2008

HI everyone. It has been a very hot start to the month of July here. The fourth was a great time. It was my little boys first one. We spent our day at the lake. Anyways, deer hunting is gettng so close. How ever I am used to starting my deer hunting in the middle of Sept. When I movce to Iowa it will not be until the first of Oct. Thats not too bad I guess. No way will I get my velevet buck down there thow. I really can't wait to get down there and find my spot for this season. You can bet that I will be out just about every night looking for big bucks. I know that if you spend a lot of time scouting in the evening in late July and Aug. You will have a better season. It will help you eliminate where to hunt in the begining of the season. Until the rut kicks in those bucks will be in the same areas you see them in the end of summer.

I recently contacted my guy in Ontario Canada and he told me that a guy he knew shot a buck that scores 208". I can believe it, there are some hawgs up there. So, I got that hunt lined up for the begining of Nov. I would never miss the rut in Canada. Well there isnt a hole lot to talk about yet. Just wait till the season. Please feel free to contact me if anyone has questions. i am more then happy to try to answer them on here. My email address is andrewr@huntingleague.com

Shoot Straight!

Sunday June 29th 2008

I was in Iowa this last week and I am very happy to say. I saw my first shooter of the year. It was right out side the town my wife and I are moving to. I would say he is already 19-20" wide and going up. I will keeping an eye out to see if he truely turns out to be a giant. There are more and more does bring their fawns out to the fields to play. I would say just from what I have seen, that there is a very good fawn population this year. The crops in many areas are starting to look pretty good. There was some major flooding in the low land areas but, its still a smaller percentage of the area. The farmers are already back to planting something in those fields.

Well I am back in MN now and went driving this evening. I saw a couple does, but thats about it.

Sunday June 22nd 2008

The season is still too far away. My wife bought me two new hunting videos for fathers day. I got the new Road Trips and "Boss Bucks" by Jim Shockey. I have spent many hours the last two weekends watching these and other videos I have. I don't know why I do it, but every year around this time, my fire turns up a little hotter and the thirst for hunting creeps into me. It's the only way to feed it. I also start shooting my bow more and more around now.

I am starting to see some of those little fawns running around. Last night was a good night for seeing deer. My wife and I and my son were driving just after a hard rain right at dawn and the critters were out. I guess it's because the rain cooled the temp. down. There were deer and pheasant and turkey all over. It was a good evening. No bucks though. I am going down to Iowa this next week to work. I'm bringing the binos now just in case I start to see what those summer bucks are showing. I am also looking at a house while I'm there. Planning on moving by the end of July. Iowa here I come. A big boy is going down this year.

Well thats all for me now. Nothing too exciting yet.

Friday June 13th 2008

Well the season is still months away and it wont get here any faster. Im am planning on moving to Iowa this summer and I can't wait to live in big buck country. So, I wont have to pay those crazy out of state prices. I have however past the time, by getting out on those back roads and looking for those first signs of bucks. They are now starting to sport the start of those amazing racks. I have however been noticing a lot of roadkills lately and I am not really sure why. This season will officially be our first season with the league and we really hope you guys enjoy it. There are many new ideas we have, but these things take time. For us to make this site be the best it can be is by you, the hunters who come see it. Please email us with thoughts and ideas about how we can make this site better for you. No idea is too foolish. I realy hope that I have a good season this year. I had some really close calls with big busk up in Canada last year. I saw 16 shooters of 135" or better last year in a week from stand. Tell me, how does a guy not get one? Well the only thing I can say is that they all will be bigger this year. What a hunt that is. We sit 8 hours a day in stand and it's cold. You gotta be there during the pre-rut into rut phase or you see no big buck action. When you hit it right, the bucks can't resist the rattling antlers. I had 6 different bucks in 45 min last year come screeming in to the horns. 5 of the 6 came right to my tree. Too small though. The one shooter came to 50yds in the brush, thats it. Wow, I will never forget that day.