Was lucky enough to take a real good buck in December in Illinois this year. We were actually after this buck last year but was never able to see him in daylight hours. This year he showed back up on camera, and opening day of 2nd Gun Season turned out to be extra cold. I decided to sit all day where we had pics of him, and just as the sun set he made his appearance. I figured he might be 6.5 have years old, so I sent his teeth into the lab at DeerAge and it confirmed that to be the case. Hope you had a memorable season!
December 1st U.P. Snowy Buck!
December 7, 2024
Passed up a nice 8 last year through late season and even found his sheds. I got pics of him off and on this year but less consistently than last year. He covered a lot of ground this fall as I had multiple friends and neighbors with pics of him. He managed to survive gun season and when we got a big snowstorm he finally came back my way at one of my late season spots. I got set nice and early on December 1st with the crossbow (my shoulder is permanently disabled now so I'm licensed to use it during late season and it will be what I'll be carrying from here on out). The shot didn't look as good as I wanted, but luckily he turned into it just right and it ended up being a quick clean kill. Always feels good to take a nice U.P buck, especially in the snow! Check out the Buck Pole for pics!
Scarface! First U.P. Buck for me in two years...
November 14, 2024
I had a nice buck on cam off and on at a brand new spot this year. He was mostly nocturnal, and then finally the rut coming on started bringing some daylight trail pics. I got set in my new Banks Blind on Saturday November 9th, and a few hours later I had a doe and a fawn out on a little food plot in front of me. My other window looks down towards a trail along the edge of a swamp where I have just enough bait to stop a deer if they come through there. I looked down to the edge of the swamp and there he stood. After he turned broadside I took the shot and he only made it about 30 yards. Feels good to be on the board here in the U.P.! It's been a good season so far for our family as well as friends who have taken nice bucks as well. Be safe out there during gun season!
Landon takes down a 208+ lb buck!
November 8, 2024
Landon passed this deer as a 2.5 year old buck in 2022. He came back as a huge bodied 3.5 year old last year that we named 'Tank'. One year later he returned as a 4.5 year old buck that dressed out over 208 lbs! We went for an all day sit when conditions were right and 8 hours later he came in, chased a few does off and then started to feed. Great memories were made! Good luck the rest of this season!
October Illinois Buck!
November 6, 2024
Here we go! One of the biggest bucks on camera this year came by me in the timber on the morning of 10/27. I was self filming this year which was a little more challenging for the footage, but it still all turned out pretty good. Enjoy the video and expect more to come yet this season!
Illinois Success!
October 30, 2024
Illinois didn't let us down! One of the biggest bucks I had on camera this year came by me early on the second morning in the timber, and the rest was history. He's one of the top 2 biggest bucks I've been lucky enough to tag down there. CLICK HERE to check him out on the buck pole and I'll post a video here in the coming days. Time to hunt the U.P.!
2024 Season Preview
September 25, 2024
Good news, the 2024 deer season in the U.P. should undoubtedly be better than last year. Last year, the abnormally warm gun and late season resulted in reduced daytime deer movement and a much lower harvest than usual. Wolves/predators do take their fair share of deer and blame, but I can promise you that weather was a huge factor. I have countless friends and clients up here sending me trail pics of nice bucks this summer, and numbers seem to be good. If we get decent weather this Fall there should be plenty of happy hunters!
Hemp Rope Scrapes
August 13, 2024
Fall is just around the corner! I've had a lot of great trail pics/videos the last couple years with hemp rope mock scrapes which has led to a lot of questions on how to best set them up. So, we made a video here showing what has worked for me. If you end up ordering any from the Hodag Outdoors website, you can use my discount code 'STEIN10'. CLICK HERE if you want to check that out. I'll be checking in soon with this year's deer hunting forecast. Talk to you then!
Biggest Buck of my Life!
December 2, 2023
Over the last 11 years Illinois has produced a lot of great bucks for us. Yet, it seems like the biggest of the big bucks there always seem to elude me while we are there. This year that changed. I had a giant perfect 12 pointer on camera off and on all Fall, and on November 30th I finally was in the right place at the right time! I hope you enjoy the video, I got a little excited, hopefully understandably.
The U.P. has been challenging to say the least this year, and the statistics show that the harvest is way, way down. I watched our local DNR Official on a TV interview say this was to be expected because of the last 2 hard winters and non-ideal hunting conditions. We also all know that wolves/predation are becoming a huge factor, but he decided not to mention that specific factor. I'll never understand what pushes so much denial in that department about the true size and effect of our wolf population.
Either way, I feel very lucky that Landon was able to get a great buck this year, that was as much fun as I've had in a long time. I'm still going to keep at it all through December, but I've yet to get a picture of or see any bucks that would be remotely mature enough that I would want to harvest. I sure hope things turn around for the better up here.
Keweenaw Swamp Buck!
October 31, 2023
Sunday afternoon was the first snow of the year, and I took my son Landon up north to a new spot in a huge cedar swamp. I had a couple of 2.5 year old bucks on cam that I thought would be good for him to target. A few hours into our hunt, a buck slowly worked our way that I did not recognize at all. He ended up giving Landon a close shot, and he connected! I never had any trail cam pics of that buck, and he was much bigger than I thought when we recovered him. A beautiful deer, a happy kid, and a memory that will last us a lifetime!
