Getting ready for Dakota Trip and Bow Season.

I've been doing quite a bit to get ready for the North Dakota Mule Deer trip and for bow season here in Michigan. Only one month before Dakota!
I've been shooting the Bow Madness. Its pretty accurate, but noisy. I am going tomorrow to get some Limbsaver String Leeches put on to hopefully quiet it down. I am hitting 5" pie plates at 40 yards regularly but not super tight groups yet.
I have been taking inventory of everything I am taking as well. I layed out everything on my parents' pool table to take full inventory.

I had two game cameras out but only one worked. I had a stump licker block out in front of one but it doesn't seem like the deer like it at all. Its been really hot out and it looks weird now like a block of ashes with no molasses left. I got two pics by the stump licker but I think the deer just happened to be walking by. One doe and one probably two year old six point.

I set up my new tent to get acquainted with it. It went up fast and seemed to be pretty roomy for a one man tent. I couldn't be happier with it. I tried to sleep in it but it was just too hot.

The deer should be nice and fat this year. The wheat just got taken off the fields around where I hunt in Croswell. There is still corn and beans up. Not to mention the raspberries, blackberries, pears and apples on our property. Most of the apple trees are so full they can hardly support their own branches.

I saw these weird little apples with orange things attached. Must be some kind of insect eggs. Kind of cool looking.

Probably going out for some St. Clair River walleye this weekend I will report back with any success.

One last thing. Lost my best friend about a week ago. RIP Slim. I will miss you every time I hit the woods or walk a field.

DIY North Dakota Mule Deer Hunt Preparation

I have always wanted to try spot and stalk mule deer archery hunting. I started looking into what each state had to offer. Most states like Montana, Colorado and Wyoming offer pretty sweet trophy odds but horrible draw odds for decent tags. I probably researched for a week straight, hours at a time learning it would take years to get tags in those states. Finally I struck gold, and narrowed my search down to North or South Dakota. North Dakota has better harvest odds and trophy odds but South Dakota is a sure tag. North Dakota waits to see how many people apply for tags and if more people apply compared to the quota they make then it becomes a draw. If less than the quota apply then everybody gets tags. I decided on ND because of the amount of Muleys compared to SD. I then randomly mentioned the idea of the hunt to my buddy Joe who works at a popular hunting store whom I had hunted with before and he thought the hunt sounded awesome and he had to be a part of it. This helped my chances of going since my fiancee did not like the idea of me wondering around the wilderness in an unfamiliar state alone. So Joe and I filled out our applications and saved some money. I emailed the North Dakota Fish and Game Department on how to apply as a party instead of individuals because we want either both of us to draw tags or neither of us. They said I just had to send the apps in together with a note asking them to apply us as a party. I sent out our apps about two weeks ago. The deadline is March 1st so we are both crossing our fingers until we find out if we are going or not. The tags were $215 for each of us but about 85% of that gets refunded if we don't draw. So here is hoping for a chance at adventure. I will keep you posted. I am also going to start applying for Preference Points in Wyoming and Colorado so I will have a chance at some cool hunts in the next couple of years.