Whitetales Fall 2016

Whitetales Building our hunting and conservation legacy through habitat, education and advocacy

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA DEER HUNTERS ASSOCIATION

In This Issue:

Preserving Our Memories - Past & Present

THE LEGEND OF GRANDPA’S TOGO BUCK

BY DARROLD PERSSON

DON’T MAKE YOUR FIELD PHOTOS A BUST!

BY JEFF SCHLACHTER

FALL 2016

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About this

Issue

Preserving our Deer Hunting Memories

If you have already seen our Whitetales 2016 fall issue’s cover and we are pretty sure you have as you are currently reading this, you will have noticed it is all about our deer hunting heritage and memories and Minnesota deer hunting’s future.

In this special “Deer Hunting Memories” issue, our longtime MDHA dedicated and current State MDHA President Denis Quarberg, declares in his column, “From the President’s Stand,” “The future is now.” Because his title could be applied to almost everything in our hunting world, Denis not only talks about Minnesota deer hunting, but mostly hunting in general. Part of his message is there is not only a decline in hunter numbers, but there is also an alarming shrinking amount of land for hunters to hunt. Denis’s feelings are that private land is, indeed, private and mostly not huntable for the general public, so in order for the non-owning hunting populace to have ground to hunt, we need to have public lands available for non-landowners to hunt.

In this issue that is so dedicated to our hunting heritage, our “fearless leader” Executive Director Craig Engwall, also soul-searches back to our deer hunting foundations with his awesome column, “Side Pork and Swamp Bucks.” Wow, what a title, what a premise. What deer hunter cannot be moved by Craig’s description of why fall has always been his favorite season: “The changing colors, the brisk mornings, that special smell in the air…and the traditions and nostalgia of deer hunting.”

Denis and Craig are not only great MDHA leaders, they embody what MDHA is all about, “Helping deer and deer hunting.” MDHA’s primary objective is to protect and enhance our deer hunting heritage. If you have ever had a wonderful deer hunting experience you know what we are talking about.

MDHA has been around since 1980 and since then we deer hunters have seen an upward tick in deer numbers so great, when it went down in the last few years, we felt our whitetail population had deteriorated into the “scary zone.” This, of course, was due to the wildly horrible winters of 2013 and 2014 and the very generous deer harvest regs prior to those horrific winters.

This issue deals with our rich deer hunting past with memorable articles like long-time MDHA dedicated Darrold Persson’s, “The Legend of Grandpa’s Togo Buck,” Ed Schmidt’s inspiring and personally revealing regular column, “Minnesota Bucksense,” and Rod Dimich’s over threedecades old column, “Daylight in the Swamp” that laments over “the slides not taken.”

This special issue also features the “how to” realm with articles about “Calling,” “Rattling,” “Staying Warm,” “Deer Calls,” “Deer Baiting,” and “Why We Should be Wearing Rubber Boots.”

The bottom line is, of course, it’s all about the hunt.

Also be sure to remember the importance of MDHA’s Hides for Habitat program when you read MDHA’s Grant Coordinator Jenny Foley’s article on page 18 and how “Your Observations Matter” on page 29 and Joe Albert’s “A Closer Look at Deer Baiting In Minnesota” on page 38 to get a sense of what should and should not be happening regarding deer and deer hunting in Minnesota.

Enjoy this issue and please try to sign up new members as they are the future of not only MDHA, but also deer and deer hunting in Minnesota.

Whitetails Forever, Co-Editors and Founders, Rod Dimich and Ed Schmidt Whitetales is the official magazine of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving Minnesota’s whitetail deer population. The MDHA is exempt under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Whitetales effectively communicates MDHA’s chief purpose “building our hunting and conservation legacy through habitat, education and advocacy.” Articles and photographs portray the beauty, value and importance of whitetail deer while relating to the thrill of hunting the species. If you have a service or a product that appeals to deer hunters and enthusiasts, Whitetales is the best advertising medium available.

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is pleased to present a variety of views in Whitetales magazine. The intent is to inform readers and encourage healthy discussion of important wildlife and conservation issues. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the view of Whitetales or MDHA. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers or their identification as members of MDHA does not constitute an endorsement.

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association welcomes suggestions and contributions from readers. All materials: manuscripts, artwork and photography must be electronically sent. Send all material to bri@ mndeerhunters.com. Letters should be a maximum of 150 words, articles a maximum of 500 – 800 words.

If a reprint from a newspaper is submitted, permission must be obtained and an electronic copy must be sent. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

2 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Whitetales MNDEERHUNTERS.COM

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS PRESIDENT Denis Quarberg > denisquarberg@mndeerhunters.com VICE PRESIDENT Doug Appelgren > dougappelgren@mndeerhunters.com SECRETARY Mark Strege > markstrege@mndeerhunters.com TREASURER Denece Dreger > denecedreger@mndeerhunters.com AT-LARGE DIRECTOR John Erlandson, Sr. > johnsr@ciacambridge.com REGIONAL DIRECTORS REGION ONE OPEN REGION TWO Scott Foley >

REGION EIGHT Dustin Shourds >

REGION THREE Brad Trevena >

markburley@mndeerhunters.com

dustinshourds@mndeerhunters.com

scottfoley@mndeerhunters.com

REGION NINE Mark Burley >

btrevena@mnpower.com

REGION TEN Mark Lueck >

cedinger@q.com

REGION ELEVEN Gary Thompson >

lodrmr@gmail.com

REGION TWELVE Jim Vogen >

steveranallo@mndeerhunters.com

REGION THIRTEEN Michael Burley >

REGION FOUR John Edinger >

REGION FIVE Peter Lodermeier > REGION SIX Stephen Ranallo >

REGION SEVEN Mark Nohre >

marklueck@mndeerhunters.com

thompson.gary58@yahoo.com

robvog21@aol.com

michaelburley@mndeerhunters.com

marknohre@mndeerhunters.com

MDHA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Craig Engwall > craig.engwall@mndeerhunters.com EVENT & PUBLICATION COORDINATOR Bri Stacklie > bri@mndeerhunters.com *Independent Contractor

MERCHANDISE/ MARKETING COORDINATOR Josh Salisbury > josh@mndeerhunters.com PROGRAM COORDINATOR Gabe Gropp > gabe@mndeerhunters.com FINANCE COORDINATOR Renee Thompson > renee@mndeerhunters.com MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Kim Washburn > kim@mndeerhunters.com WAREHOUSE COORDINATOR Rita Harthan > warehouse@mndeerhunters.com GRANT COORDINATOR Jenny Foley > jenny@mndeerhunters.com OFFICE MANAGER Kim Nelson > kimn@mndeerhunters.com CHAPTER COORDINATOR Becca Kent > becca@mndeerhunters.com PUBLISHER > Minnesota Deer Hunters Association 460 Peterson Road | Grand Rapids, MN 55744 800.450.DEER (MN) / p: 218.327.1103 / f: 218.327.1349 CO-EDITORS > Ed Schmidt and Rod Dimich LAYOUT, DESIGN & PRINTING > Brainerd Dispatch, A Forum Communications company www.brainerddispatch.com | Brainerd, MN ADVERTISING > Josh Salisbury josh@mndeerhunters.com / 218.327.1103 x 17

Whitetales Building our hunting and conservation legacy through habitat, education and advocacy

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA DEER HUNTERS ASSOCIATION

Contents

FALL 2016

In This Issue:

Preserving Our Memories - Past & Present

THE LEGEND OF GRANDPA’S TOGO BUCK

BY DARROLD PERSSON

DON’T MAKE YOUR FIELD PHOTOS A BUST!

BY JEFF SCHLACHTER

FALL 2016

ABOUT THE COVER “Not a care in the world when you’re at deer camp!”

Dora Lake, MN, 1958.

Departments IN EVERY ISSUE

From the President’s Stand .... 4 The Outlook................................ 5 Minnesota Bucksense .............. 6 Capitol Comments .................... 8 Around the State ..................... 20 MDHA Marketplace ................ 28 Deer Hunting Memories ........ 47 What’s Cookin’? ....................... 52 Hidden Object Contest .......... 54 Daylight in the Swamp ........... 56 IN THIS ISSUE

Hides for Habitat, More Than a Pair of Gloves ........................... 18 Jenny Foley

Your Observations Matter!

We Need YOU! ......................... 29 Craig Engwall

How to Bring in Big Bucks ...... 42 Melissa Bachman

Tips & Treasures ...................... 48 Rod Dimich, Ed Schmidt

Five Reasons We Should Be Wearing Rubber Hunting Boots ........... 50 Eric Morris

10 14 30 34 38 44

FEATURES Rattle? Stay Quiet? Grunt?

44

By Wes David

Staying Warm is All in Your Head

By Darren Warner

The Legend of Grandpa’s Togo Buck

By Darrold Persson

Deer Calls Complete with Bleats, Grunts and #%+@&<!

By Betty Sodders

A Closer Look at Deer Baiting in Minnesota

By Joe Albert

Don’t Make Your Field Photos a BUST..!

By Jeff Schlachter

MDHA affiliates:

Gizmos, Gadgets, Garments & Gear ........................ 53

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 3

From the President’s Denis Quarberg / MDHA PRESIDENT

THE FUTURE IS NOW Archery season is right around the corner.

Our daydreams are filled with visions of the buck that has been visiting the mineral lick.

Will he show himself during shooting light?

Will he pass by in shooting range? Trail cam photos indicate he is using it at different times of the day and night. I notice that he is at the mineral during daylight when the temps are lower. Looks like he is very sensitive to overheating, limiting his activity to times with cooler temperatures.

As we prepare for the upcoming hunting season I think back on the previous years and what worked for deer and MDHA and what did not.

The MN DNR is in the process of initiating its statewide deer plan. MDHA has been asked to help with the development of that plan. Jim Leach (Fish & Wildlife Director MN DNR) and Paul Telander (Chief of Wildlife for the MN DNR) attended MDHA’s June Executive board meeting to begin the process. There was an excellent discussion and dialog on what and how the process will develop. MDHA is extremely excited there will be a deer plan. To manage a herd without a plan is like driving to a new destination without a map.

This brings me to the “Deer Observation Survey” MDHA started two years ago. We did not have many observations entered last year. I guess I am sensitive to this as it is we hunters in the field who should be reporting. The “Observation” plan has great potential for providing many details on each permit area. The key, of course, is we need people to submit information. Without that info, we are back to guessing. Please visit our web page to participate in the survey: http://mndeerhunters.com.

For Minnesotans from across our great state to have good hunting we need three things: deer to hunt, a place to hunt and

4 Whitetales | FALL 2016

ethical and concerned hunters. Let’s look at each of these. First, we need an adequate deer population to sustain harvest and to repopulate. We also know hunters are the number one controlling factor. But there are other factors to consider, like predators, weather and habitat. Yes, we do have the ability to control predators (excluding wolves at this time). Bears are a top predator of fawns and a well-managed bear hunt is an excellent management tool for bears and deer.

Coyotes, bobcats, and even raccoons take young fawns. Hunting and trapping will not only save many fawns, but also help control these critters and maintain a sustainable overall population. We cannot control the weather, but we can enhance and provide habitat by planting food plots for winter nourishment and harvesting timber to increase new growth. We can also plant windbreaks and trees to increase thermal cover and plant mast crops that will sustain the herd in the future.

We still need places to hunt, however.

We need to have some public land that will allow non-landowners to hunt. This is where MDHA has had a significant impact. With Hides-for-Habitat dollars, MDHA Chapters participating in the program use money collected from the sale of the donated hides to help local WMAs improve the land.

LSOHC small grants increase the number of acres available to hunt and these Hides’ dollars are also used to improve many acres of public hunting. In addition, the large grants, like the one we received last year (Potlatch properties) for the purchase of closed areas of private land will ensure these traditional hunting lands will continue to be open to public use.

Also please remember our Forkhorn Education Program teaches young people the benefits and enjoyments of hunting.

Then consider there is a growing portion of our population re-discovering natural foods and the natural value of harvesting and processing wild game for the table, not only for the health aspects, but the closeness to nature by harvesting our own food. To find a drop off station for your hide, visit our web page and fill in your location at http:// mndeerhunters.com/hides-for-habitat-droppoints/ Finally, remember my constant question, “Have you signed up a new member this month?” I know people say, “What is in it for me?” To be honest, there is so much to reply with it is hard to know where to start. Briefly, it is all of the items I mentioned above and then add, MDHA is the voice advocate for deer and grouse in Minnesota and Federal legislators and the MN DNR. Finally, please help MDHA educate our youth by supporting our shooting sports in the schools and our local ranges and Forkhorn Camps where they receive hands-on handling of firearms and a deep knowledge of the outdoors. Also remember MDHA’s Conservation Seed Program where food plot seed is available at a very reasonable price.

I would like to wish all of you a great hunting season. PLEASE practice SAFETY and get the kids outdoors to enjoy what we all so dearly love. The future is now. Happy hunting.

“We're a little early guys. He's just now putting out the scents.”

Craig Engwall / MDHA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“SIDE PORK AND SWAMP BUCKS” Fall has always been my favorite season – the changing colors, the brisk mornings, that special smell in the air. But if I had to look a little deeper into my affection for fall, I’m sure it is due to the excitement of the oncoming hunting season. In this issue of Whitetales, we celebrate all things hunting and pay particular attention to the traditions and nostalgia of deer hunting.

Many of us have been blessed to have a long heritage of deer hunting that has been passed from generation to generation.

It’s hard for me to imagine anyone being more blessed than me. From my very first memories, I can vividly remember my dad and grandpa getting ready to go to deer camp – all the red clothes, the duffel bags, the rifles, and the food my mom and grandma prepared.The problem, though, was in the early years I was only a bystander who watched them pack and depart. I don’t imagine I was a treat for my mom for the duration of the time the men were away.

Things all changed for me as a ten-year old in 1973. After years of begging to tag along, I was finally allowed to go to deer camp. The excitement meter was off the charts! I would be able to be in camp with all the veteran hunters, hearing stories I probably shouldn’t hear, eating camp meals with them and actually getting to go in the woods with my dad. I had hit the jackpot.

Family hunting camp 1973.

I was told I shouldn’t necessarily expect to see any deer, as they were scarce. Remember, this was only two years after Minnesota’s deer season was closed due to a depleted herd.

Honestly, I didn’t care. All that mattered was I was one of the guys in deer camp. My grandpa had been hunting since the ‘20s and he and my dad started the deer camp at Dora Lake in 1949. They had been there every hunting season since and now I was part of it.

On that opening morning in November 1973, my dad and I did a lot of slow walking and poking through the woods, which was more common then than it is today. After almost a day full of walking, we were at a pause and I said to my dad (and I remember it like it was yesterday), “That looks like a gateway over there.” He didn’t say a word and gently clutched my shoulder. Unbeknownst to me, a buck was walking into the gateway.

As dad slowly raised his rifle, I plugged my ears and then, “boom!” as only a .30-06 can do. “You got him!” I screamed. It was a beautiful 8-point, 200 lb. swamp buck. I think I floated on air for a week and spent the next 11 ½ months waiting for another deer season.

Jump forward to the fall of 2015 - Dora Lake deer camp again, my 43rd, my dad’s 67th. On opening morning, I departed for my stand at 5:00, saying goodbye to my dad.

His stated purpose for staying back at camp was that it was more important for him to have a breakfast of side pork, eggs and coffee waiting for me upon my return from the morning hunt. As any dutiful son would do, I accepted that explanation (with a grin).

I returned to camp by 8:30 with a decent buck in tow. My dad ambled out the door to ask if I saw anything, and then his eyes came upon my buck. “Wow! Wow!” he exclaimed.

And then one more, “Wow!” As we celebrated that wonderfully special moment together, I came to the full realization my 85-year old father was as excited in that moment as I had been with

My Dad and I last season. him in the woods on a cold November day in 1973. And that is a feeling that no one can ever take from me. Moreover, it is what MDHA is all about.

One of the other blessings I have from deer camp is my dad captured many of the special moments with his camera. I have several hundred deer camp photos dating back to 1953. In this issue, we are sharing several of those photos with you including our fall cover photo, which dates from 1958 and others in the new Deer Hunting Memories section of Whitetales on page 47. We encourage you to dig through your scrapbooks and photo albums and share your cherished memories with us.

May you have a safe, successful deer camp full of wonderful times and the creation of new memories.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 5

MINNESOTA Bu Artist Frank Schoonover painted this battle scene in 1919.

The scene depicts the bravery of Alvin C. York in 1918.

THE SHOOTISTS While recouping from a four-month stint with bladder cancer, I had a lot of time to reflect on life’s personal and not so personal events. When the “C” word is announced all thoughts become a mass of confusion, apprehension and to some degree anxiety.

You think of the worst that can happen while trying to maintain positivity on the outcome. Well, in my case all hell broke loose with an onset of MRSA (a brutal staph infection) after a chemo port was surgically implanted. An emergency 911 call by my life-mate resulted in an ambulance ride ninety miles to St. Mary’s hospital in

Duluth. With two hours of life remaining the trauma crew began an astringent antibiotic protocol lasting the night and for the next three weeks. It was during this time when the MRSA played its game of attacking any weak body part including the kidneys, spine, eye and bladder. Three of the four afflictions required surgery for repairs and preventative measures. Thanks to the medical profession and research I am now on the mend with NED (no evidence of disease).

During this health siege, I had time to reflect upon my childhood and youth events.

Guns, plinking, hunting and target shooting

Elizabeth Ann, daughter, firing a custom Savage .22

6 Whitetales | FALL 2016

were prime activities. Weekly my dad and his buddies would target shoot in the basement of a neighborhood elementary school. It was there where I gained a real respect for the discipline, skills and safety of the shooting sports. I was six or seven years old when I got to actually lie on a shooter’s mat and take aim with my dad’s Mossberg .22 caliber target rifle complete with sheep skin padding on the sling, bull barrel and a stock too long for my short arms. Squeezing the trigger and faintly hearing the reverberating report echo through the concrete wall basement was the shot heard around my world.

ucksense When our family moved to the country, we had some wooded acreage to roam and hunt for critters. It was my task to eliminate varied species of rodents inhabiting our granary, chicken coop and heaven forbid –the house. My first shooting apparatus was a pump-up Crossman .22 caliber air rifle.

Pumping the air gun built arm muscles while providing air pressure to drive a lead pellet through a slab of wood. Chipmunks, red squirrels and even mice feared the trusty peep sighted air gun and me the novice shootist. Later, I was allowed to use the target rifle to shoot those pests. I was amazed at the accuracy and heft of the rifle when I had to shoot off-hand rather than prone. This “tack driver” rifle incorporated a 16x Unertle scope allowing the shooter to drive nails into a board at 50 yards.

A few years back I wrote an article entitled, “The Guns I Never Owned” in Whitetales.

This article was a play on the title of a 1961 WWII movie The Guns of Navarone starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn. I was always fascinated by my dad’s gun collection, which included a German 9mm Luger Parabellum, a Remington pump 12 gauge shotgun, the tack driving Mossberg .22, the Winchester .22, a few deer rifles, pellet guns, and single shot Stevens 20 gauge.

I hadn’t taken gun safety as a kid so I didn’t have the safety knowledge to not snoop in the dark closet where he kept his guns and ammo. It was years before I personally owned my own firearms. I remember Hans Johnson, a gunsmith and shootist, who sold me an Ithaca/SKB semi-auto 20 gauge, a Ducks Unlimited commemorative edition 12 gauge Remington Wingmaster and a Ruger Mark I .22 handgun. This was the start of my shootist collection that I still possess and will pass on to the next generation. Maybe there will be a sequel movie entitled, The Guns Grandpa Once Owned.

In the ‘70s, after being married and having three kids, my oldest daughter was a student athlete. She played softball, basketball and her interest in target shooting was a pleasant surprise. The fear of lead fragmentation was not an issue at that time and she would first “shoot” baskets with the girls’ varsity team then would take on the boys’ rifle

team afterward. Her shooting skills and concentration allowed her to be on the Junior Olympic Rifle Team. I again reflected back to the elementary school basement where my dad shot and the wrestling room where she shot. Torches have been passed in a very positive way.

Ward Burton, a former NASCAR driver (24) and also a former 4-H member, donated two hundred custom-made target rifles to the National 4-H Shooting Sports Program.

These rifles were Savage .22 bull barrel target guns meant for fund-raising and promotion of the shooting sports. Last year, I purchased one and gifted it to my daughter to continue her shooting interests and her daughter now is in possession of a scoped laminated stock Ruger 10/22. My grandson was given a Winchester single shot .22 when he was 12 years old. My dad, my brother, my son and I used this rifle for plinking cans and gray squirrel hunting. Each of the grandkids now has inherited a portion of my gun collection – a tradition has been passed.

As I was convalescing, I had the time to watch a passel of old John Wayne movies, war movies and firearm related flicks. One of my favorites was an academy award nominee – The Shootist.

In this movie John Wayne portrayed a very ill gunfighter who sought a means to dying with dignity and “with his boots on.” J.B. Books, Wayne’s character, took the bad guys wearing black hats out of commission in a grueling gunfight. Another action packed World War II film was Enemy at the Gates featuring the historic Russian sniper Vassili. The Germans thought he was a cat preying on their troops and needed to stop this well disciplined shootist. Vassili learned his shooting skills while living the Ural Mountain region where his job was to protect the sheep from preying wolves. His sniping skills were a menace to the Germans, requiring them to bring in

BY ED SCHMIDT their own sharpshooter, Konig. The sniping chess game became very bloody when it was sniper vs. sniper.

Sergeant York was another folk hero of mine as a youth. Alvin York was raised in the hill country of Tennessee where he hunted for his family’s survival. In the 1941 movie about his life, Sergeant York, Gary Copper played the role of this WWI Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

York, a conscientious objector, took care of God’s adversaries by capturing 132 German soldiers, 35 machine gun nests and killing 28 enemies using an M1917 Enfield and an M1911 Colt .45 single handedly.

It is enlightening to realize the shooting sports are alive and well after all the negative press in regard to “guns.” The Archery in the Schools program has drawn over 225,000 youth into shooting while the High School Trap Teams provided a jam-packed summer state tournament with over 10,300 gun toting participants. Thanks to avid sportsmen like Bill Stevens, a founder of the 4-H Shooting Sports Program, John Kvasnicka, former Executive Director of the 4-H Shooting Sports Program and Ward Burton, shooting sports advocate and sponsor, the image of firearms, hunting and shooting is again slowly being accepted in this country.

The 4-H program’s main objectives include instilling ethics, sportsmanship and responsibility in youth, developing leadership skills and promoting safe storage and handling of firearms and archery equipment. Thus, nationwide – we have the power of positive “plinking.”

Now that the “C” word hopefully is in my past, I won’t be watching my daily western TV reruns from yesteryear. I will have more time and energy to head for the old cabin woodlot toting a Marlin Model 39A lever action .22 for plinking and training my young English springer spaniel to learn the ways of her master – the Ol’ Shootist.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 7

CAPITOL COMMENTS

The 2016 Legislative Session convened on March 8th with several challenges and obstacles awaiting legislators. This session had the latest session start date in recent memory, capitol construction closed off the capitol building with the exception of the House Chambers, the distractions of election year politics, and a $900 million surplus which legislators and caucuses viewed with very different spending preferences.

Throughout this session, legislators emphasized the main priorities as transportation, taxes, bonding and a supplemental appropriations package.

However, lawmakers passed tax and supplement budget packages but fell short on striking agreements on transportation and bonding by the constitutional deadline of midnight May 22nd. After 14 days’ consideration, Governor Dayton ultimately pocket vetoed the tax bill.

Below are items that MDHA was actively engaged in or monitored during the 2016 Legislative Session.

Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund(OHF) is one of four funds created by the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment approved by voters in 2008.

This amendment increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of 1 percent until the year 2034 in order to provide a dedicated revenue stream for Minnesota’s natural and cultural resources. It requires OHF money “only be spent to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands, prairies, forest and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife.”

Legislators acted favorably on the LessardSams Outdoor Heritage Fund package

8 Whitetales | FALL 2016

appropriating $3.6 million towards the MDHA initiative for the Jack Pine Forest/ Crow Wing River Watershed Habitat Acquisition Project.

In total this session, $111.8 million from the OHF was appropriated for 40 projects recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

Game and Fish Provisions Unfortunately, the House and Senate were unable to reach an agreement on several game and fish initiatives contained in this session’s game and fish bill before adjournment. Consequently, Governor Dayton will not be signing a game and fish bill this year.

Below are items of interest to MDHA that did not pass: • prohibit the DNR from further restricting the use of lead shot (this restriction would not affect deer hunters) • clarify that the DNR’s annual hunter satisfaction survey is for deer hunters • remove a provision that requires 50 cents from each deer license to be deposited in the wolf management account • prohibit the use of drones to take, harm, or harass a wild animal • allow hunters to wear blaze pink in addition to blaze orange • appropriate $1 million for the Prospectors ATV trail system in Lake County • increase penalties for gross over limits Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) This proposal would distribute money

BY CORY BENNETT, MDHA LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANT

appropriated from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund which was established in 1998 to use state lottery and investment income to subsidize natural resources projects. The conference committee reached agreement on a number of projects that had been in dispute and added them to the final legislation. They include: • $556,000 to measure pollen and seed dispersal to improve prairie restoration • $500,000 for a statewide network of habitat monitoring sites to help guide and prioritize protection decisions • a vegetative buffer assessment and prioritization to protect water quality • workshops and outreach efforts to provide information on nontoxic ammunition alternatives Elk Management Expanding the wild elk population in far northwestern Minnesota has become a controversial issue as agriculture producers have expressed concerns regarding the increasing crop and property damage attributed to the growing elk herd. This bill would modify existing provisions by requiring the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Agriculture (MDA) to report on claims paid due to elk damage prior to the DNR actively managing an increase to the elk herd.

This provision was included in an omnibus agriculture policy bill that has been signed by Governor Dayton. The DNR has expressed concerns that this provision may hinder the elk herd expansion.

The 2017 Legislative Session is scheduled to begin on January 3, 2017.

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A T T S N U

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BY WES DAVID

Every whitetail deer hunter I know loves to talk about whitetail deer and whitetail deer hunting.

10 Whitetales | FALL 2016

However, the topic of whitetail deer and whitetail deer hunting escalates the closer the deer hunting season gets. Anyone who has been in the woods and experienced the heart pounding excitement of a whitetail buck moving towards their hidden location while they are at full draw or their gun is raised to their shoulder will tell you there is no other feeling like it. At the very sight of the buck, adrenalin instantly races through your veins. Your mouth becomes dry. Sound disappears. And time stands still. All this is happening while you’re trying to calm yourself down to make an accurate shot. And once you squeeze the trigger or release your arrow and you take your first breath, a hundred other emotions begin to race through your body.

The excitement and emotions are second to none in the hunting world.

If you have spent any amount of time whitetail deer hunting you have also experienced the opposite feelings mentioned above. The same excitement of a buck moving in your direction comes across you but is instantly overtaken with disappointment when he stops and smells the air and without warning takes off in the opposite direction and you know there is no hope of him returning anytime soon. What went wrong? He came to your rattling and grunts. Did he smell you? He may have, but the modern day whitetail hunter puts in a tremendous amount of time, money and effort to stay scent free.

However, the odds are high he spotted you as you were rattling or grunting. There are a thousand different theories of when to rattle, stay quiet, or grunt, during a whitetail hunt; who really has the definitive answer?

During the rut, many whitetail hunters carry a set of rattling antlers into their hunt and begin rattling almost the very second they arrive at their hunting location. If a buck is in the area he will instantly perk up when he hears the rattling. Instantly, the buck’s senses are on high alert and will quickly make a decision whether to move toward the commotion in hopes of stealing a hot doe. However, he may also move away from the commotion. What whitetail deer hunters may or may not realize, however, is on average, for every buck they rattle in, they have rattled away two.

RATTLE

Why do some whitetail bucks fear rattling?

Hunters often rattle too hard. If you’re hunting a wooded area the noise of your rattling carries a lot farther than humans realize, similar to noise carrying across a water body. The truth is, deer don’t hear much better than humans. The frequency of sound is measured in Hertz. Studies have proven that humans can hear best from 20 to 20,000 Hertz, and the most sensitive range is between 2,000 and 5,000 Hertz. Researchers have found whitetail deer hear best at frequencies ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 Hertz. Most deer vocalisations fall within this range.

However, deer are more in tune with noise than humans. Humans often drown out noises or become complacent with certain noises. But deer are always on the lookout for danger and their hearing is one of their most trusted senses.

To a whitetail deer, the sound of a ground blind zipper, a hunter carelessly climbing into his/her treestand or even the sound of a stick breaking could mean approaching danger. Rattling antlers could also mean danger.

If a hunter is smashing his/her rattling antlers together sounding like two large mature bucks fighting for the right to breed and there is a mature buck with a hot doe in the area, the buck will move his doe out of the area in the opposite direction of the fighting bucks (or the hunter rattling). I’ve seen mature bucks that were with does gather their does and move them out of the area similar to what bull elk does when there is a satellite bull intruding on his cows. If a buck has time to gather his harem and move them instead of fighting he will. If the intruding buck presents himself, the buck with the does is more than willing to turn and fight for the right to breed. However, if he can avoid the possibility of injury he will. Personally, I’ve had more mature bucks come to my rattling if I soften my rattling. I believe the softer rattling imitates two smaller or immature bucks fighting and if there’s a mature buck in the area he knows he can overrun the smaller bucks and take any does they may be fighting for.

One of the biggest debates about rattling is how often do you rattle and for how long? I can’t solve the rattling and time debate but over the years I’ve been able to solve the mysteries of rattle and time in my hunting locations.

After I arrive at my ground blind, treestand, or if I’m still hunting, I let the commotion of me getting in settle for about 15 minutes before I begin rattling. As hard as hunters try to quietly move in and out of their hunting areas, the truth is, we are extremely noisy. So I let the area settle down before I make any extra noise. After things have quieted down I begin by softly rattling for about 30 seconds then pausing for about five minutes sometimes as long as 20 minutes.

During the pause, I scan the area looking for deer movement. You may not always have a buck run in looking for a fight. He may sneak in to get a glimpse of his potential component. This is where I have seen hunts ruined.

It doesn't matter when or how long you believe you should rattle for, that’s your belief. However, what does matter is where you rattle and I don’t mean location. When I’m working my rattling antlers I always have my hands out of sight. After a buck hears your rattles and makes a desition to investigate, he is already on high alert and looking for

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 11

what he believes is two bucks in his area fighting for one of his does.

If a hunter is working his/her rattling antlers at chest level or in plain sight as the buck is moving towards the noise looking for the intruders and sees a hunter’s hands moving or pinpoints the noise coming from the top of a tree, it’s unnatural to the buck and he will instantly leave the area. Sometimes the hunter never sees the buck that was coming into his/her rattles. By keeping my rattling soft and out of sight, I’m convinced I’ve rattled in more bucks. Why am I convinced? The areas I hunt whitetails have a four to one doe to buck ratio. With this many does in the area, there is no need for bucks to fight. There are enough does to go around and yet, by imitating young or small bucks fighting, I’ve rattled in mature bucks already with does.

STAY QUIET Once I have a buck coming in, I stop rattling so the buck can’t pinpoint where the rattles are coming from. The buck will often come in all puffed up and looking for a fight. However, once he reaches your location he knows he should be seeing the two bucks that were

12 Whitetales | FALL 2016

fighting and he will often stand silent scanning the area and smelling the air looking for them. Remember, he is on high alert so hunters’ movements must be minimal and your whole hunt is determined by the slightest human noise. Silence is a must. With any luck, the buck will continue to move toward your hidden location looking for the fighting bucks and offer you a clean shot. However, if he begins to look back in the direction he just came from he may be losing interest or he is going to circle the perimeter trying to wind the fighting bucks which means he could wind you as well. If possible, just touch your rattling antlers together so it’s just loud enough that the buck can hear the antlers touching and only touch them together two or three times.

What you're trying to do is keep the buck's interest and give him a false sense that the bucks have moved farther behind you without him pinpointing your location. If he believes the fighting bucks have moved behind you, he is more likely to walk in your direction to take the shortest route to the fighting bucks. If you are unable to rattle, ever so quiet bleeps on your buck call may work in the same manner and offer less movement from the hunter.

GRUNT Bleeps & Grunts

I rarely grunt when I’m rattling. I’m not saying grunts or bleeps combined with rattling don’t work; I’ve just personally had more success bringing in a buck with my rattling antlers without combining the buck call. There are really only three different scenarios when I use my buck call and one was mentioned in the paragraph above.

The second is when I need to stop a moving buck to get a clean shot.

However, the third is after I’ve taken the shot or released my arrow and the buck is hit.

After 25 years of hunting whitetail deer, I’ve only had a handful of bucks drop in their tracks after they were hit. In archery hunting, it’s extremely rare a buck will fall on the spot. I’ve had bucks run 10 feet and go down and I’ve had them go a hundred yards or farther before they went down. However, about 10 years ago I was hunting elk with my good friend Chuck, an extremely experienced elk hunter, during the height of the elk rut and we had called in a nice 6x6 bull. After I shot, the bull began to run off. Chuck instantly began cow calling and bugling back to the dying bull. To my surprise, the bull stopped and looked back in our direction looking for the cow or bull that was calling. From our hidden location, we actually watched the bull go down and die.

The bull didn’t know what happened. All he knew was something had hit him in the side and even though the bull was mortally wounded, instinctively he was still willing to fight for the rights to

breed. During a November whitetail hunt in the heat of the whitetail rut, I took the knowledge from my September elk hunt and tried it on whitetail deer.

After two days on the stand, the resident buck was moving in my direction. I nuzzled behind my rifle and placed the crosshairs on his vitals and squeezed the trigger. The tell-tale sound of my bullet finding its mark echoed through the trees. I quickly let out a few grunts and bleeps and again to my surprise, the buck stopped about 65 yards away and looked back towards me. He began to stumble and within 30 seconds went down. I’ve been calling to dying deer ever since.

The truth is, not all whitetail deer and deer hunting locations are the same and you will have to spend time in your hunting locations to determine the right times to rattle, stay quiet, or grunt. But don’t be afraid to try something new.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 13

Staying Warm IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD

BY DARREN WARNER

A brutal cold front could make a deer’s movements through the frozen swamp sound like walking over breaking glass or loose footboards in an old farmhouse. As the whitetail’s hooves crunched the ice and snow, I was reminded of one huge advantage when hunting in sub-freezing temperature - there’s no way a deer could sneak up on you.

It was late in the season and every sight, sound or intuition I had that a deer was approaching made one thought pervade my mind. “Please let it be a decent buck.”

The buck appeared in an instant. The respectable eight-pointer’s wanderlust showed, however, it was in no hurry, ticking its way through the ice maiden marsh.

Unfortunately, the deer had intuition working for it. As soon as it walked out of the brush, it sensed something wasn’t quite right. The buck looked up and right at me, then turned without reason and left behind only the harsh sounds signifying its victory at maintaining self-preservation.

Despite that miserable outcome, this experience only reaffirmed my belief that

14 Whitetales | FALL 2016

whitetails aren’t bothered by the cold as much as humans. How many times do hunters “freeze-out” when the wind howls and temperatures plummet? Sometimes the result is a bitter pill to swallow ala missing out on a harvestable deer.

To be at the right place at the right time you’ve got to absorb all that Mother Nature will throw at you. But there’s a lot more to staying warm than just wearing the right clothing, boots and accessories.

“Many problems like boredom and getting cold are, to a great extent, problems with a hunter’s mental approach,” said renowned sports psychologist Dr. Jack Singer (www. askdrjack.com). “The key to beating these things is to be physically and mentally strong.”

Let’s look at the physical and psychological aspects of getting cold. Let’s then cover the direct connection that exists between negative thought patterns and freezing out, along with providing concrete mental strategies for overcoming bitterly cold weather and having a successful hunt.

The Science of Getting Cold Before launching into a discussion on how to beat the cold, keep in mind that none of what I’m proposing should be interpreted to mean a hunter can just will him/herself to avoid getting cold all the time and in every situation. Our bodies are designed to maintain a core temperature of about 98.6 degrees. When environmental changes, like hot or cold temperatures, impact our core temperature our brains are uniquely designed to tell us something’s wrong.

“The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that detects changes in body temperature,” explained Dr. Elizabeth Hughes, a physician with Primary Care Partners (East Lansing, MI).

When the hypothalamus senses we are too cold, it sends signals to our muscles that makes them contract to create warmth. This is what we experience when shivering, and it helps our body increase its temperature.

Most heat loss occurs through our skin. If heat loss is greater than our body’s ability to make more, then the body’s core temperature

The Signs of Hypothermia Hypothermia is the condition of having an abnormally low body temperature (below 95 degrees). If left untreated, it can lead to organ failure and death.

Symptoms of hypothermia include: • Uncontrollable shivering • Clumsiness or lack of coordination • Drowsiness • Slurred speech or mumbling • Slow, shallow breathing Medical conditions like diabetes and thyroid disorders, severe trauma, or using drugs or alcohol all increase the risk of hypothermia. If hypothermia is suspected, immediately seek emergency medical care and rewarm with extra clothing and blankets.

will fall, which could lead to hypothermia But much of the time, what we recognize as “getting cold” isn’t due to the hypothalamus detecting a change in our core temperature.

In this high-tech age of heated hunting boots, insulated clothing and other advances that prevent us from getting cold, much of the time what makes a hunter “freeze out” and quit hunting is one thing: our thoughts.

"Oftentimes it’s not the event, like a really cold day, but how we interpret the event that matters,” said Gilbert Schmidt, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist (Lansing, Mich.). “Our negative thoughts are usually unrealistic and not productive.”

Negative Thoughts = Getting Cold Think about it. How many times have gotten up the morning to go deer hunting, checked out the weather forecast and

immediately brooded over how cold it was outside? If you continue to focus on the outside temperature (or lack thereof), you’re focusing on a negative thought.

• It’s too cold – I’m not going to be able to hunt for very long.

• It’s going to be a miserable hunt.

• This is insane – why am I going hunting in this weather?

Negative thinking leads to anxiety.

Before you’ve even arrived at your stand, you’re concerned that you may not be able to perform (i.e., stay on stand and hunt successfully) when the thermometer plummets. Like a golfer standing over his ball and thinking, “What if I slice?” or a hunter who gets a bad case of buck fever, negative thinking can lead to performance anxiety.

“Performance anxiety takes place when you start to tell yourself negative messages about what you’re about to do,” explained

Cheap Ways to Cheat the Cold You don’t have to spend thousands on thermal clothing and boots to stay warm.

• Cardboard is key. Place a piece of cardboard underneath your feet to and prevent the cold from burrowing through your boot soles. Tear off strips of cardboard and stuff them in the cracks and holes of your box blind to keep frigid air from getting to you.

• Boot blankets are boss. Get an inexpensive pair of boot blankets and slip them over your hunting boots when sitting for hours. Place heat packs in between to achieve toasty tootsies.

• Horde heat packs. Speaking of heat packs, purchase a ton of mega-size, disposable ones designed for large body parts. Place a couple around your midsection to keep your core warm and prevent your body from drawing precious heat away from your extremities.

• Double-up on hats. Wear one made of wool and the other of fleece to keep your noggin warm.

• Eat the right foods. Avoid spikes in blood sugar by consuming complex carbohydrates like nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Also eat protein-rich beans and unprocessed meats, and avoid bread, crackers, candy, or anything else that’s full of bad carbs and/or saturated fat.

• Drink Hot Water. Avoid caffeine and consume hot water throughout the day to stave off dehydration (which contributes to getting cold) and keep you warm from the inside out.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 15

Singer. “These negative messages often begin with ‘what if ’ questions, such as, ‘What if I get too cold?’”

Now before you beat yourself up for having negative thoughts, remember that everyone has them.

“People vary in their negative thought patterns,” added Schmidt. “Many times people aren’t even aware they are having negative thoughts.”

If you’ve ever had a truly bad experience in cold weather, like frostbite, you’re more likely to have negative thoughts when the thermometer reads in the single digits. Keep in mind that the “bad” experience can be less severe things, like freezing out and getting teased by your hunting buddies, or leaving your stand and finding out that the buck of your dreams sauntered right past it while you were indoors getting warmed up.

“If getting cold has overwhelmed you before and made it so you were unable to perform, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy the next time you experience cold weather,” said Dr. Rachna Jain (www. rachnajain.com), a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping people reach their goals. “You become very aware that you couldn’t perform in the cold, and you remember that, and then it affects future performance.”

There’s a whole sub-field of sports psychology that deals with performance anxiety. It helps athletes overcome the challenges they face while performing. Deer hunters who find they’re thinking more about the cold than about how to bag a buck also can use many of the successful strategies developed by sports psychologists.

16 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Staying Warm Strategies The key is to pay attention to your negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. For example, if you are thinking about how cold it is outside while you’re getting dressed, focus instead on how warm each clothing layer you’re putting on is, and that all your clothing creates an impenetrable barrier between you and the cold. Here are some more concrete strategies you can use to stay warm in cold weather.

Strategy #1: Positive Visualization.

Just as you practice shooting, practice overcoming the cold by visualizing a hunt and experiencing success when Jack Frost is nipping at your nose.

“The peak performance literature has shown that visualization done alone can actually improve performance, even more than actual practicing,” Jain added.

One way to visualize a successful hunt is to watch a hunting show that occurs in cold weather and imagine you’re the hunter.

Periodically close your eyes and visualize yourself in a treestand, feeling the cold wind against your face, waiting for a buck to appear.

As you do this, pay close attention to your thoughts. Are they negative? If they are, Singer recommends replacing each negative thought with a positive one. For example, if you think my feet are going to freeze, replace it with This is silly, there have been plenty of times when I’ve hunted in cold weather and it didn’t bother me.

Being keenly aware of your thoughts is something you need to do while practicing and while hunting. Remember, negative

thoughts increase anxiety – positive ones keep it in check.

Strategy #2: Own the Moment. While hunting, get control of your negative thoughts before they get control of you. One way I get control of my negative thoughts about the cold is to repeatedly tell myself I am one with my surroundings. The hills, stream and trees are oblivious to the cold, so I can be too. This little mantra helps me to focus on something positive, and not on the outside temperature.

Strategy #3: Break Things Down. Hunting all day in cold weather can be particularly challenging. Instead of focusing on the fact that you will be spending the next 10 hours on stand, break the day down into three or four-hour increments, and then reward yourself for successfully reaching each milestone. For example, drink a cup of coffee at 9 a.m., have lunch at noon, read the paper on your smartphone at 3, etc.

Strategy #4: Reinforce Success. When you do successfully deal with the cold, it’s important to cement what just happened in your mind. Remind yourself how well you handled the inclement weather. Rehearse the positive thoughts that helped you better cope with the cold and have a more enjoyable hunt. Even if you were only able to stay on stand an additional hour, pat yourself on the back for making progress. Overcoming the cold isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor. Just as it took time for you to develop negative, unrealistic thought patterns, it’ll take time to make substantial improvement. Celebrate each small step forward, and before you know it, you’ll be the one in control – not Mother Nature.

HIDES FOR HABITAT,

MORE THAN A PAIR OF GLOVES

BY JENNY FOLEY, MDHA GRANT COORDINATOR

Many hunters can recall their first kill with vivid detail and while each story varies, most end similarly with a trip to the local furrier to exchange the hide for a pair of deerskin gloves. As a rite of passage, it’s not a bad one, and those (albeit inexpensive) gloves tend to last long enough to keep your hands warm for a few seasons. But what if the benefits of a deer hide could be turned into something more than just warm hands for an individual hunter for a couple of years?

Since its inception in 1985 as a way to maximize hides to their full potential, MDHA’s Hides for Habitat Program has gained not only funds from an incredible amount of dedicated fundraisers, but also national acclaim for its objective: habitat.

To date, the program has collected over 842,000 hides and over $5.08 million has been generated to help fund statewide habitat projects. Thanks to your help, this program has not only maintained, but enhanced our deer herd.

Here’s how it works: MDHA Chapters collect hides and process them to be sold to

18 Whitetales | FALL 2016

fur buying companies. The money collected for hides can be leveraged as much as ten times through habitat grants and other programs. In order to do their part, hunters need only to fold up the hides and place them in the collection box and walk away

knowing they helped ensure the future of deer hunting. A complete list of drop box locations can be found at mndeerhunters. com or by calling the MDHA State Office.

Chapters are always looking for volunteers to help with their local hides program. If you are interested, please contact your local chapter officers.

Each MDHA Chapter retains 85% of the funds from their hide collection. The remaining 15% goes to the State Habitat Committee. Along with those funds, the State Habitat Committee also receives funds from the Annual Habitat Banquet fundraiser held in Grand Rapids, Minn. each year on the third Saturday of February. State Habitat Committee dollars are used as a direct 1:1 match for habitat and educational projects throughout Minnesota.

MDHA’s unique Hides for Habitat program gives chapters the ability to donate their own funds, matched with State Habitat Committee dollars directly to beneficial habitat work in their area, as well as participate in our statewide habitat grant program.

While that simple pair of deerskin gloves will surely keep your hands warm and will most likely last a couple of years, the benefits don’t compare when you turn those gloves into leveraged money for habitat projects that will directly benefit you now and your family’s hunt for generations.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 19

AROUND THE State Minnesota Deer Hunters Association

REGIONAL BOUNDARY AND CHAPTER LOCATION MAP

What? No chapter in your area? MDHA is always interested in forming new chapters. If you live in an area without a chapter and would like more information on forming one, please call 800.450.DEER.

20 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Region 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6

Chapter Min-Dak Border Roseau River North Red River Thief River Falls Riceland Whitetails Bemidji Area Itasca County Hibbing/Chisholm Woodland Trails End Carlton County Sturgeon River Arrowhead Wilderness Drop Tine Lake Superior Chapter Lake Vermilion Chapter Smokey Hills Fergus Falls Clay Wilkin Park Rapids East Ottertail Wadena Brainerd Cuyuna Range Whitetails Morrison County Lakes and Pines Bluewater Wahoo Valley Isanti County Wild River Rum River North Suburban

Chapter Code MDB RRC NRR TRF RCL BMJ ITS HCC WLC TEC CCC STR AHC WLDN DTC LSC LVC SMH FFL CWC PKR EOC WDN BRD CRW MCC LPC BLW WAH ICC WLD RMR NSC

Region 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13

Chapter Alexandria Chippewa Valley Sauk River Phantom Buck Pomme De Terre Crow River Two Rivers Tri-County River Bottom Bucks Central Minnesota Sherburne County Swampbucks Wright County/ West Metro Whitetails East Central Minnesota Minnesota River Valley Blue Earth River Valley Sunrisers Bend of the River Sioux Trails Deer Hunters Des Moines Valley Jim Jordan McGregor Area Quad Rivers Snake River Southern Gateway Southeast Minnesota Bluff Country South Central Minnesota South Metro Capitol Sportsmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Croix Valley

Chapter Code ALX CVC SRP PDT CRC TRC TCR CMC SCS WCWMW ECM MRV BEC SNR BOR STD DMV JJC MCG QRC SRC SGC SEM BLF SCC SMC CSC SCV

Did you know... topographical maps are a great tool for determining stand placement and deer movement?

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MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 21

AROUND THE State MORRISON COUNTY CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIPS Gary Patton prepared an excellent research paper on deer wintering areas and received our chapters $500 scholarship for Central Lakes College Students in the Natural Resources program. In addition, Gary is a Desert Storm Veteran.

Gary on the banks of the Mississippi. He will be speaking at our Foodplot Seminar.

Pictured are the winners of the scholarships from the Morrison County Chapter which were offered to high school students in the area who will be entering the outdoor field or related sciences.

Pictured left to right are Chris Pellar, Craig Swanson (Morrison County Chapter Board member), and Alec Stark. All are from the Little Falls Area.

SAMMY HELPS FAWN

ST. CROIX VALLEY CHAPTER

Former St. Croix Valley Chapter Director Bob Djupstrom and his grandson Sammy helped this fawn on its way after they found it lying in the middle of the highway near Nemadji State Park.

22 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Did you know... bucks are ready to breed immediately after the velvet is shed from their antlers?

Did you know... the breeding cycle of whitetails continue as long as there are does to be bred?

AROUND THE State

BLUFF COUNTRY CHAPTER SUPPORTS MABEL-CANTON TRAP TEAM

The Bluff Country Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has donated $500 to the Mabel-Canton Trap team. Over 10,000 student participants from 319 high school teams participate in the Minnesota State High School Clay

Target League. This league continues to be the fastest growing activity in Minnesota schools.

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is dedicated to developing and sustaining Minnesota’s deer and wildlife habitat for the

benefit of current and future generations.

It strives to ensure the traditions of deer hunting in Minnesota by improving opportunities through “Habitat, Education, Hunting and Legislation/Advocacy.”

www.TROPHY BUCK

foodplots.com

Specializing in building and maintaining FOOD PLOTS and

TRAIL SYSTEMS on your property.

Jim Sobolik - Deer River, MN

Office: (218) 246-9895 Cellular: (218) 244-3365 24 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Did you know... practice shooting from an elevated stand increases hunter success rates?

BRAINERD CHAPTER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Each year the Brainerd Chapter of MDHA is involved in their community. On March 18 and 19, 2016, they set up an informational booth at the “Everything Expo” in Brainerd.

Chapter members feel it is always fun to meet new people, gain new members, and explain what MDHA is all about. April 28th was their annual spring cleanup of the ditches along a 2-mile section of Highway 18. On June 11th the chapter donated a .22 rifle to the Brainerd Lakes Area Outdoor Youth Expo.

The chapter also sponsors a .22 rifle shoot for the day. Members help kids up to the age 17 shoot .22 rifles. Each year in August the chapter sets up a booth at the Crow Wing County Fair for five days. Members spend many hours talking to people. They hold our annual fundraiser banquet in September.

November is a busy month for them as they collect hides for MDHA’s Hides for Habitat program. Last year the chapter had 29 hide collections boxes set out. The money from collecting the hides is used to send Forkhorns from their chapter to Forkhorn

Camps. They have sent as many as 22 youth in one year.

December finds the chapter donating $500 to the Marine Corp Leagues’ “Toys for Kids.” This money is spent here in their community. Several members also volunteer to work at their annual fundraiser.

During the school year the chapter sends the “Tracks” magazine to two schools in the area for students. They also gave a $1,000 donation to the Brainerd Warriors High School Trap/Skeet Team this year. The chapter was also one of the sponsors for the State High School Trap/Skeet Tournament held in Alexandria, Minn. Several of the chapter’s members teach Firearm Safety Classes during the year and the chapter sponsors these classes. During the year they help clean and maintain the shooting range at the Pillsbury State Forest. Congratulations to the Brainerd Chapter of MDHA for their outstanding community involvement and their advocacy for the future of hunting.

Did you know... for safety reasons, it’s important to let friends/family member know where you are hunting?

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 25

AROUND THE State MDHA ENDOWMENT FUND MDHA serves its mission by using dollars that our supporters contribute. Without those funds MDHA would not be able to accomplish the many effective things we do for the great deer hunting tradition in Minnesota!

The goal of MDHA’s Endowment Fund is to establish a capital fund that will provide future investment revenue to help finance MDHA’s future education and wildlife habitat related projects. Only interest is allowed to be used for these purposes, so your gift continues as part of the fund’s corpus generating interest year after year. One gift gives forever!

There are many ways you can help MDHA’s Endowment Fund. Your choice of a gift plan depends on your own special priorities.

Either way, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your gift will give perpetually to the betterment of deer and deer hunting.

In addition, your gift is tax-deductible, so not only will your gift benefit MDHA, it benefits you as well.

To make a tax deductible contribution to MDHA’s Endowment Fund, please complete the form below and return to MDHA or visit www.mndeerhunters.com and click on the Support > Donate tab to complete your contribution online.

For additional donation options, contact the MDHA State Office. Thank you for your donation!

26 Whitetales | FALL 2016

ENDOWMENTS & DONATIONS: April 30, 2016 - July 11, 2016 ENDOWMENT FUND CONTRIBUTOR’S NAME David Peterson Mark Nohre Denis Quarberg Steve Ranallo Franklin Meyer Keith Johnson & Erin Telander Rocky & Nancy Lawson Marvin & Gail Zimmerman

HONOREE’S NAME Ron Nordland Bernard Bitzan Randy Lyons not specified not specified John Young Jr John Young Jr John Young Jr

EDUCATION & GENERAL DONATIONS CONTRIBUTOR’S NAME Denis Quarberg Benjamin Weerts - Thrivent Thrivent Financial Truist - UPS Amazon Smiles Truist - UPS Tim Haukebo Chad Dahl Alfred Seltz Jr. Truist - UPS

If we inadvertently left you off the list or any corrections to the above list are needed, please contact us and we will make the appropriate corrections. Thank you.

Did you know... you can use biodegradable toilet tissue to mark a blood trail?

Fall

Whitetales Puzzler

BY ROD DIMICH AND ED SCHMIDT

Minnesota Deer Hunting Quiz >> True or False! << By Mike Roste 1. The tail is one of the most expressive parts of a deer’s body.

Answers on page 54.

2. We as deer hunters are measured more by the things we choose not to shoot, than by those we do.

3. Bucks eat a lot and gain weight in late fall.

4. Whitetail deer shed their hair twice a year.

5. Of a deer’s senses, the most important is its sense of hearing.

6. Does almost always run with their tails down.

7. To properly manage a deer herd, some does must be harvested.

8. Deer have memories (stored data which they retain for future use).

1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

9.

10.

12.

17.

18.

20.

22.

DOWN

Meat from deer, moose or elk Official MDHA publication Reticle in most scopes Hunting rules set by legislature or DNR Firearm part preventing a misfire Artificial deer call Jacketed bullet material Optics for seeing a long range An access to a deer stand Insulated container keeping coffee hot Current Governor of Minnesota Optics used on a rifle, handgun or crossbow Another name of an ATV

Calendar of EVENTS

Answers

1. True: A hunter can tell what the deer is going to do next by watching the constant signal of the tail.

Did you know... most deer are shot at distances less than 100 yards?

2. True: Most deer hunters have reverence and respect for the game they down and humbly apologize and give thanks to and of a spirit that most hunters understand.

APRIL 2017 29 Jim Jordan Chapter Banquet at Grand Casino in Hinckley. Contact Scott Peterson at 320.372.0300.

3. False: Bucks lose weight during the rut and may lose 15-20 percent of their body weight in fall and winter.

FEBRUARY 2017 25 MDHA State Habitat Banquet at Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids. Contact Bri Stacklie at 218.259.1368.

25 MDHA Corporate Board Meeting at the Eagle’s Club in Grand Rapids. Contact the MDHA State Office at 218.327.1103.

25 Two Rivers Chapter Banqet at the Montevideo American Legion. Contact Cory Johnson at 320.226.4208.

4. True: Their summer hair is solid and not brittle. Their winter hair is hollow, easily pulled out, and brittle.

NOVEMBER 3-6 Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener Events at Breezy Point Resort. Contact Bri Stacklie at 218.259.1368.

5 MN Firearms Deer Hunting Season Opener

5. False: Sense of smell is most important to its survival. Their sense of smell really works in high temperatures, high humidity, and light winds.

OCTOBER 15 Riceland Whitetails Chapter Banquet at the Aitkin Moose Lodge. Contact Ralph Mykkanen at 218.820.8819.

22 Sioux Trails Chapter Banquet at the New Ulm American Legion. Contact Gary Sprenger at 507.359.3958.

29 Blue Earth Chapter Banquet at Hamilton Hall in Blue Earth. Contact Rob Wolf at 507.943.3564.

6. False: Does usually run with their tails up so their fawns can follow. Bucks run with their tails down quite often.

OCTOBER 5 Hibbing/Chisholm Chapter Banquet at the Hibbing Memorial Building. Contact Kathy Daniels at 218.231.2551.

10 Roseau River Chapter Banquet at Roseau City Center.

Contact Stu Weston at 218.463.3992.

14 Riceland Whitetails Chapter Fundraiser at the Aitkin Moose Lodge. Contact Ralph Mykkanen at 218.820.8819.

10. Deer like to bed down on the top of a knoll or hill and rely mainly on sight to detect a hunter.

9. True: Shoot again or your “dead’" trophy will run over the next hill and beyond.

SEPTEMBER 9 Tri-County River Bottom Bucks Chapter Banquet at Queen Bee Bar & Grill in Roscoe. Contact Bill Legatt at 320.243.4517.

13 Central MN Chapter Banquet at Harry’s Banquet Center in Foley. Contact Dennis Sowada at 320.393.4214.

15 Carlton County Chapter Banquet at Four Seasons Sports Complex in Carlton. Contact Mike Fasteland at 218.879.0429.

16/17Jim Jordan Chapter Fundraiser & Statewide Member Dinner at Grand Casino in Hinckley. Contact Scott Peterson at 320.372.0300.

17 MN Archery Deer Hunting Season Opener 17 Sturgeon River Chapter Banquet at the Buhl Curling Club. Contact Brett Haavisto at 218.780.6401.

18 Chippewa Valley Chapter Fundraiser at McKinney’s On Southside in Benson. Contact Darin Staton at 320.760.3949.

23 East Central Chapter Banquet at Jack & Jim’s in Duelm. Contact Dave Jackson at 763.389.1772.

24 Park Rapids Chapter Banquet at the Park Rapids American Legion. Contact Russ Johnsrud at 218.732.9723.

9. You should keep shooting as long as that buck is still on its feet.

7. True: If the estimated deer population will eat themselves out of house and home, then the harvesting of does is a legitimate management tool.

Excessive deer in farming areas destroy crops.

Deer camp cabin To disintegrate into pieces Ancient arrow shooting weapon An objective of MDHA A donated deer part to assist with habitat projects Enclosed camouflaged tent Period when bucks seek does Elevated platform for hunting deer Purchased certificate allowing one to hunt Disturbed soil by a buck Cold, frozen moisture Another name for a conservation officer Largest member of the deer family

8. True: They can remember that oak grove where acorns abound this year. They can remember a hole in a fence.

ACROSS

10. False: Deer like to bed just under the crest of a hill to get out of the cold wind and they rely heavily on sound and smell (ears and nose) rather than sight (eyes) to detect an approaching hunter.

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MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 27

Marketplace When you purchase MDHA merchandise you support MDHA’s programs and mission.

VISIT WWW.MNDEERHUNTERS.COM OR CALL 800.450.DEER MDHA BLAZE LOW PROFILE CAP

MDHA FLEECE JACKET BY GAMEHIDE

$28

$15

MDHA COASTER WITH BOTTLE OPENER

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This cap was designed with hunters in mind with its low profile front; it is perfect for walking in thick brush. Its adjustable back makes this a “one size fits most” cap.

The perfect jacket for fall weather. Made of super soft fleece, it features a zip up front, two front pockets, and nice camo trim. It is available with the MDHA logo or the MDHA with FORKHORN underneath the logo for youth. Please specify style and size when ordering. Sizes XS-3XL.

This coaster is dual purpose. Not only will it protect your table with its hard plastic top and rubber base, it also features a built in bottle opener.

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$25 Our 26 oz bottle features a double wall lining, stainless steel and copper vacuum insulation that will keep items hot or cold for a long period of time.

MDHA FLEECE ORANGE BACKPACK

$25 Super soft and quiet, this backpack is perfect for the hunter. It has a large main compartment as well as a generously sized secondary compartment.

MDHA WOMEN’S PUFFER VEST

$46 The MDHA puffer vest is made of 100% micro polyester, is Thermolite insulated, wind and water resistant, and features zippered hand and chest pockets.

28 Whitetales | FALL 2016

$30

$34 Made in Minnesota, this wall mount bottle opener features the MDHA logo, heavy-duty bottle opener, and a hanger on back so it is ready to go.

This Big Game Cleaning Kit features nine pieces including a saw, replacement blades, shears, and five different knives, all contained in a hard case.

Become an MDHA member today...

Name: Address: City: State: Phone: Chapter Preference: Email:

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Membership Payment Information: q $25 Adult 1 Year Membership q $15 Youth 1 Year Membership q Check q Visa/Mastercard/Discover Card #: Signature: I would also like to make a donation of $ Order Total: $

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Your Observations Matter!

WE NEED YOU! The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association is continuing the Deer Hunter Observation Survey for the 2016 Deer Hunting Season and we need your help! Please consider joining me and other fellow hunters and MDHA members by participating in this project.

Each year, hunters across Minnesota obtain wonderful and potentially valuable insights through their hunting trips.

This project is an attempt to develop a long-term database of deer hunter observations for use in monitoring and evaluating wildlife trends.

MDHA’s Deer Hunter Observation Survey is modeled after similar annual surveys conducted by Iowa and Wisconsin DNRs. This survey is open to all hunters and MDHA members and will gather observations of Minnesota’s big game, predators and select furbearer species.

This survey will be segregated and processed in three distinct categories based upon license type: archery hunters, firearm hunters and muzzleloader hunters. For specific instructions and to participate in this survey log on to www.mndeerhunters.com and follow the Deer Hunter Observation Survey link.

The primary goals of this survey are to: • Engage hunters and MDHA members in wildlife management efforts through observation reporting • Develop a long-term database of hunter observations for use in monitoring and evaluating wildlife trends • Determine the value of archery, firearm and muzzleloader deer hunter observation data over time as a supplement to other wildlife related data collected by the MN DNR. Accuracy is important to the accumulation of good data. Directions for submission are included on the website.

Thank you in advance for your participation and your help in this project. Together we can make a difference through hunting and observing!

Happy Hunting, Craig Engwall Executive Director, MDHA MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 29

MEMBER Sto THE LEGEND OF GRANDPA’S TOGO BUCK I was just a child, but I never tired of hearing, "Grandpa, can you tell us the story of ‘The Togo Buck’?”

Grandpa leaned back in his chair, never altering his perfect posture. He crossed his arms momentarily and poured his steaming coffee into the saucer to cool it. Next, he carefully selected a sugar lump to sweeten the coffee and lifted the saucer to his lips noisily sipping the coffee. Then he once again

30 Whitetales | FALL 2016

crossed his arms and without looking up, began the story we always relished.

It was 1932 and the country was in the grips of The Great Depression. The world’s economy didn’t really make a difference to the settlers in Togo, however. Not all that much had changed. There were still hungry mouths to feed and the ground was stubborn and difficult to cultivate, but not nearly as unforgiving as the rocky soil the family had left behind in Sweden.

Deer were bountiful and were hunted, not recreationally, but for survival. And whether or not it was deer season really didn’t seem to make a difference, either. Most of the deer harvested for the family were yearlings, young, tender and more pleasing to the palate. And on that occasion when a fellow did spend time in the woods, Grandpa or his neighbors might catch a glimpse of what later became known as “The Togo Buck,” a huge deer with a massive rack and the almost unheard of sturdy “down tines.” But these pioneers were too busy trying to scratch out a living than to beat the brush to seek out this legend. It was good conversation and many believed that this ghost of a buck lived only in the minds of those who spoke of him. From time to time he would casually appear as if he were haunting the hunters.

And the legend grew.

But Grandpa was a believer. He had seen this Togo mystery on two occasions, once when he was on the back 40 harvesting wheat, just two falls earlier, and another time when he was in the woods hunting. On that occasion he saw the buck coming and he patiently waited for his opportunity.

Somehow, however, the legend slipped around him and disappeared, even though

the wind was right and this shouldn’t have happened. He took another sip of coffee, this time out of the cup and reasoned, “Y’ know, he didn’t get that big by being stupid!” As he uttered those words, a wry, reflective smile appeared and he snickered as he gazed as if he was back in the woods trailing this legend once again.

It was on one of these afternoon “hunting” excursions back in the late fall of 1932 that Grandpa climbed his favorite rock and waited above an obviously well-used deer trail. It was about an hour before sunset when he heard some rustling coming towards him. A young doe appeared, just what he was hoping for. He would have just enough time to shoot, dress and drag it home before supper. He leveled his Model 94 Winchester on his shoulder and placed the iron sights on his prey. Suddenly, the doe spun around and leaped off the trail, stopping just 10 feet into the alder brush.

In its place, and in Grandpa’s sights, was a mature 8-point buck, curling his lip.

He pulled his gun down and looked for the doe, knowing that the younger deer would be more to his liking. He briefly looked back at the 8-pointer, knowing he could take that and wondering if he should. The buck grunted again and again and again. It seemed like the buck didn’t even take a breath between his guttural snorts. That was when he realized there was more than one buck making all this noise.

He could now see another, much bigger, buck approaching the 8-pointer. With one lurch of his huge neck the older buck sent the younger 8-pointer on a mad dash into the thicket. Grandpa was now aware that this wasn’t just any buck. This was “The Togo

ory Buck” and this big guy was seeking out this young doe. Without dwelling on further options, he raised his trusty 94, placed his sights on the vitals and squeezed the trigger.

“The Legend” bolted back from where he came and the doe came out of hiding and darted off in the opposite direction. He could hear both deer crashing through the brush until the sounds quickly faded away. It was now only a half-hour to sunset. He was sure he had hit the deer, but knew that it did not drop nearby. Grandma would be expecting him at home soon. Back at the house, his young sons, one only four years old and the other born just a few weeks earlier, wouldn’t be of any help to him in tracking and retrieving this buck.

Daylight was no longer his ally in this quest. He waited 20 minutes and then decided to seek out the deer. Perhaps, he thought, it would be lying on the ground a short distance ahead. He quickly found blood, but not enough to be seriously wounded. He continued to follow the blood trail and just as the sign increased, so did the darkness. The buck was headed towards a big swamp and Grandpa quietly dreaded having to go that route. As he stood there pondering his next move, a cool gust met him in the face and what appeared to be snow began to fall.

Pausing in his storytelling for a moment, Grandpa kept one arm across his chest and lifted the other to scratch his head. As he did, one of his fingers projected straight out, as it had since he was 14 years old when the joint became fused as a result of an accident. Oh, I a lot of ideas of what to do next – but none of those ideas were any good, though! Ha!” He chuckled as he continued scratching his head, looking across the room at nothing in particular. “I thought about following the deer and I thought about going back and getting help. But jeepers, in those days everyone was so darn busy with work of their own. I knew Andrew Danyluk would give me a hand as would Carl Nelson, or one of my brothers, but I didn’t want to bother them.

So I stood there for a few minutes and that snow just kept coming.” Later in our years, we children would understand the role his Swedish stubbornness and pride played in shaping this story.

Grandpa knew there was a chance the

BY DARROLD PERSSON

In 2007 our camp hosted Governor Pawlenty for the Governor's Deer Opener. This is a photo of my dad (Don) and Gov. Pawlenty telling "lies" deer was just few yards away. In normal conditions he would mark the spot, leave the woods and come back the next day. But this fresh snow would cover all the tracks and sign and he would have little chance to find this big buck by coming back in the morning. Born in Sweden, enduring the long boat ride to America at the age of seven, and carving out his life here, Grandpa didn’t back

My father, Don in 1979

down from too many challenges. He was 31 years old, strong and knew these woods well.

But he had a family back home and after going back and forth in his mind, convinced himself that even this buck was only a deer.

He decided to let fate take its course, return home and resume the search at daybreak. As he turned and made his first steps towards home, he heard something bust out behind him. He knew it had to be “The Togo Buck,” startled by the broken silence of his sudden movement. Grandpa stopped in his tracks and looked around. He listened to the deer run, heard branches break and then an abrupt nothing. He turned towards the deer’s path and without further thought, began to follow it past the edge of the swamp. As he walked, he was surprised to see that the snow had already formed a layer of white across the woods, which seemed to brighten everything around him. A short distance ahead he saw a dark spot in the snow and put his hand on the ground to investigate.

Here is where the deer must have been laying when it jumped up and made his noisy exit.

He rubbed his fingers in the soil and pulled them near his face and realized this dark ground was bloodstained. He continued in

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 31

the swamp and soon felt his foot sink into the soggy turf. An icy chill radiated up his leg and he knew his leather boot was all but submerged in the swampy water. He tried to secure his foot on to a clump of raised grass, but in the process slipped and buried his other foot into the cold water. A strong gust of wind howled over him. As he shuddered, he couldn’t help but wonder what supper was on the stove for him and, despite its rustic shortcomings, how comfortable his home really was.

He trudged onward and soon in front of him appeared a raised shadow on the ground, silhouetted by the snow. His heart raced as he quickly moved forward, thinking this was the deer. His heart then sank when he realized it was an uprooted tree with its roots facing him. He surveyed the area and saw and heard no further sign of the buck.

He was two, maybe three, miles from home.

His wet feet began to sting from the cold and he knew what he had to do. He took the uprooted windfall as a sign and decided that it was a perfect place for a fire, providing him with a bit of shelter from the storm. With resignation, he muttered to himself “Looks like this is where I will spend the night.” He carried matches with him and broke off some branches for a fire. In next to no time the fire roared and he found a log to sit on. Although he hated doing it, he removed his boots and stockings and wrapped his feet in one of the two wool shirts he wore under his coat. He hung his boots and stockings over the roots

My son Dustin, and daughter Amber in 1983

32 Whitetales | FALL 2016

My son, Dustin Persson, and his 2013 215 lb. buck and soon he could both smell and hear the steam rising from his footwear.

Grandpa liked telling this story as much as we liked hearing it. It brought him back through time and gave him pause to reflect on a simpler life and a treasured memory. As he dropped a cube of sugar into his coffee, he revealed that during his night in the woods, he wanted to doze off, but needed to stay awake to stoke and feed the fire. Whether it was his imagination or not, he told us he heard all kinds of noises that evening. The wind was fairly strong and the heavy snow caused some branches to break. At times he thought he heard an owl shriek or a wolf howl. It kept him on edge most of the night until the storm passed. As he endured the night, he had time to think about a lot of things. Even though he was a few miles away, strangely, the comfort of home calmed his mind. “Borta bra men hemma bäst,” his mom would say in Swedish. Roughly this meant, “There is no place like home.” How true, he thought. Grandpa’s brothers would likely come looking for him in the morning, but not tonight. No one would know he hadn’t come home and grandma wouldn’t be venturing out on a night like this to get help since she was alone with a new baby and a four year-old. Besides, Grandpa maintained he really didn’t need any help. His boots and socks would be dry by morning and he would be home in time for breakfast. A howl pierced the silence of the night. “I wonder what happened to that deer?” Grandpa said to himself as his thoughts strayed.

Eventually, the wind died and it stopped snowing. The forest was quiet. It would be

daylight soon and, for the first time, Grandpa recognized how tired and hungry he was.

Earlier that night he remembered he had some smoked bacon in his jacket pocket. He often carried that when he was in the field or cutting timber and it tasted good. Too bad he hadn’t brought more. He was surprised how comfortable he was. His dad, father of 11, had taught them well. He always told them to dress warmly in the fall and winter.

Swedish was all that was spoken around the house and his dad often would say, “Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.” He smiled because he now better understood its meaning,” There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” He chuckled when he realized that the older he became, how much smarter his folks were becoming.

As he reflected, once again a howl crushed the serenity of the evening. And then in unison, several more howls, closer than he would have liked. Without thinking, he put his footwear back on as if he would be leaving soon. The next hour or so seemed like an eternity, but soon streaks of daylight kissed the fresh snow ushering in the new day. It was time to leave his little refuge.

He stood up and stretched and surveyed the area, which now was decorated with six inches of new snow. Any tracks the buck had made were long gone. He decided to look for the big deer by walking in circles, hoping to stumble across some sign. After about twenty minutes, he found what all that howling was about. Lying in the snow was what was left of the carcass of the big deer he had been pursuing. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but he understood the realities of nature.

About half of the deer had been dragged off and the crimson area fresh with wolf tracks told him the pack had been here.

He pulled out his hunting knife and cut through the swollen neck of the massive deer to remove the trophy rack and neck meat. Fortunately, antlers were not on the wolves’ diet. They wouldn’t be on his family’s diet, either, but they certainly would make a good conversation piece.

An eerie feeling of being watched fell over him as he cut through the deer’s neck. He looked around and noticed that just 40 yards away, a black wolf stood staring at him. Grandpa told us while he should have been frightened he wasn’t. Upset over what the wolves had done to his deer, he grabbed his Winchester Model 94 and moved toward the wolf. When he did, the wolf bounded away. Grandpa defiantly stood there as if he was daring that wolf, or any wolf, to come back. After about five minutes, he gathered up what was left of the deer and headed home.

Once back in his barn, he sawed off the antlers, put salt on the skull, and wrapped them in a potato sack. He then hung the sack and antlers on the wall to dry. At first he was anxious to display the antlers for all to see. However, life’s priorities displaced good intentions and it was several years before he turned his attention back to the antlers. At that time he was re-conditioning some old machinery and it seemed like a good idea to use some of the extra paint to make the antlers silver. It was a nice contrast to the green material he wrapped around the skull and placed on a piece of wood. When that was completed he mounted the rack in the back hall of the house above the stairway. And just like that, a hat rack was born. The antlers remained in the same place for almost fifty years, except once, when he thought they needed another coat of silver.

That was the end of the story Grandpa would tell us in the room next to the hallway where the hat rack was. Funny thing about an old hat rack in a back hall, it just exists, quietly and without notice while life passes it by.

Grandpa died in 1987 and it wasn’t until years after that I salvaged the antlers and restored them to their natural state. I later procured a deer cape and had a full head mount made in order to display this impressive rack. It only seemed fitting. As time continues to pass us by, the mount ensures Grandpa’s story will live on, as will our fond memories of Grandpa.

"Father and Sons" - 1985 Front - (sitting) Don Persson and Dave Persson; (standing front) Darrold Persson Back - Dennis Persson and Dale

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 33

DEER CALLS COMPLETE WITH BLEATS, GRUNTS AND #%+@&<!

BY BETTY SODDERS 34 Whitetales | FALL 2016

History of Deer Calls:

number of utterances including bleats, snorts, whistles, wheezes, soft matronly murmurings, grunts to even a high-pitched scream that once heard is never forgotten.

The bleat proves the easiest call to use and usually draws a doe’s attention if not overused...rarely will a dominant heavyracked buck react. The “bleat” can be compared to a sheep's “baa” or the “mew” of a kitten. It is a fine call to use any time of the year. I call it a great starter deer call.

This especially proves true for any hunter that easily gets bored or lacks attention discipline while on a deer stand. Just put the “bleat” call to your mouth and blow softly while forming the word “baa” several times.

Actually, more deer use a bleat call than grunts. It can be a sign of contentment when uttered softly and slowly, a distress call, when high-pitched and frantic.

is also included. If the incoming deer is accepted, the deer that challenged may “Deer talk” calls date back well into primitive provide a quick tail-wag from the downward Native American times. Doe calls were tail position. Should the deer not accept the constructed of birch wood and provided newcomer's presence, the challenger may a realistic bleat much as today's modern afford a loud “snort” as a warning or may calls offer. Research indicated they worked rear up threateningly to drive the stranger remarkably well; so much so, one had to from its territory. exercise caution as not to attract a wild If a hunter wants to duplicate this predator...for bobcats, cougars, bears, “greeting” grunt, he or she should huff very wolves, and coyotes were also aware of the softly in half-second airbursts while holding characteristic bleat of a whitetail fawn in 2-5 notes per call. distress.

Servicing Grunt: Whitetails tend to emit I might add that similarly, birch bark this type of grunt during the annual fall rut horns were manufactured to call elk and as bucks aggressively chase does reaching moose while wild turkeys were drawn in for their estrous stage. Basically, this message the kill by means of a whistle made from reads, “Stop!” Bucks following a doe’s scent the wing-bone of a turkey. Young Native trail often emit this sound with nose held American boys used mouth calls to bring just above the ground in a trailing mode. in chipmunks and squirrels as practice for When calling, huff medium loud at halfcalling in larger game. second bursts, 8-20 times in During Colonial times, succession...example: eck eck settlers employed voice calls eck, eck. to summon deer during Aggressive Grunt: Bucks hunting. In the 1940s, Herter’s tend to issue a challenge grunt catalog listed a deer call that showing their dominant ranking emitted “bleats.” Basically, deer status. This call is seldom used calls proved slow in gaining prior to the annual rut as the popularity. Why? Well, the old boys of summer may still be deer hunter’s anthem was taken traveling together in September. for granted: “Deer hunters If there are indications or field should be silent in the woods.” camera photos of a trophy buck Calling deer proved to be a in your hunting area then try to radical departure from tradition call him into range as follows: and was slow to gain genuine huff long one-second bursts acceptance. on your deer grunt call at a Through the years calls somewhat slower range using appeared and disappeared just 3-5 notes as follows...eeeck, regularly until in 1982 the eeeck, eeeck.

Lohman Manufacturing A proud hunter who over time has called in a buck or two, or three, Doe Grunt: This final grunt Company produced the first or maybe four or more! call simulates a doe in heat “snort” deer call; a “grunt” call actively seeking a buck. She is quickly followed in 1984 and by 1986 most Grunt calls are more commonly employed ready to offer favors. It is nature’s way for her sportsmen’s catalogs offered deer calls for as legitimate calling tools. When learning to advertise her readiness. To simulate this sale. to use a commercial call, follow the call, remove the tube from the grunt caller, Having personally managed several private manufacturer’s directions and for further huff soft short one-quarter second bursts hunt clubs besides our own, it was not assistance, buy or order a good deer calling 2-5 notes at a time, such as eek, eek, eek. To uncommon to feed (during that period the video. In this manner you will hear and further muffle the sound, cup your hands state of Michigan had not yet placed limits duplicate the proper vocal sounds. A first around the bottom of the call for a somewhat on deer feed) in excess of 120 free-ranging time deer call user can pretty much get the different tone. whitetails on a daily basis year-round. hang of it by huffing air from deep within the Anger Scream: Earlier, I mentioned the In turn, I have spent nearly 25 years chest cavity as though blowing on a mirror “anger scream,” a call that cannot be easily studying resident deer at close range on their to fog it up. Four basic “grunt” calls are listed duplicated. When we purchased one hunt terms in their habitat. Occasionally, I was below. club it had not shown activity for several privy to “deer gossip.” Learning their vocal Social Grunt: A deer uses this social years before we took over. From first sight sounds and accompanying body language status grunt call year-round as a territorial the “Matriarch” of our wintering deer herd enabled me to experiment with a variety vocal challenge or response, advising an held a vendetta against me. She would not of commercial deer calls under numerous approaching whitetail of its presence. As a back off at my presence. One late fall evening differing circumstances. deer approaches its particular space either I went out through the garage taking garbage Deer communicate through a large or both may afford this call. Body language out and unknown to me this deer was in our

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 35

The rut is on! This nicely racked buck may answer your call! feed lot. She saw me and without warning she snaked her neck out and afforded a highpitched scream so antagonistic I felt positive she would attack at any moment. Scream ended, she turned and ran. It’s a call you hope to never hear, yet duplicate!

When Calling Deer Keep In Mind: Use your calls sparingly. Remember your main effort should be to call deer in, not scare them off or spook a whitetail while all you have left is expletives.

Calls will not carry as far on high wind days and you may have to blow harder and a little more frequently to draw a deer’s attention.

Keep in mind that deer possess “radar ears” that prove to be extremely sensitive hearing devices. They detect sounds hunters never hear. They are also wise enough for the most part to distinguish a fake call from a real one. Improve your calling skills through practicing all year long under a variety of circumstances. A deer’s reaction will indicate whether you are calling well or not. Call any time of day. It matters not.

Remember, a deer call brings more whitetails within your hunting range. It proves to be a challenge putting you on

36 Whitetales | FALL 2016

terms with that animal. It is also a satisfying experience whether your calling activities are confined to bow or rifle season or well beyond.

It’s pure hunting pleasure to watch a charged-up buck come bristling into sight of your deer blind or stand, ready to challenge any and all comers in his breeding territory.

Another calling plus is you should increase the number of whitetail deer you see during the hunting season. This fact alone relieves much of the idleness and boredom hunters often experience between incoming deer sightings.

Should you jump a whitetail on your way to your deer stand, stop and issue a call, for often deer remain extremely curious critters and may stop, turn and investigate the sound further.

But should a deer wind you, well, you might as well pocket that deer call for it will not stay around long enough to listen to any bleats, grunts or expletives!

Deer Call Manufacturers: Quaker Boy Game Calls, Inc. 1-800-544-1600 Pete Rickart, Inc. 1-800-282-5663 Johnny Stewart Wildlife Calls 1-871-772-3261 Lohman Mfg. Company, Inc. 1-417-451-4438 Hunter's Specialties, Inc. 1-319-395-0321

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A Closer Look at Deer Baiting in

BY JOE ALBERT 38 Whitetales | FALL 2016

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Enforcement Division has been crystal clear in recent years about hunting whitetailed deer over bait in Minnesota: “The practice won’t be tolerated.”

People who are caught hunting over bait face fines, confiscation of their weapons, and loss of their hunting privileges. And yet some hunters continue to test their luck.

“I would say it’s an epidemic – it’s our No. 1 call (related to deer hunting),” said Lt. Col. Greg Salo, assistant director of the agency’s Enforcement Division, who noted he’s past the point of believing hunters who bait aren’t aware of what they’re doing. “A very, very large majority of the people to whom we have written tickets knew at the time they put it down that it would be considered bait.”

And despite the warnings that conservation officers are actively working baiting enforcement, the practice continues. Last year marked a record high when it comes to deer-baiting violations in Minnesota – officers wrote 198 citations and 64 warnings. Those numbers more or less have been on a steady increase since 2005, when officers wrote 80 citations and issued 13 warnings.

Minnesota’s Deer-Baiting Law According to the state’s deer-hunting regulations, “Hunters are not allowed to take deer with the aid or use of bait. ‘Taking’ includes attempting to take.” Bait, according to the regulations, “includes grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay, or other food that is capable of attracting or enticing deer and has been placed by a person.”

And baiting “means placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering bait that is capable of attracting or enticing deer.” Finally, “If a salt or mineral product has anything other than salt or mineral in it, it is illegal to use for hunting.”

“It’s very simple and people make it confusing,” Salo said. “If it’s

not a pure salt block or a pure mineral block,” it’s illegal. And while recreational deer feeding is legal in most areas of the state, if hunters don’t have every last bit of it picked up 10 days before they hunt over it, they’re considered to be in violation of the state’s baiting statute.

“You can’t have a kernel of corn on the ground. It has to be completely cleaned up for 10 days, and then you can hunt there,” he said.

Hunters should be aware that just because they can buy something in a store doesn’t make it legal. In many instances, the label of a particular item says it contains “artificial flavors,” Salo said. That should be an immediate red flag. Oftentimes, the product is infused with corn, molasses, sugar or a sugar derivative, making it illegal. Such products are easy to find on store shelves. Salo once conducted an inventory of such products at one of the big box sporting goods stores.

“There were (more than 40) products on that shelf that were used to attract deer specifically, and there were only two of those 40-some products that would be legal in Minnesota to use while hunting over.

One was a pure white salt block and one was a pure mineral block,” Salo said. “I have never seen an artificial flavor that does not have some type of food byproduct in it as a sweetener.”

The prevalence of baiting There are a good number of conservation officers who are working three to eight bait piles on opening day of the firearms deer season, Salo said. DNR Enforcement conservation officers utilize a variety of

methods to catch hunters baiting deer – including fly-overs to detect bait piles themselves, or trails that might indicate there’s bait in the area – but it’s becoming increasingly common for hunters to turn in other hunters.

“It’s sad that we’ve gotten to this point, but there are a lot of hunters doing it right,” Salo said. “People are under the impression that if they own a large piece of property or are out in the woods that nobody knows what they are doing. But people are curious animals, and it’s amazing how many people let their curiosity get the best if them.

They’ll walk in there and take a look around and see a bait pile or a stand put up illegally. People aren’t as isolated as they think they are when they’re out hunting.”

And what does baiting look like? Almost anything, according to Salo. Some folks put out big, bright foods such as piles of carrots, corn or pumpkins. Some people try to hide what they’re doing by distributing bait via camouflaged gravity feeders. Others actually spread camouflaged corn. “There’s only one reason you camouflage corn, and that’s so people can’t see it,” Salo said.

But no matter what the bait they use, catching people hunting over it isn’t necessarily easy. “It’s actually catching the person hunting out of the stand (and over the bait),” Salo said. “(Conservation officers have worked) some bait piles for more than a year or two years. It’s extremely time-consuming for our officers.”

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 39

Deer-Baiting Violations in Minnesota Year 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005

Citations 198 158 166 150 157 100 142 141 83 124 80

Warnings 64 44 49 46 52 50 46 34 25 29 13

Source: Minnesota DNR

Outlawing baiting While other states have different rules, hunting for deer over bait has been illegal in Minnesota for nearly three decades. Two of the reasons for the ban are the potential for disease transmission and hunting ethics. “The fair chase thing is huge for us,” Salo said. “Baiting doesn’t fall into that fair chase category. You’re more or less leading the lambs to slaughter.”

“The other issue is disease,” said Lou Cornicelli, DNR wildlife research manager. “We know that when deer concentrate over a common food source, they spread disease. Bovine TB (which was discovered in 2005 in wild deer in northwestern Minnesota) is a great example. There were cattle infected, and deer got into the stored forage or comingled with cattle and got the disease.

Baiting is a real deer-disease issue.”

And it’s not even clear that baiting makes deer hunters more effective. While deer certainly will feed at bait piles, Cornicelli likens them to agricultural fields, where deer often show up just before dark, or just after. “They will certainly find it, but will they show up in the middle of the day (to feed), or while you’re out there? Likely not,” Cornicelli said. “From a hunter success perspective, it probably doesn’t make that much

40 Whitetales | FALL 2016

difference.”

Indeed, according to a paper entitled “Relative Effects of Baiting and Supplemental Antlerless Seasons on Wisconsin’s 2003 Deer Harvest,” written by Dr. Timothy Van Deelen, of the University of Wisconsin, “Baiting tended to increase the archery harvest while decreasing the firearm harvest.” The paper compared the 2002 and 2003 hunting seasons.

The paper concluded with this: “Managers should resist the establishment of baiting for deer where it is currently not permitted and should enlist the help of human dimension and education specialists to end the practice where baiting is currently entrenched.”

In the end, hunters who decide to hunt over bait – and risk losing their weapons and hunting privileges – may not even be helping themselves. “It’s probably not influencing the overall success over the long term for a lot of the people who do it,” Cornicelli said. “Maybe it does initially, but not when they chronically hunt over bait day after day after day. Go hunt over the same goose field every day and tell me how you do.”

Editors’ note: Read Joe Albert’s blog at www.writerjoeabert.com

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HOW TO

BRING IN BIG BUCKS

BY MELISSA BACHMAN

The idea of bringing a big mature whitetail up close and personal gets most deer hunters excited, especially when it’s our moves that make it happen!

Anytime we can bring more interaction to your hunt, not only will we be more successful-- but also it will be much more exciting as well. During the pre-rut and rut I love deploying a decoy in my setup and getting aggressive. This seems to be the best time as bucks are on the move, and if they are not with a doe, they are usually on edge and ready for a fight at anytime.

The buck decoy I use is posturing with its ears back and the body language suggests this is one mad buck looking for a fight.

Some hunters like to use a doe decoy or a doe and buck combination but I’ve had by far the best luck with just a single postured buck.

I prefer to place my buck decoy about 15 yards from my stand. Also remember almost all bucks will try and fight your decoy head on. Make sure to position it so you will have a shot when this happens. Now that you’ve decided to try hunting with a decoy, the next step is to continue to fool a mature whitetail’s senses. I’ve found if you can trick three out of their five senses they’ll usually come

42 Whitetales | FALL 2016

storming in and never look back.

Whitetails rely heavily on their sense of smell, so this is where you need to start and is the most important in my opinion. First, be sure to spray down your boots and clothes and gear thoroughly with Scent Killer Gold.

If you’re hunting from a ground blind, also spray that down. If you’re using a decoy, make sure to spray that down liberally after setting it up in the field. This will keep your own human odor out of the equation.

Next, be sure to make the entire setup smell like a highly active whitetail area. You have your buck decoy out that’s all bristled up and looking tough. I like to look around for a nearby tree and licking branch where I can setup a Magnum Scrape Dripper, if possible. Create a mock scrape so any buck in the area can visually see and smell the scrape. I use rubber gloves when setting up my Magnum Scrape Dripper for added precaution and hang the dripper about six feet up or as high as you can reach. Not only will the sight and smell of the mock scrape draw bucks in, you will love the way it works.

I’ve had a real issue with big bucks coming to check scrapes, but often times only in the middle of the night. Nocturnal bucks can be very frustrating. You know they’re on your property but can’t get them to come out during daylight hours. With the Magnum Scape Dripper we can actually peak a buck’s curiosity and increase the chances of him

checking the scrape during daylight hours.

The dripper is an 8 oz container that you add 4oz of scent to. The additional air pocket expands and contracts with the temperature change, causing it to drip during daytime hours only. It also gradually intensifies the scent output to get the bucks even more riled up and curious. When those same bucks come to check the scrape at night they realize another buck was present during the day and this often triggers them to get irritated and territorial, causing them to start showing up at a variety of times hoping to catch the intruder.

After my mock scrape is created, I like to place several key wicks out with Special Golden Estrus to get that scent filling the area and drawing bucks in. This on its own can pull deer in, but with all the other factors we have going it simply adds to the realism of the entire setup. The Special Golden Estrus is fresh and super premium deer urine with estrus secretions. This blend makes the entire setup more believable for roaming bucks because they think there is a hot doe in the setup and when they see the posturing buck and can’t resist getting in on the action. By using this setup you’re going after both their natural instinct to fight and to find hot does. I like using key wicks to disperse the Special Golden Estrus as they can easily be hung on branches or twigs. They are also made with a special synthetic felt that doesn’t alter or change the smell of the lure, which is very important.

Now that the area has the right attractant smells, it’s time to move back to making the decoy both look and smell right. The first thing to do is spray the entire decoy down with Scent Killer Gold removing any odor that may have been left from carrying it in or setting it up. I then like to take Golden Scrape and pour it right on the decoy’s hocks.

This way when a buck comes in close to the decoy he will smell all the natural scents that would be present if my decoy were real. This is the key to not only bringing a mature buck in, but keeping him in close and focusing all his attention on the decoy.

Once you’re setup is complete and you’re on stand or in your blind adding a little sound is the final step. I like to add a bit of rattling, grunting and maybe a snort wheeze from time to time to draw bucks in with the sound from a long way. The biggest tip is to make it real. Don’t rattle for too long and try to make it like how a real fight would go down. Use a couple different grunt tubes first to make it sound like there are two bucks in the area. This also helps if there is a buck you don’t know about close so you don’t scare it off with a sudden crash of rattling antlers.

Once you’ve done a few grunts back and forth, wait a minute and do a snort wheeze.

This is the sign of one buck telling the other buck, you better back away now or this is going to get ugly. Next, start in on the rattling and make it seem realistic. Crash the antlers together; take pauses where the bucks would be locked up, break branches near you if possible and then get ready.

Deer can hear this from a long way off so it may take awhile to draw them in. Once you see a buck coming in, don’t make any more sounds. Allow the scents do the work and let the realism of your setup take over. Now you have three out of their five senses fooled and it’s truly amazing how long these bucks will posture to the decoy. Sometimes they will even knock it over if you let them go.

This will give you plenty of time to look over the buck, decide if it’s one you want to shoot and ultimately allow you time to calm your nerves before the shot!

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 43

DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T MAKE YOUR

FIELD PHOTOS A BUST..!

BY JEFF SCHLACHTER

44 Whitetales | FALL 2016

In the buzz of today’s world of technological wonders with digital cameras and computers, poor field photos shouldn’t even be an issue, yet meager field photos continue to plague hunters around the globe.

Hunters have been taking field pictures with their prized animals since the invention of the camera although the older photos mostly depict a scene of an animal loaded on a vehicle or hanging on the pole at camp. Some of these classic old photographs are incredible, not just for the shear fact of their nostalgic significance, but because these oldtimers captured fantastic photos without all of the new-fangled gear and gadgets we all tend to carry these days.

Now we like to capture the moment shortly after the harvest, in the domain of the trophy animal we were fortunate enough to harvest. So that means you only have one chance when the opportunity has so called, “knocked on your door” and you have harvested that trophy of a lifetime to capture the perfect picture, preserving the moment for an eternity.

When you do finally connect on your trophy, here are just a few tips I’ve learned over the years not only from talking and listening to some of today’s most elite trophy hunters world-wide but also from the trial and error I’ve encountered taking my own photos. I hope a few of these

little tricks will help you to achieve the end results for which we all strive.

The first thing do and this is still not done by many, is to take your time and click TONS of photos. With the digital era we live in, this has never been easier. It is so easy to quickly snap a couple hundred photos. In the days of 35mm, this was a pain and a chore carrying extra rolls of film, swapping out finished rolls with cold numb fingers.

In these digital days and today’s world of gigabytes and cheap memory cards, taking hundreds of photos is so simple and if there are any you don’t like, the delete button is only a click away. Even most compact cameras, that take amazing pictures, will hold well over a thousand photos on one tiny card. If you think you’ll take more pictures than will fill one memory card, throw in a spare just in-case, especially if you are on a back-country trip or a special hunt.

These cameras are getting smaller and smaller, they will fit in a pocket on your jacket, just make sure to make it as accessible as possible. Make sure that your camera has a good self-timer on it as many times a hunter can be alone after harvesting a trophy animal and a self timer will ensure that you will end up with excellent photos. Some of the best field photos I have are ones I took when I was alone. Even for a great group shot of the crew posing with your critter, a self-timer is an essential part of a camera. A little tripod is a bonus, but there have been times when I’ve had to be creative using a log, rock, back-pack, whatever it took to get my camera on something to capture that great photo I was determined to get.

One very important detail that is so often overlooked is the resolution your digital camera is set on. Make sure you set it on the highest resolution possible as in this case bigger is better. Nothing is worse than when you finally harvest the trophy of a lifetime and you go to blow your photos up, or even worse submit them to a magazine, only to find out they were taken on a lowresolution setting. Believe me, this is something you don’t want to have happen to you.

A closed mouth on your trophy animal is always nicer for your pictures and here are just a couple little tricks to make it work for you.

Carry a few feet of a light monofilament fishing line in your fanny pack, which is practically weightless, yet you can tie a loop around

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 45

Deer Hunting MEMORIES Do you have a photo of a cherished deer hunting memory that is at least 30 years old?

the mouth of your animal to keep the jaw from gaping open in your photos.

Another neat way is to carry a little tube of super glue in your fanny pack. If you take a small dab of this glue on the top and bottom lip, then hold the mouth shut just long enough for the glue to adhere. This little trick will keep the mouth closed for the great field photos, yet won’t hurt your cape if you plan on taking your trophy to the taxidermist.

This glue could also come in handy if you had to keep a cut closed until you could get some medical attention.

If your prize ended up getting a little bloody, try to blot or dab off as much blood as you can. I always carry a small package of Wet-Ones that can come in extra handy to clean up your animal. Take your time with your preparation as the cleaner you can get your animal, the better the end results will be and the time you take will reflect in your end results.

I know we all read many of the hunting magazines on the shelf today, as subscribers or just purchasing them from the local store.

Whether you know it or not, these magazines will help you as well to achieve the field photo results for which you are looking.

When you’re flipping through some of your favorites and you find a field photo of a hunter posing with his trophy animal that you like, cut it out. Compile a couple dozen of the ones you like the best, paying special attention to details such as the pose of the animal, position of the hunter, weapon

46 Whitetales | FALL 2016

placement, etc. Put these in a Ziploc and place them in your fanny pack or in a special pocket with your tags, wherever you will make sure you have them when you need your tags. When your trophy is in your hands and you’re getting the camera ready to start snappin’, take these out look at each of them and try your best to recreate your favorites.

Try to take the pictures from a low angle to capture the sky as your background.

This will make your “prize” show up better and not run the risk of blending into the background. Just make sure when you’re taking these photos that there is no grass, branches, debris of any type in the way of a nice clean picture. The nice thing about the digital cameras nowadays is you can just flip back and check out how the picture looks by the press of a button. Sometimes there is just a little something that catches your eye that you need to change and you can make that change for a better end result. Take your time, take it all in, enjoy the moment, but remember the better the photos, the more you’ll take pleasure in them and the memories they have created down the road.

Try your best to take pictures that portray the whole hunt as you partake on every stepping-stone of your adventure, as they say, “Every picture is worth a thousand words.”

So take one every chance you get and just remember, it is these pictures that will serve as a fond memory of a great hunt for years to come and for future generations of family.

We'd love to see it!

Please send a digital photo in jpg format to bri@mndeerhunters.com.

If digital format is not possible, photos may be sent to us at: MDHA c/o Deer Hunting Memories 460 Peterson Road Grand Rapids, MN 55744 Please include a description of who, when, where, etc.

Each issue of Whitetales will celebrate our hunting heritage with your photos.

Thanks for sharing!

Deer Hunting MEMORIES

� THE CREW Dick Engwall (Winthrop, MN native, now Hopkins) and his dad Lambert (Winthrop, MN) and the rest of the crew at their Dora Lake camp in 1959.

� THE CAMP Prepping the camp, Dora Lake, 1956.

� SIGFRED BROTHERS

� TENT CAMARADERIE

The Sigfred brothers of Parkers Prairie, MN with a nice buck near Dora Lake in 1953.

Camaraderie in the tent, Dora Lake, 1956. Pictured (L to R): Dick Burman (Malmo, MN native, now Edina), Harold Johansen (Ivanhoe, MN), Dick Engwall and Jim Ford (Ivanhoe, MN).

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 47

MDHA TIPS

BY ROD DIMICH AND ED SCHMIDT

TIP

#1

“Back to the future” A simple yet highly effective way to make an artificial scrape is to bury a small 35mm film (remember those?) can or pill bottle packed with cotton balls or cloth to absorb a liquid scent on the ground under a low hanging branch. Top it with a perforated cap to prevent dirt from filling the canister.

TIP

#2

“ ‘Spruce up’ your store-bought stuff ” There are many natural smelling cover scents not found in sporting goods’ stores that will enhance your store-bought scents. Go back to the basics to “spruce up” the store-bought stuff. Among these free and simple accents are cedar boughs, conifer sprigs/branches, pine-scented disinfectants and even turpentine can be used as masking scents.

TIP

#3

“When in doubt, check it out” To ensure an accurate shot with a rifle, handgun or crossbow (check legality), make sure your scope mounting screws are secure. You might even want to check the fore-stock mounting screw for tightness as well. When in doubt, however, regarding your firearm or crossbow’s accuracy, go to the range and check it out.

48 Whitetales | FALL 2016

TREASURES

Framework of Operation – MDHA Chapters

According to founder and first MDHA secretary Jim Lang, in our inaugural year, 1980, the founders put in a lot of work as they tried to establish a framework within which the members, at the grassroots level, could form “chapters” (then called districts) to express themselves, initiate resolutions, and have them brought before the state board of directors. Addressing members at the first Membership Meeting held at Camp Mishawaka on Pokegama Lake near Grand Rapids, Minn., Mr. Lang quoted a part of our 1980 information leaflet: “Grassroots input by deer hunters will be assured through area representation patterned after the existing 134 legislative districts.”

Jim then went on to explain: Each district with 26 or more members will elect its own District Director.” He pointed out the initial problem was how will the members in particular district know each other. MDHA’s answer was the association would provide organizing information upon request.

When voting on state resolutions, districts with 26-75 members had one vote, 76-139, two votes and 140 and over were allocated three votes. Jim then described how Districts could meet whenever they chose to and there would be two state meetings each year, an annual Membership Meeting in September and a State Directors’ Meeting in December for policy-setting for the upcoming legislative session.

MDHA chapters are known for the diligent and hard work in the conservation realm. Chapters organize and sponsor the annual banquet series raising funds for land acquisition, food plots, habitat improvement, gun safety classes, fair booths, field days for

youth and sending kids to Forkhorn camps.

When it comes to fund-raising, MDHA chapters are allowed to keep 75% for local projects while 25% goes to the state MDHA for their operating budget. Chapters strive on the philosophy of having PEP (Projects, Events, Programs). This is why they are an MDHA Treasure.

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 49

5

We Should Be Wearing Rubber Hunting Reasons Boots Hunters have many options when it comes to choosing hunting footwear and the conditions under which we hunt should determine the type of boot we wear. Seventyfive percent of the world is water, so when we encounter our portion of it on our hunt, we want to be sure that we have a boot that can get us through wet conditions. For the most part, a rubber boot will serve us well in just about all but the most mountainous of terrain. Let’s look at the reasons why the rubber hunting boot reigns supreme for many of today’s hunters.

1. Comfort While a rubber boot may not be quite as form fitting or lightweight as a leather boot, some come very close in the level of comfort that they offer. Gone are the days when a loose, floppy fitting rubber boot was the most hunters could hope for. Today, manufacturers offer warm and well-constructed rubber hunting boots that provide the support and all-day comfort needed to endure the most challenging of hunting conditions.

2. Waterproof Sure, there are a lot of boots on the market that claim to be “waterproof,” but walk through a calf-high creek or a dew-soaked field of grass and you’ll soon see which boot is truly waterproof and which boot is not. Nothing beats the ability to resist water like rubber. Neoprene comes close, but may not be quite as puncture resistant as heavy rubber. Many brands of cordura snake boots are notorious for claiming to be waterproof, but here’s a secret, they’re not.

They may be “water- resistant,” but there’s a huge difference between “water resistant” and “waterproof.” A good rule of thumb is if you cannot submerge your feet in water without getting your feet wet then a boot

50 Whitetales | FALL 2016

BY ERIC MORRIS

is not waterproof. Let’s be honest, there’s nothing cool or macho about having wet feet. Wet feet are a recipe for disaster. Several hunts come to mind where hunters who chose an inferior “water- resistant” boot were rewarded with wet feet. Not just damp feet, but “sit down, take your boots off, and wring your socks out” wet feet.

3. Scent Resistant A huge part of having a successful hunt is reducing the introduction and transmission of human or unnatural odors. Rubber does an excellent job of doing this as odors are less likely to absorb into rubber as they are other porous materials. Rubber is also easier to clean as all one has to do is hose or brush off the rubber. Good luck trying to deodorize a cloth or leather boot. Scents like to cling to materials such as these.

4. Durability It’s also very important to understand all rubber boots are not created equal. Thin, non-insulated and lightly constructed rubber boots may be fine for fishing in the summer time or for dove hunting in the early fall, but they will leave you in a world of hurt when the going gets cold and tough. Rugged rubber hunting boots such as the Comfort Trac™ from Cabela’s can take the abuse hunters receive when hunting in unforgiving conditions. Whether walking through briars in Alabama searching for rabbits, slogging through the swamps of Georgia in search of hogs, or siting in 12” of snow on a Kansas duck marsh, a pair of quality rubber boots can give you years of service.

5. Superior Insulation and Warmth The only thing worse than having wet feet is having cold feet. It’s hard to have the motivation to stay in the hunt when your feet are feeling like ice cubes. This is another area

where insulated rubber hunting boots shine.

By combining neoprene or Thinsulate™, rubber boots can be insulated with anywhere from a light 200 grams to super heavy 2000 grams of insulation to ensure that feet stay toasty warm on the coldest of days. It’s important to mention that while you can get boots with 2000 grams or more of insulation, these types of boots aren’t ideal for warm or even cool weather. What’s worse than cold sore feet? Hot stinky feet, and it won’t take long for your feet to start sweating if they are over-insulated. The best option is to get two pair of boots to match the conditions under which you’ll be hunting, one pair for warm to moderate weather and one pair for subfreezing conditions.

The next time you’re looking for hunting footwear, don’t overlook rubber hunting boots. They are rugged, impervious to water and have superior insulation that makes them an ideal choice for most hunters. While leather and fabric-type boots have their place in the forests and fields, they don’t come close to matching the versatility and “any condition protection” of the rubber hunting boot.

“Fred, I think it's about time you bought a new pair of hunting boots.”

The difference between staying warm, dry and comfortable

(and still on stand) when that big buck walks by ...

... and being cold, wet and miserable (and trudging back to camp) when that big buck walks by

• Hunting garments for any type of hunting • Men’s, Ladies and Youth

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What’s Cookin’?

By David Lien

Mouthwatering Venison Meatloaf

Ingredients: • • • • • • • • •

1 package of McCormick’s meatloaf seasoning 2 pounds of ground venison, elk or beef 2 eggs ½ cup of milk (not skim) 1 cup to 1 ½ cups of cracker crumbs or bread crumbs ½ cup spicy BBQ sauce 2 T horseradish sauce ½ cup ketchup salt and pepper

Procedure:

Mush all of the ingredients by hand in a mixing bowl, form and put into a greased meat loaf pan. Bake the loaf at 375 for 45 minutes, then

52 Whitetales | FALL 2016

add the glaze on top and bake for another 15 minutes (I only baked for another 10 minutes). The glaze may bubble over, so you might want to put some foil in your oven. I baked my loaves on the lower third so the tops didn’t burn. The glaze is made from 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup spicy BBQ sauce and 2T horseradish sauce. Then mix well.

Editor’s note: Ed Schmidt and his wife tried this recipe a few times and found the end product to be mouthwatering good. She added the horseradish sauce to the mixture instead of using it as part of the glaze.

With the left-over meatloaf we made sandwiches which were served cold and on whole wheat bread. This meatloaf sandwich was a real sustaining treat. We did add a little ketchup to the sandwich enhancing the flavor.

Gizmos GADGETS Garments GEAR

Blue MZ Pellets for Muzzleloaders

Alliant Powder is pleased to introduce Blue MZ 50-grain pellets for muzzleloaders. Blue MZ provides outstanding accuracy with a wide range of popular bullets, and its formulation allows for fast, easy cleaning with water-based solvents. Shipments of these new pellets are being delivered to dealers.

Muzzleloader hunters need propellant that ignites reliably and burns consistently, even in extreme weather conditions. Blue MZ delivers on this tall order. The pellets produce higher velocities than competing pellets at safe pressures, and ignite reliably with 209 shotshell primers.

Features & Benefits • • • • •

48-pack of 50-grain equivalent pellets Highest velocities at safe pressures Provides outstanding accuracy with a wide range of projectiles Great ignition characteristics with 209 shotshell primers Clean-burning formulation eases cleaning with water-based solvents

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 53

Fall

HUNT

Whitetales Puzzler

it down!

ANSWERS

Look for an icon shaped like the one above in this issue of Whitetales and, when you find it, send us the page number, along with your name and address. If you are correct, your name will be entered in a prize drawing from MDHA. Email bri@mndeerhunters.com Submission deadline: October 1, 2016

Winner of the Spring “Hunt It Down”

Joe Corcoran of the Bemidji Chapter found the hidden canoe on page 43 of the summer issue and was the lucky winner of a Barlow Bone Handled Jack Knife. Congrats Joe!

PLEASE REVIEW Your Membership Information Today.

The magazine label indicates your membership status. Please check it to see if your address is correct and when your membership expires. To renew your membership or make corrections, call the MDHA State Office at 800.450.DEER. Address changes are a major concern and we need your help to correct them. On occasion, the office gets calls because a household is getting duplicate magazines or shouldn’t be getting a magazine at all. What may be the reason for this?

Across Answers 3.

8.

9.

11.

13.

14.

15.

16.

19.

21.

23.

24.

25.

POTENTIAL REASONS:

• Renewal forms or banquet tickets are illegible and get entered incorrectly.

• J.J. Jones is Jerry Jones, same person with multiple memberships.

• A life member passes away and the state office is not notified.

SOLUTIONS:

• Call the office to inquire at 800.450.DEER. • Check with your chapter officers or regional director.

• Check your magazine’s mailing label to see if it is accurate.

Shack Fragmentation Crossbow Habitat Hide Blind Rut Stand License Scrape Frost Warden Moose

Down Answers 1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

9.

10.

12.

17.

18.

20.

22.

Venison Whitetales Crosshairs Regulations Safety Grunt Copper Binoculars Ladder Thermos Dayton Scope Quad

Questions, concerns, thoughts?

Address letters to: Minnesota Deer Hunters Association Attention: Letter to the Editor 460 Peterson Rd. Grand Rapids, MN 55744 or email: bri@mndeerhunters.com

Whitetales Building our hunting and conservation

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF

legacy through habitat, education

THE MINNESOTA DEER HUNTERS

and advocacy

ASSOCIATION

In This Issue:

Preserving Our Memories

- Past & Present

NORTHERN COMMUNITY RADIO KAXE 91.7 GRAND RAPIDS 89.9 BRAINERD 103.9 ELY KBXE 90.5 BAGLEY/BEMIDJI

THE LEGEND OF GRANDPA’S TOGO BUCK

BY DARROLD PERSSON

DON’T MAKE YOUR FIELD PHOTOS A BUST!

BY JEFF SCHLACHTER

FALL 2016

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54 Whitetales | FALL 2016

Daylight IN THE Swamp Taxidermy (Grand Rapids) nice, on the last Tuesday of firearms season.

This buck meant a lot to me. To be honest, I am not a “rack” guy. I don’t begrudge hunters who trophy hunt and I actually wait for a buck, even if I have a doe permit.

I guess I just like to be the one who makes the choice and, yes, that is why I am not an APR supporter. I think we should be able to “choose.” Anyhow, my “Halo” buck, or “Crown” or “Great Eight” buck as others had named it from trail cams (not me, by the way, I can barely turn on my head lamps without help) appeared out of the rainy haze with its antlers glowing ten minutes after legal shooting time.

We had put up a stand near where my dad, “The Chief,” Nick Dimich had said “was his last stand,” and then quoted and inserted “hunt” for “fight” in Chief Joseph’s quote (Nez Pierce band), “I shall hunt (fight) no more forever.” Like many of you with the passing of our cherished ones, our hearts fell with his passing. We do, however, feel blessed for the many years we shared with him. Sadly, some do not get as many years as others.

I still think about the pictures/slides that “got away.” I wish, for instance, that I had a picture of where I shot my first deer. I do have a picture, several, in fact, of my first deer, great pictures and priceless memories.

But I still wish I had a picture of “where” I was standing when I shot it. I remember it vividly. It was a small hump maybe 25 yards in diameter with tag alders and wild hay to the north, balsams to the west, another swamp to the east, and more balsams and my dad’s stand 100 yards to the south.

What a picture the huge popple (aspen) I had leaned against would have made, especially with my carved testimonial: “I shot my first deer here, 11/17/60. R. Dimich.”

Because I was a 13-year-old successful deer hunter in my first season in our shack’s inaugural year, I thought the tree would last forever. It didn’t even come close to forever.

In fact, two years later a summer wind storm blew it over with my carved message side down in the heavy leaf carpet. I still know where that spot is, but I sure wish I had a picture of it.

I also wish I had a slide of my first “real” stand. It was a gem, a kid’s dream. As deer stands go, however, it probably was pretty routine. But for me, that stand, located on a slight ridge and surrounded by wild hay, tagalders, and balsams, is where I felt my first tinges of independence and adulthood.

It was the place where I first felt the pride of ownership and responsibility, where I was in control. I was the captain of my stand, looking where I wanted, when I wanted, and thinking what I wanted.

The veteran hunters had given me the keys to this “popple palace.” This meant I was a full-fledged member of a real hunting gang and considered a “hunter.” This was no small distinction in our neck of the woods, by the way.

Other memories, like my first “solo” sunrise, bright, golden and warming, or my first deer stand sunset, red and hazy, sure would have been nice on a slide. After all, I had never spent a day alone with the sun and woods before; it was truly special and, as of late, I wake up thinking of those precious times and those precious people, most of whom are gone, but not, for sure, forgotten.

Yes, it would have been nice to have a slide of that stand in its prime. I did, however, get the next best thing. Happily, I realized my stand’s importance before it was too late and rescued it from the forest floor, and by the way, a wind similar to the wind that blew down my leaning popple also toppled my first real stand.

That platform now hangs on our basement wall with my hunting memorabilia. This, of course, is not my beloved wife’s favorite house ornament. Whenever she shows our house to visitors, she rolls her eyes a bit as she tortuously explains what, as she puts it, “that piece of plywood on sticks” is doing on our wall.

Another slide I wish I had would be of my first deer hunting fire. It was a dandy. I had “toughed” it out for two hours before the cold finally got me. A quick fire and sandwich was just what I needed. Therefore, I proceeded with wood gathering, breaking, arranging, and lighting. It was a grand fire.

Red flames over white snow, warmth on cold hands and feet. It was my fire, my ridge, and

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my swamp. Since that experience, my life has been predicated on that profound Christian existential awakening.

I also wish I had slides of my model 64 Winchester 30.30 resting against my special stump with my red jacket and Mora knife propped against the stock. They were and still are priceless to me because I had inherited them from my Grandpa Nikola.

These are my deer hunter’s legacy from him.

It is a picture I’ll always remember, even if it is not on film.

I also wish I had a picture of the “birch hills” south of my “Swamp Island Stand.” To an early teenage hunter back when getting a deer was the ultimate “rite of passage,” they were the end of the rainbow. I just knew big bucks roamed there. But, I could only view them from a distance. I wasn’t allowed to venture over there, too easy to get lost. No matter, the mystery of things is sometimes more exciting and I always got a thrill just looking at and wondering about them.

Glistening in the November sun, snow white against the gray overcast, they were like my future, distant yet very reachable.

Dreams were made from those hills, dreams capable of being enough to travel not only there, but also everywhere. In a nutshell, they were big buck and big life dreams.

The birch hills have now been logged for many years and my “Knights in White Satin” have now become a flourishing Norway pine plantation. Still, there are a few birch remnants gracing the edge of the cut, reminding me how I wished I had taken just one slide of them. Just one.

Finally, like my beloved wife and lifetime muse and hunting and fishing enabler, Kristin said as she once again edited “Daylight in the Swamp,” “Feel grateful for any wonderful memory,” and then she quoted Khalil Gibran, from whom some of our wedding vows were taken, “Life is about yesterday; it is today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.” With that, I know you dedicated and loyal MDHA members will nod in agreement and say, “How true, how true.”

Have a glorious fall and remember our MDHA anthem, “Whitetails forever”…

MNDEERHUNTERS.COM 55

Daylight IN THE Swamp

BY ROD DIMICH

THE SLIDES NOT TAKEN, REVISITED Last summer while we were putting together this fall’s 2016 edition of Whitetales and sitting around the proverbial “Algonquin Table” at our MDHA’s state headquarters, some of us got into “back in the day” stories.

As we did, MDHA Executive Director Craig Engwall mentioned his Dad’s approaching 85th birthday and the deer hunting memories they share. From there, Ed Schmidt (MDHA Founder and my long time Whitetales co-editor since 1984) and I, also danced the “memory waltz.”

As we “tripped the light fandango,” it became very clear to us in order to discuss MDHA’s importance regarding deer hunting’s future, especially in light of recent MN DNR reports showing hunting and fishing numbers declining, our Fall 2016 issue of Whitetales needed to highlight the past, our deer hunting traditions, heritage, and most of all, our memories.

If you want to know, by the way, the phrase “tripping the light fandango” was repopularized in 1967 when the English rock band Procol Harum released its hit song, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” with lyrics by Keith Reid, that included the line “Skip the light fandango.” The phrase actually had evolved through a series of usages and references and is typically attributed to classic English author John Milton’s 1645 poem “L’Allegro,” which included the lines: “Com, and trip it as ye go/ On the light fantastick toe.”

The imagery of gleefully dancing on top of an issue also appears in Shakespeare’s play, “The Tempest” where the great bard writes (Middle English Spelling), “Before you can say come, and goe, / And breathe twice; and cry, so, so: / Each one tripping on his Toe, / Will be here with mop, and mowe.”

Okay, this might sound like British “Greek” to you, but you get the drift, there is nothing better than going with the flow and dancing with elevated thoughts and remembering the memories that made us

56 Whitetales | FALL 2016

who we are. When you do, you will truly understand what our great, perhaps greatest, American author, Mark Twain first said (many have copied it and repeated it as their own), “Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.”

As we talked, my thoughts wandered back to the not so distant past. I remembered how we would look at deer slides, after I chased the family down, that is. I also remembered going back to 1960, the beginning of our shack, and working my way carefully to the present, meticulously back-grounding each slide. After all, what would a slide show be without background information like year, day, time, temperature, wind, stand, etc.?

I remembered knowing I was getting into trouble, however, when each time I would say “I remember,” a voice from the darkness would wail, “How long is this one going to

take?”

I know I have seen these slides many times. But I never get tired of them. My biggest regret now is the slides I didn’t take, especially in the early years. The times were to blame, however, not the picture takers.

Back in the old days of hunting pictures, certain unwritten rules were in effect. The main one was only take a picture of deer taken or hunters in a group. Never snap or plan a picture of just woods, a stand, or something as foolish as a beaver dam or sunrise and sunset or a heavy snowfall frosting balsams.

Today, of course, especially with the “smart” phones, we snap as many image memories as we can. But in those days frugality was the rule. Take an aesthetic picture? Unheard of. Just last fall, 2015, I actually got a nice buck, like bring to Elich CONTINUED ON PAGE 55

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