2017 was shaping up to be not such a great season for me. I was fortunate enough to go on an elk hunt in New Mexico where I saw a lot of elk, but I still came home empty-handed. When I got back home to whitetail archery hunt, I had one deer in mind. Even though all the neighbors were spotting him, I was having no luck.
As the whitetail rifle season approached, I was faced with the unfortunate news that my stepdad had suffered a major stroke. With all of the running to the hospital and trying to help out my mom, I was unable to hunt. A good friend of mine, Mark Fillback, said not to worry. He’d have a place for my two boys and me to hunt the opening weekend. He made sure all the branches were trimmed and stands were in good order. This was such a huge relief to me. Opening weekend of rifle season is like the Super Bowl to most Wisconsin hunters and something I’ve never missed. With the blessing of the family, my boys and I headed off to deer camp 2017.
Opening day is always filled with excitement, and Mark had told us that he had been getting some pictures of a big 10-point buck. The weather was miserable that morning with rain turning into sleet and then snow. There wasn’t much movement, so we decided to head in for lunch to warm up and watch some Badger football. On the way back out to my stand that afternoon, I jumped what I thought was the big 10-point buck but couldn’t get a shot through the trees. I was hoping that maybe he’d run towards one of the kids, but like big bucks do, he went the other way.
We all regrouped that evening, and even though nobody had any success, we still had a great time sharing stories and had many laughs about previous hunts.
The next morning seemed to come way too early, but we were up and back at it, nonetheless. As I was walking into my stand, my mind was heavy with the thought of my stepdad and how it would have to be a short hunt as I needed to get back up to the hospital that afternoon. I had hardly reached my stand when I heard something running through the woods. I was able to locate the deer and couldn’t believe it was the same buck as yesterday. This time, I was able to find a shooting lane and the shot hit its mark. After the hunting group heard the shot, they all headed my way to share congrats and help drag him out.
I am truly blessed to be able to hunt with a great group of guys. They were as excited as if they shot the buck themselves. This hunt would have never been possible without my great friend, Mark Fillback, his son, Luke, and my two boys, Derek and Brady.
Less than a week later, my stepdad passed away, but I will always have the memory of him thoroughly enjoying the story and seeing the picture of the big 10.