Did You Get One?

My father is responsible for my passion for whitetail deer hunting. When I was about 6-years old, my sister and I would wait and watch from our south-facing, living room windows waiting to spot dad's truck headlights from across the field beginning his drive home. We always wondered if Dad had shot the big one. He'd arrive home, and we would run to the door screaming, "did you get one, did you get one?" This was the start of my fascination of deer hunting.

When I was about 7-years old, my father started taking me along to track deer he had shot with his bow. I started out as the last spot marker and gradually became the one who crawled through the thickets looking for more blood. From this point on, I could not wait to be the one doing the shooting of these magnificent animals.

My dad was a typical Michigan hunter at this time. The idea was to put a little bait out and sit on stand waiting for the deer to arrive. I hunted the same way for a lot of years, and harvested some nice deer, but never could close the deal on the big ones.

In college, I first studied Forestry and earned an associate's degree in Forest Technology. After that, I transferred into a four-year program for Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Here I started to see that the game animals I so loved to hunt had habits and needs that I never really thought of before. I began to piece little bits of info together that would transform me into the hunter I am today.

The tables have now turned with me and my dad. Now, I am teaching him a few things about hunting without bait. We have planted a few food plots here and there on his Onaway, Mich. property. He is seeing the benefits. Taking my education and my passion, I've actually started to do consulting for food plots and habitat improvement. My clients as well have seen the benefits of additional land management feedback and planting.

And I am proud to say that now I am the one coming home from hunting and hearing from my three children, "Did you get one? Did you get one?"