Glenn
Dunning is a member of New England Outdoor Writers Association
(NEOWA) and contributes monthly to Outdoors Magazine
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Outdoors Magazine, January '06 issue, Traveling Outdoorsman Column Submitted by: Glenn Dunning |
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Heartland Whitetails The Changing Perspective of Midwest Deer Hunting |
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| Many people don't realize that 35 years ago the whitetail deer was an obscure and infrequently seen resident of America's central states. Then along came the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which paid Midwestern farmers to leave a percentage of their land fallow as protection against soil erosion. This created millions of acres of wildlife habitat across half a dozen or more states. At about this same time federally funded initiatives to reintroduce deer and turkeys were taking hold in the region. Today, the Midwest lays claim to some of the best whitetail deer hunting in the world with incredible numbers of animals making the record books each season. Outdoor TV programming as well as the shooting sports magazines are all over the story of big buck hunting in America's heartland. Many northeastern deer hunters now make annual pilgrimages to this whitetail Mecca. As the history of these "bread-basket" bucks continues to be written, the current chapters reflect some disturbing trends. Kevin Powers' group from Lyndonville, Vermont bow hunted western Illinois for their third consecutive season this past fall. Although they have had pretty consistent success on P&Y deer including three this last trip, the changing conditions are evident. "When you climb into your stand and can count where a bunch of other guys have screwed their bow hooks into the tree this season and it's only the second week in November, you have to question how much rest, if any, your stand has gotten." This is not about one outfitter; this is about the state of outfitting in a part of the country that is now famous for trophy deer. Outfitters, particularly in Illinois' western counties, that were hosting 70 hunters or less 3 or 4 years ago are now rotating hundreds of clients through their lease properties during the relatively short 8 - 10 week season. What about the quality of the deer? The region continues to produce incredible bucks but shot opportunities and harvest success percentages just aren't what they were a few short years ago. This trend has been watched from the sidelines by Rick Davidson, a farmer, deer hunter and lifelong resident of agricultural communities that dot the sparsely populated landscape where eastern Illinois and western Indiana stare across the Wabash River at each other. While the big guys to the west have been getting bigger, Rick's outfit, Midwest Bucks, has quietly been hosting 35 to 45 hunters a season , shooting huge deer (including a disproportionate number of "booners" ) and offering clients shot opportunity percentages reminiscent of days gone by on the western side of the state. You see, Rick is only an outfitter after his corn and soy beans have been harvested. His farmer's perspective on soil conservation and land management along with a lifetime's worth of knowledge regarding how to nurture a trophy whitetail population, make his operation different in many ways. For one thing, his lease holdings are with his neighbors many of whom he has known all his life. Others he became acquainted with back when he was selling feed before he bought his own 1600 acre spread. He maintains hundreds of acres of food plots, and uses trail cams and physical observation to monitor buck populations. He is also an avid shed hunter so by the time the archery season roles around, he has a pretty good idea of what his "shooter" buck population is and where it is. There is one other strategic element regarding Midwest Bucks' geographic location; across the Wabash and only 10 minutes away is the Indiana state line. As Rick says, "The booner bucks on the other side of the river don't know they're not in Illinois." While Indiana has not achieved the stardom of its western neighbor, the farm land is the same and so is the deer quality. For clients the significance is huge. There is no draw; firearms licenses for the Indiana shotgun and muzzleloader seasons are available over the counter for around $120. Rick explains, "Its almost impossible to draw an Illinois gun tag because the population of the county we hunt is so small there are virtually no licenses allocated, so we bow hunt on this side of the river and hunt all of our gun guys on our Indiana leases where worrying about drawing a tag is a non-issue." Most of the region's reputable outfitters can lay claim to their share of big bucks every year but only a handful are grounded enough to sacrifice rapid financial gain so as to preserve and maintain on-going hunt quality over the long haul. Rick is first and foremost a farmer, his ambition? "I never want to have more than 50-60 clients. At that number I can rest my farms for a full week between clients, shoot a bunch of good bucks every season and have high enough rebookings so that I only have to do a couple of sports shows." Note: Midwest Bucks will be a first time exhibitor at this year's Yankee Sportsman's Classic in Essex Jct., VT |
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