Who are you?

[outdoorstom]

My name is Tom, I'm 58, and I live in northern NY on 120 acres. I'm so close to Canada I can hear their train whistles. I was raised in Michigan, but left at 18 when I joined the Navy. I served 10 years, then switched to the Coast Guard. I retired from the CG in 1998, now work on the St. Lawrence Seaway conducting foreign vessel inspections. (until the end of December when I'm retiring) I didn't start hunting until 1992 when a guy I was stationed with got me into it. Hunting and habitat improvements are now an obsession. My wonderful wife's name is Geri. Yes, we're Tom & Geri :-)

 

[Milkweed]

Seems like a good bunch of people here so I will share a little info as well. My name is Ryan and I'm 38 and married to a lovely gal that puts up with my outdoor passions. My son is 2 and he is my inspiration for everything I do. I will do as much as i can to make sure he can hunt and enjoy the outdoors. I run a dental lab out of a dental office in Baxter Mn so I basically make teeth for a living. This was my favorite and is currently in my mouth.

I own 40 acres and am currently looking for more preferably with a house on it. I love bowhunting out west so I elk hunt every year in various states and occasionally chase mulies and pronghorn. We always hunt public and DIY and it's a blast. Glad to be here!

Awesome crown! EMAX?

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I'm 44, married, and have a 4 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. After 4 years in the military and a tour in the sandbox during Desert Storm I went to college on the GI Bill. I teach Biology and timber framing at my local high school. Bought my home in 2001….it borders my mother-in-law's 150 acres which I have been hunting exclusively ever since. My MIL is about to gift my wife and I about 25 or 30 acres. I'm looking forward to finally putting into practice things I have learned from many of you over the past few years.

 

[greyphase]

60 year old just retired guy here. Worked a blue collar factory job with the same company for 42 years. Live in southcentral Pa on 66 acres that I've roamed over since I was a kid. I learned to graft last year from watching You Tube and now I'm addicted to apple trees with a few pears thrown in. Have learned a lot on the "other" board and hope to continue to learn here. Hunting grouse and woodcock behind my English Setter while carrying one of my old 16 ga. hammerguns is how I spend my hunting season.

 

[scott44]

I'm 44, married, and have a 4 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. After 4 years in the military and a tour in the sandbox during Desert Storm I went to college on the GI Bill. I teach Biology and timber framing at my local high school

Thanks for your service!

 

[sandbur]

I'm almost 60 and live in central Mn. on a farm. I have been doing habitat projects on this place since we bought it 25 years ago.

I'm still learning from all of you.

My perfect season is to spend many days on stand, see some nice deer, help my wife and girls get a deer, and then shoot a young buck on the last day of the hunt. I did that one year during the last two minutes of season.

 

[stumpgrinder]

Ben.... Down in South Louisiana, Acadia Parish. 34, married with 2 kids (6 & 3) who can't stand to be inside. They want to be right there with me doing all the fun outside stuff. I live on 15.3 acres that I farm crawfish on and I'm also a commercial fisherman and fish wild crawfish in the swamps, but gotta have a real job too to make any kind of living. 3rd generation oilfield trash, I work 7 days on & 7 days off as a Measurement Specialist for an Oil & Gas Production/Exploration company. Duck hunting will always be my first love, but due to lack of participation on the ducks behalf with manipulated migration patterns, I have shifted to primarily deer hunting. I lease some property along the St. Mary Parish coastline, it's all marsh land so habitat projects are zip... but I love to read, learn, & live vicariously through y'all because my dream is to purchase a nice sized piece of dirt that I can improve and maintain for quality deer hunting for my family.

 

[Hunter Jones]

My name is Kane, I'm 25 years old(26 next week)from Northern Illinois. Have been hunting since I was 10 years old when I harvested my first deer, but I had been tagging along with dad since I could keep up before that! I have been extremely blessed to hunt the same 550 acre piece my whole life and it is about 60/40 timber/tillable. Have switched to just about bow hunting only since 2006 and with that have grown to appreciate doing the work of habitat and plots around the farm a lot more. I have been doing all the plot work and lay outs now for the last 4 years but still love to learn more about it everyday!
I'm married to the love of my life Sarah for two years now and we have a beautiful 9 month old daughter. Have honestly been very blessed in life so far. I have worked full time for the State of Illinois for the last 6 years but am currently switching occupations. I have been working part time for and insurance and financial planning business for about three months and hope to be full time by the fall.

 

[TCW]

My name is Adam. I'm 31 and single(the reason I still have money lol). I live on my 93ac farm, in north central NY, that i purchased when I was 24. I am a communication tech by trade. My love and passion is for God, Country, Family, Whitetail deer/habitat management, and my career. qdm is who I am 24/7/365! I am on the "other" site as well. I love soaking up all of the info that I can from wherever I can.

 

[bueller]

Welcome TCW. Sounds like you set yourself up very nicely at a young age.

 

[TCW]

Thanks Bueller. There have definitely been ups and downs, but God is good! Next on my bucket list is to find a little lady that can put up with my "addiction"!

 

[kskid]

I'm a Kansas lifer. An urban transplant hoping to retire on 120 acres of woods & grass (not the CO kind) that were abused by former owners. Bought it 8 years ago as a project and to have my own place to hunt & fish. I've got 30 years in the fire service & hope to have my place cleaned up and customized by the time I retire. Before I bought the place I hunted & fished year round on my days off. Since then, I work on it year round on my days off. Bow hunting deer is the only game I still make time for. Don't care much for politics or flaming, but appreciate the value of sharing experience. I've wasted a lot of time and money trying to figure things out on my own.

 

[wiscwhip]

I thought this might be a good time to finally post in this thread. My name is Dale, I will be turning 45 in just a few days. Married to my lovely and tolerant but not quite outdoorsy enough wife since 1992. Father of 2 girls(one stepdaughter who will always call me dad) and recent "grumpa" to lovely twin baby girls. Both daughters are currently pursuing degrees in the medical field(older stepdaughter is finding it extremely hard with the little ones around). Born and raised "Sconnie". Very stereotypically I might add, I like great beer, great cheese, great brats, hunting whitetail deer, turkey, and waterfowl, and "ya know I love da' Packers". Packer stockholder and lover of all things Badgers! Go Bucky! Oldest daughter nor her hubby are hunters, youngest daughter loves the hunt. Avid trout fisherman as well and blessed to live in the Driftless Area, where we have some of the best trout streams east of the Rocky Mts. Still pursue walleyes occasionally, I was totally addicted when I was younger. Certified Master Welder by trade, 27 years experience in metal fusion, currently working a desk job as a structural steel estimator. As many of you may remember from posts on the other site, I have had a game changing experience in my pursuit of whitetails in the last year and a half. My parents finally sold their land in Juneau Co.(old DMU 54A) which I had hunted since the age of 9. Last rifle season was the first year I have ever had to hunt public land exclusively, even though I did hunt public land extensively as it was, I always had private acreage to hunt(and do habitat work) if I so chose. As of 2 weeks ago, I have been dealt another game changer as far as my hunting goes, my parents have moved to WY to be closer to my little brother and his 2 boys so they could be there to watch them grow up, just as they did with my girls. Not to mention the fact that WY isn't such a bad retirement environment, as long as you don't mind driving 80 miles between towns. It will be the first deer season that I have ever hunted without my dad, not that I couldn't just go out there to pursue mulies with him and my little brother, but with trying to put money together to buy a piece of land of my own and with 2 in college the finances will not allow it. I'm not sure what my uncle will do yet, as he stayed with my parents during the season and hunted with my dad for the last 18 or so years and he lives in southern WI as well. Most likely he will hunt the few public areas that are near him or the one or two small private lots he has permission to bowhunt on, if they will also allow him to gun hunt? Hopefully my youngest daughter will get enough time off school and work to be able to go this fall, she was only able to hunt 1 of the nine days last season. It will truly be different this season hunting as a one man "crew", but hopefully my love of the pursuit of whitetails holds out until I can get the granddaughters involved in 9 or 10 years or until I get a piece of land of my own, which looks a ways out also. At least the WI DNR is trying to make hunting better for guys in my situation, we will see. My youngest daughter is really excited about the new rule changes, she thinks she might be able to harvest another deer in a year or 2 if the population rebounds.

 

[Trapper LM]

Trapper LM.
Can call me Larry. Mid 50s. Purchased all 3 of my hunting properties with trapping income. One of the best years I caught 2300 rats, 25 Mink, 135 coon and 35 fox. Fur was as a all time high in the late 70s.
I live on Lake Winnebago in central Wisconsin and own properties in Waupaca and Shawano counties. Married with 3 children a Grandson and a Granddaughter and a Lab called Skyy.
if it has anything to do with outdoors I do it other than organized sports even though my wife has 4 season packers tickets.
I worked in the sheet metal industry as a welding and manufacturing engineer, setting up companies in Ireland and Wisconsin.
The last 20 years I spent as the general manager of a 150 employee landscape company with 4 gardencentr and a 130 acre tree farm.

 

[Spiider]

Steve Webb, 38, married 14 years, 4 kids (older daughter and 3 young boys). Work full time in computer networking and teach the same subject part-time to help fund my outdoors addictions. Been hunting since I was 7 years old with my trusty Daisy and red Bear bow. Mostly grew up living on a farm and worked on one as an early teenager. Started getting serious about hunting about 7 years ago, and started researching habitat and food plotting 5 years ago, and finally was able to purchase just over 20 acres 3 years ago. With the hopes of being able to add on from neighbors larger tracts in the future. My wife and 3 boys all hunt as well, so they all help with the habitat projects too. We only live 4 miles from the property so we spend a lot of time there. The boys are becoming pretty good woodsman at a young age and have all been hunting along side of me since they were each 4. We travel around in the early Fall looking for different Oaks and have planted around 10 types thus far. We've planted close to 4000 cuttings/plugs/bareroot shrubs, pines, spruces, hard woods, soft woods and fruit trees over the last 3 Springs. Hopefully they will be able to show the trees they helped plant to their own young kids someday. I try to maintain a healthy relationship with this passion as it easily borders on being an idol for me. Always hoping/trying to keep my faith and family as my 1st and 2nd priorities. I've been very appreciative to most of you guys that have been willing to share so much information on these sites. Thanks everyone!

 

[West Branch]

I think there have been a lot of new people since this thread was last replied to so I am bumping it up.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Bob, born and raised in wisconsin. Badger alum, been in dana point,ca. For 30 years. Grew up hunting/fishing every weekend. First deer taken in vilas county, 1968. State trap champ 74/75. Cover of outdoor life jan/75'. 2 kids 24/21. My son is heading to grad school and will be a wildlife biologists. He has 50 bow kills, 2 in the book. I have property in waupaca county. 140 ag/140 hardwood ridge/190 cedar swamp. Intensely developed over 39 years. 110 bowstands, 11 guntowers, 12 acres of foodplots. May be the highest dpsm property in the highest dpsm county on the planet. We average 30 doe/ year. Stopped counting kills at 300. We have 360buck kills and who knows on doe. Just put 160 into a 50 year mfl saving $8k in taxes to feed the beast of a cabin. Locked the place into a 100 year llp. Nobody should ever write a check now. I play 8 hours of tennis every weekend, backpack/fish the jmt for 100 miles, ocean fish, canadian trip to ontario, enjoy naples, fl. Take 1 buck everyother year. Always tweaking habitat. 600 trees going in may. Love to reset the clock and do the last 40 years over again. Date a boeing director with nice perks. Packer shareholder. Life is good. Hoping to leave my mark with habitat, apples, pears, waterholes. I will retire in naples,fl. Best fishing on the planet, spend the summer/november in wisconsin. Land tours are under rated, only did a few and a real eye opener. Enjoy everyday, u never know.

That's one Hell of a life you have lived Bob! Your farm sounds like it's really somthing to be proud of. Hope to see some pics some day!

 

[BJE80]

Brad, lived in SE Wisconsin my whole life. 2 boys age 4 and 7 and a wife. My family never hunted and I just picked it up myself and was self-taught as a youngster. Hunted public land for a long time. Didn't see a deer for my first 5 years hunting and didn't kill one until my seventh year. Then I started finding some private land asking around for permission. Was able to hunt some farms and kill some deer but it always seemed the land got sold or the owner had a nephew that wanted to start hunting so I never found a long term thing. Made it a life goal to get my own private land and manage it for better hunting. Saved my pennies and bought 80 acres half way between Antigo and Wausau in 2012 and we built a cabin there so the family could be up there year round and enjoy the place. It is fully wooded. We have killed 5 deer off of it in 3 seasons including 2 bucks. My wife took up gun hunting now and she took her first deer this past season. Wish I would of bought something closer to Ag and with better drained soils but I love the big woods feel. I'm getting logged next winter and will be putting around 4 acres of food which will hopefully transform my property.
Love the knowledgeable, no nonsense guys that post here. I'm here to learn so everyone excuse my questions all the time.



Oh and I have pretty severe hearing loss and I'm only 38. Hearing Aids suck by the way.

 

[Satchmo]

My name is Greg. I'm 52yo and live about 35 miles north of the Twin cities. I have two boys who are 18 & 20, both outdoorsmen. I grew up hunting and fishing in the area until they covered it all with subdivisions and tar. Married a true saint that has allowed me to spend way too much disposable income traveling all over MN and out of state to pursue my passions. I sell boats for a living near my home, which gives me a lot of time off in the fall to spend in the woods. In 2010, I bought 120 acres from Potlatch near Nimrod, MN and recently stole another 40 at the tax forfeit sale for $4022. It's a great secluded piece of property that is on a peninsula landlocked behind private land and surrounded by Tamarack swamp. I learned fairly quickly that this desire for good habitat can get it's hooks in you and never let go. I scrambled around trying to learn as much as I could while doing the basics of setting up a comfortable camp. Yes, I patrolled the dark side, but I'm grateful and excited to have found this site, other than I lose too much sleep reading back through all of the individual land threads. I've learned more in the last few months than the previous few years. The only two things that can slow me down now are winter & beer.

 

[hillHuntR]

Dustin, 33 and live in southern Indiana. Got my first deer at 10 and have been hunting ever since. Despite my love for hunting I have spent most of my working life as a wildlife biologist working with threatened and endangered species....had to go where the opportunity was. Eventually got tired of working far from home, so I moved back to Indiana and currently work in a factory and do my wildlife "work" on the weekends.

Hunted a lot of public land growing up, but finally bought 60 acres close to the house just this past year. I have done more work in other areas of the country than at home, so I have been playing catch-up figuring out how I want to manage in the Midwest. The new place has more deer activity than I expected despite lacking cover, but the overall health/quality of the deer isn't what it could be (big woods but lots of degraded soil, and little to no row crop farming nearby).