For more than four decades, the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has been committed to protecting Minnesota’s deer habitat, preserving hunting traditions, and ensuring the future of our outdoor heritage. One of the most impactful ways we do that is through Forkhorn Camps — a program designed to introduce young people to the outdoors, conservation, and safe, ethical hunting.
Like many of us raised in Minnesota, I started hunting as a pre-teen (at the age of eleven) and have been at it ever since. Some highlights include my first ruffed grouse (1978) and first deer (1981). Years later, my first contribution to Whitetales, a story (“Whitetail Deer Evolution”) in the Spring 1995 issue. During the subsequent thirty-plus years I’ve been privileged to write/contribute an additional 42 Whitetales stories.
Spurred on by a combination of factors, including the growing interest in long-range shooting, availability of high ballistic coefficient bullets, new powders, rifles with fast-twist barrels, and the popularity of AR-15 style rifles, there has been a surge in the development of small-caliber cartridges over the last 20 years.
No rest for the wicked, or so the saying goes. We’ll quickly be staring down summer weather with all it’s drudgery, including ticks and mosquitoes, but there’s plenty of work to be done before then. Here’s how to triage spring chores that should be done now.
My grandma was a bona fide hoarder. Back when I was a kid, I was afraid to bring my friends to her house. There was stuff stacked floor to ceiling with just a deer trail leading between the rooms.
I love deer hunting. I love the preparation. I love the hunt. I love the camp. But, why let it end there? If you drop your deer off at the processor, then your hunt is truly over. In a future issue I will write an article on cutting up your deer, but for now, suffice it to say making your own sausage will extend your hunting experience. Not only that, you will save money and enjoy good eating for the rest of the year!
460 Peterson Rd
Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744
