Tactics / Hunting Style

In Northern Michigan, as around the country, white-tailed deer are known for their unpredictability and changing habits. Perhaps the two things that change deer movement more than anything else are the rut and the weather. Our hunts are pre-rut, during the rut, and at the end of the rut. The weather in Northern Michigan is also one of the most unpredictable things most people experience. They say if you don't like the weather around here, just hang around, 'cause it's going to change soon.

Our guides are flexible enough to do what's necessary. Depending on the time of the year and the weather, we hunt from permanent blinds and brush blinds (either pre-made or located and constructed by you and your guide), and we still-hunt–perhaps the most exciting way to bag that big trophy you've come to get. Although whitetails have very keen eyesight, hearing and smell, still-hunting can be a very successful and most rewarding hunt when done right. And, of course, let's not forget about rattling! At the peak of the rut, nothing can be more exciting than to have your monster buck called in with a set of antlers.

All our permanent blinds are located on food plots, many of which have been irrigated to nourish succulent grains and grasses that have been strategically planted for both nutritional value and deer attraction.

Brush blinds are no more than temporary structures constructed in newly identified travel routes. Example: Let's say you and your guide have seen a big buck that just gets your juices flowing, but you have not been able to get into position for a good shot (a good shot being one where you feel comfortable that the first shot will be the killing shot). You and your guide would gather various branches and build a structure that would appear natural to the deer, but allow you to ambush him in an unexpected area. Brush blinds are very effective during the rut when bucks change their normal patterns in looking for that special doe.

Still-hunting is perhaps the most exciting way to take a big, trophy buck. (However, we realize that, for various reasons, it's not for everyone. Still-hunting takes patience, the ability to walk/glide very quietly, and the ability to walk through a lot of woods, swamps and hills.) It is most effective when there is snow on the ground and tracks are much easier to follow. Still-hunting is tough, it takes some serious discipline to take only a few steps and then "glass" the area before taking four or five more steps again. Obviously, the main idea is to see the deer before he sees you.
Please see the 2010 Hunt Agreement(PDF) to review pricing, trophy fees and the Notes section.