Fall 2022

12/2022 - Iowa gun season had arrived. This year we would have 5 hunters, perhaps a record for our group. As the boys get older they are coming into their own and are ready to prove they can cut it in the deer woods going solo. While knowing they are capable, the dad in me still gets nervous every time they climb into a stand or blind alone. I've been there with them on so many great hunts and not being there was going to be a but of an adjustment, for sure.

Day one of gun season came and went with chilly temperatures, wind and some sightings but no deer close enough to take a shot. Day 2 we mixed things up as we usually do and put people in new stands with new scenery. It wasn't long and a text appears from son #1. The text simply read "Got One". I quick video call confirmed Dawson had his first solo deer down and had already located and confirmed a lethal shot. Buck down!!!

Little bro and grandpa went to assist and everyone was back at the house by 8:30am. What a great season so far! 3 generations of Deutsch men and each one of them was able to take a deer all on their own in the same year! A few weeks and tags left. We shall see what the rest of 2022 has in store.

11/2022 - The 2022 deer season was looking very promising with the deer we had been seeing on our cameras. Having a good mix of bigger bucks ranging from 3.5-6.5, we had very high hopes. The season started like any other and then went right into a typical rut for us. Warm spells with wind and mini fronts had the deer all mixed up. November arrives and frustration was already starting to set in. It seemed that no matter which stands we sat in, it would be the wrong choice. Watching deer walk in front of your stand from your phone started to get really old.

Finally we manage to get on the board and take a nice doe. Woohoo! Just what we needed to get the ball rolling, and boy did that ball roll!

The week following there was a huge uptick of activity on one of the farms and it was only a matter of time before someone connected with a buck. It wasn't long and the phone was ringing, dad had a buck down!!!

Now that the ice was broken and a buck was down, it took a little pressure off, but we weren't going to let up. We hunted a few more days with no success. It was at that time that we decided to mix things up a bit. We decided to setup a blind in a cut cornfield and put a decoy out. The deer had been using the field and we thought this might just do the trick to get Barrett a deer within bow range. The setup was simple. Blind in 6 rows of standing corn, decoy out front at 13 yards, shooting lanes on both sides, sit and wait. Barrett didn't have to wait long and he had a does walk into 8 yards right out front. He sent his arrow and it hit the mark. The doe ran about 80 yards and piled up. She never left the field. Barrett's 2nd bow kill ever was etched in stone!

After Barrett shot he called me to tell me, it was 4pm. I suggested he sit tight and I would come to get him to track after I was down from my stand. As I sit in my stand, I am overcome with joy for my 13-year-old to take his second bow kill ever and all on his own to boot. I let it soak in and am smiling from ear to ear. It wasn't 10 minutes after the call, I hear leaves moving behind me. I look back and here comes a doe with a buck in tow. The doe comes right under my stand and I know that the buck is sure to follow. I draw my bow, the buck stops at 3 yards, right under me and I let my arrow fly. The buck runs off toward the doe into some standing corn. Holy smokes, did that just happen? We just shot 2 deer, 10 minutes apart, on opposite sides of the farm, how cool. I text Barrett, "I just shot a big buck at 3 yards!" His exact words back were, "You're sh$*ting me?" followed by a phrase I will never forget. "No more shooting, I repeat, no more shooting!" What a night. We collect Barrett's doe, then go to retrieve my buck. What a night, what a night indeed. Things are heating up and we can't wait to see what the next hunt holds for us.

Take care and be well!

Dave and Barrett @ OutdoorsOne