The Season Is Upon Us

The 2012 hunting season is upon us and there is plenty to be excited about.  As Chad and I mentioned in earlier posts, we both have new bows, and personally I can’t wait to put it to use on some whitetail deer, and I’m sure Chad shares those same feelings.  New equipment is always fun to purchase and even more fun to use, especially if there is a long period of anticipation.  While the bow was my big off season purchase, I also bought a climber treestand off Craigslist for $60 and a number of different broadheads that I hope to try out during this season.  Rage, Tekan, and Bloodrunner broadheads are the ones I’ll be putting to the test.  I have shot Muzzy three blade 100 grainbroadheads pretty much my entire hunting career and have been very satisfied, but this year I got the itch to try something new.  If things go well, I will report back in a later blog on how these broadheads performed for me.

Another exciting aspect of the upcoming year is that I have fallen upon some new hunting grounds to try out.  A buddy and co-worker of mine, Chris (Chrixus) Korreck, is going to let Chad and I tag along with him on his 500 acre “dude ranch” in Hastings, MI.  After several years of hunting the same piece of land, it is going to be refreshing to get out in some woods that are unfamiliar to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the land we hunt and plan to still hunt it hard, but having a change of scenery will be nice.  I am also planning to try some public land this year and also holding on to the hopes that I will be drawn for the Upper Macatawa Natural Area hunt in Ottawa County.  Having options always helps and since we dropped the ball on our plans to go door to door looking for hunting land (as we fail to do every summer), it will be nice if these other options work out. 

Generally the most anticipated event for every season (and most hunters) is the possibility that this season may be the one you take down that monster buck in the most awesome hunt you could imagine, but this year I think I am more excited about my youngest brother, Andrew, joining us in the chase.  While Andrew has hunted before (most recently with gun last year), he has never bow hunted, and I am personally pumped and hope he feels the rush that comes with bow hunting and becomes hooked like my dad, Chad and me. 

Unfortunately, the anticipation for this hunting season is not filled with only feeling of excitement like that of previous seasons.  This season is touched with much sadness due to the fact that our excitement cannot be shared with my dad, Richard Kraker.  He is bed ridden with cancer and will have to sit this season out.  Still, we hope we can share the season with him through our stories, and thank him for the skills he has taught us as hunters.  We love you dad!

Here are some pics of the view from a tree stand that I put up at the "dude ranch" tonight.  I'm feeling good about this spot since we spooked two six point bucks out as we were scouting the area.

 

Here is a quick video of the pro hunters at work: