Clint
Having been a past member of a couple of "hunting clubs" in my home state of West Virginia, I was skeptical about the quality of the hunting experience I'd have with the Mid America Hunting Association. My previous experiences had taught me to expect a minority of the members to have claimed access to most of the good hunting locations, with new members left to settle for the "crumbs".
In reality, what I experienced on my [location deleted] bow hunt during the first week of November this past fall far exceeded my expectations! During seven days of bow hunting, I saw no other hunters in the woods, and I could find no sign that anyone had hunted on any of the leases before me! I saw deer from stand each day that I hunted. Moreover, I had shot opportunities at Pope and Young bucks on three out of seven days. Suffice to say, I don't get that kind of hunting back in West Virginia.
I made the "mistake" of shooting a fairly nice buck (at least by my previous standards) on the second day of the hunt. He had 11 scoreable points and measured 130" and 3/4th inches; his live weight was well over 200 lbs. (that means that he weighed roughly twice as much as your average eastern buck). Of course, that relegated me to hunting doe for the rest of the week. Predictably, I had a buck that would have measured somewhere between 145 and 150 walk by me at 10 yards on the next day's hunt. Later in the week on Friday, another buck of approximately the same size waltzed past at around 15 yards! Next year, I'll definitely hold out longer in hopes of a nicer buck!
I hunted the first day of rifle season, but didn't see any shooters. I did see two coyotes (one very large) and two small eight point bucks. Towards the end of the day I spotted a large doe and decided to take her back home with me.
In addition to the quality of the hunting, the beauty of the farmland that I hunted impressed me. In the past, I've always hunted either in the Appalachians or the Rockies. While I still love mountains, the Mid West has a wide-open, remote quality that I came to appreciate. The sunrises and sunsets were beautiful, and I almost always heard coyotes howling in the distance in the evening on my way back from stand.
On top of the picturesque landscape, the people I encountered were exceedingly friendly. For example, one farmer interrupted his soybean harvest to help me work on my broken-down truck. The association members that I met were friendly and helpful as well; they seemed to be high quality sportsmen.
Finally, I’d like to thank Jerry, John Nee and son, and most of all John Wentzel for assisting me as a first year member. Thanks, John W., for the land recommendation for [location deleted]. I’m excited about scouting [location deleted] and bow hunting there this fall!
Sincerely, Clint
A Later Season
John and Jon,
Just returned from my hunt where I was fortunate to take this 150 inch buck (He has a broken brow tine that keeps him from pushing up above 155). I hunted for 12 days (spent all day on stand most days). Prior to killing this buck I had 3 instances where large bucks chased does to within 40 yards of me, only to have the does lead them off on directions that did not offer a shot.
With this buck, I got lucky because he was on a course to pass by without offering a shot. Fortunately, he started harassing a doe that led him by me at 30 yards. I mouth bleated him to a stop for the shot, but he lunged forward after the doe as I released the arrow. I made a horrible hit on this buck way too far back. I had to give him about 15 hours before taking up the trail. As it turned out, he only traveled about 100 yards from the spot I last saw him before dying (Credit the Rage broad head for putting a 2 1/2 inch hole through him.)
As always, thanks for giving the opportunity for hunters of modest means like myself to enjoy hunting the Midwest! I was really impressed with almost all of the properties I scouted/hunted.
Take care, Clint
