We also talk about gaining access to private land by door knocking ahead of time and how he has developed relationships with landowners. Bob is an avid blogger where he shares all of his hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities from across the country. Visit his website at: www.Hybrid-Outdoors.com

Topics Covered In This Episode Include:

• Bob’s background growing up in Michigan and deer hunting there
• A quick recap of his 2018 Montana archery elk hunt
• Wounding a deer, not recovering it and what you can learn from it
• The importance of being open and honest on social media with the realities of hunting
• Hunting Nebraska in 2017 and the experience of filming his wife and taking a nice buck
• The dynamic of hunting with your significant other and getting them involved
• How Bob started hunting Nebraska years ago while he living and working there
• The terrain features Bob keys in on while hunting whitetails
• Mature buck sightings and comparing that to his Michigan deer hunting experiences
• Gaining permission on farms without paying high dollar leases or hunting with an outfitter
• Prepping to hunt in Iowa and knocking on doors this past Summer during a scouting trip
• Filming hunts and fishing trips for his YouTube channel and blog

By Alex Comstock

I spend hundreds of hours each year obsessing over whitetails. More specifically, mature whitetail bucks. Something about them fascinates me, and it drives me to do things that some might find out of this world crazy. Between running trail cameras, scouting, shed hunting, hanging stands, and staring at maps every month of the year, it simply never stops. But it wasn’t always that way with me – there was a time before mature bucks practically dictated my life.

When I started my deer hunting “career”, seeing a deer was quite an ordeal. I can remember every fall as a young kid I would put on my big orange coat and head to the deer stand with my dad during rifle season. The only thing is, I hardly have any memories of seeing a deer, but on the few occasions that I did, no matter whether it was a button buck or a doe, my pops put it down because it ate well. I followed suit, carrying a rifle in the woods with me at the age of 12, sitting in a stand by myself, and hardly ever seeing a deer. Except, unlike my father, on the few occasions I saw deer, it never panned out for me. There was the basket rack eight pointer I missed that first year I ever toted a gun to the woods. And then two years later, I got a crack at a giant buck. He too evaded my bullet and lived to see another day. But it was that day I knew this addiction or lifestyle or however you want to put it was starting to form within me. After missing that buck, I was sick to my stomach. As a 14-year-old boy, I wanted to figure out his every move, game plan, and have time to figure him out…but 3 days later rifle season was over, and I was done hunting.

This is where I honestly believe I turned into a mature buck hunter, even though I had never harvested a deer yet. What I immediately fell in love with was the chase. It wasn’t the kill that satisfied me, rather the pursuit. With that said, I knew I needed more time to hunt, so that summer I picked up a bow, practiced every day, and come September of 2010 at the age of 15, I started bowhunting. I read every magazine article I could find, watched every episode of Midwest Whitetail that had ever been made at that point, and headed to the woods with a bow in hand. Even though I knew I wanted to pursue mature bucks, I knew I needed to get some practice sending an arrow through a deer before jumping right into the “next level” of deer hunting, so a month into the season, I finally had a chance to shoot a young doe. Sitting in a ground blind with my younger brother, the doe fed her way towards me until she turned broadside at twelve yards. I remember nestling that pin right behind her shoulder, touching the release off, and watching her tip over, not more than thirty yards away from us. I think that’s the day my brother figured out I was crazy. I was jumping up and down in the blind with a mix of nervousness, excitement, and everything in between surging through me. It was a day I’ll never forget.

To locate and target mature deer, one must be dedicated to the hunt. Between shed hunting, hanging stands, checking cameras, and glassing fields of velvet antlers, the pursuit never ends.

A month later, I was fortunate enough to harvest a beautiful 140” ten pointer, and then another doe (both of those with my rifle), and decided I was ready to start passing bucks. Granted, I understand the buck I shot was a mature buck, but I didn’t hold out for him. I actually almost shot about an 80” eight pointer moments before, but couldn’t get a shot. After shooting these two deer with my rifle, I put the gun down, and have yet to pick it back up. Since then, I’ve gone bow only, and the pursuit of hunting mature bucks began.

The following year couldn’t have gone any better for me. I had absolutely zero luck, and anything and everything that could have gone wrong did. I was completely humbled, and honestly, I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I learned a lot of lessons the hard way that I still take with me to this day. I messed up multiple mature buck encounters, and looking back on it, if I knew then what I know now, I know it would have been a different story, but that shows how much I’ve learned since then.

The following year encapsulated the same thing. At one point, I even had an encounter with a buck that I had been chasing for a few weeks during the rut. But he busted me as I went to draw my bow back, and avoided an arrow being put through him. By the end of that season, I decided I needed to get that first buck with my bow shot, regardless of what it was. I wanted to experience what it was like, and I was finally able to put down a young eight pointer on Christmas Day, and I couldn’t have been any happier.

Since then, I’ve become strictly a mature buck hunter. If I need or want meat, I’ll shoot a doe, but when it comes to bucks, I’m completely and utterly obsessed with mature bucks as an animal. The challenge they present, and to be successful bowhunting them is almost next to impossible. Knowing that though makes each encounter that much more precious because you don’t know when that next encounter with a mature buck is going to present itself.

In a nutshell, that’s why I do it. It’s not just to shoot bucks with big antlers, or because I think I’m better than anyone else. I am a strong believer that you hunt what makes you happy. If shooting a young buck makes you happy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. For me, if I can shoot one of the most elusive and smart creatures that roam the woods, that’s what makes me truly happy at the end of the day.

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Alex Comstock is an avid whitetail deer hunter and outdoor writer that has been featured in North American Whitetail and Bowhunter Magazine. To find more of Alex’s articles and content pertaining to whitetail deer hunting, visit WhitetailDNA.com.

Just when you think you have it all figured out, plans change due to unforeseen circumstances. Long story short, I was not drawn for a Kansas whitetail tag for the upcoming 2016 archery season and I’m bummed, to say the least. Well, I guess I can say not getting drawn was not unforeseen but it was certainly something that was out of my control. Kansas has been my “go to” state for the last two seasons and ever since that first hunt almost three years ago, I’ve been in love. Although my number one focus in 2016 is the September archery elk season in Colorado, I can’t imagine not hunting whitetails come late October when the rut starts kicking in.

Last Summer I spent a few days knocking on doors in Western Kansas and picked up two good farms to hunt for 2015. After learning the properties and understanding the general deer movement from the first season, I was hoping to put that intel to good use for this coming Fall. I will miss that I’m not going to be able to build a history with the deer I encountered from the year before. I will sincerely miss hanging trail cameras, scouting, and hanging tree stands for the upcoming season. And above all, I will miss the relationships I’ve developed with the landowners who were so great to me, welcomed me openly into their homes, and made me feel like a part of their family.

Ok enough with the pity party… shit happens and life goes on! I’ve come up with a few options to consider for the 2016 deer season:

Purchase a Left Over Kansas Tag

This seems like the ideal scenario on paper but the problem is that it would require an eight-hour drive as compared to my five-hour drive last season, making the weekend hunts tough to manage due to a full-time job. The units that I want to hunt have zero leftover tags and I will have little time to scout due to the upcoming elk season.

I also have to consider the monetary costs of this tag in addition to the time spent traveling. This tag costs $550 which is a lot of money to spend for just a few opportunities to hunt.

It will be a tough to decision not to hunt in Kansas considering I shot a great buck in 2015!

Read more about my successful 2015 Hunting Season in Kansas.

Purchase a Nebraska OTC Tag

The area I have been scouting via Google Earth in Nebraska is roughly a six-hour drive from where I live, which means it will be manageable for weekend hunts. Nebraska also holds a good amount of public land and is known for great deer hunting. The downfall is that hunting pressure will be higher and private land would be harder to gain access.

Another thing to consider is that the Nebraska rifle season falls right in the middle of November, giving me a small window to hunt before the orange army moves in. A positive is that a non-resident tag only costs around $300, which is a pretty good deal in my mind.

Hunt an OTC Unit in Colorado

Colorado implemented an OTC whitetail tag for select units on the front range a few years back and it would only be a three-hour drive to the areas I am looking at. The downfall to this is that the season only runs December 1 – December 31, meaning I would miss the rut. Also, the whitetail densities in these units are low so my whitetail sightings would be few and far between.

The good thing is that the price for a resident tag would be a very low cost of around 25 dollars!

Hunt IL On Highly Managed Private Land

I have access to hunt a number of farms in West Central Illinois where the deer hunting is unreal and the stands are already set. Literally, all I have to do is purchase a tag and show up! The negative to this scenario is that I would not be able to hunt multiple outings because I live so far away, meaning I would only have 1 week to whitetail hunt this year. Also, I really enjoy the challenge and take pride in the work that goes into hunting new farms and/or public land.

Decisions, Decisions

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what I’m going to do for this Fall and I’m hoping that by writing this article it will help me make my decision. The good thing is that I have a few months to decide. In fantasy land, I would hunt 10 states and take off three months of work to do so, but the reality is that I have limited time and resources so I am forced to choose.

I love this view!

I’m also considering doing the IL hunt in November and then trying my luck with the OTC tag in Colorado where I can hunt the post-rut during December. In this scenario, I would get an awesome week of the whitetail rut and have a closer drive and cheaper tag for late season Colorado.

What are your thoughts? Leave me some words of advice in the comments section below!

With smartphones quickly taking over our everyday lives, it has become the norm to see people’s faces buried in them more than ever before. Next time you walk into a mall, stop and take count of how many people have their eyes glued to a phone. Look around next time you are waiting in line at the airport and count how many people are completely oblivious to the world around them. We humans get bored very easily and tend to rely on technology to help pass the time so it’s with little doubt that us hunters are following suit. We post long hours in a tree stand each fall pursuing that trophy buck and to help ease the “downtime” we employ a little smartphone therapy.

Deer Are Sneaky Creatures

I would like you to take a moment and reflect on your past hunting seasons, specifically in regards to quick encounters and sightings of whitetail deer. Think about how many deer swiftly moved past your stand and in a matter or seconds they were gone. How many times did you catch a glimpse of a deer moving through a thick area that you would have never seen if you hadn’t been looking in that EXACT spot at that exact same time? How many instances have you had a deer get to within 30 yards, without ever seeing or hearing their approach, completely catching you off-guard?

Here’s something else that will boggle your mind. These are just the times that you ACTUALLY witnessed those events take place. Take it one step further and think about how many deer you DIDN’T see because you weren’t looking in the right spot at the right time. Who really knows how many deer slip past you throughout the season and leave undetected; It’s almost scary to think about!

Don’t Text & Hunt: VIDEO

Click the link above to watch a doe sneak up on a hunter while texting!

What I’m trying to highlight is that whitetail deer, especially mature whitetail bucks are very elusive creatures and are experts at evading hunters. I mean, it’s practically their job! And no, I’m not here to bash people who scroll their news feeds on the regular because I to, am a smartphone whore. My goal is to create awareness and I, my friend, am here to say that you are missing opportunities at deer because of your smartphone. Don’t believe me? I have the numbers to prove it!

If It Were A Snake…

Before I hit you with a bunch of facts and numbers from a recent survey, I wanted to highlight a few experiences of my own from this past hunting season which helped influence the writing of this article.

Scenario 1

November 18th I found myself perched in a tree and by 9:30 am I had yet to see a deer. It was a dead calm day and boredom started to set in so I decided to get out the ole smartphone and kill some time. I figured I would be able to hear anything approach because of how quiet it was so I started scrolling the news feed. After 5 minutes of reading status updates and liking photos on Instagram, I decided to look up and out of nowhere, a doe was 25 yards away walking right towards me. Five seconds later she walked right into my scent cone and killed any chance of me reaching for my bow because she was already on alert. Moments later she whirled around and trotted off in the opposite direction, leaving me shaking my head.

We’ve all seen this popular hunting meme!

Scenario 2

My girlfriend’s brother, Steve, was heading into an area of public ground to hunt in Kansas during our week trip and he came up on another hunter in a tree stand. By the time Steve saw him he was within 40 yards of his tree stand with nothing but open air between the two of them. The hunter did not hear his footsteps nor did he catch his movement. Steve waited for him to look up so he could acknowledge him and waive to say sorry but after 30 seconds, the hunter was still oblivious. Steve walked away and left the area without ever being detected.

Scenario 3

The evening after I killed My 2015 Kansas Buck, I decided to head back to the same area in an attempt to fill my doe tag. Once again, this was a very calm evening so the leaves were crunching with each step I took. I dropped down into a river bottom and came up the other side still searching for the ideal setup, so I pushed further into the timber. About 10 yards past the river bottom I saw a hunter sitting on a stool 50 yards away next to a tree. I paused for a few seconds to see if he would acknowledge my presence but to no avail. Do you want to know why he didn’t look up? He was looking down at his phone! I turned around, went back across the river bank and turned to see if he had seen me but his head was still buried in his phone. I could have been a 170 walking in for crying out loud!

The Numbers Don’t Lie

In addition to my own experiences, I wanted to gather factual data on a larger scale so I created a survey and posted it on www.whitetailwatch.com, www.archerytalk.com, and Facebook so that I could reach a wide audience of whitetail hunters across the U.S. A total of 260 people completed the survey which was more than my expected goal of 100. I asked a range of questions pertaining to hunting but there were two questions I was particularly interested in gathering the results.

On average, what amount of time do you spend on your phone during 3 hours of hunting?

I took the averages of each time period. For example, the 15-30 mins category I rounded to 22.5 mins and divided by 180 mins to come up with the percentage of time spent on the phone during a 3-hour hunt. Here is what it came up with based on 260 completed surveys:

• 53% of people spend 4% of their hunt on a phone, or 7.5 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 32% of people spend 12.5% of their hunt on a phone, or 22.5 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 10.5% of people spend 25% of their hunt on a phone, or 45 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 4% of people spend 50% of their hunt on a phone, or 90 mins in a 3-hour window.
• 0.5% of people spend 83% of their hunt on a phone, or 2.5 hours in a 3-hour window.

Over 10% of the survey population spends 25% of a 3-hour hunt on their smartphone.

Do you feel like you missed shot opportunities at deer because you were looking at your phone?

This one surprised me because of the amount of time people spend on their phones but only 6% of the group stated they missed shot opportunities due to being on their phone. The problem with this question is that you would actually have to witness the missed opportunity in order to answer yes. The people who answered no either never saw it happen, even though it did or it never happened in the first place. I guess we will never know.

6% of the survey population admitted to missing shot opportunities due to being on their phone.

A Growing Trend

You might be thinking to yourself, “So what, Adam! Those three scenarios could have been just pure coincidence and that survey you created sucked!” Well, maybe that’s true but I can guarantee you that those three scenarios and the amount of distraction from a phone did not occur 10-15 years ago. Am I right? Your smartphone is not helping you kill deer.

Think about how short-lived the encounters were when Steve and I walked up on the hunters on their phones. These encounters lasted less than a minute from the time they could have seen us until the time we were gone. Typical deer sightings aren’t much different; they can be very short lived which also proved true in my first scenario with the doe that got down wind of me.

When you step back and actually think about it, the minutes on your phone start to add up which could be costing you shot opportunities at deer. I’m not saying that being on your cell phone necessarily is a bad thing but just remember the next time you pull out that phone for a mere 5 minutes, 6 booners could have walked behind you! Just sayin’!

Want to kill more deer? Stay off your damn smartphone while you’re in the woods.

-Adam Parr

Hunting in the wide open prairie of western and central Kansas has allowed me to get more aggressive in my hunting tactics. Now don’t get me wrong, I still partake in hunting from tree stands or a stationary ground position but now I have other options to close the deal.

I have been looking into getting a decoy this year but I wanted something that suited a more mobile style of hunting. Dragging a 3-D target into the field or a large 2-D full-size animal was not my cup of tea so I set out to find something that would match my taste. The qualifications pertaining to this decoy meant it had be compact, light weight and quickly deployable during a hunting scenario. After doing some research I came across Heads Up Decoy and fell in love! I immediately reached out to the owner, Garrett Roe and had to pick his brain on a number of topics about hunting and his company.

Garrett is an avid, accomplished bowhunter and a devoted family man with a wife and kids. I can honestly say he is truly a genuine guy and it was a pleasure learning more about him and his company, Heads Up Decoy.

If you are a complete beginner to spot and stalk hunting as well as using a decoy… look no further! Here is my interview with Garrett Roe, President and Owner of Heads Up Decoy.

Let’s Talk Hunting Strategies

When is the best time of the season to use a heads up decoy for whitetails? Have you found success early or is it better to wait until the rut?

The majority of my success has been when the deer are rutting in November but I have also had good encounters in the latter part of October. Whitetails tend to be most vulnerable during the rut and that has been the best time to use the decoy. As you know, during the month of November whitetail bucks only have one thing on their mind. If he sees another buck moving in on his doe, he is going to do everything he can to run him out of the area and that means bringing him in for a close shot.

Have you used the decoy in a non-spot and stalk hunting scenario from a fixed position tree stand or from a ground setup?

Yes. During the October lull, this has been an effective time period to use a HUD from a tree stand or ground blind. I have had the most success in this particular scenario using both the buck and a doe decoy. Deploying this stationary setup during the calm hours of the day is a great alternative to spot and stalk hunting when the woods are silent.

What are the ideal conditions for a spot and stalk hunt using a HUD?

Ideal weather conditions are a 10-15 mph wind so that it will cover your footsteps and noise as you move in closer for a shot. If it’s too windy, such as 30 mph winds, it can be tough to use the decoy because it will be blowing all around.

The best scenario for spot and stalk is when a doe is locked down with a buck. He is likely preoccupied with her and if you can catch them bedded down, it can be a perfect opportunity to move in. Use the terrain and wind direction to your advantage and that’s you have your best shot at a successful encounter. A cruising lone buck would be second best scenario and a doe decoy can work really well for that situation too.

I really like how you can bend his ears back as if he is about ready to fight. Have you had success doing this in the rut?

Oh yeah, tucking his ears back works great! This really mimics a posturing, pissed off buck and adds a realistic touch to bring that buck in on a string.

Lets say you spot a buck across a field 400 yards away. When pursuing a stalk situation, do you have the decoy in front of you the whole time or do you get to a certain yardage and then show the decoy?

Great question! I prefer to stalk within 100 yards to a location with cover, meaning contoured terrain, tall grass, brush, etc. If you have cover, I like to get as close as I can to 70-80 yards then set up the decoy. If cover is unavailable, you might have to show it 200 yards away and move in after him from a distance while hiding behind the decoy.

Every scenario is different but its always best to get within 100 yards to let him know you are there. I don’t like to get too tight on them (closer than 60 yards) because it may catch them off guard and potentially alarm them. Once I am in position, I let out a few grunts to get his attention. The moment he is commits, I don’t call again and get ready for the shot. Once the buck makes eye contact with the decoy, they don’t really look at it again. They come in sideways, posturing up and are too focused on making themselves look big for the fight, allotting me extra movement to draw my bow.

When it comes down to taking the shot, is the decoy clamped to your bow or are you attaching it to a tree, shrub or cornstalk if available?

It depends. If I am hunting alone I have the decoy attached with the bow mount accessory. If I have cover then I will us the clamp accessory to attach it to what is available in my surroundings. If I am hunting with a partner, I will have him hold the decoy and will stay close behind him for cover.

I have a hunch that this will give me more confidence when pursuing a whitetail deer and therefore, will allow me to be more aggressive in my tactics. Do you feel the same way?

I have found that the more aggressive you are the better it works. It definitely builds your confidence with having another tool in the belt. A good friend of mine says it makes him so confident that he sometimes forgets about important details of minimizing movement and concealing noise during the approach. The HUD emboldens you and allows you to be more aggressive in your pursuit.

Tell Me About The Company & Industry

How’d you come up with the idea for Heads Up Decoy? When was that “AHA” moment?

I actually had two “AHA” moments; the first came in 1999 while hunting public land in Kansas. I went as far back as I could and was sitting in an isolated tree in close proximity to a draw. Shortly in to the hunt I spotted a nice buck in the distance and thought to myself “how and the heck is that deer 300 yards away going to come in close enough for me to get a shot?” I envisioned a doe head on a stick that could be stuck into the ground just high enough to stick out above the knee high grass mimicking a bedded doe.

My second moment was during my first elk hunt in 2005. Having no idea what I was getting myself into, I finally realized what elk hunting was really like. At first, the hunting was a grueling task and elk were never to be seen. You might only have a few chances to get a shot during a week long endeavor so I wanted something that would increase my chances. Again, my mind flashed back to a small, portable, light-weight decoy that I could pack in with me to the rugged country where these animals live. There was no way I was going to be hauling around a large, heavy decoy for 10 days straight on a back country elk trip.

What was the first step towards making the first prototype decoy?

After I got back from the hunt made arrangements to visit an elk farm in the area and took 300 photos of cows from inside the pen. Of those 300 pictures, I found a couple that I thought would work for the decoy I envisioned. Then I went through multiple revisions and printed a decoy on cloth material. Later I went on to develop a mule deer doe, antelope, turkey, whitetail and so on using this same process.

I kept each decoy hand held, portable and lightweight. I then developed accessories such as a screw-in bow mount, a clamp style mount and a padded handle for carrying by hand. In 2009, I garnered good consumer interest at the ATA show. Shortly thereafter, people started getting excited about our products and thats when things really took off.

What material is a Heads Up Decoy made of? Is it quiet and durable enough if I snag it on a tree branch?

They are made of 100% polyester material that combines both durability and reduction in noise. The inside frame is made of bendable, yet durable plastic tubing. The product absolutely has to be quality because when people are spending $70 dollars on my product I want it to last.

How many retail locations do you have throughout the U.S?

Currently we have about 30 locations in throughout the United States, with Scheels being one of our largest customers. We are located in a number archery shops and other sporting goods retailers. I’m working on larger outdoor retailers and bigger box stores for 2016 but smaller archery shops have shown great success because the owners are usually hard-core hunters and know the product very well. Our online sales have increased significantly to where 50% of our business is done through brick and mortar retailers and the other 50% is through our website.

Developing a product and running a business is no easy task. What has been the biggest challenge?

When it comes to manufacturing your own product, you almost need one person to spend their entire time dealing with suppliers. There are on going problems that need to be addressed, delays in shipments, struggles with product development… the list goes on and on. Most of the time suppliers are the ones that keep you going crazy and that has been the biggest hurdle to date.

Some days I wonder why I’m doing this and then there are other days when I’m so thankful to be in the position I’m in. You have to take the good with the bad.

At the end of the day we want customers, not sales. When we have happy customers, that gets us where we want to go. We want people to have good experiences and we back our products if the customer is not 100% happy with their purchase. Everyone has their own twist on products and this is my interpretation of how I think a decoy should be. Its not perfect for everyone.

What’s the future look like for heads up decoy 5 years from now? Any new products in development?

Good question. I wish I had a 5 year plan. haha

We recently launched our Moose decoy and it is available for purchase on our website. We are also in the works of a coues deer and a coyote. A caribou is on the radar but I haven’t quite nailed down the right posture and scenario to my liking. The mule deer doe can be universal and will work for a lot of deer species such as a black tail, sitka and desert mule deer.

We are still learning every day how to use each decoy and make the product better. Every animal and scenario is completely different so we need to think outside the box with our approach.

Most people think of using a decoy as a 3-D animal which is positioned below a tree stand. Do you see more of a trend towards mobile hunting in the sense of spot and stalk?

Oh yeah! The Whitetail Adrenaline guys have become very popular with this particular style of hunting because it opens peoples eyes to something that is different. You see so many hunting shows nowadays where a guy goes to an outfitter, shoots a big buck and celebrates in front of the camera saying “Unbelievable! What are the chances!?” It’s the same thing done over and over again. The HUD creates a new experience that people aren’t used to seeing.

My philosophy is, we are either going to kill him or scare him. If we scare him, then we just move on to the next one! Be Mobile – Stay Mobile.

Memorable Encounters and Advice

I watched your video of you shooting that massive 7 pointer in a Kansas milo field. Is that your most memorable and exciting hunt to date?

Oh yeah! That hunt takes the cake because all the odds were against us that particular day. It was calm and we had no cover in the field he was in. We spotted this buck while we were driving down the highway so we stopped at the landowners house and received permission to hunt. Because of lacking cover, we had to walk a quarter mile the other way in a drainage ditch until we got to a point where we could utilize a road sign as blocker between us and him. We then used the terrain to our advantage to move in closer for a shot.

My hunting buddy held the decoy and while we were stalking him, my chin was literally on his back; we had to stay tight. Each step we took was in synchronization with each other. We made it to within 80 yards, deployed the decoy, grunted at him a few times and he came in on a string with the intention to kick our ass! I shot him at a mere 15 yards and he scored close to 140 inches as a massive, palmated 7 pointer.

It’s absolutely crazy how it all worked out. We just happened to lay our eyes on him and couldn’t believe we were able to close the distance.

Click on the video below to view Garrett’s most memorable hunt with a HUD.

What’s your favorite animal to hunt with a bow?

Whitetail deer! Living in Kansas, I’m surrounded by whitetail country. I enjoy hunting all animals but what I like most about hunting whitetails is that the season is long and they are located right in my back yard, so to speak. There are so many different animals that I want to pursue. One thing that is for sure, hunting keeps me sane and also drives me insane at the same. haha

I bet elk hunting is a blast with with a cow decoy. Do you have any tips for a rookie elk hunter like me?

Use the wind and throw everything else out the window! We will talk more about elk hunting in a future article!

I feel like I should name my decoy. Haha. Do you have a name for your whitetail decoy?

Some of them are not appropriate (He laughs). I don’t have a personal name for any of mine but I sometimes call my buck decoys and turkey decoys B.M.O.C. which stands for Big Man On Campus. I’ll sometimes coach them up so they are ready for a fight!

Speaking of fights, have you had any close calls of getting hurt or attacked?

Yes, I’ve been ran over! It was quite an exhilarating experience. Check out the video!

Where’s the best place to learn more about HUD? Website, blog, YouTube etc?

You can find tons of information on our website: www.headsupdecoy.com. There are links to numerous videos, product information and you can also purchase HUD products directly from the website.

What is the most important takeaway message you can leave our readers with?

Heads Up Decoy can provide you with an opportunity when you thought there was never an opportunity in the first place. If you see an animal it will give you a fighting chance to move in on him and close the deal. You’re going to have days when it doesn’t work very well at all. I’m a realist and I’ll be the first to say it doesn’t always work but sometimes you will be like, “Wow, I cant believe that just happened!” Every scenario and every deer is different.

Heads Up Decoy also allows you to take advantage of tracts of land that you thought were not suited to be hunted. It could be an open grass field or an old draw that is tough to access undetected. This gives you the confidence to go after that buck in any situation.

Last but not least, Heads Up Decoy makes hunting more fun and exciting. You are going to experience hunting at an entirely new level that you never could have imagined. Good luck this Fall and happy hunting!

www.headsupdecoy.com