The buck’s silhouette pierced the northeastern Wisconsin skyline, ushering in opening day of the 2016 firearm deer season. It was a sight to behold – and one that got the deer hunter’s blood pumping. The deer stood big and proud as it checked for danger in the hayfield that lay below it.
At that point, Heath Kersten of Denmark, Wis., (near Green Bay) just thought it was a nice buck. He had no idea the brute carried more than 200 inches of dream-conjuring bone. He would soon learn that the long-legged monster embodied the very essence of his deer-hunting dreams.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. A deer hunting success story always begins with just that – a story. During the 2016 summer, Kersten found out the 80 acres he had permission to hunt had been sold, so he moved a short distance to a smaller spread owned by his family.
Scouting revealed the best spot for ambushing deer was on top of a hill overlooking farm fields, separated by small fence and brush rows deer used as travel corridors. Unfortunately, high winds cut through the area, which would make sitting in a cold, metallic tree stand an uncomfortable chore.
“I talked to my wife [Missi] about buying a prefabricated blind to put there,” recalled Kersten….
