The 2010 season could not come quick enough for Team Broken Arrow.  We had been seeing a monster buck on our south central Wisconsin farm all summer.  The farmer that leased our land had planted soybeans and this buck absolutely loved the protein diet that was at his disposal.  I was able to get out summer scouting 7 times and I filmed this buck every time but one.  We decided that an appropriate name for this buck would be “The Boss”.

Before I get into the rest of the story, I wanted to give you a little background on Team Broken Arrow.  Three years ago with our mom’s blessing, me and my brother, Aaron, started to “manage” the 80 acre family farm.  This meant a great deal to both of us because it was the farm we grew up on and where we had been introduced to hunting when we were young.  We understood that this was going to be a great challenge based on the size of the farm, but we came up with a plan and went to work.  We planted food plots, created cover, used trail cameras, and decreased the amount of human traffic on the land.  Fast forward three years, and we were not only seeing nicer bucks but a healthier deer herd.  Our plan was coming to fruition right before our eyes!

Based on the title of this journal, you can probably guess how the rest of the story goes.  We had a great season, we saw a lot of nice bucks and I came real close to harvesting a 150 inch buck, but we did not see The Boss during the bow or opening weekend of rifle season.  The second weekend of rifle season, I met my uncle at the local gas station where hunters can register deer.  Inside they had one of those digital picture frames and it was a slideshow of all the bucks that had been registered.  I was watching pictures of nice buck after nice buck until a picture came up that really caught my eye.  I quickly glanced at my uncle and then back to the picture, but it was gone.  I cannot describe the feeling I had in my stomach as I waited those few minutes until the picture came back up.  When it did, it only confirmed my initial reaction, The Boss buck had been harvested the opening weekend of rifle season by one of our neighbors.  Let’s just say that sitting in the stand that afternoon was a little difficult.

Now don’t get the wrong impression.  This is actually a great story with a great ending.  This was the girl’s first buck!  A week after the season ended, we stopped over at our neighbor’s and gave them copies of some trail cam pictures we had of the buck and you could still see her excitement.  Of course I would have loved if one of us had harvested the buck, or if it had made it through so we could watch him next year, but that’s hunting.  It’s not just about harvesting big bucks.  It’s about all the time spent together and all of the improvements we make for the wildlife and habitat.  These are the reasons that we are absolutely addicted to whitetail hunting.  So now it’s back to Workin’ for Whitetails because we only have 240 days until the 2011 bow season starts!

Brent Vogelsang

It’s that time of year again when we pack up the trailer and hit the pavement, traveling all over the Midwest, attending consumer trade shows!  We are always so excited to get the show season underway because its our chance to re-unite with our ”trade show family!”   We’ve met so many great people at these shows and look forward to catching up with old friends and meeting some ones.  Hope to see you at one of our upcoming shows!

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Michigan Deer and Turkey Spectacular~ Feb. 18-20th  Booth #717

Indiana Deer and Turkey Expo~ Feb. 18-20th  Booth #205

Iowa Deer Classic~ Feb. 25-27th Booth #822-826

Wisconsin Big Buck Classic~ March 11-13th 

Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo- March 18-20  Booth #719

Illinois Deer and Turkey Classic- March 25-27th  Booth #709-713

Nebraska Big Buck Classic- March 25-27th  Booth 402

Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo- April 1-3  Booth #507-511

Brian has locked himself in the editing room and is putting the finishing touches on our Season 4 dvd which will be available Feb. 15th! 

This has been one of the toughest years on record for the Antler King’s Workin’ for Whitetails crew. We worked all pre-season, planting our food plots, setting and clearing our stands, checking trail cameras, and scouting our own land.  But nothing could’ve prepared us for what was about to happen during the 2010 season.

We started off on an extreme high with five giant Mid-West whitetails going down with the bow.  After such a great start, it wasn’t long before we experienced the lows of  Workin’ for Whitetails! Miscommunications, camera malfunctions, numerous close encounters, and misses all made for a rough bow season.  But the rifle season had some memorable moments.

It was 39 years in the making for this team member to get the biggest buck of his life with his rifle and a 13 year old started off her young hunting career with a bang!

We welcome you to our reality!

The Archery Trade Association is the bowhunting industry’s largest dealer show in the country.  This year the show was held in Indianapolis, Indiana and you can be sure that Antler King was in attendance.  This is where manufacturers showcase their new products for 2011 and also meet with many dealers to write orders for the upcoming year. 

We had a chance to attend the show with Todd Stittleburg, owner of  Antler King ,and got a sneak peak at what new products will be hitting the store shelves this year!  New for 2011, Antler King unveiled its new NO till product called NO SWEAT.  Most no till products on the market today only consist of annuals. NO SWEAT is unique in that it contains perennials and annuals!  www.antlerking.com   And for all you Blazer Vanes’ fans, Bohning Archery now has Blazers available in a “shrink fletch” system! www.bohning.com   A company on the rise, is Compass Game Works.  They have a product called, The Action Back Game Feeder/Seeder.  It is the most versatile seed spreader on the market today!  www.compassgameworks.com

The list of new products could go on and on!   Overall, we had a great and successful trip and would like to thank our friend and fellow team member, Alan Dosedla, for coming along with us and filming.  Brian is working on editing some ATA clips and we’ll have them on our videos page soon!

After a long and trying season, I decided that I should try and do my part in introducing our youth to the outdoors.  I thought my cousin James would be the perfect candidate.  James went hunting with his father one time the first year he could hunt.  Due to a demanding schedule, and other family obligations, they were not able to make it since then.  I asked James’ father, Ron, if I could take him out for the last weekend to try and shoot his first deer, and he jumped all over it and said absolutely!  Now that I had an obligation to fulfill, I was on a mission.  A quick call to the Seiler’s, and we were on our way.  As we headed out to the stand, a doe was already in the Honey Hole, and I let her just run off.  As we walked to the stand, I wondered if I should’ve let him shoot it.  We climbed up in the Shack and fired up the portable heater.  The first night a few deer fed through the plot.  But as skittish as they are this time of year, it didn’t take long for them to take off.  We headed back to the Seiler’s house for a night of pizza and guitar playing.  The next morning we awoke to -2 degrees but James didn’t complain one bit.  We headed back to the same stand and we waited.  A few hours passed before we finally saw a deer.  A doe made her way towards us down in a valley and bedded down out of sight.  A little while later James noticed two bucks fighting in the field back behind us.  After a quick glimpse they were out of sight.  A short while later I noticed a deer walking toward us through the woods.  James grabbed the T/C  and got into position.  The nub buck fed along the edge of the plot, browsing in the areas that were melted off.  The deer finally gave him a broadside shot.  I told him to take his time and take the shot when he was ready.  After a short while James cocked back the hammer and made the shot.  The young buck fell in his tracks!  Perfect shot!  After about 5 minutes of celebrating in the blind, we headed down to get his deer. A perfect shot was made and James was very excited.  It felt great to know that I helped someone get their first deer.  I think it is so important to get these kids into hunting. If we don’t do this, these kids will not start on their own.  We will lose the family tradition of hunting to video games.  This by far was one of the best hunts I have been on.  We headed home with a sense of pride and accomplishment.  We arrived at his house and were greeted by his father Ron.  Ron came up to me with open arms and a tear in his eye thanking me.  It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend.  I would like to thank the Seiler’s for letting us come up and hunt.  I would like to thank Brandon for filming the whole thing, but most of all, I would like to thank James for letting me share this experience with him.  It meant a lot to me and I look forward to doing it again.  I am very proud of you!  You did a great job!

Written by Jeff Kaye

Pictured with his first deer~ James Strelow