Bud cleaned and packed away his hunting gear while enjoying the bounty of his 2025 season

I have often been told that I am ate up with deer-hunting fever, and I admit that is true! I cannot wait for deer season to arrive, and suddenly, it ends. Even though it just ended, I am already anxiously anticipating next deer season.

I had a phenomenal 2025 season but only got to hunt less than 10 times. I harvested two deer, and they are in the freezer. My family and I have been enjoying some tasty venison backstraps, burger, steaks, roast and summer sausage. And if you have never tasted venison stew over white rice or noodles, you don’t know what you are missing. Wow! I just can’t get enough of that.

I completely missed out on hunting during the firearms and muzzleloader seasons due to a severe sinus infection that eventually went into bronchitis. I ended up with a lingering cough, and it is still being treated.

They put me on an inhaler and a steroid pack, and they believe that should take care of it. They sure are nasty-tasting pills. Seems like the older I get, the easier it is to get sick.

I had several confidence-building factors this season that added to my excitement for next season. For the first time in my 61-year deer hunting career, I saw deer activity every time I hunted, and that is extremely rare. On opening day, I had deer activity even before daylight, and I started seeing deer activity right at first light. By 9 a.m., I had seen nine deer and had shot a huge, mature doe.

I had other commitments and could not hunt again for a few days, but when I hunted again, I hunted another one of my hot spots and shot a buck. I went again a few days later, hoping to get some footage of deer activity on camera. That evening, it was frigid cold, and the next morning I woke up with a sore throat, sneezing, cough, and fever. It basically ended my season.

I could not consider my season a disaster or a failure. I saw a few places that I will be placing some of my Browning trail cameras to monitor deer activity and see if it verifies a likely spot to place a stand or blind.

I have found, through the years, that deer are like humans in that they have certain areas they prefer to travel and spend time in and certain routes or trails they like to use. You have a way of going to work or shopping, and unless there is a reason you can’t travel that route, you make it a habit to use it. You can become predictable.

I have hunted this section for maybe 15 years now, and there are certain trails the deer were using when I first hunted there. After all these years, it is almost like traveling U.S. 31 to Kokomo.

I have also been doing a lot of research on some new products that have earned my interest. I can be referred to as an experimenter or often someone who just likes to try something new. I do that early, before hunting season.

Sometimes, the new things do not work as they should. You might have to change back to your original setup, but I am always looking for ways to improve my success. If I discover something that I feel is increasing my chances of success, I like to inform you and hopefully increase your success also.

After the deer season ends, I always clean up my hunting weapons and store them properly. The toughest thing about that is properly cleaning the CVA Accura 2 muzzleloader, but it has to be done. It takes time and effort, but I expect my hunting weapons to be dependable and work properly when the time comes.

I got all my hunting clothes washed and packed away, and I noticed a couple items that need to be replaced after many years of service in the woods. But that can be expected.

Preparing for another deer season is always fun, and yes, it can be considered work. But, like my father always told me, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right!” It is never too early to start planning ahead!