My journey to Harpole’s Heartland Lodge (HHL) began some two and a half years before I set out from my home in Denver, Colorado this November to join my friend, former college roommate, and fraternity brother (some 20 years ago) at his beautiful hunting lodge in central Illinois. In early …
It was the second evening of Jeff Mohney’s late muzzleloader hunt at the Heartland Lodge, the weather was near record highs for mid-December and deer movement had been relatively slow. With a major cold front moving through the next day, hopes were high that deer activity would be increasing throughout …
Mark Spillane was lucky enough to get the opportunity at a buck of a lifetime this week and was able to seal the deal with a 194 inch buck known as Jackpot. Whitetail manager Matt Brunet had been chasing the buck for two years, and was finally able to close …
Ask any veteran whitetail hunter about the biggest buck they’ve ever seen, and their response will probably be a very captivating, animated story. Stories that usually begin with; it was just breaking light on a foggy morning…it was spitting snow and ice on a cold November day… I had been …
On the first morning of Nic Schaalma’s hunt at Heartland Lodge, veteran guide Mark Hively situated Nic in a tree stand in the downwind corner of a secluded, thick, brushy field. Nic’s morning started slowly until around 9:00, when a 2 ½ yr old 9 point came in on the …
I was driven to my keyboard this morning after my ritualistic browsing of the news and social media while I rub the sleep out of my eyes. I encountered several threads on media sources that involved the disappointing 2015 whitetail rut in the Midwest. Many claiming it to be the …
I’m flipping through hundreds of trail camera photos of does, yearlings, and small bucks using the small spring fed water hole in the late August heat and finally BOOM! A massive velvet toting rack fills my computer screen. After a few mesmerizing seconds of staring deeply into my screen I …
Nowadays, just about everyone is using trail cameras for hunting, but the real question is, “Are you getting your money’s worth out of your camera and using it to its full potential?” Most hunters dust the camera off about mid-August to early September, s
Breaking from traditional stands and venturing to new areas offers hunters the chance to discover un-pressured animals and territory. Often times your traditional spots go cold part way through the season leaving you frustrated and discouraged. Don’t
Building Your Blind Bag
Wind howling, my brother and I looked at each other and traded our gear out quickly. Taking the bows out of the truck, we loaded our duck decoys, shotguns, boats and headed for the swamps. Mallards flew high, teal whistled b
