VELVET ICE BREAKER

Mike Mancl - North Dakota - September 2nd , 2023

By: Brennen Nading (@nadingbr)

Rain or shine,  cold or hot...deer season is back and we are kicking it off once again in North Dakota.  With several consecutive days with temperatures in the 90s, there was nothing we could do about it so we stayed positive and planned to hunt smart and keep the winds in our favor and hope to get lucky.  On the second day of the season, Mike headed into a location that we had never hunted before.  With a couple of good bucks showing up on the cameras, the warm weather took a back seat to our confidence that one would make an appearance.  Shortly after climbing into the stand, the "Big 10" was spotted several hundred yards away as he stood up in the cattail marsh and stepped out into the bean field to feed.  After feeding, he headed back into the marsh to bed down.   As the evening progressed, he stood again and this time began working across the field towards Mike.  He covered ground quickly and before long he was in bow range.  Mike made the shot count and the gorgeous velvet buck, Mike's largest North Dakota buck to date, crashed less than 100 yards from the tree.  Season 11 is off to a great start!