Jeremy Swanson and Ryan Larson
Posted By
Myndi Clements
at
8/18/2009 12:00:00 AM
Jeremy Swanson was born and raised in Thief River Falls, MN. He has been hunting the swamps and woods since he was old enough to help his family make a deer drive. Jeremy, his wife Tara, and daughter Liviana reside in Fargo, ND.
Ryan Larson spent his youth in Mandan, ND hunting the cottonwood choked Missouri River bottoms. He grew up in a family that loved to hunt. This has made spending time in the outdoors a core aspect of his life. Ryan, his wife Jeanine and daughter Addison live in Fargo, ND.
Jeremy and Ryan do the best they can to make hunting a year around part of their lives. They take pride in making the most of their hunts and working hard to reach success. Whether it is a doe or buck, regardless of size, every deer is a trophy to these Minnesota hunters.
Jeremy and Ryan's 2010 Hit List
Getting good velvet footage of our hit list bucks was a challenge again this year. We have the misfortune this year of not having any good summer crops on one property and no crops at all on the other. Trail cameras have still been a productive scouting tool for us though.
"The Colonel"
#1 Buck on our hit list by far. We both had close calls with The Colonel last year and feel we have him patterned very tightly for a 2nd year. This mature buck is very much nocturnal, however so it is going to take a touch of luck to close the gap.
"Perfect 10"
Perfect 10 has turned into a gnarly 11 with some junk on his trunk. We are also entering year #2 with this deer. He is a little nomadic and we think he has a different summer/fall range but we are hoping to see him before the leaves change.
"Mr. Clean"
Fresh faced and new to our hit list this year is Mr. Clean. A big-bodied 8, that seems to be a night owl as well. We think this deer could be one from last year but aren't 100% sure. A few more pictures or an up-close look on the ground would tell more of the story...
Jeremy and Ryan's 2009 Hit List
The areas they will be hunting are generally flat farmland with solid amounts of woods, CRP, and willow thickets. Both private and public land will be accessed by "Team Crooked Stand". The number of deer in the area is strong, but hunting pressure is considerable, especially for mature whitetail bucks. The following words are from Jeremy and Ryan as they discuss their 2009 hit list with us.
The bucks we are after this year have proved difficult to capture on camera or film. One of the properties we are hunting is still recovering from the flood that the Red River Valley experienced this spring. Due to that fact, the farming landowner was not able to get in his normal chunk of soybeans this year, the mature buck movement we expected has not happened.
The flooded property in particular was home to the two bucks you see here; "RICARDO" and "8 SECONDS."This is a picture of "Ricardo" in the summer of 2008. We have not seen Ricardo yet this year, but we were able to get a quick look at "8 Seconds" on an adjacent property about a month ago.
This picture is from last year, but from what we could tell from the quick look we got, "8 Seconds" has added considerable mass to his frame and some inside spread by the look of it. We are hoping these two boys will decide to wander back onto our property as the fall approaches.
Three other bucks on our hit list are "TECH 9", "PERFECT 10", and "OL' SPLITS". These three bucks are located on a property that is new to us. We were given permission about halfway through the season last year, and Jeremy was the only one with a tag to test it out. He does have a little history with "Ol’ Splits" as a result. Jeremy ended up shooting under him on the last day of the season last year. He thinks that the sub-zero temps played into that… Hmmm...
From last year to this year it looks like "Ol’ Splits" has actually gone downhill a little bit. He looks to be an old deer, but we will have to see where he is at once the velvet peels off.
"Tech 9" and "Perfect 10" are newcomers to the mix. Both look to be younger and to have some good potential. These pictures are from the middle of July and it is very possible they were able to add on some meat to their bones.
We also have permission to hunt across the river in North Dakota as well. We will be doing our best to bring you some footage, and some hit list additions, from the Peace Garden State.
