The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
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Local hunter discovers the thrill of the bow
PUBLISHED: December 4, 2008
It's my goal to write about local people and their stories. This is just one of many stories happening in our community.
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Matt Koenn is a farmer who lives just west of Chelsea in Sylvan Township. Matt and his dad (Chuck Koenn) have been friends of mine for the last seven years. I got to know the Koenn's because Matt's grandfather (Herman) worked with me at Reinhart (real estate).
Herman Koenn passed away in his sleep one gentle evening three years ago. Prior to his passing, however, Herman and I got to know each other fairly well and I learned a lot from his experience and calm demeanor. Herman knew a lot of people in this town and was loved by most. I only saw Herman get mad once in the four years I knew him. I wish I could say the same about myself, but I can't. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because the entire Koenn family seems to have the same calm demeanor.
Matt and I are very close in age and we get along pretty well. We both like to hunt, but I have it much better than Matt in that regard. Like Matt, I also work seven days a week. That being said, my schedule can bend with my clientele whereas Matt's schedule is purely weather related. If the weather is good then the combine is running. If the weather is bad then the equipment can finally get worked on and maintained.
While I'm planning out my afternoon hunt on any given fall afternoon, Matt is getting the combine ready to run soybeans or corn. He doesn't have the luxury to "get out there" the way most of us do. It's ironic really when you think about it. Matt lives on a farm, but can barely hunt it, whereas I don't live on a farm, but I hunt often.
Matt wasn't a bow hunter by trade, he focused on the gun season every year. For years I tried to get Matt into bow hunting but it was low on his priority list due to the harvest season. Last year, however, we both went to Schupbach's Sporting Goods in Jackson and got Matt set up with a new bow.
Matt took the time to practice, but was unable to hunt with the bow last year. He was disappointed.
Things were going to be different for him this year, though.
I've been fortunate enough to hunt a nice "honey hole" in Dexter over the last four years. This area has produced many deer for the freezer and it had Matt's name all over it. Together, Matt and I put up a two-seated ladder stand and decided to give it a go for this year's bow season.
It was the second week of October and I called Matt like so many times before. We'd talk about the harvest, deer we've seen on the property and see if today might be the day to "get out there". Keep in mind that Matt always says no, therefore I expected the worst - again. But, today was different and he agreed.
This would be the first time Matt would bow hunt (except once or twice in his youth) and I would be there with him. I was so excited for my buddy. I just hoped that we'd have deer nearby.
We drove out to the property and got our gear ready and made it to the tree stand. It didn't take long for us to see two deer out in the field feeding on a rye food plot. We had a number of squirrels, cardinals and other creatures making their way through the woods. The maple tree's showed off their varying colors of red and orange, while other trees displayed varying hues of green and yellow.
My tree stand was set up about 15 yards inside the woods to the east of a field. Would the deer cross the field to us or just walk off to another part of the property? It's funny, deer hunting is like a box of chocolates. You just don't know if, when or where they'll come from no matter how much you think you know.
The sun had just set, but we still had a lot of shooting light left. All of a sudden Matt said, "There's a buck in the field to our right, do you see it?" I did my best to see it, but I just couldn't locate the buck.
Looking back, I should have asked Matt how far out it was. The leaves were so thick, but Matt kept a close eye on his potential trophy. Matt kept asking me if I could see the buck making its way closer and closer to us, but I just couldn't see it.
Matt stood up carefully and prepared to draw his bow when I finally saw the gorgeous 8-point buck coming into view. 'Wow, I think Matt's actually going to get this,' I thought.
The buck finally stopped at 30 yards directly in front of us and snapped its head to the left and looked right at us. Without hesitation, Matt launched his arrow and put an excellent shot on his first deer ever. We were pretty excited because we saw the buck go down. Matt's smile said it all.
Congratulations Matt!
This story is dedicated to all the farmers out there who work so hard to make their living and allow people like us to hunt their land. Thank you.
Any comments or story ideas? Feel free to contact Rick Taylor at rtaylor@reinhartrealtors.com or call (734)223-5656.
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