 The Amstutz Brothers Hunting team on Hunting Within Their Association
First scouting trip. To: MAHA Staff I am writing you in regards to our recent scouting trip to the state of Missouri. My brother Dan and I recently joined your association, via the internet web site, and were very curious if all of the pictures and testimonials were an accurate reflection of what was really out there in the field. We read in many letters to your website that "this organization sounds to good to be true". Here is a short account of our trip. Well, it started with a 10-hour drive from northern Indiana, and upon arriving at the first property in the central part of the state; we were very impressed with the remote location and the quality of the deer and turkey habitat of the very first property. We don't have many unbroken sections of ground like this in out region of the country. During the course of the day, we were able to drive by about 10 properties. We were overwhelmed by the quality of each and every site that we drove by, saying, "I would kill for a place like that to hunt in back home". We saw everything in God's creation from bald and golden eagles, red fox, coyotes, raccoon, many deer and turkeys, and waterfowl by the 10's of thousands. The pictures are from Henry County close to one of your properties. I think that the raccoon was so overwhelmed by the site, as we were, that he decided to return at a later date to try his chances at a meal! We can't wait to return in the spring for a turkey hunt in Missouri and to do some more exploring in your beautiful state. Thank you for all the time and effort in putting a quality organization. We are more than satisfied at this point and we haven't even hunted yet!
The only way to show a picture of how large an area the snows can occupy.
 First spring turkey season...
MAHA Staff
First year members
Rex and Dan Amstutz
Indiana
We are writing you in regards to our first ever hunting trip to Missouri and Kansas through your organization. We are both beginner turkey hunters and didn’t know what to expect, where to go or how to hunt the wild turkey. So John Nee recommended a northern Missouri farm, said it was "loaded with turkey", so we packed the camper and headed south. Armed with our shotguns, and a map from the terra server website, we arrived at the farm around three am, and after a couple hours of sleep we hit the field.
  The first day was unsuccessful in harvesting a bird, however we were optimistic about our chances for we sited a total of over 50 birds. So the next day we adjusted slightly and still came up empty, probably because of the weather. However, on the third day we both scored on our first Missouri gobblers. The weather 3 of the 4 days was tough, lightning, thunder, wind and rain, making the hunting tough as well. We still managed taking 3 birds in 4 days. We had an absolute blast, camping and hunting on the farm and didn't see another human being during the entire time.
 The last two days of our trip was spent in eastern Kansas on another property that Jon highly recommended. We arrived late Friday afternoon to be cordially greeted by the landowner, who was coming out of the woods looking for mushrooms. After introductions, he proceeded to point out the better locations on his farm, which proved to be very helpful. And just as he directed us, we both scored on a nice Kansas gobbler the next day. What a beautiful piece of property in a remote location.
 In closing, I must admit, I (Rex) was skeptical at first, buying into a hunting club over the internet. But after our first trip, I was just overwhelmed by the quality of the placed that Jon directed to hunt, as well as the number of deer and turkey we saw in the field. I know if our deer hunt this fall goes as well as our turkey hunt did; I will be a member for a long time to come.
We want to thank Jon and Gina for the prompt and courteous phone calls, giving us good directions, and providing great places to hunt. Our first hunt was very exciting and memorable, thanks a bunch.
Keep up the good work
Rex and Dan Amstutz
Later that fall... I am updating the office on our very first deer hunt with the association, a muzzleloader hunt.
We loaded our truck, hooked up the camper and headed to our reserved section which Jon Nee had recommended. We arrived Thursday noon at our farm and were promptly met by the farm manager who was tending the livestock. He directed us where to set up the camper and after an hour our campsite was set and we were ready to go. One of the neighbors was hunting on an adjacent farm and he stopped on his way by to share some local info on the deer movement in the area. We got to talking and he agreed to bring by some sheds as well as the buck he took last year just across the road. He pulled out the two sheds first, an 8 and a 10, both very impressive in the 140 range. Then he uncovered the mount of his buck from last year, wow, a huge 10pt aprox 20 in. wide and 12 inch tines, he said this is just an average deer for around here, man o man I couldn't wait to see one of those kind of bucks. We soon parted and we loaded up and hit the field. Thursday afternoon, the first day it rained on us, however, I still saw 5 does and no bucks, Dan didn't see any deer during the rain, we closed up shop for the night and dried out in anticipation for the next morning. Friday morning is a morning I will not forget, I saw several does on my stand and no bucks, however while walking back to my truck I jumped one of the largest bucks I had ever laid eyes on. Just guessing him at 160 to 170 range, a huge ten point had me hooked on finishing my week trying to get him. Meanwhile, Dan had gone unsuccessful on seeing any deer on Friday morning, however while coming out of the woods, he found a nice 8pt. shed only a short distance from the camp, this shed will be very interesting later in our hunt. Friday night was unsuccessful in any buck sightings, however the does were still in my area and I was hoping to see the big boy eventually. That evening was capped with the songs of several coyotes singing in the distance, that was cool hearing that as we hit the sack.  Saturday would pan out to be the day for our first buck. The morning hunt was unsuccessful for both of us, but the turkey and coyote sightings helped to pass the time. I was content on staying in my area waiting for that big one I spotted the day before, but Dan switched locations slightly because he wasn't seeing much where he was. His strategy paid off when a respectable 8 point gave him a 50 yard broadside shot, his Thompson Center Encore did the rest. We loaded up the buck and headed back to camp, on the way we were talking about the shed which Dan found the day before, how it was very similar to the buck's rack.
 When we got back to the camper, we compared the shed to the buck and there was no question in my mind, it was a perfect match. What a coincidence, harvesting the very buck of which produced the shed that we found. You look at the pictures and decide, we think there is no question, it's a perfect match. We guessed the buck to score in the low 130's, which was Dan's second best buck ever taken. The buck wasn't large by local standards, however comparing to Indiana bucks it was a nice one.
 I never did meet up with the big one that I saw on Friday, however I hope I can get lucky and get to reserve the same section during the regular rifle season, I'll try to settle the score then.
Both Dan and I would like to personally thank Jon Nee and the staff for making our first deer hunt in the organization a very memorable one. To all you prospective new members, the staff is very personable, very helpful in directing hunters to good quality properties, sharing quality information on where to hunt each property. We can't wait to come back later in the fall for our rifle hunt. Thanks again MAHA for a great hunt. Rex and Dan Amstutz
The next season... Mid America Hunting Association
From: Rex and Dan Amstutz, first year members.. In.
Here is the story that goes along with the picture posted on the 12th of December and the years account leading up to the final hunt. The year started with a turkey trip in May which we harvested 5 birds between us in [location deleted] and [location deleted]. What a blast, we had never hunted turkey before, everywhere we went was awesome, plenty of birds and not a sole in site. However with the deer season, it was a test of patients and a learning experience. Our first deer trip was to [location deleted] for muzzle-loader season. We had the farm in [location deleted] county all to our selves and brother Dan harvested a nice 130 class 8pt after 4 days of hunting, this was his best buck to date. I (Rex) came up empty, however I did see a bruiser the first day, which I never saw again. I couldn't wait to come back in December! Several weeks had passed until the opener of firearm season, this is where my story starts. I am a Christian, and God sure tested my patience and attitude throughout the entire deer season. We started out in [location deleted] county on a farm that Jon said had produced in the past, with no time to scout, I didn't know what to expect. The first morning about a minute after setting down in my stand, I heard a voice- "why don't you move, I'm hunting here". I thought this is not good, another hunter just across the property line, I'll never see anything here with him on the ground just 30 yards away. Both of us stayed, after the day was over, I managed to see a few does and no bucks. 7 hunters on the adjoining property walking around--not good for buck movement. Needless to say, I was discouraged at the end of the day, but tried to stay positive after my brother passed on a couple of smaller shooter bucks. On Sunday, the 16th, my day started with the prayer of Jabez, "Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" I Chronicles 4:10, just hoping to have a better day than the Saturday. I moved in to the center of our farm away from the edges only to hear gun-shots in the distance and no deer. On Monday, the same again, a lot of shots with no deer sightings. I guess I expected it to be awesome just like our turkey and muzzle hunts were earlier that season. I was depressed from the difficulties on my first firearm trip to [location deleted]. I saw very few deer and a lot of hunters, the good Lord was testing my patients. On Monday afternoon we decided to relocate to [location deleted] county, we were able to get a better location for Tuesday. However, the weather didn't cooperate, rain and high winds produced limited sightings and not a shot was fired. We left on Wednesday, needless to say the trip back to Ft. Wayne was a long one, going home empty handed. I had almost two weeks to regroup before heading back to [location deleted] for the opener of their firearm season. I was all jacked up in anticipation of another chance to get the big one I saw earlier. I didn't get the section I wanted, so across the road would have to be close enough. After asking God to bless me today with the Jabez prayer, I headed to the stand. My morning started wonderful, no hunters in sight, no shots heard close, and plenty of deer movement. However at 9:00 all the peacefulness came to an abrupt end. A neighbor came riding his 4 wheeler right up to my stand location and proceeded to cuss me out with every four letter word in the book. He told me I was tress-passing and to get the "#" out of his area. Wanting no confrontation, I vacated the area, thinking what else could go wrong. I finished the day not getting to hunt the woods that WAS on our lease. The office was called and Jon assured me that he would promptly see to the matter. | Neighbors of a lease property may have been hunting that property for years and feel it is their right to do so in spite of the landowner contract. MAHA response is simply to notify the landowner that if his neighbors continue to trespass we will end our lease, typically withholding the current payment. Membership response when confronting a trespasser is to continue hunting and tell the trespasser to leave. This is an example of how life is not always perfect, but every problem has a solution. |
On a positive note, I did see approximately 40 deer for the trip, but no shooter bucks. I had to leave empty handed as I did from [location deleted], however, I had one last chance in [location deleted]. I arrived in [location deleted], greeted by 2 inches of snow on the ground, thinking this is awesome, getting the advantage of hunting with snow covered ground. I had never been there before, so Jon highly recommended a section to us and we examined the map off of the terra server. I chose a stand location next to a narrow woods bordered by a corn field thinking the deer would be feeding in the corn. As I did in all the previous outings, I asked God to bless me today before I headed to the stand. I was overwhelmed with what I saw the first day, 36 deer, 5 of which were bucks (no shooters) no hunters and plenty of all day action. On Sunday, I thought could this be the day it happens. As the day unfolded, it turned out eventful sighting 19 does and no bucks, at this point, I had one last day. We had to leave Tuesday am because of the big storm coming that night. Monday morning started like all the rest, a quick prayer for blessing, then to the stand. At about 9 am it finally happened, a big shooter buck was heading through the woods towards my direction. I got the gun rested as best I could, stopped the buck at about 130 yards broadside, then squeezed the trigger on my Knight MK 85 muzzle-loader. After the smoke cleared, the buck ran off untouched, for as it turned out, I flinched and shot low. After a short tracking session produced no sign, I left the area to settle for my last afternoon of hunting for the year. After lunch I returned to the same stand, however because of the incoming storm the wind had shifted 180 degrees and I had to move. So I went back to the truck and got my ground chair and moved to the other side of the valley I was watching. After I sat down, I thought to my self how many times does a guy get a chance at a true trophy buck, let alone in the same day, I thought my trip was over. As it turned out, my prayers were finally answered on the last evening, here is how it panned out. About 45 minutes before dark a group of does came out into the corn to feed, right behind them was the buck, I couldn't believe my eyes, I might get another chance! They worked along the edge of the woods and corn until they were right across the woods in front of me about l50 yards, no shot possible. I had my Primos "can" call in my pocket, and thought this is my only chance to bring him in to shooting range. I tipped it a couple times with no response, then a couple more times followed by a few grunts on my "True Talker" grunt tube, he couldn't stand it any more and turned into the woods on a bee line right for me. After several seconds walking straight for my direction I couldn't let him get any closer than 40 yards for fear of spooking him. It was awesome being eye to eye with such a magnificent animal. The muzzle-loader fired and out to the corn he ran. I reloaded and went over to the edge of the woods and corn field to see him standing out there about 100 yds, he laid down with his rear end straight towards me. I tried a Texas heart shot and missed, he jumped up and ran out to about 200 yds and laid down broadside. I then reloaded again, rested the scope just at his body line on top then fired. The bullet found its mark and he didn't get up, however his head was still up. I was out of ammo, so I went back to the truck to wait on my brother, hoping he would lay there and expire.   After about an hour we returned to the corn field to find him laying where the third shot hit him. I was overwhelmed with emotion, after wiping a tear of joy I thanked the Lord for answering my prayers, for this was my best buck ever. He was 220 lb field dressed, 18" inside spread (a little stretching), 20" outside spread, perfectly matched 10 pt scoring 150. This was my first trophy in 3 years, due to back surgery, I was unable to hunt the previous 2 years.
In closing, I want to thank the "Double J Team" at Mid America for a year that I will NEVER forget. Through all the ups and downs it was a complete blast. May the staff and all the club members have a happy and joyous holiday season, and God willing I'll be back for action next year. Best Wishes, Rex 
More about this family of deer hunters 2 3 4 5 6 or on turkey hunts 2 3 4 5 6 |
