IX on the Hunt: Michigan Rifle Season 2024

Introducing IX on the Hunt: where Leapers shares homegrown hunting stories and our adventures using INTEGRIX riflescopes in the wild. Today our Testing Engineer Ken C. shares his experience from 2024 hunting season, right here in Michigan.

Rifle: Bergara HMR Pro 6.5 Creedmoor

Optic: INTEGRIX IX6 3-18X44 IX603FA2

Ammo: Hornady 6.5 Cr 129 gr. SST Superformance

Suppressor: GSL Multi Cal 360

Sling: UTG QD Sling Swivels with a Limbsaver Kodiak Air Sling

Extra Gear: Cabela’s Monopod Shooting Rest 

Rifle season started off great with a cold front pushing through Michigan. Though opening day would be spent traveling to the North of the Lower Peninsula, there was still plenty of time to get in the woods. The best thing to compliment a long drive through the night is a nice early morning so you can get in the woods at least an hour before sunrise - and that’s exactly what I did!  

My first morning of regular rifle season started in a stretch of woods I sat in as a young boy with my grandfather. Sadly our specific spot had been cut out years ago so I had to find a new one a few hundred yards away just to the South.

The wind was dead and could barely be felt on the skin if at all. When it did have a small gust it was NE-E, which was nearly perfect as I had come in from the E and was expecting them from the W or SW. After a few hours and squirrels in the crosshairs later, I finally spotted something.

It was 3 doe high tailing it from the SW and going away from me - which left me in disbelief as there was no wind at the time and they were over a ridge by the time I heard them blow, so there was no chance of me being spotted. With this defeat and it being nearly 11 am I decided to get out of there and get boots on the ground to find an afternoon sit.

I had my eye on an area I’d never been to before and only e-scouted using OnX. It was a short drive to the scouting area but just long enough to get a brief from my father who tagged along. He informed me that he had a nice walk through the woods rather than sitting in his spot, and that he was surprised to see me in the woods when he walked my way. This gave me my reasoning as to why the doe had blown out earlier. With this information I decided to get a lead rope to hitch him to a tree and keep him from wandering.

A short scout on the ground and I was confident for the afternoon ahead. There was plenty of sign: I had scrapes, rubs, and game trails. The only thing I didn’t find was bedding but that didn’t concern me. Next, it was time to get some fuel for the afternoon! 

With the confidence I gained from the scouting I had done earlier I got into the woods with roughly 3.5 hours of daylight. Plenty of time for an afternoon sit. Just 3 minutes after settling in I was reminded that even with over a thousand acres of land... it was still state land. A hunter crested the end of the ridgeline I was posted on, just to my E about 25 yards away. Thankfully he got in the woods just as early as me and with a quick whistle and a wave he knew he had been beat and headed out of the area for a new spot. 

This wasn’t a bust for me as he had come from the E and I was expecting deer from the S or N-NW. The wind was blowing W the way I came in, consistently and not too strong - just enough to rustle the dead leaves on the trees - and I still had full confidence! 

It was just before sunset and we had about 45 minutes to go when I heard him straight to my S. He was moving slowly but I could still hear the dry leaves a mere 100 or so yards away, yet to crest the top of the hill. I was sitting across a small valley hoping one would follow some game trails leading through one of the two saddles. 

At last there was movement. He had made it over and I could see it plain as day: a blaze orange beanie and vest. It was yet another hunter! I know, exciting, right? Just before prime time. At least my manger tie held up and it wasn’t my father walking around this time, just another hunter out for an evening stroll. Such is public land hunting. 

This did not discourage me though. After watching him see me and turn around I simply got up myself and moved just a bit to the N to get a better view, as to the S was no doubt blown up. This was of no use though as night came with no luck.

Public land can be rewarding as a hunter as you’re not just battling the elements and outsmarting your quarry, but dealing with fellow hunters as well. It can be quite frustrating at times - you just need to take some time to think of a game plan and roll with it! 

The next morning it was the same routine. Get up, get some coffee and get to the woods. I had the same plan as the day before: try a spot I’d sat before throughout the years, a quick scout before lunch, and back out with hopes of seeing deer rather than other hunters.

This spot had been good to me over the years. Every time I'd hunted it I'd seen something and I had high hopes to keep the ball rolling. Same as the day before, wind was weak, but there were some slight showers for a few minutes. It was nice to hear the drops on my hood reminiscent of a tent cover in a storm.

Hours went by with nothing but squirrels once again and I had plenty of time to reflect on the times I’d sat there before. It occurred to me that every time I'd seen a deer there, it was in the evening. Never during the morning. 

This was a game changer. I still stuck it out for the morning sit but once 11 am hit I started scouting a bit around the area. 

To my surprise I was a stone's throw away from a scrape on the other side of an oak. Another on the way back to the truck, and even a rub just off the trail I was parked off. Now I couldn’t wait to get back out there. Just had to get some fuel in me and it was time. 

The last afternoon was a light overcast and the wind had picked up slightly but it wasn’t consistent. Just a small gust here and there, with the direction inconsistent as well.

As I was walking in I could hear someone pulling over down the trail, and figured they were going to sit by where I was the first morning. I settled down slightly north, a few yards from where I sat that morning as I could see the full area not being in the dark. This put me next to the scrape I’d found earlier and gave me a bit more of a window to see to my NW even though it got thick fast after a certain area.

About 30 minutes into the sit, an unexpected visitor swooped straight over my head and landed right next to me. It was a Barred Owl and my first time seeing one in the wild. While I welcomed the fellow predator it was obvious the squirrels that were just fighting each other on the other hillside were quite unhappy with his presence. I’d say I got a good 20 minutes of watching him spin his head around before he took off.

Not long after I got my next visitor. Now, like I said earlier, I’ve hunted these woods since I was a boy, and my grandfather long before me. I’ve never seen the type of deer he left behind on the wall walk through these woods, and I quite possibly never will. But the buck that started walking across that hill sure got my heart pumping.

It was a 7 pointer that was moving. Not quickly, but not slowly either. He just happened to be in the thick part of the hillside. Who would’ve thought. I was very worried as he had gotten into some thick stuff, and I could barely make him out through the woods as he was quartering away in a defilade of trees.

Then he stopped in a nearly perfect spot. This is what I could see: just below the top of his back to the white of his belly, and just behind his shoulder to about the midpoint of his abdomen. Now this was a small window through some thick brush, and I did think about passing the shot, but I've practiced enough off my monopod that I felt I could responsibly take it.

I leaned slightly to the left, leveled my rifle, and placed my center hold midway up the body behind the shoulder, aiming for a double lung shot rather than the heart to avoid the risk of hitting closer branches below. And sent it.

I was ecstatic but still had to wait to celebrate. It was too thick for me to see him running after the shot so I sat for a moment and listened.

Seconds went by and there it was: the all-mighty sound of a deer crashing in the leaves. It was surreal after seeing him through that scope and knowing shortly, I would get to hold his head up and cook some backstrap later. 

The shot was 112 yards and he ran about 17 before crashing.

Now I’ve hunted sheep with a 6.5 Creedmoor and seen what it could do to a heart, but this was my first Whitetail, and I can tell you the lung on the exit side was Jello. That thing dumped a ton of energy!

I’ve heard many opinions on using 6.5 for hunting, but from my experience this is the furthest I've had an animal go. Simply choose the right ammo and make a good shot, but I could say that with almost any caliber!

The drag was only 295 yards which I should’ve taken my snivel gear off for, but I could use less water weight anyways. As a side note when using a Triggercam 2.1 just pressing the power button to turn it on is not the only step. The blinking light by the record button does not mean it’s recording you must press that button as well! 

After a successful hunt I decided to take the next morning to drive back downstate. I would go out again that afternoon to try and take a deer with the PCP rifle but ended up not seeing anything. We shall see what muzzleloader and antlerless season comes up with. I’ll head out a few more times this year just to try that AEA Zeus and see what a .72 cal does to a Whitetail. It’s hard to balance hunting time between wanting to take your bow out over a .72 caliber air rifle or wanting to sit over a spread of decoys waiting for some ducks to cup in. Decisions, decisions!