IF THE BACK 40 is a hunter’s domain, then the backcountry is a deer’s turf. Humans don’t make the rules here. There’s no development, no granular herd management, no excessive gear, no distractions. Instead, we must adapt to the deer’s behavior. We learn new terrain, scout on the move, glass patiently, strategize quickly, and improvise when a stalk goes to hell. Hunters prepare mentally and physically simply to survive where deer thrive. The stakes feel higher in the backcountry, and success more elusive.
And that’s part of the appeal. In the wilderness, most every subspecies of deer still exists as nature intended. It’s where we can hunt deer that, despite never having seen a human before, are still experts at eluding us. True deer hunters value wild deer, and the wildest…