Story first reported by woodburyoutfitters.com. Michigan archer Corey Memering shot one of the largest whitetails ever shot in Michigan when he harvested a 227” brute the day before Halloween. It should also be noted that Corey is not a one hit wonder as he has harvested 7 other Pope & Young sized whitetails.
Corey calls Saline Michigan home and in October of 2017 a neighbor who lives about a half a mile from Corey texted him a trail cam picture of this giant whitetail. Corey says “Instantly I know it’s a giant, but at the time, we have no idea where it’s from. I mean, for Michigan, this kind of deer is just unheard of,”
Several days later Corey’s wife Katie was trick-or treating with their kids when she spotted the same deer cross a bean field on the edge of their subdivision. “She comes running over to me and she’s got this ghost-like look on her face. ‘Come here! Come here! You gotta see this thing!’ she says and quickly motions for me to take a look for myself. I quickly realize not only is the trail camera image not a fake, but that the deer is actually right under my nose.”
Corey quickly obtained permission to hunt the field but did not see the deer again in 2017. Corey spent the spring of 2018 trying to obtain permission from as many landowners in the area as possible.
Corey was flat rejected to begin with on what would turn out to be the most important 11 acres he has ever hunted. “I knocked on a lady’s door and gave her my spiel. She literally shakes her head and says, ‘Absolutely not! We don’t like hunting. We like to see the deer.’ I tell her it’s no problem and thank her for her time. But for whatever reason we kept talking. She asked about my kids and we laughed at her crazy dogs. We covered everything from diesel trucks to camping and so on. After 45 minutes, she looks at me seriously and asks, ‘You only want to bowhunt?’ I said ‘Yes ma’am, I only want to bowhunt.’ She shoots me a thinking-grin look and says ‘If you promise you won’t bring anyone else out here, I’ll talk to my husband.’ Of course I agreed. Later that night she texts me a very simple, ‘You’re in!’”
Corey ran cameras everywhere without as much as catching a glimpse of the buck. He admits being discouraged but decided to focus on the 11-acre parcel. “It sounds even crazy to say it, but I felt like it was the right place. Sure, it was a small piece of land, but it had great bedding on one side and everything else the deer needed on the other. I just needed him to show up and maybe make a mistake.”
Corey does not have much vacation so he like many other hunters decided not to hunt opening day of archery which was 10/1. On 10/6 Corey pulled his cards and was amazed. “I pulled a few cards and BAM! My jaw dropped. There he was on opening day at 9 a.m. and only 10 yards from one of my sets!” Continue Reading – https://woodburyoutfitters.com/the-trailblazer/new-4-michigan-archery-buck-227-halloween-giant/