Hagler Brothers Find Early Season Success

Savage brothers Chase and Tanner Hagler closed out their hunting season by landing a large buck each within the first four days of hunting season.

The brothers began hunting at only age 15, when family friend Jim Miller convinced them to complete the hunter's safety course required by law to apply for a tag. Chase and Tanner started their hunting careers rifle hunting with their father and grandfather on the family's land outside Savage. Later, the two began bow hunting as well.

"I'm definitely a bigger fan of bow hunting, for sure. There's a lot more that goes into it- scouting deer all spring, hanging stands. There's a lot of time and effort that goes into bow hunting," Chase said. One major difference between bow and rifle hunting is the distance from the animal for a successful shot. "A good archer can shoot 80 yards, maybe, where a rifle hunter can get a kill at 600 yards. It's a lot bigger of an adrenaline rush, being that close. It's cool being that close to that animal and them not knowing you're there," he explained.

Bow hunting provides an extra, early opportunity to take a deer, as bow hunting season opens September 1st, and general rifle season opens mid-October. The general tag, Chase explained, is good for either season, so an unsuccessful bow season doesn't mean the hunter goes home empty handed.

This year, however, neither Chase nor his twin brother Tanner would need the extra season to fill their tag. On just the second day of archery season, Chase took down a 4x4 buck, in full velvet. Tanner followed two days later with a 5x5 buck.

Chase actually missed the first shot he took at his 4x4, from about 43 yards away. "It was about 6 or 7 o'clock, and I saw this line of deer coming in. The last one in the line was the one I killed. I missed him the first shot. He turned around and jumped behind a Russian olive tree. He jumped a fence and walked the fence line, and I actually got him closer than he was before," Chase said. Both Chase and Tanner took their kill from a tree stand.

Chase harvested both the meat and the head from the buck. "I had the full head mounted. It was in full velvet, it might not have been the biggest deer, but it's pretty hard to kill a deer in the early season. Not many people get to kill a deer in full velvet. It's really cool," he said.

Processing the meat from their kill is a family event for the Haglers. "We make our own deer sausage. It's a pretty big time for our family. We all get together and spend the day making deer sausage. It's something we look forward to every year," he said.

Both Chase and Tanner give partial credit for their 2018 kills to Pure Whitetail, a company that provides certified deer urine to hunters to attract a buck. Both Chase and Tanner are field staff members for the company. "It sure changed the game of bow hunting for me.  Deer can flip a switch in a real quick hurry. They do not like each other in rut," he explained. The urine is sprayed around the area where the hunter wants to draw the deer, and the bucks come looking to fight one another over the territory.

Though Chase and Tanner have filled their deer tag for the year, they aren't quite done with the 2018 hunting season. "This year I drew my antelope tag. I've been really trying hard to chase one with my bow but they are a lot quicker so I haven't had that opportunity yet," Chase said.