2024 Deer Camp

Dates: October 18-20

Location: Caldwell County, NC

The 2024 GEO Deer Camp was hosted by MAG Feeders and Double G Ranch in Caldwell County, North Carolina and was our first ever archery hunt.  Caldwell County is in the northwest section of North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is bounded on the northwest by Watauga County, on the northeast by Wilkes County, on the east by Alexander County, on the south by Catawba and Burke Counties and on the west by Burke and Avery Counties. It is located approximately 69 miles northwest of Charlotte, 84 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, and 90 miles northeast of Asheville and boasts breathtaking views from elevation ranges from 900 feet to 5,964 feet.

A total of thirty-two (32) people (Staff, Volunteers, and Participants) signed up to attend this event which was the largest number to sign up for any event to this point.  Ultimately sixteen (16) people wound up attending with five (5) of them being selected to hunt at the event.  The remain positions were filled by staff and our largest outpouring of volunteers that we have ever seen.  MAG Outdoors not only pulled out all the stops but they pulled out a community of people.  We cannot thank them enough for the support they have shown our organization in just the few short months that we have known each other.

Lodging was provided for guests and volunteers in tents that  were provided by GEO and consisted of a 10-ft x 12-ft canvas wall tent from The Wall Tent Shop  and a 10-ft x 12-ft Kodiak Canvas tent.  Guests for the event were provided a volunteer guide and experienced the finest of North Carolina whitetail deer hunting in temporary ground blinds carefully positioned over looking the finest feeder on the market, the 150 pound MAG feeder.

Friday night (October 18th) started with a large camp fire meet and greet featuring spaghetti prepared by Paul Rhoades of Sizzlin Arrow. Everyone chowed down and prepared for the day ahead.

Saturday (October 19th)

Saturday started off with an early morning wake up call for staff (4:00am) to prepare for the day.  Participants and volunteers weren’t able to sleep much long with a wake up call of 5:00am.  Fortunately for them they woke up to a warm breakfast again prepared by Paul Rhoades.  The morning started off quickly and on a good note when veteran Dominic Bennett arrowed his first buck with volunteer Jonathon Wallace.  Action occurred for all hunt groups as Drew Blake and Terry Richardson witnessed a couple large bucks across a pasture but they disappeared before getting to them.  Aaron Rich and first responder Robby Holderfield had multiple shots at a nice 6 point but were unable to connect.  All groups were back in by 11:00 for a lunch and a well deserved rest.  The afternoon saw less action with the only action coming from Dominic and Jonathon when Dominic missed an opportunity at a large doe.

Saturday evening featured our “Saturday Night Special” which centered around a hog that was provided by James Kiser.  This hog was slow grilled throughout the day and perfectly prepared by James and Paul.

The rest of the staff fell in to pull and chop the pork prior to the crowd arriving, and boy was it a crowd.  James and Alison Reed of MAG Outdoors pulled out all the stops with their family in attendance providing all the fixin’s and desserts that go with a perfect southern pig pickin’.  Again, we can’t thank them enough for their unwavering support of our organization.

Sunday (October 20th)

Our last day started off the same as Saturday with an early wake up call that was made even more difficult following a large dinner.  Sunday morning was slow in action with Ben Pierce being the only hunter with an opportunity.  Unfortunately, he was unable to connect with a doe.  All groups were back in by 10:00 for final interviews and goodbyes.  Following the departure of all the participants the staff and volunteers made quick work of breaking down camp and with final goodbyes our 2024 Deer Camp ended just as quickly as it started.

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