There’s something about January deer camp in Alabama that always feels like the real ending to deer season.
By the time Indiana season wraps up and the cold settles in back home, I’m already looking forward to heading south with the guys. Alabama has become a tradition for us over the past few years. The rut is still rolling down there, the woods feel alive again, and honestly, it’s just good for the soul to get one last week in camp before the season officially closes out.
Every year I come home from Alabama with more than just meat in the cooler. The stories, the friendships, and the memories from that week always seem to stick with me long after season ends.
This year was no different.
Right after the ATA Show, I packed up and headed south to meet up with the crew, including my good buddy Ben, who I originally started DAYSIX OUTDOORS with. Every year, that week together becomes part hunting trip, part reunion. A lot of reminiscing. A lot of laughing. A lot of giving each other a hard time.
And a lot of time spent in the boat.
Most mornings started long before daylight as we’d idle through the dark water to access different pieces of property. The area we were hunting had deer moving heavily along public and private boundaries, so every sit felt like a bit of a chess match.
Hunting Alabama Whitetails on the Public-Private Boundary
One morning, Ben and I split up after getting out of the boat. He headed south toward an area he’d seen good activity in before, and I moved north into a spot I had never hunted.
Honestly, I didn’t love it.
I sat there in the dark for a while trying to convince myself it would work, but eventually I decided to reposition. I had been hunting on the ground most of the week, which felt simple and traditional in the best way possible. Just me, a rifle, and my Tricer tripod leaned against a tree.
I settled in again and, if I’m being honest, I was tired enough that I laid down for a little while before sitting back up against the tree.
A few minutes later, I caught what looked like movement in the distance. Maybe a tail flick. Maybe nothing.
I slowly brought up my binoculars and glassed the area for what felt like forever. Probably only a minute.
Nothing.
So I lowered my binos.
And standing eight yards directly in front of me was a buck.
Completely locked on me.
We both froze.
He knew something wasn’t right and bounded off, stopping about 30 yards away behind a tree. I repositioned quickly and just waited for him to take one more step.
When he did, I squeezed off the shot.
He ran maybe another 30 yards before I heard one of the loudest crashes I’ve ever heard from a deer.
And every hunter knows that moment afterward. You replay the sound over and over in your head wondering: Was that him crashing down… or just crashing through the woods?
I eased forward into the thicker cover where I had last seen him and found him laying there.
Done.
I was ecstatic.
I immediately started sending texts to the group. Ben came over, and we celebrated together before quartering him up using the gutless method, packing everything back to the boat, and floating him out to camp.
Deer Camp Is About More Than the Harvest
Back at camp, it was celebration after celebration all week long. Honestly, it was probably the most successful deer camp we’ve ever had as a group.
But more than that, it was a reminder of why deer camp matters in the first place.
It’s easy for hunting to become a solitary pursuit. Early mornings alone. Long sits. Quiet walks in the dark.
But camp changes that.
Camp brings people together.
It gives you stories you’ll tell for years, shared meals, inside jokes, and the kind of friendships that only seem to grow stronger around deer poles, boats, and late-night conversations.
Toward the end of the trip, I started prepping the skull to bring home legally across state lines. I skinned it out, cleaned the brain cavity, and knew right then I wanted to do a euro mount for this deer.
Once I got back home, my buddy Adam helped get the skull cleaned up and looking pristine.
Why I Chose a Pedestal Euro Mount Display
When the euro finally came back cleaned up, I knew I didn’t want him tucked away in a corner or hanging flat on a wall somewhere.
That’s why I mounted him on the new RACK HUB RHE Pedestal Display Combo.
Now he sits here in the office as part of the decor instead of tucked away in a corner. It’s a daily reminder of the hunt, the friendships, the boat rides in the dark, and the camaraderie that makes deer camp what it is.
That’s what we wanted the pedestal display to be about.
Not just mounting a skull.
But displaying a memory in a way that actually feels worthy of the story behind it.
A Deer Skull Display That Becomes Part of the Story
The new pedestal display gives your euro mount a place to live beyond the wall. Whether it’s on a desk, shelf, console table, or office cabinet, it turns your whitetail euro mount into part of your everyday space while still letting the mount remain the centerpiece.
Because some memories deserve more than storage.
They deserve to be seen.
