2024 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year Mike Adams Of WFDO

OUTFITTER REVIEW SCORE: A+

In the month of November we were able to join Mike Adams of WFDO for a Week 1 of his 2023 Kansas rifle whitetail deer season. We would soon find out what makes this hunt a truly World Class caliber whitetail deer hunting experience as Mike came through again as he always does! Not only did I harvest a beautiful 8-point Kansas buck but five of the other six hunters in camp that week were successful as well! The overall experience was first class from start to finish!

At the end of the hunt I was proud to name Mike Adams of WFDO The TWO TIME / 2024 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year for his incredible Kansas archery and rifle whitetail deer hunts!

Big Kansas Bucks
By Dan Wennerlind

When I finished up my Rio turkey hunt in the spring of 2014 with outfitter Mike Adams of WFDO in north central Kansas where we named him the 2015 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter of The Year, all I could remember was how incredible his Kansas whitetail deer hunting operation was. There were more big bucks roaming the properties Mike showed me during our turkey hunt together then I had seen anywhere else in the country, and I vowed one day to return to hunt them. At each spot we would stop and spot for gobblers, Mike would have a story for me of a trophy whitetail that had been harvested off the property in year’s past. And we’re not talking little spike bucks, these are true trophies… ranging all the way up over 200” class deer.

Fast forward to the end of November 2023 when I pulled into Mike’s deer lodge, all those memories flooded back to me. Over the years Mike would continue to share with me new photos of the deer harvested each fall. Many years there were multiple deer over 165” taken off his properties. That would top anything I had ever harvested in the past that’s for sure!

Upon arrival, I walked into the lodge just before supper time and boy did it smell Gooood! Mike’s full time chef Kim was already hard at it making a four-course dinner for all 7 of us hungry deer hunters. Since I showed up a day after the Kansas rifle opener, the other 6 guys were still out hunting when I arrived, just before dark. As they came in 2 x 2, I got a chance to meet everyone and hear their stories from the days adventure. First in, were Greg and his wife Brittani from Utah and their buddy Ray. This was their third time in camp I would soon find out and both Greg and Brittani had shooter bucks in range that day but chose to pass that early into the hunt.

Next in, was Jack from Cape Cod, out east. This was Jack’s 17th year in camp! In fact, I soon found out Jack had hunted with Mike every year but two, since Mike started his operation in 2003, the same year I launched HuntTheNorth.com! The only two seasons he missed were when he didn’t get drawn for a tag. And on top of that he had been successful every year but one, including this year as he was so excited to show me the nice 8-pointer, he just harvested that evening. Now being 77 years old, Jack was beyond chasing the monsters, he was happy with antlers, fresh meat, and the comradery of deer camp. Finally, were Dan and Cody, also from Utah, these guys on the other hand were straight up killers! And wouldn’t you know it Dan drew blood that night as well. He had just harvested a very nice 10-point buck and was beyond excited.

After a delicious dinner of venison stew and fresh baked bread, followed up by homemade peach cobbler it was time to catch up with Mike a bit before hitting the hay, as we tuned into a little Thursday night football. Now for a guy who isn’t that techy, Mike sure has his trail cams dialed in that’s for sure. Mike has 32 different cellular trail cams set up on his phone, over his 40 different active corn pile baits. Each hunter has a chance to see the exact buck they are targeting for the next day’s hunt from the night before. What a treat. The one Mike had picked out for me was a beautiful 10 pointer that stopped in for a bite to each at 4:18pm that evening, just an hour before I reached camp. Now if that doesn’t get your heart pumping, I don’t know what will.

The 4:30 am alarm went off way too soon the next morning after a long drive in the day before from Minneapolis, MN. After a quick bite to eat, Mike was there ready to take me and Greg to our locations for the day. Mike made sure we were quietly settled into our stand at least an hour before shooting time. Although it was a chilly morning, the thought of the big buck I had seen on camera the night before kept the blood flowing all morning long. It was a great location with the baited corn pile 65 yards upwind of my stand. A lay-up shot with my 30-06 for sure, if the big boy came back. However, by 10am I had no such luck. Mike typically picks up all his hunters at 10am to take them back to the lodge for a hot breakfast and to warm up, before heading back out for the afternoon hunt.

Back at the lodge everyone had a chance to catch up from the morning’s hunt. I would find out that Brittani had a shot at a nice 8 pointer at about 240 yards and put it just over his back, no harm no foul. And pretty much everyone else at camp saw deer that morning but no one else took a shot.

One of the nice aspects of Mike’s operations is that because he has over 100 different stands on so many different properties everyone has a chance to hunt a new blind each day, unless they want to go back to the same spot they have been hunting. That afternoon Mike put me in an abandoned barn loft location that overlooked a nice field next to a beautiful bottom draw where Cody had seen over 9 bucks the night before from another stand a half mile away.

This location was much more comfortable and gave me the opportunity to move around a little bit as needed as well. I didn’t see a deer until the 5pm dinner bell rang, then they came out of the woodwork. First 2 does popped out of the trees about 400 yards away. Then a nice 8 pointer slowly made his way across the far side of the field. By sunset I had seen over 10 deer- 3 being bucks, but only one doe came into range. It sure made for an action-packed evening hunt though.

Back at camp we would come to find Brittani hit home on a nice 8-point buck! She was happy as can be, as well she should be. And everyone else saw deer that night as well. Slowly but surely, we were knocking them off one by one.

Mike and his righthand man Matthew Martin who has been guiding for Mike for eight seasons now, made quick work of butchering and freezing the deer after a nice photo shoot for Brittani, for their trip home as they do for each client.

After another full-on dinner of over 50 delicious tacos prepared by Miss Kim, it was lights out early as it was now time to get serious. The next morning, I was up and attem, ready to go at 5:30 sharp. Now it was down to me, Greg, and Cody. Jack was also back at it for another doe to fill the freezer. Today Mike placed me in a nice spot a couple miles north of the lodge on a beautiful piece of property.

In this spot, Mike placed a standard ground blind on a 6-foot elevated platform overlooking a corn pile 237 yards out in front of me, along a small draw leading into a nice thick patch of trees which looked like the perfect bedding area, to me anyway. Since it got down to below 20 degrees that night, I also thought to bring my Mr. Buddy heater with, and boy did that come in handy I tell ya what! Mike had a very comfortable lounger chair inside the blind waiting for me and I was pleasantly warm all morning long. Although I didn’t see much right of way, around 8:30 am I had a nice 6-pointbuck make his way up the draw, stopped in for a bite to eat at the corn pile and keep moving to the bedding grounds. He wasn’t the one I was looking for, but it was nice to see antlers. At 10am sharp Mike was back to pick me up as was the norm. Back at camp over a hot breakfast we got to hear about Cody’s big buck he shot that morning. This one was a beaut for sure. I was guessing it would score close to 155 – 160”. Cody tried to hold back his excitement as he was “all business” when it came to deer hunting, but I could tell he was ecstatic inside, about the trophy buck!

And then there were three of us left. It was now down to me, Ray and Greg… That afternoon Mike sent us all back out to the same blinds we were in that morning as he had the utmost confidence in our locations. Due to the cold temps and overcast skies that day, Mike got us out early. We were back in the blinds by 1pm.

After sitting all day, I couldn’t wait for the 5pm dinner bell to ring. And wouldn’t you know it, just like clockwork right at 5:00 as I was looking through my binoculars, I saw three does pop out on the far tree line, just beyond the corn pile I was hunting, along the north fence line. Then two more does…. And wait…. what was that behind the does… a real bruiser popped his head out. OMG!!! From over 300 yards away I could see his rack plain as day. This was a true shooter buck, the one you drive all day to get to Kansas from Minnesota for. My heart was racing.

As the big 8 pointer stepped out from the thicket, they had all came from, another small buck followed in his tracks. There were 7 in all, with the 5 does. I pulled up the range finder the monster stood broadside just over 300 yards away. I could tell he was thick! His main beams stood out from a mile away, he was the trophy I was after!

Unfortunately for me… it was a little too far of a shot for me to feel comfortable taking. I didn’t want to take bad shot and cripple the gorgeous beast, so I sat back and watched the show. The big boy chased one doe around and around for a little bit before they all headed back into the thicket they came from. Man, what a thrill, even if it didn’t last long, at least I got to see what I was after!

About 10 minutes later two does popped out of the tree line on top of the hill again, then 3 more. It looked like the small herd was back, but where were the two bucks? Fear not they showed back up as well. This time they were all back in the trees still well over 300 yards away, so I didn’t even bother to get excited.

As the two bucks stayed in tight close to the does, I thought to myself it sure would be nice if the big boy would just come down and get a bite to eat at my corn pile….

As if he was reading my mind, he turned and trotted right down to my corn pile, followed by his little brother. I honestly couldn’t believe it. Before I knew what happened the monster was standing broadside at 237 yards!!! This was the moment I had been waiting for since I booked the hunt with Mike Adams a year ago!!!

I slowly slid out of my chair and got in position to take the shot. I kneeled and got into position. I clicked the safety off on my trusty 30-06 and then it happened…. one of the worst Charlie horses I can remember, My entire right hamstring tightened up like a baseball. It was all I could do to stand up and stretch it out without making a sound. I did my best to keep my composure as the big boy just kept on munching away at the corn pile with the smaller buck.

I finally got back in position in a half kneeling, standing sort of stance to avoid another muscle cramp. With my barrel now laid across the window of the blind, my heart was really pounding after all that excitement. I did my best to lay the cross hairs on the sweet spot. I took one last deep breath in, slowly let it out and squeezed the trigger………BOOM!

The monster took off like a rocket! He ran right down the draw as I ejected the empty hull and loaded in a second round. By now all I saw were white tails bouncing through the trees as all the does were in-line with my buck. From the angle I was at I couldn’t tell if he was with them or not. I thought I made a good shot, but you never know until you see him hit the ground.

I sat back in my chair and took it all in. WHAT A THRILL! After a few minutes I picked up my phone and made the call- Mike- I took a shot at a nice buck! I said I think it was a clean shot, but I didn’t see him go down. Mike told me to sit tight, and he would be there shortly.

Mike pulled up about 20 minutes later and we went down to the corn pile together with our flashlights. It didn’t take long to find the blood trail. And wouldn’t you know it right where I had seen him last the big bruiser lay stone dead. My shot hit the sweet spot and the hunt was over!!! I was overwhelmed, what a thrill. I gave Mike a big hug and we both smiled from ear to ear! This was one of those moments you will always remember. Although I did feel remorse for taking the life of such a beautiful creature, the overall excitement and thrill of the experience is why we do what we do as hunters. This animal would now help feed me and my two boys for the next year and would put a memory on the wall that I will be able to tell my boys about many years from now.

So, this would be a great way to end this story. The big kill, Mike going 7 for 8 with trophy bucks during the week I was in camp and a bunch of happy clients. But if I ended it here you would miss out on a huge aspect of Mike Adam’s hunting operation. Mike was quick to get my buck loaded up and get Greg picked up and get back to town as it was the official Christmas lighting for the town of Alton where Mike lives. He had been talking it up all week. Although I wasn’t quite sure why, I would soon find out. As we pulled into town, we could hear Carolers singing and kids playing in the streets. Mike parked the truck and made a V – line to the crowd.

I would soon find out that Mike and his lovely wife Lorie of WFDO had helped sponsor the event and there were people lined up from 3 towns around to come see the big Christmas light show and have the kids meet Santa. Frankly I couldn’t even keep up with Mike, he was all over the place shaking hands with everyone, kissing babies and hugging the ladies. He was glowing. It was clear that Mike and his wife Lorie take great pride in their community. Mike helps raise money for the town each year and makes sure everyone is taken care of in the area that needs assistance. It was clear that Mike does much more in the community than just running a successful outfitting business. He is a pillar in the community- for that, I was so happy and proud to name Mike Adams of Webbed Feet Down Outfitters as the 2024 HuntTheNorth.com Two Time Outfitter of The Year for his World Class caliber Kansas Whitetail Deer Hunts AND for frankly just being a good dude. Congrats Mike!