Hastings High School biology teacher Mike Versland was in tight quarters while perched in a tall tree on 20 acres of private land in Maple Grove. He saw hundreds of houses, kids at play and plenty of road traffic. He tuned it all out when two bucks rose from the ground behind him. They sparred for a moment, then walked onto a path. When the larger buck turned broadside, he was just 7 yards away from the tree. Armed with a bow, Versland pierced the buck just behind its left shoulder and found the whitetail piled up in woods just 50 yards away. The hunt was permitted by the city and landowner. The buck dressed out at 230 pounds.
Tony Kennedy
