Ani-Logics Outdoors

I grew up in Rochester, MN where I started hunting and fishing at a young age. My dad would always feed deer in our back yard and watching deer from the back window sparked my interest in deer biology. I started out hunting squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants around the age of 6. When I turned 12, I began to deer hunt. I vividly remember shooting my first buck and the associated adrenaline rush was something I wanted to encounter for many years to come. Wanting to pursue a career in wildlife management, I went to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Wildlife Ecology.

Between my Sophomore and Junior year, I spent a year of active duty in the Army in Iraq as part of a security detail guarding General Petreaus. My time in the Army helped me appreciate how good we have it here in the US in terms of hunting opportunities.

When I returned from deployment, I worked on several research projects which included live capturing deer, and I thought that type of work was fascinating. I wanted to expand my knowledge of white-tailed deer, so I went on to Auburn University where I completed my Master’s Degree in Wildlife Science. My project at Auburn’s Deer Lab was to capture female deer and monitor their reproductive success. A large component of reproductive output is related to available nutrition, so I learned a lot about how nutrition can improve production. I also became a better hunter because when you use a tranquilizer dart on a herd of deer, year-round, they get rather skittish.

After graduating from Auburn, I was hired by the Wisconsin DNR as a full-time wildlife biologist. The opportunity to join Ani-Logics Outdoors as their Wildlife Biologist came up, and I couldn’t pass on the chance to focus on white-tailed deer. Now I split my time between product development, land management, writing blogs, customer support, and trade shows; all while trying to kill mature bucks with my bow and arrow.

As for my personal life, I have a wonderful wife, Jenny, who understands how much I love white-tailed deer and sacrifices many hours taking care of our 3 beautiful girls when I am away from home. I try to hunt any chance I get, and when I’m not actually hunting, I’m either shed hunting, fishing, watching the MN Twins or the Vikings, or spending time with family.