Gabe whitetail

Gabe Rodriguez grew up hunting with his grandfather in Illinois. This story is as much about the bond between a youngster learning to hunt with an adult mentor as it is about hunting itself.

Did you ever whitetail hunt with your granddad.We absolutely did. So moving forward into that. That was something that I think I have the best memories of because hunting camp was probably, as a young boy, that was probably the part I looked most forward to just because of the food and hanging out in the woods and doing things that I enjoyed doing and not having to think about much other than being out there hunting. Learning the skills spending time with my grandfather obviously. Fingers crossed. You came onto a big buck and you were able to harvest a nice animal for that season and have a good story to tell as well as fun.

An old saying in hunting particularly when you're talking whitetail 'being patient is a virtue with a hunter, It's a must.'

It's an absolute must especially when you're hunting white tail out there. In Illinois you're able to have feeders out, you're able to use your tree stands which of course you can use tree stands out here in Idaho and several other states around the country. But it's a little bit different out there in Illinois because whitetail are very shy out there in Illinois. And again you've got to be patient as you said you've really got to understand how to hunt out there which I learned from my grandfather, from my uncle. And you got to hone in on it. It's not something that just comes. You can't just sit and wait. Sitting and waiting does not work. Refining your skills is a big key for that state.