It takes guts to give up everything you know to start over. But it takes something else — vision, imagination, creativity, inventiveness, among other things — to kickstart an industry. That’s exactly what the founders of this magazine had … in spades.
The first issue of Deer & Deer Hunting appeared 49 years ago, but history will show that its roots trace back to a 1960s hunting camp who called themselves “The Stump Sitters” — a group that became the name of two members’ business exactly 50 years ago and kickstarted what is now known as the “whitetail industry.”
Al Hofacker and Jack Brauer were those members. Although they were the group’s only bowhunters, they considered themselves deer hunters first and foremost — not bowhunters, gun-hunters or muzzleloading hunters. They reasoned that their first love was hunting deer and learning more about the whitetail’s biology and daily behavior. The rationale: The more they learned, the better they would become at hunting.
So, to that end, the men meticulously logged their obsession; each averaging more than 400 hours a year in the woods — scouting and hunting whitetails — which was absolutely unheard of in those days.
Hofacker and Brauer also logged thousands of pages of field observations and shot countless reels of 8mm movie film. Along the way — sometimes by design, sometimes not — they learned a few things about deer and deer hunting.
By 1973 they knew they were onto something that others would appreciate, so they officially incorporated as the Stump Sitters Whitetail Study Group. A year later they were invited to share some of their knowledge with schools and sportsman’s groups. Other invitations followed, and they found themselves giving as many as 70 presentations a year to other diehard deer hunters. All members received a gold patch (shown in the photo here).
Early in their road trips, they learned the American deer hunter’s quest for information went beyond seminars. They briefly tried to convince other publishers to expand their coverage to include their insights on deer hunting. This led to the realization that nothing short of a deer-specific media company would satisfy the nation’s need for practical and comprehensive information on this beloved game animal.
The first “issue” was an 11-by-17-inch piece of paper folded in half (shown in the photo accompanying this blog post) and included science-based deer insights and a pencil drawing of two mature bucks locked in battle. Within three short years, that little newsletter was a national success.
The D&DH brand grew, evolved and continues to educate and entertain millions of hunters. On behalf of all of those hunters, I’d like to thank those two guys for chasing their dream.
Stay tuned in the coming months as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine. We have some special things in store!
