Chris Eberhart Left His Mark on Bowhunting World

The deer hunting community lost a bright, young innovator with the recent passing of Chris Eberhart. Chris was a Deer & Deer Hunting contributor for many years, and also authored several books on bowhunting and hunting public-land whitetails.

He was 49.

Chris spent much of his life chasing whitetails across North America, especially in his home state of Michigan. He was the son of bowhunting legend John Eberhart, another longtime D&DH contributor. Like his dad, Chris made his mark hunting the wildest of whitetails on public lands and highly pressured small private parcels. His contributions to the deer hunting industry are many, including as an author of numerous books, magazine articles and online content.

Chris Eberhart was an avid bowhunter who loved to travel the country, sleeping in his van, in search of public-land hunting opportunities.

Eberhart spent several years as a sales representative in the hunting industry, and he also appeared on the TV shows The American Archer and Wildlife Point Blank on the Outdoor Channel.

Among his books are the 2008 Whitetail Access, a work that detailed how to hunt top whitetail states cheaply and effectively. He was urged to write that book after his friends noticed his sheer intensity for traveling the country, bow in hand, searching for whitetail adventures.

“After hunting out of my van in Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan and Ohio during the fall of 2004, I drove up to Massachusetts to bowhunt for a week with my good friend Ben Bailey,” Eberhart wrote. “Over a dinner of grilled venison with some friends, we were talking of the season, about how I hunted, and of books. Ben said, “Why don’t you write a book about your low-budget approach to hunting road trips? And so the idea was born.”

Chris Eberhart’s most recent contribution to Deer & Deer Hunting was published in the November 2020 issue of the magazine. That article, “Roe Deer: Eurpoe’s Whitetail” gave a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at Eberhart’s next love — hunting for the No. 1 game animal “across the pond,” and specifically Germany, where he had resided for many years of his adult life.

After serving in Germany, Chris Eberhart stayed there and became a resident and an avid roe deer hunter. He shot this 9-year-old buck after hunting for six weeks without an opportunity.

Chris Eberhart Obituary

Eberhart lost his battle to cancer on January 21, 2021 in Buchenbach, Germany. Christopher was born in Gladwin, Michigan, on February 21, 1971, son of Jonathan Eberhart and Cheryl Browne. He graduated from Clare High School with honors in 1989 where he excelled in track and cross-country. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. During college he was chosen for a scholarship to go to Germany to teach English and it was there that he met Susanne. Shortly after graduation he moved to Germany to be with Susi.

Together they had a daughter, Linnea. Throughout life he always had a deep love for the outdoors, hiking, running and bowhunting often. Along with his dad, he co-authored 3 hunting books and also wrote one of his own. He was the editor of a hard covered international hunting magazine, Hunter’s Path, a German-based magazine.

Chris is survived by his partner Susanne, daughter Linnea, father John Eberhart (Gayleen), mother Cheryl Browne, siblings Jon Eberhart, Joseph (Heather) Eberhart, Traci (Dan) Wonsey, Melany Birdsong, Cortnie (Dillon) Fitz and many Nephews & Nieces.

If you would like to contribute to find a cure, donations may be made to any cancer research organization of your choosing.

From everyone here at Deer & Deer Hunting, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Chris’s family, relatives and friends. He will be deeply missed but not forgotten.