Two local hunters achieved legendary status in the last year and will both be featured in consecutive weeks of the Citizen-Tribune.

 

Goodrich is a 51-year-old man from Becker Twp. who was recently featured in the March 17 Outdoor News publication for his whitetail deer he shot with a bow in 2016. The deer measured 158-6/8 (net) and was the top deer taken in Sherburne County.

 

Goodrich will now be the #3-ranked whitetail  typical archery deer for the county and his name will post in the Big Game Records of Minnesota book.

 

His name already existed in the hunting book after he harvested a 156-2/8 deer in 2012 and was ranked #4. That rank will drop to #5 due to his latest harvest that earned him a third place ribbon from Outdoor News in the Deer & Turkey Classic competition for Minnesota.

 

Goodrich’s latest deer grossed at 169-3/8, less than half a point from being named to the Boone & Crocket  record book— a prestigious national club and conservation program in the United States. The deductions were due to a chipped tip and an extra tine on one side.

 

Goodrich has been hunting for 37 of his 51 years on earth and has been bow hunting for 31 of those years. He says he loves shooting bow over rifle or shotgun for big game.

 

“I’d like to caribou hunt some day or maybe elk,” he said. “But for now, I just concentrate on shooting in our great state.”

 

Goodrich said that when he was a youngster, he saw a friend’s buck he had shot and his passion for hunting was sparked.  He saved up $60 and went to Coast-to-Coast and bought his first bow and arrow set — a Bear Mini Magnum compound bow and arrow kit and his life changed forever.

 

Goodrich has been so proficient with his hunting skill, he has 10 deer mounts in his home currently as well as a fish mount on one of the walls in his sprawling house.

 

Goodrich hunts in Sherburne County on private land that he doesn’t dare disclose. He does, however, have a trade secret he’s not ashamed to pass along to people interested in being successful in the sport.

 

“I learned that when one sweats, the scent of sweat stays in our hairs and animals can pick that up,” he says. “So every time I go out, I shave my head, underarms and other areas so I don’t carry a scent.”

 

Goodrich also washes his hunting clothes in non-scented detergent and brings them along and changes into them just before he heads to his stand.

 

“I tell you it works!” He said. “I’ve had deer come right up to me and as long as I don’t flinch, they don’t know I’m there.”

 

He also suggests that hunters need to make it from their vehicles to their stands in as quiet a way as possible.

 

“If you stir up noise for the other creatures — the rabbits, squirrels and birds — they’ll stay away and deer pick up on that,” Goodrich says. “You gotta be super invisible out there.”

 

Other than bow hunting in his home county, Goodrich says he likes to go to the Lac Qui Parle state game refuge for a change of pace.

 

“It’s a great refuge and it’s where I harvested numerous bucks, including my very first back in 1989 that I have mounted in my home,” he said.

 

Goodrich uses a Mathews hunting bow he attained over 13 years ago. He also uses carbon arrows as opposed to aluminum.

 

Of the 10 mounts Goodrich has in his home, most of them have been mounted by Mike Schuett of Sportsman’s Image Taxidermy in Little Falls.

 

“Mike does a superb job and is perfect in all the details,” says Dennis. “A lot of mounts you can see the craftsmanship around the base of the horns, the mouths and the eyes. Mike’s techniques and application are second to none.”

 

Of Dennis’ 10 mounts, eight are state champion deer and two are national champs.

 

Goodrich says he wouldn’t be as successful nor would he being having as much fun if his spouse wasn’t behind him 100%.

 

“Jennifer’s support is what is key to all this,” Dennis said of his wife. “She believes in me and always backs me up.”

 

The Goodriches have five children and Dennis works for Bondhus in Monticello while Jennifer works as a teacher  in Monticello.

 

In next week’s Citizen-Tribune, we will feature Seth Hubbard from Becker who took the top spot for whitetail nontypical archery for the Outdoor News Deer & Turkey Classic event by scoring a 188-2/8.