Back 40

We bought a farm. Sixty-four acres of possibilities in the heart of Michigan with the potential to become the perfect wildlife haven and deer hunting spot. In the first episode of the show, Steven Rinella and Mark Kenyon lay out a plan to turn this run-of-the-mill chunk of dirt into prime habitat for everything from whitetails, to squirrels, to pollinators. Along the way they find out exactly what kind of property they now own, and how much work it's going to take to transform it into something more.

In episode two of our new series, Back 40, Mark is making the first habitat improvements on the hunting property. He calls in some help, but gets varying opinions on what to do. He also battles a stubborn mower, rutted up trails, and a group of angry bees.

After spending August working his ass off on the Back 40, Mark Kenyon is ready to get the heck off of the property and let it rest. Michigan is one of the most heavily hunted states in the country for whitetails, which gives our crew the opportunity to be one of the few small properties that doesn’t spook every mature buck into the next county. As it turns out, Steven Rinella and Janis Putelis have a different idea. It's the opening day of squirrel season, and the boys are ready to get after ol' bushy, even if they have to tromp through Mark's sanctuary to do it.

Last year, we bought a 64-acre farm in Michigan. The goal was to transform this small chunk of land into a hunting and wildlife paradise. Mark Kenyon’s first season as deer hunter turned land manager was full of half-done projects and failed additions. Other than arrowing a mature buck he called “The Wide Eight,” last season was about getting to know the farm. This year will be all about change. It’s August and Mark is back to check on the progress of some crucial projects. He battled a bunch of pissed off bees, COVID lockdowns, and failed food plots all Spring. Will any of these so-called improvements turn the Back 40 around? Tune in to find out.

In this episode, Mark Kenyon is joined by everyone’s favorite guitar-picking Wisconsinite Doug Duren to revisit the plan he proposed during his 2019 visit to the farm. Doug and Mark have a goal to get 55 trees in the ground and double the acreage of food plots on the property. Along the way they’ll show new hunter Dan Jajo the ropes and hope that he can earn a chance to come back and hunt later in the year. With just a few days to get all of the work done, things really need to go according to plan. Of course, they don’t. Will the guys be able to finish off these projects despite broken equipment and oppressive August heat?

Mark has already put in four months of blood, sweat, and tears to get this place ready for another season. August is coming to a close and he’d like to get the hell off the property to let it rest before hunting kicks off in October. Before he can do that he needs to set up tree stands and tower blinds in some crucial spots on the farm. Mark is joined by good buddy and fellow whitetail nut Tony Petersen to do some sawing, assembling, hanging, strapping, and tipping in the name of dialing this place in for the months to come. After all the work is done, the real moment of truth will be when the guys check trail cameras for the first time. Will there be any deer around to hunt out of these carefully crafted new set-ups?