Do you feel like a young bird dog squirming in anticipation with his first pheasant feather?
That’s the feeling I get right before opening day of the gun deer season, better known to hunters as the Most Important Day of the Year.
I still remember coming down with a bad cold the day before one opener. I dragged myself to a public hunting area near New London and sat on a folding stool, feeling miserable the whole time, but knowing I could not stay at home.
I got the idea of walking through the marsh to flush a deer like bird hunters do pheasants (this crazy idea has actually worked for me before). That’s when my boots started to break through the thin ice, and my Sorels quickly became water-logged and covered in muddy goo.
I headed for the car, breaking through every other step. Talk about a workout. I was a sweaty, muddy mess when I finally got to the car. I felt relief but was grateful it was right around freezing temperature, and I was going home to sleep. It was my duty as a Wisconsin hunter to spend opening morning in the woods, and I’d survived.
Dragging a dead deer out of that swamp would have been a nightmare, but the tough hunts are always the ones you remember.
Life’s not always easy or fun, and hunters know that better than anyone. At the same time, when you’ve been hunting hard for two or three days and you need a break, take one. The hardest thing to learn about hunting is that when the fun stops, you need to quit for a bit.
Accidents are most likely to happen when you are fatigued. Wear your safety harness, don’t stick your hunting knife inside the chest cavity of a deer when your other hand is in there, and remember TAB-K. If you don’t know it, look it up.
If you are 75 pounds overweight and seldom walk more than a block, don’t try to drag your deer out by yourself. Get a plastic sled or deer cart, an ATV or call up a buddy or relative and ask for help.
As we hunters mature, we go through stages and our priorities change. The Boone and Crockett Club and other sources talk about five stages: shooting, limiting out, trophy, method and sportsman.
But the Texas Parks and Wildlife recognizes six stages, adding “give back” to the list. Not every hunter goes through every stage, and some don’t advance to the final ones. I’ve definitely reached the give back stage.
I love teaching hunter safety classes in Waupaca as part of one of the largest instructor groups in the state. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is always looking for more volunteer instructors, and you will get immense satisfaction helping young hunters learn to keep the woods safe. I’ve also helped friends and a Little Brother (as in Big Brothers Big Sisters) learn the sport, too.
I won’t get into each stage, but the sportsman stage is also one of the best for enjoyment of being in the woods, sharing camaraderie and celebrating the right to be free and own firearms. Few people in other nations can do the same.
Sportsmen put their money where their mouth is. License fees help pay for public lands and protection of wildlife, including game warden enforcement. Excise taxes on firearms, bows, binoculars and other gear also pay for public lands. Deer hunting is a $1 billion industry in Wisconsin, and the money spent on food, gas, lodging, meat processing and gear has a local multiplier effect.
Don’t forget to support the conservation and firearms groups that fight for your rights at the legislative level and work with state fish and game staff to protect and improve habitat.
Whitetails Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl and others fight the good fight. The National Rifle Association is the heavy-hitter that on a daily basis protects our Second Amendment rights for firearms ownership.
I became a life member in high school and recently became a benefactor member. They offer four great magazines and many benefits. Sign up your friends and relatives for a great gift.
Here are a few items to carry that will make your deer hunt more comfortable. I can’t do much to make you more successful, because that’s a combination of luck and skill.
• A sturdy sheath knife with a 4- to 6-inch blade is plenty for gutting a deer. Replaceable-blade folding knives are great choices, too, as is a Wyoming knife for zipping open the chest cavity without cutting the intestines. Folding knives are harder to clean.
• A great flashlight. Headlamps are especially handy if you carry a lot of gear. I am not a big fan of rechargeable lights, but lithium batteries outlast the rest. Look at SureFire, Streamlight and other top-tier brands for lights that will last for years.
• Snacks. Do you need a reminder? I like to make my own trail mix, but the bags at Fleet Farm are handy and delicious. Transfer the contents into zippered bags for quieter and easier eating. Jerky, crackers with cheese or peanut butter and a sandwich or two will help you survive until lunch.
• Rain gear. Yes, it could rain or even snow on opening weekend. The dry hunter stays warm longer, and the longer he sits, the more likely a deer will show up. Or hunt in a ground blind and you can skip the rain gear.
• A pruning shears and folding saw for clearing shooting lanes and cracking the deer’s pelvic bone. A retired Moline, Illinois, cop named Eugene Mattecheck taught me the pruning shears trick. Much quieter trimming limbs than a big knife or your hands.
I could give you more but think about comfort, especially if you have young hunters along.
Don’t stay too late, or they won’t want to come back. Have fun. Shoot straight. Take plenty of photos, and don’t stretch the truth unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.