I have a love-hate relationship with trail cameras. Checking their SD cards is like an early Christmas — opening those images on my point-and-shoot camera in a hunting blind brings the surprise gift of the local bucks, does and even an occasional coyote or raccoon that pass by. I’ve had more than my share of issues with these magical little hunting tools.

Another historic Wisconsin gun-deer season is now about halfway through, and many lasting memories have been made afield as about 550,000 hunters pursue America’s premier big game animal in the state with the most record-book bucks. It doesn’t matter if you harvest a wide-racked buck or a fat doe.

I finally gave up on assembling my spacious Barronett Ox 4 ground blind, barely a year old. It had fallen out of the bed of my Polaris Sportsman 6x6 ATV after last year’s deer season on the short ride to my house, and one of the steel hub poles punched a hole in the fabric. Despite studying several YouTube videos about fixing ground blinds and a call to the company, I still haven’t been able to get it to open.

A little rain and wind didn’t stifle the enthusiasm of 17 youngsters who experienced community policing via bows and arrows. Their squeals and laughter proved that the first Badges and Bullseyes program in the Clintonville area Oct.

While teaching hunter safety in Waupaca with another instructor Oct. 1, something magical happened. A boy about 12 ran excitedly toward the parking lot of the church, where fellow instructor Chris Hazen and I were teaching a group at our tree stand safety station. “Dad, I passed!” the boy yelled as he approached his dad’s car. I caught my breath and felt my eyes getting ready for tears.

Some of us only think of police as life-or-death crimefighters or the enforcers of traffic laws, but a statewide program aimed at keeping kids on the straight and narrow brings cops and kids together to enjoy archery, fishing and bowling while teaching youngsters that the men and women in blue are really pretty cool. The Cops and Kids Foundation, launched in Sussex by retired Pewaukee Police Officer Bob Kraemer in 2010, has spread its programs th