Tales from deer opener

Posted 11/9/22

OUTDOOR Adventures BY BRIAN G. SCHOMMER It’s that time of year where deer hunters everywhere begin to share stories from deer camp and to no surprise, most of them have nothing to do with being in …

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Tales from deer opener

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OUTDOOR Adventures

BY BRIAN G. SCHOMMER

It’s that time of year where deer hunters everywhere begin to share stories from deer camp and to no surprise, most of them have nothing to do with being in the woods. As I sit in front of the computer putting my thoughts into words, I am confident that is pretty much how this column is going to be written. I will say however that our party of six successfully filled two-thirds of our tags on the opening weekend which according to what we saw on the evening news, exceeds the wants and wishes of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Of the 400,000 tags sold, it is reported that the DNR would like to see half of them filled. As one of the guys in our group said, “two-thirds is more than half, so we did our job.” For those who struggle with math… we harvested four deer on the opening weekend.

This year, we stayed at Nitti’s Hunters Resort on Lake Mille Lacs and I have to say, this place is top notch. Our cabin was spacious, clean, and had all the amenities needed for a comfortable lodging experience. The two bathrooms offered ample space for six guys to do what needed to be done and, being this was six guys without the supervision of their wives or fiancé, an explanation of what needed to be done usually followed because guys are gross like that. The first night steak dinner was a big hit, as ritual would have it, and then it was joke time (none of which can be shared here because again, guys are gross like that) and watch the Gopher hockey game. We talked about what we were going to do with the $1.5 billion dollars we would win in the lottery, which is funny, because based off our lack of success at pull tabs at the resorts bar and grill earlier in the day, that $1.5 was not (and did not) come anywhere near us. One of our crew did manage to win four dollars as he had the power ball. Eventually we all called it a night and turned in for what is normally a restless night. The adrenaline is already pumping at bedtime the night before opener.

We arose and as another ritual would have it, shared in some sausage and egg biscuits, downed some coffee, and scurried about like a bunch of squirrels (will talk more about those animals a bit later) getting all our gear loaded to the trucks and then, after a quick prayer for safety, thanksgiving for the opportunity, and a bountiful harvest, we would be on our way to the hunting land. The biggest event of day one was seeing five wolves in a pack (no, they were not coyotes, know the difference). They are beautiful animals no doubt, but the fact is, if you are seeing a pack of wolves, you won’t see much for deer. By the end of opening day, we may normally have four or five deer bagged. We had two, which while a bit disappointing, we were still thankful for. We eventually got back to the cabin for a dinner and found round two of the Gophers versus Notre Dame weekend hockey battle. We waited for the lottery numbers to be shown and went to bed in the same financial situations as when we arrived.

Only three of us ventured back to the woods on Sunday and bagged two more deer, doing everything necessary to complete the weekend. We headed home on what turned out to be a successful, fun-filled time with sore bellies from laughing so much. That or eating too much. To most readers the report so far might seem somewhat mundane. Here comes some of the funnier things that happened.

The youngest member of our party decided that while it was deer opener, that it was also grouse season, he had his small game tag in possession, and while a .308 rifle is not generally the firearm of choice to bag a grouse, the fact that one of these fast flying birds perched on a log not too far from him, it was time to bag his first ever fowl of this kind. After the shot, the text messages began requesting information on if the shot was a buck or a doe? Response… Grouse. From there on, any other shots heard in our woods were followed by similar requests for info on what was shot… Pheasant, Blue Jay, Squirrel? Speaking of squirrels.

When you are perched high in a tree awaiting an appearance or two from a furry woodland creature known as a whitetail deer, the crunching of dry leaves on the ground is enough to get the heart beating just a little faster. Those dang little tree rats sure can create a lot of noise in the woods. The number of times I thought I had a nice buck coming in only to see three, four, and up to seven squirrels rummaging around for nuts almost made me try to see if I could take small game with my .270 caliber “gray ghost.” This is the nickname given to my Remington Model 710 with a synthetic gray stock. It’s two years in a row that the firearm has been on the winning side of the battle with its foe. If it happens again next year, I might take credit as the operator, but for now, the guys in the party say I need to say it was just luck. Yes, I was one of the successful guys in the group again this year.

As I said, I cannot share most of the jokes, comments made during deer camp (because deer camp is a bit like Vegas… what happens there, stays there), and if you have noticed, no names have been used as I will not incriminate any of my buddies. I will, God willing be with them again in the woods, making memories, sharing in adventures that we all enjoy and building friendships. The meat in the freezer is the bonus. Get Out and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.