Nice Art, a wonderful tradition.Sitting down at the same table (my deceased Uncle's farm) that I have sat at for about 47 years of rifle hunting. Hearing stories of my Dad and Uncle, my Grandpa. Even my Mom and Aunt hunted deer. Hunting the same pieces of family land and having my daughters participate. I think some of the traditions will end within 10 years or so. Hanging deer in the spruce tree that my uncle carried home in his lunch box from a carpentry job. The same tree that had Christmas lights during every day of my youth. I also enjoy the celebration of success. We all have different goals, but all celebrate when one member has a successful season. Trophy buck, yearling buck, or antlerless. Smiles all of the way around.
Some of the land I own has been in the family for 97 years. My uncles land for over 70 years.
Jerry- I usually hunt at home in zone 2 for a few days and then make one or two trips back north to hunt with the guys. There are neighbors to our land that have been family friends for 3 generations. Some meat hunters and some trophy hunters-by northern Mn. standards. Hunt morning and night and visit mid day with the neighbors.Nice Art, a wonderful tradition.
My place is somewhat new so I don't have a long tradition. I enjoy greeting hunters on Friday, enjoying meals, beverages and the hunt together. Sitting around the campfire. I always enjoy time with an old friends.
One of our longest standing traditions in our hunting party doesn't take place on or before opening weekend, it takes place either the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our group/family has always gotten together for the final weekend of the season to make drives on the large tracts of county property north of my dads old place. That in itself is a huge part of our tradition, but the "coordination meeting" is one of the best parts. The evening before we start driving, we all get together at a locally(and not so locally) famous pizza joint. Anyone who has been in and around the Juneau Co. region of WI(stu, bueller, badgerfowl, and a bunch of others) knows where I am referring to......Kozy's Pizza Place. We generally have between 15 and 20 of us that meet there for food, drinks, and the exchange of "opening weekend" success and failure stories. We discuss everything from old hunting and fishing stories of guys who are no longer with us to what the he!! the Badgers/Packers coaching staffs will screw up next. It has always been one of our greatest traditions, even though I don't know how much longer it will continue, as our group gets smaller every year due to guys getting older and not hunting any more and others who have moved away or hunt elsewhere now. We stopped down at my FIL's place in Mauston just 2 weekends ago to take "inventory" of the supplies we have down there for this coming season and my daughter brought the babies over from Oshkosh and guess what we had for dinner, yup Kozy's Pizza. Sat down and gave the twins their first taste and then figured out that our family now has 5 generations of Kozy's Pizza eaters, pretty cool!
Much of that is pretty on the mark bueller,;) with the exception that will killed piles of deer. Or should I say used to kill piles of deer, before the days of unlimited doe permits in 54A.:(We used the deer drives as a way to get a couple tags filled that would likely have went unfilled, just to ensure everyone went home with at least a backstrap and a hind quarter or a couple front quarters of venison.Second week of deer camp