Traditions

MNFISH

A good 3 year old buck
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My Dad and I always stopped at the Holiday gas station in Zimmerman the night before opener for hot chocolate. 20 years ago before they had the fancy coffee machines, they had a little machine in the corner that made the best hot chocolate. I still swing in there every year even though we drive separate vehicles now.
 
-Retelling the top blunders of deer hunting past.
-Growing matching facial hair configurations. You should have seen the looks when we all had cop mustaches.
-Arguing over when to skin a deer.
-Ribbing the same guys about the same things we've always done each year. Like Steve hunting in MN for 13 years and never having shot a deer.
-Playing "the song"
 
I like to cook a big meal on friday night before the opener and have all my buddies over even if they aren't hunting with me
 
Cop mustaches on the deer opener, that's awesome! I may just go and alter my beard.
 
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.
 
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.
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!
 
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.
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.


My aunt and uncle were friends with another couple that lived directly across the road. Except the month or two before deer season. Their lands were a checkerboard and each did not want to tell the other anything. My uncle had a complete set of deer legs in his car. Bucks, does, fawns. He would drive down the road, reach out the side of the car and make tracks of deer leaving his land and going to the neighbors. He had to reach out both doors of the car. I think the neighbors seldom fell for it, as the wife was an excellent tracker. Probably the best. Both sides laugh about it now and also tell stories of the neighbors driving my uncle's land as soon as he left the place. These stories are at least 50 years old.
 
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!

Second week of deer camp
 
Don't know If it is a tradition or not, but I have 3 buddies that all help during the summer and winter. We get together and Cut firewood, drink beer, Hinge trees, drink beer, fix up the shack, drink beer, plant food plots, drink more beer, then we hunt, and really drink beer! I am starting to like this tradition stuff!;)
 
Second week of deer camp
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.
 
Unfortunately my tradition of recent has been sitting in my camper by myself trying not to make much noise. I used to have a lease in SchoolCraft Game Refuge by Bemidji and we had some good times there bowhunting through the entire gun opener. I really miss everyone getting back to camp and telling stories about seeing mature bucks. The DNR screwed that area up too with intensive harvest and then the wolves moved in pretty heavy. If I want to have a chance at a good buck this has to be my new reality.
 
I like the fact I get to ban all women folk from deer camp. Only to have them show up every Saturday. My wife said they were not coming this year and then found my food receipt from the grocery store. She changed her plans and is coming Saturday afternoon.

I wear the pants in this house. When she lets me.
 
Just get the women hunting with you! It really changes your perspective and helps secure our hunting future/heritage. My wife hunts at home while my daughters and I go north for the weekend.

Given a nice day, she and I might go back up mid-week. Three weeks ago, she sat in one of the stands up north where she used to hunt and she said she would like to try it again-IF the weather is nice. I know Hardwood will not like this, but all 3 ladies wish the season had been a week earlier. The way the calendar rolls, it should be early Nov. next year.
 
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