Hook and Bullet Club

We met at the top of what’s known at Camp Cholesterol as Woodpecker Hill. It was just past 5 p.m. on Day 16 of the 2004 Minnesota firearms deer season.Mike, Jake and I were standing with guns slung over our shoulders as the sun set in the west just past the beaver pond in the big tamarack swamp.We talked about the season, from the lack of snow to the fun at the shack to the two of them putting venison on the meat pole. And at that point in time that’s really all we talked about. We didn’t know about the hunting murders in Wisconsin or that Chai Vang was being arrested at nearly the same time. The safety of our family members had not been discussed. There was no fear of somebody intentionally shooting at people. But all of that changed when we got home that night.I still have my All-Season license which means I can hunt with a muzzleloader through Dec. 12. But I haven’t really decided if I will or not. I’ve read the police reports, seen the pictures and read the newspaper accounts of what happened in Wisconsin. It’s a magnetic story for hunters. Probably because we never thought something like that could ever happen.When Jake started deer hunting three years ago, I was more concerned that he could fall out of a deer stand than I was he would get shot arguing over whose stand it was.We’ve had our run-ins with other hunters and stands on public land but they’ve been few and far between.In fact, I can only think of two times in the five seasons we’ve hunted out of the shack. The first was one of our guys being up in somebody else’s stand. He got down and that was it, nothing more.Last year Jake and I were walking through a stand of young Norways, heading toward our two-man stand.As we got close enough to see the stand, we saw blaze orange as well. And as soon as the guy in the stand realized we were heading that way, he got down in a hurry.We went over and talked for a minute, with the guy apologizing. We had met before and I told him I didn’t really have a problem with it as long as we were all in agreement.If we’re not in our stands or you’re not in your’s, then there shouldn’t be a big deal about somebody going up for a sit.This is public land we’re hunting on so you can’t really kick somebody out of an area andthere is usually some common sense and hunter’s courtesy. We don’t go in areas we know other guys hunt and we hope they show us the same respect.It’s just sad to think that now we’ll think about that whole situation a bit differently now.Like everyone else, I can’t imagine what the victims’ families are dealing with right now and my heart goes out to them. And I have to say I have some strong feelings about Mr. Vang’s future should he be found guilty of murdering six people. But I have some concern about the sport of deer hunting as well. I know license sales have been running about the same as far as number of hunters, but I’m worried about the future of the sport. Young people have so many other options available to them that hunting deer is not often at the top of the list. What happened in Wisconsin just might keep some young people from trying deer hunting. And that worries me.I have been very impressed with the work done by the Babbitt Conservation Club in relation to encouraging young hunters.Of course, they teach the DNR youth hunter safety classes but they also nearly give away the farm when a youngster wants to try trapshooting. They offer a reduced rate for kids and have even not charged kids so their only cost is a box of shells.And the firing range behind the Babbitt golf course is an asset to the entire area. There is a recognition there that the future of the sport is in our hands right now. We need to encourage young people to spend time in the woods so they can benefit from all the good things that hunting provides. But a youngster shouldn’t have to be sitting in his or her stand and be worried about some wacko walking through the woods shooting humans. Unfortunately, our world has changed now. So I’m asking that every hunter out there redouble his or her efforts to recruit young people to the sport. Our job just got tougher but we can still make a positive impact on the life of a 12-year-old. Like any parent I worry about my kids and their safety every day. But I’m not going to let a freak occurence stop them from experiencing deer hunting. Like I said, though, none of this was really on our minds as we started down Woodpecker Hill and headed back to the shack.We knew there were a dozen steaks that had been butterfly-cut from the backstraps of Jake’s deer. We knew this would be our last night together in Deer Camp until the 2005 season.So we played a couple of games of Smear, cooked up a great dinner and enjoyed the night as bags were packed and trucks were loaded up. We didn’t get home until late that night and Mary broke the news about Wisconsin when I walked in the door. Right then I knew deer hunting would be different next year. But we’re still going, no matter what. The beauty of the woods, the laughs in the shack and even Evan’s line of looking at a deer hanging in Bill’s garage won’t ever be forgotten. (He wanted to know why the deer had a price tag in its ear). So to my campmates, get all your honey do projects done before November and clear your calendars for 16 days starting Nov. 5, 2005. To my fellow deer hunters, don’t let the insane actions of one person change your beliefs. And if you can, please encourage a young person to hunt.