An Outdoorsman’s Journal Five Kids and a lot of Hunts FLATER’S RESORT - couriersentinel_20261022_ccs-2026-10-22-a-010_art_4.xml
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An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters Five Kids and a lot of Hunts Hello friends, This past weekend, I participated as a mentor in Wisconsin’s youth deer hunt. Once again, I was fortunate enough to help Kensie Reifsneider, on what would be her final youth hunt, as she will be 16, next July, and aged out of what I feel is a really great way to help our youth hunt deer and, at other times, ducks and turkey. We would hunt on the Jeff Pausma dairy farm, which is located in Dodge County, between Burnett and Fox Lake. Jeff and his family love their land, and their animals, and it was a good day several years ago, when Jeff reached out to me as a reader and we have since become friends. We would stay in a small and very comfortable shack, that is the headquarters of the Fowl Mouth Hunt Club and is run by Tyler Thiede, of Mayville, and several friends and family members. Tyler would be this weekend’s cook and also helped mentor 12-year-old Bennet Reifsneider. We hunt and laugh a lot, both at night, and between the morning and afternoon hunts. Kensie Reifsneider plans on being a large animal vet someday. Saturday, Oct. 10 • High 82, Low 52 shot on a doe and the really cool thing about both experiences, both Bennet and Kensie were using rifles they had won, through Kids And Mentors Outdoors (KAMO) experiences. I have run with these five young outdoorsmen and women, and we always stay at the shack, except for when we hunt KAMO’s “Joe Hunt.” I was sitting with Conner, when he shot what woulda/shoulda been his first buck. When we walked up to it, the buck had no antlers, was two and a half years old, and was registered as antlerless. I have also sat with Conner, for several successful turkey hunts. Then, there is Joey, who also attends Beaver Dam High School. Joey loves to duck hunt and had a great hunt, while Kensie and I were hunting Sunday morning. When Joey was 15 and on his last youth deer hunt, I mentored him and grunted in a 6-pointer, which would be his first buck; like Kensie, Joey has the farming bug and milks cows on a local farm. Last, but not least, is Carsyn, who has aged out of the youth hunts. I sat with Carsyn, when she put a heck of a shot on her first buck, when I believe she was 11 and that was a memorable experience. Twice, her gun would not fire and it looked like the 8-pointer was going to live to see another day. I messed with the action and Carsyn did the rest. Carsyn and Conner both attend Mayville High School, and Carsyn is very active on the ice fishing team and Conner will enter his freshmen winter doing the same. I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend with this team, during the State championship and loved every minute of it. As I am hoping you can see, taking a young hunter hunting is not all about filling a tag, I feel it is about helping create a lifetime of shared memories and perhaps, a lifelong interest in becoming an outdoors person. Sunset I am going to dedicate this column to writing about Kensie and some of the experiences I have had with her, her 17-yearold brother, Joey, 12-year old brother, Bennet, and cousins, Carsyn Thiede, 16, and Conner Thiede, 14, all of whom I have helped mentor. Kensie is a sophomore at Beaver Dam High School and loves animals, and also very much enjoys hunting, cross country, being on the Beaver Dam High School trap shooting team and playing softball. Kensie hopes to become a large animal veterinarian someday and I believe she will, as her love for animals was very obvious, when I watched her with the Pausmas’ calves. After we left, she told me she would like to volunteer on their farm. Kensie is also an officer in her school’s FFA chapter and to top it off, she has a pet turkey she named Nugget and she has every intention of making nuggets out of Nugget. Last year, on the last night of our hunt, I watched Kensie make a 100-yard shot on a doe and it was really sweet to observe, especially knowing how much her family enjoys venison. My buddy, Jeff, had one small request on this hunt: in June, while mowing hay, he rescued three fawns from the mower and the mother observed the entire experience. The doe was off limits, as were her fawns and for good reason, as they had become regulars around the barn area and this request would not be a problem, as we hunt a different part of the property. Last year, on Saturday night, I sat with then 11-year-old, Bennet, and was very impressed, when he made a 120-yard FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters Five Kids and a lot of Hunts Hello friends, This past weekend, I participated as a mentor in Wisconsin’s youth deer hunt. Once again, I was fortunate enough to help Kensie Reifsneider, on what would be her final youth hunt, as she will be 16, next July, and aged out of what I feel is a really great way to help our youth hunt deer and, at other times, ducks and turkey. We would hunt on the Jeff Pausma dairy farm, which is located in Dodge County, between Burnett and Fox Lake. Jeff and his family love their land, and their animals, and it was a good day several years ago, when Jeff reached out to me as a reader and we have since become friends. We would stay in a small and very comfortable shack, that is the headquarters of the Fowl Mouth Hunt Club and is run by Tyler Thiede, of Mayville, and several friends and family members. Tyler would be this weekend’s cook and also helped mentor 12-year-old Bennet Reifsneider. We hunt and laugh a lot, both at night, and between the morning and afternoon hunts. Kensie Reifsneider plans on being a large animal vet someday. Saturday, Oct. 10 • High 82, Low 52 shot on a doe and the really cool thing about both experiences, both Bennet and Kensie were using rifles they had won, through Kids And Mentors Outdoors (KAMO) experiences. I have run with these five young outdoorsmen and women, and we always stay at the shack, except for when we hunt KAMO’s “Joe Hunt.” I was sitting with Conner, when he shot what woulda/shoulda been his first buck. When we walked up to it, the buck had no antlers, was two and a half years old, and was registered as antlerless. I have also sat with Conner, for several successful turkey hunts. Then, there is Joey, who also attends Beaver Dam High School. Joey loves to duck hunt and had a great hunt, while Kensie and I were hunting Sunday morning. When Joey was 15 and on his last youth deer hunt, I mentored him and grunted in a 6-pointer, which would be his first buck; like Kensie, Joey has the farming bug and milks cows on a local farm. Last, but not least, is Carsyn, who has aged out of the youth hunts. I sat with Carsyn, when she put a heck of a shot on her first buck, when I believe she was 11 and that was a memorable experience. Twice, her gun would not fire and it looked like the 8-pointer was going to live to see another day. I messed with the action and Carsyn did the rest. Carsyn and Conner both attend Mayville High School, and Carsyn is very active on the ice fishing team and Conner will enter his freshmen winter doing the same. I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend with this team, during the State championship and loved every minute of it. As I am hoping you can see, taking a young hunter hunting is not all about filling a tag, I feel it is about helping create a lifetime of shared memories and perhaps, a lifelong interest in becoming an outdoors person. Sunset I am going to dedicate this column to writing about Kensie and some of the experiences I have had with her, her 17-yearold brother, Joey, 12-year old brother, Bennet, and cousins, Carsyn Thiede, 16, and Conner Thiede, 14, all of whom I have helped mentor. Kensie is a sophomore at Beaver Dam High School and loves animals, and also very much enjoys hunting, cross country, being on the Beaver Dam High School trap shooting team and playing softball. Kensie hopes to become a large animal veterinarian someday and I believe she will, as her love for animals was very obvious, when I watched her with the Pausmas’ calves. After we left, she told me she would like to volunteer on their farm. Kensie is also an officer in her school’s FFA chapter and to top it off, she has a pet turkey she named Nugget and she has every intention of making nuggets out of Nugget. Last year, on the last night of our hunt, I watched Kensie make a 100-yard shot on a doe and it was really sweet to observe, especially knowing how much her family enjoys venison. My buddy, Jeff, had one small request on this hunt: in June, while mowing hay, he rescued three fawns from the mower and the mother observed the entire experience. The doe was off limits, as were her fawns and for good reason, as they had become regulars around the barn area and this request would not be a problem, as we hunt a different part of the property. Last year, on Saturday night, I sat with then 11-year-old, Bennet, and was very impressed, when he made a 120-yard FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins
The Medford Raiders celebrate as captains Cash Thums and Forest Hartl bring the GNC championship trophy to the team huddle following a 48-6 win over Antigo Friday at Raider Field. Medford went 7-0 in GNC play and begins the WIAA Division 3 post-season by hosting Green Bay West Friday at 7 p.m.
Gilman’s Beau Pockat couldn’t reach this ball that was tipped by teammate Logan Halida, but Henry Syryczuk catches it, intercepting a two-point conversion pass attempted by Frederic’s Austin Adams. The Pirates’ first-team defense allowed its first touchdown of the season but little else in Saturday’s 54-6 playoff win. ALEX WILSON/THE STAR NEWS
Gilman’s Beau Pockat couldn’t reach this ball that was tipped by teammate Logan Halida, but Henry Syryczuk catches it, intercepting a two-point conversion pass attempted by Frederic’s Austin Adams. The Pirates’ first-team defense allowed its first touchdown of the season but little else in Saturday’s 54-6 playoff win. ALEX WILSON/THE STAR NEWS
Rib Lake’s Breleigh Niemi settles under the ball while teammate Olivia Lucia readies for a possible set during Thursday’s 3-0 loss at Marathon. CASEY KRAUTKRAMER/THE RECORD-REVIEW
