An Outdoorsman’s Journal: Second week of deer camp

Hello friends, It is over until next fall, or about 335 days from now, and that is the fun and games The Red Brush Gang has while staying at our temporary home in the Meadow Valley Wildlife Area in northern Juneau County. There are hundreds of square miles to explore, and the entire last seven days of the deer gun season are all drives for the gang and they are extremely physical, sometimes wet. These days, as much as I hate to say it, we are the last ones to the dinner table and there isn’t much meat. In simple terms, where we hunt, a very solid population of wolves have consumed many of the deer before we arrive and especially as the years pass.

Friday, Nov. 24 – High 27, low 14 Today, most of the gang came back to camp and our total amount of guns for the season was 21. So far, we have whacked one buck. As embarrassing as that is to say, I have always told it like it is in this column. On Monday we started our drives, and they are generally in 1-mile squares. Though we may not be the best, we are pretty good at what we do and our past has shown it. On Monday we did not see a buck. On Tuesday we did not see a buck.

Today we hunted a very unique area where there has been a long-term project to restore the Little Yellow River in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. The project is being undertaken by the staff at the refuge. I have hunted the banks, or should I say dikes, of this river since 1971 and it is very interesting to see what is happening. With the restoration there is a lot more water on what would be the outside of the dikes, and it is very obvious that with fresher and more water, more habitat is being created.

On the other hand, I was in what would be the deepest water today on our first drive and this water was frozen, but not quite enough to hold my weight. Towards the end of the drive, I broke through in mid-thigh deep water and when I tumbled forward, both of my feet crisscrossed and got tangled in some red brush under the ice. Simply put, I was floundering. My nephew Riley Schuster had to come in for an ice rescue. On the next drive I fell forward in the same situation, did not require an ice rescue and when we made it back to the truck at the end of the day, my clothes were frozen solid. Saturday, Nov. 25 – High 29, low 18 The best part about not getting any deer is that we are well aware that we get to go to camp and have as much fun until well after midnight as possible. There is not a complaint about our lack of success or, should I say, empty deer pole. If you have been reading this for very many years, you are well aware that we used to fill the pole. This year, as usual, our buck contest ended Monday night and as unbelievable as it may sound, Tim Rittmeyer won the “Buck Cup.” He will now get to put his name and the size of his buck on, which was a fork horn and, dare I say, 4 points smaller than the next closest buck on the cup. Tim loves his wife and children and especially himself, but the loving, hugging and kissing the Buck Cup got every night and especially the fact that yours truly did not win, made it appear that this was the best week of his life. Tim also wanted everyone to know that he got the only buck in camp. Today, we drove new country in much drier land, and we all had a good feeling before and after our day. We had the kids take charge (25- to 36-year-olds) and us old-timers just followed orders. On our last drive, a buck was actually spotted and even a bullet was flung in its direction, but to no avail as it was wearing a bulletproof vest; naturally, on the same drive a wolf was also spotted.

Tonight was the traditional “Saturday night party.” This is the end-of-season, “we need to go home” – or should I say, “we are sad it’s over” – shindig. Very late in the evening, the last men standing were myself, my 43-year-old nephew Shane Schuster and my nemesis, 27-year-old Bryce Kies, who is a Necedah kid that joined this camp in high school and comes every year on the second weekend. Bryce is a wildland firefighter and lives in Idaho. Bryce wrestled in high school and in a club while attending UW-Madison. After a couple of super tasty PBRs, I just knew my 62-year-old body/brain could give the punk a good butt whoopin’! Well, folks, I had the same luck after several matches with Bryce as I did getting a buck this year.

Anyhow, I scared him so bad he’s headed back to Idaho and in 11 months we will all be headed back to camp.

Hopefully the local wolf population all goes vegan and maybe we will get two bucks next year! Sunset

Mark Walters