Deer Camp

Deer Camp 2024 is in the record book and the guys have left.

They clean-up pretty good too - leaving the house pretty much how they found it There is a bloody footprint in the garage but that's fine as it's in the garage.

 

The contraption in the photos is our camp meat pole. Introduced in 2016 our meat pole is unique. I'd like to think of it as a fine example of hunter ingenuity.

 

 

First, it is portable. Four guys can assemble and disassemble it in a matter of minutes. When not in use it is stored in the barn and out of the way. You can drive the Mule thru it between the legs for ease of hanging up to five deer on gambrel-equipped pulleys.

 

 

Secondly, it chronicles how many deer were taken (bow and gun kills) by year for each of the last nine years. If you do the math the total on the beam in the photo tallies-up to 94.

That's not the lifetime total; however, as our Deer Camp celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. Which would include an illustrious or notorious (you pick) collection of hunters over three decades. 

 

Some have retired. A few have departed the earthly realm for their happy hunting ground. Some are on hiatus. And the rest have moved-on or moved away.

 

You're probably thinking: How many deer total?

 

If I was inclined I could pore over the early written camp diaries and find totals there. There's a big bag of old school metal ear registration tags somewhere which might be moderately helpful.

 

The guys were talking about it last night and their best guess is we're likely close to or slightly north of a couple hundred deer since 1994. Many of which have been donated to the food pantry network here in northeast Wisconsin.

 

So, we're fond of saying: "Eat more deer."  They're all-organic, free range, healthy fare, a terrific excuse to get together socially with friends and family and a renewable resource.

 

Cheers!