I was never a deer hunter so I guess I don’t understand the tradition. 600,000-700,000 hunters head north to kill deer. What draws those guys (women are getting more involved) to the north woods?
I remember brother Jack would go north for 3-4 days. He didn’t own a gun. What the hell do you do for all that time? I heard words like “beer, steak and poker”. I’m sure local bars were frequented.
Hurley was a town in the west part of the State that had a reputation for “ladies of the night”. During deer hunting season it was one of the busiest towns in the State. What the hell?
Then there was the Chicago mafia. The mafia loved deer hunting season. The mafia would invite their questionable friends into the woods and somehow they never returned or there was an unexplained hunting accident.
I vividly remember having a December business meeting with business associates in the early 90’s. They were avid hunters and had taken pictures of their exploits during deer hunting season. Apparently their are places where they have nude dancing in the woods. A word of caution here. With Facebook being available, I would be careful if I were a hunter. Their exploits might end up on Youtube(?).
All these North Woods exploits are in the interest of keeping the primal need to hunt alive. With high powered rifles, insulated garments and sophisticated “location finders”, the deer don’t have a chance. What did the native Americans do 500 years ago?
I have at least one Grandson headed north this weekend. I think it is his second hunt. Maybe he will tell me the real story about our northern tradition.
The hunt starts out this year with 15 degree weather and wind gusts to 30 mile per hour. Somehow sitting warm in front of HDTV with a bowl of popcorn sounds really good. Call me a wimp.
Having joked about the deer hunt, I still hope that my Grandson gets his first deer. I understand it makes your heart race. Certainly a life long memory!
Love,
Dad