Deer Eve

Every year on the night before the Opening Day of Deer Season I think back to my first year of hunting. I began in 1963 and the day will always be burned into my memory because it was the day after JFK was assassinated. I’d been watching a one-horned buck and his doe for weeks and knew exactly where he’d go that morning. My plan was to be there first and I’d have my first deer.

After a sleepless night watching a clock that moved like a glacier, I got up at 4 am and drove my mom’s car to the river bottoms. It was over two hours until shooting time with a cold wind blowing out of the north and a cloudy sky that made it as dark as the inside of a cave. I waited a while and then couldn’t stand it any longer and stumbled out through the darkness to my spot.

A few minutes after I got situated it began to sleet and then a bit later it began to snow. The wind picked up and the snow billowed. I sat for about 4 hours and was so cold I thought I’d probably never warm up. I never saw that deer nor did I see any others that whole season. In fact I hunted for 10 years before I bagged my first deer. Things were different back then. Deer were not as plentiful as they are now days.

Despite the cold and the lack of deer, I’ll never forget that first day of deer hunting. I hope the hunters who are going out tomorrow will have better luck but whether you get a deer or not, I hope you make a memory you’ll keep forever. That’s what hunting is all about. Good luck, be safe and be glad you live in such a great place as Wisconsin where there is the opportunity to do all of these great outdoor activities.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

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