Badger Deer Camp - Badger Sportsman Magazine

EARN A BUCK
Hunting
with
my girls
A father passes along
hunting traditions to
his next generation
by Michael A. Eierman
The 2004 Wisconsin deer hunting season
introduced a new concept to our hunting: Earna-Buck.
Wisconsin’s deer herd was not being
properly culled so new rules were put in place that
dictated that a hunter MUST register an antlerless deer
before being able to legally harvest a buck. Our hunting
camp was not overly concerned with this. We were more
than willing to shoot does…they taste as good as bucks.
Plus, we’d been practicing Quality Deer Management
and generally needed to shoot does for meat because big
bucks are not guaranteed. While I agree with the EAB
rules, they can be frustrating. The first couple of weeks
of bow season passed without a chance at a doe. Then
one evening I took my 10 year old daughter Lindsey
hunting and we got to watch four shooter bucks sparring
in front of us for 45 minutes. Several times I had shot
opportunities but without having killed a doe, all I could
do was watch.
A couple of more weeks passed with no shot
opportunities when it came time for Kid’s Weekend.
Once or twice a season, all the guys in our camp bring
their children. The kids range from 1 to 11 and there are
about 10 of them so it makes for a fun, hectic weekend.
I wanted to take my girls (Lindsey, age 10 and Kyra, age
7) hunting before they got so involved with their cousins
and friends that they wouldn’t want to leave camp, so
we went up early to hunt Friday evening before the crew
arrived.
I planned to hunt the Turkey Field blind with the girls.
This blind is 20 yards off a logging road on the edge
of a one acre field we planted with clover the previous
spring. The clover was doing its job and deer and turkey
frequently stopped by for a bite to eat. But I really wanted
to use it for the ease of access and ability to hold all three
of us. We were all settled in an hour and a half before
close. The first hour passed eating snacks and whispering
but not seeing anything. Probably not a big surprise.
Kyra, my youngest daughter, was close to her limit and
was wiggling and moving about. The situation didn’t
look like the probability of success was very high. I had
to relieve myself, so I told the girls that I was going to go
up to the logging road to take care of my business. I said
they could play but when I got back we would all sit very
still for the “best” hunting of the day. They agreed.
I left the blind and relieved myself. I just turned back
toward the blind and there was Lindsey.
32 ❘ Badger Sportsman ❘ badgersportsman.com ❘ NOVEMBER 2011