Opening day at a deer camp in Presque Isle County
The 110th Michigan deer season began 30 minutes before sunrise on Monday and will continue until 30 minutes past sunset on November 30. Area hunters wasted no time. The first buck to go on the pole at the Big Buck Brewery in Gaylord was hoisted up at 7:18 in the morning on the first day. Many hunters headed out to deer camps over the weekend to prepare for this honored tradition that brings in $500 million to businesses in the state every year. Opening day begins around four in the morning at the Kelsey Lake deer camp in the southwest corner of Presque Isle County.
The cold morning sparkles under a billion stars in the clear northern sky. An owl drifts swiftly over the camp and perches atop a naked cedar on the edge of the lake. Seven adults, five men and two women, go about their morning rituals in that grumpy contemplation that is part of rising before dawn after sleeping on a creaky canvas cot. Soon the smell of coffee, bacon and eggs pulls them out of their meditations and they begin talking softly about where they will hunt. The 500-acre property offers many choices and each hunter will be in place well before sunrise.
These are serious hunters; they have studied the terrain, tended the blinds and scoped out the area. They have noted the familiar tracks of the white-tailed deer crossing their path and are eager to begin the hunt.
After breakfast the hunters pull on their boots and clomp over to an outbuilding to don their gear. They keep their camouflage suits in a shed that is used to store firewood and, hopefully, hang a trophy by the end of the day. By leaving their duds to air out in the shed, they hope to minimize the human smells on their apparel and improve their chances of bagging a big buck today. In addition, they use a variety of scents and musk scrapes to better their chances in the field. Don Inman and his wife Virginia Pierce are hosts to a hunting party consisting of son Shawn Pierce of Grand Ledge, John Robertson of Spring Lake, his son Matt, and Dick Johnson and his wife Julie from East Lansing. Hunting at Kelsey Lake deer camp is usually a solitary experience. Each hunter declares what spot he or she will stake out and what time they expect to return to the camp.
The children, Cyrus Pierce (8), Zoe (11) and Tess Johnson (8) are left sleeping in the lodge as they are not yet old enough to hunt and are more likely to appreciate their introduction to the sport later in the day. Robertson’s wife, Susan, will watch over the children as she can no longer take part in the hunt due to a carpal tunnel affliction. “I also have arthritis so I can’t hold a gun up steady any more. Not only that but when the rifle recoils, it just about knocks me down nowadays,” she says with a laugh. On Sunday, the day before opening this year, the hunters took their weapons to the shooting range and checked them out. “We owe that much to ourselves and to the deer,” said Inman, who is committed, to the point of obsession, about every detail of the hunt.
The preparations for the next deer hunt start right after the end of the current season, clearing brush, repairing deer stands and blinds, checking trails, and reviewing strategies. Inman keeps a deer camp journal, recording weather and environmental conditions, who took what animal, when and where and other facts about the yearly hunt. He notes that it comes in handy when arguments arise over previous forays. “And he writes it all in ink, no fuzzy pencil logic here,” added his friend John. “Deer blinds have to be out in the field before July so the deer get used to them being there and are not spooked by anything strange in their habitat,” Inman said. “The less you walk in the woods the better off you are, you don’t leave your scent around plus you don’t make any unnecessary noise,” he continued.
He also noted that their quarry usually has a home range of only a square mile or so but the deer may withdraw into the swamps if the weather is too cold. Being in the field on opening day is the ultimate hunting experience. Each of these hunters extols the solitude and connection with nature that deer season affords. “I know some guys downstate, if they are out hunting on a Sunday afternoon, they will listen to the NFL on earphones to catch a game while they are sitting out there. I can’t do that,” Inman said.
“I become totally immersed in the experience of being in the woods, listening to the birds in the trees overhead or some squirrels nearby,” said his wife Virginia. “There are a lot of clues and subtle indicators that you can pick up sitting alone in the woods,” she added. “This morning the frost was heavy on the leaves in the oak stand and I could hear my buck long before he came into view, crunching along like he was walking on corn flakes,” she said.
“I was thinking about which direction the deer are likely to come or how I