The final days of the 2016 deer season

The modern firearm general deer season was a long one this year. It lasted from Oct. 15 through Oct. 25.

Most of the nights were spent at a cinder block structure known as The Hut. My hunt group is free to hunt a section of land from this location. The area consists of seeded wheat, land set aside in CRP and pasture land, which consists of sagebrush and grasses.

This land has some flat spots, a meadow, a valley, rolling hills and small sinks or drops where deer can hide. A hunter can spend a day hunting the entire area or a group of three or four can conduct a drive.

This is where the hunters form a line with 50 to 100 yards between them and walk straight for a mile heading west. The idea is to surprise any deer located within the walk area. At the end of the private land, we pivot and walk north, pivot again and head east and then south.

We have three windows at The Hut, one on each side of the building facing east, south and west. It isn’t a bad hunt to just remain in the building during the early morning, which is much the same as hunting from a ground blind.

Call from Hut 5

E-mail sent on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.:

Hi Ted, Trust your hunt season is progressing with much meat hanging. The Hut Crew is at The Hut and beginning to cook a chinook salmon fillet. If you have an inkling and a couple of minutes, consider giving us a call. My cell is: 509-750-0541.

Best,

Dennis

Received on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 4:37 a.m.:

HappyHappy October to u all Dennis!! Glory Hallelujah October!! The MagicHunt throttles on magnificently here in MI with ducks, pheasants, squirrels and flowing sacred backstraps galore!! All our very best to u and my Hut Crew BloodBrothers! Will try like to call asap! Good huntin goodluck Godspeed.

Ted and family

My cell phone rings at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23:

“Dennis, This is Hut 5 reporting for duty.”

It was Ted Nugent, who was assigned the call sign of Hut 5 in our hunt group. The others consist of Hut 1, Lani Schorzman, Hut 2, Jerry Lester, Hut 3, Thomas Steffens, Hut 4, Chuck Buck, Hut 6, Dennis Clay, and Hut 7 Rudy Lopez. Hut 2 and Hut 4 have passed away, so we have five of the original seven members of The Hut Crew remaining.

“Great to hear from you, Hut 5,” I said.

During the conversation, Hut 3 mentioned he grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado.

“I’m looking at a 5 by 5 I took just outside Grand Junction in 1975,” Hut 5 said.

The group spent about five minutes talking about veterans and politics and hunting.

“Well listen, you guys, I’m just getting ready to head out the door. I’ve got all my gear and am heading to a tree stand in a sacred swamp here in Michigan. Shemane and I have been shooting arrows for the last hour or so,” Hut 5 said. “I wish you the best of luck. Aim small, miss small. And Dennis, I’m glad you got ahold of me and gave me this number. I’ll keep in touch and keep you informed of the backstraping here in Michigan.”

“Thanks for calling, Ted,” Hut 6 said. “Good huntin’.”

“Be safe,” Hut 5 said.

Two coolers

We use two coolers at Deer Camp. One is for frozen foods and the other for foods needing refrigeration. Dry ice is used to keep the foods frozen. A $15 chunk of dry ice lasts for about four days.

The frozen items include frozen deer and elk steaks, along with walleye. The refrigerated foods include eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, salsa, bacon, cabbage, leftovers, etc.

Early morning breakfast consists of a banana or apple. We gather for lunch and Hut 1 puts together a superb meal of fried spuds and onions, along with eggs either on the side or mixed into the rest. Sometimes German sausage is provided as an added treat.

The evening meal might be the before mentioned walleye and salmon, but deer and elk backstraps are also consumed on some nights. Potatoes and onions are a favorite side dish, but we also have canned vegetables and vegetables.

No bucks

This was a slim year for The Hut Crew during the deer hunt. Few shootable buck were seen, much less seeing them in range.

We have chance to participate in the late hunt and three of us are able to hunt a doe, because we are either over 65 or disabled. Perhaps we will have better luck then. Plus the elk hunt is just a few days away.

Good hunt

We consider this year’s deer hunt to be a success, even though The Crew didn’t down a deer. We enjoyed super meals, a Hut 5 phone call and great friendship. The 2017 Deer Camp is now in the planning stages.