Years ago I went deer hunting by myself one cold Western NC morning. As I topped a small rise and walked into a cluster of trees the trunk of a slim one about two feet away from me exploded. I hit the deck as splinters and bark flew in the air and a shot echoed from my right. I was looking around from the ground to see who might have done the shot when some peckerhead about a 100 feet away yelled “That’s MY deer”…

I yelled back “you (insert your favorite term here), you didn’t shoot at a deer- you shot at ME”…

The shooter turned out to be an accountant from Raleigh. He had a new rifle and scope that cost more than my car did at the time.
It was his very first hunting trip. I was fortunate in that he was an incredibly bad shot.

Here in NE Wisconsin the Deer hunting tradition is very strong. Generations of family have hunted the same land year after year, making great memories along the way. I have hunted in Wisconsin for the past 15 years as I was born and raised in California. 99% of the hunters here are great: Everybody follows the rules and has a good time.

But, there are always those that bend them and it hurts the sport.

The good news is that due to the Covid thing they actually sold more licenses than they have in years. Which I think is a positive thing.

When I first started hunting there was a lot more type of "driving" hunting where large groups of hunters would drive the deer to specific spots. It resulted in a lot more shooting accidents. That type of hunting is not as popular anymore as most people I know stick to the deer stands and some use baiting.

There was a guy in Oklahoma who scored a tag to hunt elk at the Wichita mountains wildlife refuge decades ago. He ended up having to pay a fine for killing one of the Longhorns they have on the refuge.