I'm sitting at my desk, looking out my window, admiring the fresh 18+ inches of snow that blanketed the ground Wednesday morning and I can't help but think of the upcoming hunting seasons. The next hunting I will be doing is turkey hunting in the middle of April. Then there is the couple month layover until archery season. Looking at all the snow outside makes it seem like turkey season will never get here. But most of all I keep thinking about getting over to my hunting camp and spending some time. Thinking about the trails that need to be widened, the firewood that needs to be cut, the stands that need attention.. I could go on and on... All of this daydreaming, however, leads me to thinking about how lucky I am to be able to have the fortune of being able to hunt and most importantly how lucky I am to have a piece of property with a cabin on it that I can call a hunting camp. I'm curious how many are part of a hunting camp or have hunted out hunting camp atmosphere? There is something about the history and traditions of a hunting camp that draws me in. What sort of traditions or rituals does your camp have? Feel free to share stories or pictures if you'd like. I know hunting camps are almost a right of passage in the deep history of Wisconsin deer hunting. I am curious if this is the case in other places.
Yep, I've had the good fortune of hunting out of quite a few camps in my life. I currently hunt out of two seperate camps now, one up north in the Adirondacks, and one in NY's southern zone. The camp up north is a great crew of guys. I've never had more fun anywhere.....everyone there is one of the worst ball busters you'll ever meet. The hunting is terrible but we shoot the occasional buck and the country is breathtaking.....it's roughly 3 miles from the nearest road and we lease an exclusive 1500ish acres with access to another 1000 of state land. The camp I hunt out of down south has a lot more agriculture and deer, it's mostly made up of fields, food plots, and small to mid size stands of timber. We do well there and usually most everyone sees a slammer every year......I don't hunt with a rifle there much but I do see a lot of great bucks while bowhunting. I also used to own my own camp in PA that I built out of a 12x16 storage shed. A handful of BH.com members have been there and shared it with me. I reluctantly sold the building about two years ago, but still have the property. I'd probably still hunt there if it wasn't for the 4 hour trip each way and lack of Sunday hunting, I certainly hope to own a camp of my own again someday. I'm thinking the next place will probably be a bit more family oriented though, we really want to find a way to get a piece of lakefront property that we can build a camp on someday.
Our family has a cabin on 40 acres near Spooner WI. I love camp with the boys. I only rifle hunt in WI, it's just too far (3.5 hrs) for me to get away to often enough to justify the out-of-state price of a second tag. I love living in Ely & the challenges & opportunities that hunting these woods provide, but I do so almost entirely by myself. My dad lives here, but he doesn't get out that much. My brother only makes it up for rifle opener (and not even that this year). Other than that, my wife and a good buddy of mine might hunt 1-5 times a season. There's just something about pulling into Camp for the WI season. The smell of the cabin. the camaraderie (it's me, my dad, brother, uncle, cousin, and now will also include my cousin's son). The food. The planning. The stories at the end of the day. I love it all!
Fitz, I agree that there is something about pulling into camp for the season. Not only the excitement of the upcoming hunt, but the memories about to be shared with friends and family. There are only a few certainties at our camp. One certainty is that the fire will be hot and the laughs aplenty. Stories that had been told hundreds of times previously will be told again and it will be as if we hadn't heard them before. The time I spend in camp each fall is easily some of the best times I have each year. And at seasons end I am left wishing it was just starting. If the meat pole was the only determining factor our camp wouldn't be rated very high. In fact if that was the only thing that mattered at our camp then our group would've been looking for other accommodations years ago. There was a time prior to my hunting that the meat pole was filled year in and year out, but I think those days are a thing of the past. Which is ok by me as I wouldn't trade it for any other. Here are a few pictures of my cabin. As you can see the original roof was finally ready to be replaced.
have hunted in may camps over the last 20 years and had fun in all. My Brothers, Dad, Cousin and I started an annual small game camping trip each year on January and we have the best time chasing those lil tree rats and having a big dinner on sat night. The pranks, camaraderie, and just being out in the woods having a great time we good people is the best.
Bear camp here. Since I've been 3 years old we have been camping out In the bear woods during baiting and bear hunting season. The last 21 years we've been camping In the same spot. We sleep In our tents and cook every meal over a fire. There Isn't a restraunt out there that can compare to the food we make over our fires. There's a small river 60 yards down the hill from where we set up camp. That's where we take our baths and wash our clothes. It's fricking cold let me tell you!!! We've had Timber wolves In camp and one bear. We had a Canadian goose mistaken our tent for water one time. It was around 9:00 at night (dark out) and all of a sudden something big out of the sky hit our tent while we were sitting at the fire. We jumped up to where this thing hit the tent and grabbed It. Couldn't believe It!! This goose was banned too. We should've wrote down the numbers after we let It go. I live for bear camp. Not a better place In the world I'd rather be.
A few pics of our bear camp. Our bath tub. The stove and or oven. Sleeping headquarters Practice target Our treestand we practice from
Man you guys are lucky. I hope someday i can get involved in a hunting camp with some guys. It sounds like a ton of fun just being out in the woods relaxing and hunting with people that love it as much as i do.
I really wish I had some pictures of old deer camps, ive stayed in some dumps! Fitz, that cabin is a bute!
My hunting ground is 5 minutes from house. So my wife is the best camp cook you could find! Camp life is great but the time travelled and up keep of camp is time I spent scouting and hunting etc... It is great to hang out with gang of guys though
Im in the same boat. I live one the family farm that i do 95% of my hunting on. We do have a couple cabins around my lake...but they serve a different purpose Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2
