Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting A New Guy at Camp

I'm sorry. I'm not really following you. There's nothing we all want more than the new guy to go home happy with his freezer full with a lot of good stories and hopefully a nice rack. If he gets the new camp record, that would be awesome. That's the honest truth to it. I don't know which thread you've been reading, but it is not this one.

Sako:
As to my sons' choices in friends, it's more about who they got thrown in with in their suburban schools. You try and make friends as best you can. The problem is that there are just darn few opportunities anymore. I did my best so they wouldn't grow up as mall rats; that's why I bought the farm. I have to say that the majority of the friends they've made are good people, but darn few have had any sense when it came to hunting. It's all about what they've seen on TV and how hunting gets portrayed in video games. NewGuy is different. He's from a hunting family that moved into #2 son's district late. He's been hunting on his own for a decade and has kept it on the down-low so as to not raise a fuss. Frankly, it's not much better in my generation. I was the only one of my peers that ever tried hunting, and I didn't get into it until after college. Most folks around me that hear hunting think Elmer Fudd or else some psychopath.



EDIT: I went back and reread the thread from the start wondering how in blazes anyone would come of with the idea that we're a bunch of narcissists. I think I may see things a bit differently now. Maybe I can explain.

1) The incident at the neighbors. Back in 2003, we had a new camp spring up on our northern boundary. 100 acres, 8 hunters. Nice guys. The owner/patriarch and I became friends. The camp was all extended family. That year, I nailed a really nice buck in the morning and took it into the processor. I was done for the season. It was a big deer, and I didn't have freezer space for more than one. We were all watching as the camp to the north came out. There was a big whoop and holler. Somebody had nailed a big one. I went up the road to see. As I stated, this fellow had been given the best spot on the property, overlooking my fenceline, and managed to nail the most spectacular buck I'd ever seen-- turrets, stickers, point on points on points-- the works. This was his first time out. The gun was borrowed. I talked to the guy. His response? What' the big deal? It's just a damn deer. He went back that night and left the carcass at the camp. He couldn't be bothered. He never hunted again. The owner had the head mounted and it was the centerpiece in his living room. However, the whole camp was cheesed and me along with it. The problem wasn't that the guy had been successful-- I think this is where folks here misinterpretted. It's that the guy couldn't understand the importance of what he'd done. This had just been a big boring afternoon to him. He never hunted again after that. It cast a serious pall over that camp. I don't think anyone there ever really got over it. 10 years on, they were still talking about it. Most of them hunted elsewhere after that and only used the cabin to sleep. The bottom line in all this-- the reason I included it, is because I've seen how a new guy could really destroy a camp in just one visit. The fellow we're bringing in is nothing like that turd. However, as patriarch, I'm on notice: A NewGuy at camp is an auspicious event. We all hope this is the start of a decades-long relationship. We want it to start off right.

2) Excluding NewGuy from the Opener. Look, I'm the Patriarch. I started this thing. I've got to ask myself: If I were doing this for the first time, would I really want to be thrown into the middle of it? We have barely enough time for ourselves on The Opener. On the other hand, if I had a chance to come in quietly on Sunday afternoon or Monday afternoon and get some quality time with the guys, some of whom already have their tags filled, would I have a better experience? In our case, I make no bones about it. We're a bunch of serious cervid serial killers. Friday night to Sunday Afternoon it's about hunting hard, getting up to your elbows in deer gore and running to the processor and not letting up until night. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's not that we're selfish. We're focused. We have to be. If we get a tag filled on Saturday or Sunday, the heat's off for the next 10 days or more. We can take a doe to top off the freezer whenever we please. Rather than put NewGuy's head to spinning right off, I'd rather see him breeze in, get settled, and go out rested. When he nails one, I want to be able to throw everything I can at retrieving the carcass, and not have him sitting down in the bottom of a ravine wondering what to do next. On The Opener, he'd be sleeping on a couch or on an airmattress. Sunday, he'll have at least one bunk open, and he'll have it for 5 nights straight before we have to figure something else out. As this point, I'm not really sure how many days he'll be able to spend-- I don't think he knows his work schedule, but weekends are at a premium for him. Mid-week will be easier for him to swing with work. As far as the game is concerned, Opening Weekend is chaos. Deer are running off other properties onto ours. Shots are rushed. You have to be on your game. By Monday, the shooting has pretty much stopped. The deer are more in their normal routine. It's much more laid back. The chances of success for a newbie go way up.