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

We use a processor that is a half-hour away, and they tend to fill up on The Opener. They usually cap it at 100 carcasses. That is the big limitation.

Most of our shots are before 0900, but if we're going to get there in time, we usually have to hussle. The fastest method is when we drop one in the middle of the field. That happens about half the time. In that case, all we have to do is back the truck up, load it and take it to the meatpole for dressing. I'm going to say our fastest is something like 2 hour turnaround from shot to delivery to the processor and that was with 2 deer taken 15 minutes apart. The processor will often times fill up by Noon, so let's say a deer gets shot at 0900. At best we have an hour of slack. Not getting to the processor in time isn't the end of the world. I've kept a deer overnight. This is just the optimal way to deal with it. On the Opener we try to get at least two people involved, so it's often the shooter who goes for the truck and often times it's me that they pick up to go get the deer. I'm in on at least half the pickups during season, because I know the schtick better than anyone else. Moose and Angus know the drill, but Moose is lame on the left side. SuperCore can drive the truck, but he's usually spent. They all usually let me hunt until about 1000, and then somebody comes and gets me. By then, I'm walking out to meet them halfway. My stand for The Opener is the farthest out of any.

If the deer runs down into one of the many ravines, things change dramatically. The shooter guts the carcass where it lays while somebody gets the truck and runs the winch down. Recovery takes a good long while. By 1100 most everyone has decided to come in, and we've got more hands involved. We then adjourn to the processor with a carcass or two and eat lunch there. The place is usually packed with orange hats. A good time is had by all.

The other big limitation is the afternoon hunt. Let's say we get closed-out at the primary processor. The next closest is an hour away from the first. Delays stack up. I've hussled my buns on The Opener and still been late getting out to my blind for the afternoon sit. Ideally, I like to be back out by 1500. Sometimes that slips later. I've had several years where I didn't get much hunting in on Saturday, but this is what it is to be the patriarch. I don't intend on having NewGuy be burdened. I want him hunting and not worrying about all this. By second weekend, we've much more time and still have the same kind of fun. The deer are still there. In fact a lot of our best bucks have come well after that first weekend. I've also put a buck down before sunrise on The Opener, walked back to get the truck and been sitting on the porch when the rest of the crew shows up.

Why not hunt all day? There is a second rush of deer as the Orange Army mount their ATV's and drive in @0900. That usually means we get a flurry of shots at 1000 or thereabouts. After that, there is nearly no action until well after lunch. I'm 62, and all day sits just aren't my thing anymore. Normally we switch venues and I usually switch rifles. On the Opener, I'm usually in a stand in the morning with my Savage 99. In the evening the deer are usually out browsing in the pastures and I'll switch to my DX rig.

So what happens in your deer camp is your business and doesn’t effect us at all. Other than you posting on the World Wide Web about it. You have given some great, thought out conversation about this but one thing I hope you’ll learn from it, like it or not, the “World” is not in your corner on the treatment of “NewGuy”. You are definitely the odd man out with your thought process here. I’m quite a bit younger than you. Turning 39 here in a couple days. I was a hunting guide for a lot of years and I’ve personally hunted in 14 different states, in three different countries on two different continents and I feel confident in saying that not one person in any of those circles I have been around would be handling NewGuy like you are. Again, your deer camp your rules but by and large, and on a scientific fact base level, most of the world thinks you’re in the wrong. This thread is proof of that.

I can understand to a degree where you’re coming from, I will never understand the total dis-inclusion of NewGuy from opening weekend which sounds like a lot of fun, even though hectic. We can’t wrap our heads around you being so tight with your people but being so conditional and not even giving a chance for NewGuy to prove his metal (or grit). All the scheduling conflicts, other reasons, one including you and your people would be very unforgiving and spiteful if he happens to kill a bigger buck than the rest of you, is sorry at best and seems like an attempt to smooth the world over in us thinking you aren’t this over bearing jerk “Patriarch” we kind of think you are...

In my head, and I know I’m not alone, the conversation should have went like this. Forthright and clear with no room for personal interpretation on your expectations. “Look NewGuy, You’ve proven yourself up until now, that’s why we/I are welcoming you to camp. Opening weekend is hectic. Bad hectic. We and I aren’t going to have time to baby sit you. If we have to, it will really hamper our hunt which only comes around once a year. It is a big deal to us and we aren’t getting any younger. You are also low man on the totem pole for seniority so you are going to be hunting spots nobody else wants and sleeping on the couch or in your truck until a bunk opens up later in the week. We have expectations of you to hunt an area/stand and stay put there. If you kill a deer, here are the rules and what you need to do. If you happen to kill the biggest buck in the woods, we are going to give you crap about it, but that’s just because we are jealous and envious so appreciate the hell out of it if it happens. You have an opportunity here to really show us what you’re made of, and you have an opportunity to really screw it up. If you aren’t okay with any of that or don’t think you can handle it, it might be best you sit the first couple days out but we’d love to have you around to help where needed in the skinning shed or dragging deer. The more you are around us, the more you’ll learn “our” ways which will really be great for all of us.” and more with the understanding from everyone in camp that the new guy has a lot to learn. You all should be willing to help teach with patience.

Again, none of this matters to us in the end but I’ll bet if you would have typed something along those lines, there wouldn’t be 7 pages of the world giving you crap about the treatment of NewGuy.

Todd

I can't understand why you would bring your deer back to the "meat pole", gut it and NOT quarter it and put it into a cooler? Why bother with a processor or for that matter, why not bring the quartered deer to the processor when it's convenient? I leave meat on ice in coolers for a week or 2 before I trim it out. Pieces for grinding get stockpiled in the freezer and then I grind it when my hunting slows down. Fuggh bringing deer to a processor

I learned gutting, etc. from a guy from Alabama. I frankly didn't know any better, and when I did try it in the field, I found it was a lot more hassle. We throw a chain around the neck and hoist, and all the guts go in a big tub without any coaxing. I've since learned that if your season occurs in warm weather, this method is more common. We use a processor as a time saver. Most of us at camp work, and we have to maximize the time afield. Probably when I retire and I'm living down there, I'll stop using the processor. However, it's just easy to drop them off and get it done and pay someone. We've only had a couple bad experiences with processors, and we have enough close by that there is competition in price and service. I know I'm not going to change minds, and that's fine. When I got online 30 years ago, I found out other people had different methods of doing things.

Let me be clear: if NewGuy got the camp record or the state record, we'd be cheering.

You can think of me as an overbearing jerk all you want. Truth is that I want NewGuy to have as good an experience as possible, and there is nothing in what I have said or done that would indicate that we're anything like what you're claiming. He is not a plebe that has to prove himself. We're not going to haze him. We're not going to give him the worst accomodations and make him live with it. He will be an honored guest and I intend to give him as much of my attention as he needs. In the little time I had with him over Labor Day, he was asking a lot of questions. They were good questions, but I can tell he's not quite sure of himself in this endevor. My guess is that NewGuy is going to come down and get his cherry popped within a few days of hunting, and walk away feeling like he's found heaven. Maybe. Maybe not. I do know that we're to do everything we can to make it happen.

Now, if you think that's overbearing, that's fine. I did pretty much the same thing with SuperCore when he first came out. SuperCore was ex-Airborne, but he'd never hunted. He was an avid shooter, but he'd never levelled anything at a living being. He was my boss at Cincinnati State when I taught there. The biggest mistake I made with SuperCore-- by his own estimate-- was leaving him too much on his own during The Opener. He really didn't get a feel for things until we spent some time in the 2-man blind that I built for me and my sons when they were younger. It opens front and back and the hunters sit back to back. You are hunting on your own, but you can carry on a conversation. If NewGuy wants to do that, I'll be happy to oblige, but we'll start off with whatever he wants. We actually have several venues like that now. I built them so Moose or I can take the Mooselette out. We also have a few setups where 2 hunters safely can hunt fairly close to one another and still be hunting completely different structures and animals. My only ground rules will be to pick a blind or stand and stay there. Let folks know if you're up and moving and don't stray too close to the property lines.

I also think you and a few others are really overestimating NewGuy's abilities. I've had a fairly recent hunt with one of the guys on here-- a frequent poster. Were he to come down to hunt, I could pretty much point him towards the head and the coffee maker and that would be it. He's done bigger hunts than me in many more places. Right now, I'd go anywhere in the world with him if the situation was right, and I think he'd say the same about me. It was my first hunt away from the farm in 20 years. I'm sure he'd be able to rattle off examples of my shagginess, but we both had a good time, and I appreciate his putting up with me on my first trip out in ages.

Why would anyone hunt the middle of the property on opening morning? I hate running deer off our property, or educating them and it's never a bad idea to keep an eye on your neighbors. Safety is my number one priority, so I don't allow anyone to get down and walk around or look for a deer untill everyone is finished hunting. Sounds to me like the deer must be plentiful where your hunting. Good hunting and stay safe.

In the center is the safest place for when the shooting starts. By "center" I mean an area that is probably 2/3's of the property and include all the places that make retrieval easiest. We stay off the property line through most of season, mainly so we don't get shot. However, we have gobs of deer that are moving off our neighbors and they congregate well away from the line. The neighbors are doing all the ATV stuff and drives and still hunting. Deer outnumber humans by a fair margin.

Shaman - your answers are well thought out and considerate of New Guy and your regulars.

I was introduced to hunting by an old italian gent who started me slow, too, and took care to see I was not overwhelmed or making dumb mistakes in front of the regulars.

I will never be able to express how much I owe him and his generosity.

Shaman, I'm with you 100%. You bought the land, paid for it and pay the taxes. It's not like you took a large sum from New Guy and then changed the rules on him. Also don't you love it that people are telling you when you should hunt on YOUR property, what you should do with YOUR meat etc. Probably they think New Guy is entitled to be there on opening day. Isn't that the attitude now? You don't have to earn anything-you're entitled to it. I think it's pretty nice of you to save New Guy $$$$$ that a lease would cost.

You're making this sound like a magical place.

We hardly ever see the neighbors and they hardly ever see us. It's not that we're unfriendly. It's just that way. There have been incidents at the property lines over the years. I got shot at accidentally back in 2004 during ML season while I was out looking for a deer. There was another near-tragedy a bout a decade ago. My neighbor to the north caught a guy to our East putting a pop-up blind up in the back corner we all share, directly in the path of his shooting lane. It was legal. The guy was sitting with his back to the fence, but a richochet would have been tragic.

We've got a couple of venues that we hunt that are within 100 yards of the line, but they're all uphill firing down to creek bottoms and anyone shooting our way would have to be deliberately firing into the air across a ravine. My Opening Day stand is the closest-- about 80 yards. However, the stand is on the other side of a big tree from the fenceline and I know where the guys who have the lease all hunt and its nowhere near us.

Got invited to a high level ranch once. Allowed two WT bucks I shot an 8 point & a 10. I was never invited back. It was definitely Redneck mentality on the veteran's part.