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Hunting in Michigan Upper Peninsula, 2009
One thing you can always count on with deer hunting camp is some unexpected drama. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan starts hunting on the 15th of November and this year it falls on Sunday. Roy picked me up from the Escanaba airport on Friday night and we go on into camp. Friday night we have six hunters in camp.
Saturday morning we are all up and out to check our blinds. I go to the horse barn area to set up my pop-up blind exactly where I had it last year. The trail from the swamp to hardwoods looks well used and that is exciting. I am walking toward the swamp about 25 yards from my pop-up when a movement on my right and a running doe stopped about 25 yards west of me, looked at me and ran down the trail into the swamp. I took two steps and squatted to the ground as a huge 8 point buck chasing the doe stopped, looked at me, spun to the west and ran. OH-OH I saw him about 24 hours too early this year. Over the past year I came up with the idea I wanted to get a trophy deer and one of four and one half years of age was a necessity for it to grow enough. I guess this 8 point deer to be two and one half years old. Now, I do not wish to rush things, yet I can not wait to see if that deer shows up in 2011.
Its opening day and the Bergmann camp has 14 hunters in camp. There is some shooting and none of it is close to me. I walk back to camp for breakfast at 11:00 A.M... My nephew Tom has a big smile on his face and asks “Uncle Bart will you help me bring my deer in to camp?” Sure, a quick breakfast and we are off to the spring ridge area on borrowed four wheelers to pickup Tom’s 5 pointer which he thought was a six pointer. With that chore done I am back in my blind by two P.M... I have still not seen a live deer today. At 5:15 P.M., like magic there is a 6 pointer facing me head on in the trail from the swamp into the hardwoods. Bang: a fifty yard run and it drops. Dark comes quick in the U. P. so I hurry to get out of my sitting clothes to field dress the deer and walk back to camp to get a four wheeler to haul the deer home. Because it is already so dark I head west toward Bill’s blind instead of north to the road.
As I approach Bill’s blind I see he is already out and getting ready to go back to camp. He asks if I want a ride. Yes, and off we go. At the intersection of the north road we see my Nephew Mark waiting beside his vehicle. When we stop he said “We have a situation here”, I just had a pack of 17 wolves pass my blind on both sides, only five feet from the blind. Now there is no better person in camp to observe these wolves as Mark has a photographic memory. We are back at camp and the story unfolds with after the alpha leader passed, how many seconds until 3 passed on the left side and how many seconds until 4 passed on the right side and etc., with the sizes, colors, how they all stared straight ahead and all the details. The whole camp is abuzz with what we know about wolf behavior. My mind is starting to work overtime because I decide 17 wolves can eat my deer in about 5 minutes so now is the time to go get him. Everyone except Bill and I are out of their hunting coats and into the cocktails so we take Steve’s big 4 wheeler and head for The Horse Barn. My blind does not have a trail near it so we were able to work out way through the hardwoods to within 150 yards of the deer so it was just enough to know we had been dragging a deer.
Now with two bucks hanging on the meat pole the rest of the camp are ready to get serious. Opening day was Sunday and no one saw a deer on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and now by Thursday noon everyone except my self and Kevin, who is going to drop me at the airport on Friday before day light has gone home. It is time to go sit for the Thursday evening hunt. Kevin goes to his blind near the Spring Ridge and since I have packed my pop-up, I decide to sit in Jig’s wood blind east of camp and read a book and watch for deer because I did not buy a combo license. I see five deer, three does and two bucks and think; okay the deer are back and return to camp by 4:30 P.M… Kevin shows up at camp just before dark and reports he shot a nice big seven pointer and saw 7 deer, plus he needs help to bring it in. Sure, we mount up on two 4 wheelers and go to his blind. We were able to get close for loading and hauled him in and loaded it directly into Kevin’s pickup since we are getting up at 4:30 A.M... I saw the feet were twice the size of the 2, two and one half year old deer on opening day. Kevin’s deer was checked with the D N R and aged at three and one half years old. Now I am sure the four and one half year old buck is the right way to go.
Three days without seeing any deer after opening day is in the record book of Bergmann camp. Our thought is that every deer knew the wolves were there and ran 20 or 30 miles out of there and slowly walked their way back. I am reading books about wolves and recommend, “Of Wolves and Men” by Barry Lopez.
The author on this article is Bart Sharp, avid hunter.
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One thing you can always count on with deer hunting camp is some unexpected drama. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan starts hunting on the 15th of November and this year it falls on Sunday. Roy picked me up from the Escanaba airport on Friday night and we go on into camp. Friday night we have six hunters in camp.
Saturday morning we are all up and out to check our blinds. I go to the horse barn area to set up my pop-up blind exactly where I had it last year. The trail from the swamp to hardwoods looks well used and that is exciting. I am walking toward the swamp about 25 yards from my pop-up when a movement on my right and a running doe stopped about 25 yards west of me, looked at me and ran down the trail into the swamp. I took two steps and squatted to the ground as a huge 8 point buck chasing the doe stopped, looked at me, spun to the west and ran. OH-OH I saw him about 24 hours too early this year. Over the past year I came up with the idea I wanted to get a trophy deer and one of four and one half years of age was a necessity for it to grow enough. I guess this 8 point deer to be two and one half years old. Now, I do not wish to rush things, yet I can not wait to see if that deer shows up in 2011.
Its opening day and the Bergmann camp has 14 hunters in camp. There is some shooting and none of it is close to me. I walk back to camp for breakfast at 11:00 A.M... My nephew Tom has a big smile on his face and asks “Uncle Bart will you help me bring my deer in to camp?” Sure, a quick breakfast and we are off to the spring ridge area on borrowed four wheelers to pickup Tom’s 5 pointer which he thought was a six pointer. With that chore done I am back in my blind by two P.M... I have still not seen a live deer today. At 5:15 P.M., like magic there is a 6 pointer facing me head on in the trail from the swamp into the hardwoods. Bang: a fifty yard run and it drops. Dark comes quick in the U. P. so I hurry to get out of my sitting clothes to field dress the deer and walk back to camp to get a four wheeler to haul the deer home. Because it is already so dark I head west toward Bill’s blind instead of north to the road.
As I approach Bill’s blind I see he is already out and getting ready to go back to camp. He asks if I want a ride. Yes, and off we go. At the intersection of the north road we see my Nephew Mark waiting beside his vehicle. When we stop he said “We have a situation here”, I just had a pack of 17 wolves pass my blind on both sides, only five feet from the blind. Now there is no better person in camp to observe these wolves as Mark has a photographic memory. We are back at camp and the story unfolds with after the alpha leader passed, how many seconds until 3 passed on the left side and how many seconds until 4 passed on the right side and etc., with the sizes, colors, how they all stared straight ahead and all the details. The whole camp is abuzz with what we know about wolf behavior. My mind is starting to work overtime because I decide 17 wolves can eat my deer in about 5 minutes so now is the time to go get him. Everyone except Bill and I are out of their hunting coats and into the cocktails so we take Steve’s big 4 wheeler and head for The Horse Barn. My blind does not have a trail near it so we were able to work out way through the hardwoods to within 150 yards of the deer so it was just enough to know we had been dragging a deer.
Now with two bucks hanging on the meat pole the rest of the camp are ready to get serious. Opening day was Sunday and no one saw a deer on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and now by Thursday noon everyone except my self and Kevin, who is going to drop me at the airport on Friday before day light has gone home. It is time to go sit for the Thursday evening hunt. Kevin goes to his blind near the Spring Ridge and since I have packed my pop-up, I decide to sit in Jig’s wood blind east of camp and read a book and watch for deer because I did not buy a combo license. I see five deer, three does and two bucks and think; okay the deer are back and return to camp by 4:30 P.M… Kevin shows up at camp just before dark and reports he shot a nice big seven pointer and saw 7 deer, plus he needs help to bring it in. Sure, we mount up on two 4 wheelers and go to his blind. We were able to get close for loading and hauled him in and loaded it directly into Kevin’s pickup since we are getting up at 4:30 A.M... I saw the feet were twice the size of the 2, two and one half year old deer on opening day. Kevin’s deer was checked with the D N R and aged at three and one half years old. Now I am sure the four and one half year old buck is the right way to go.
Three days without seeing any deer after opening day is in the record book of Bergmann camp. Our thought is that every deer knew the wolves were there and ran 20 or 30 miles out of there and slowly walked their way back. I am reading books about wolves and recommend, “Of Wolves and Men” by Barry Lopez.
The author on this article is Bart Sharp, avid hunter.
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