Family traditions dying off

Randy Wieland wrote:

What have you done or attempting to do to continue what you have done or establish a new tradition? Just knowing life evolves, new people come to be, other die, life circumstances alter our activities.

Yeah i have received a few messages similar to this and i certainly agree. This is just life and its what happens and me and my generation represent the future. I agree its up to me to form new traditions and pass on what ive learned from my elders to the next generation.

On the night i wrote this i was having a few beers and just reminiscing about how things used to be. Im a pretty open person and have always enjoyed sharing my experiences with others, both the good ones and the bad ones. I enjoy hearing from others and how their camps have changed and ive also been encouraged by the messages reinforcing that the way to look at it is a camp in transition and its an opportunity for my generation to put its mark on the story, rather than a camp that’s dying.

Traditionally our camp was family only. It was also men only but we never had a rule that women weren’t allowed we just didn’t have any women in the family that were into hunting. In the last 5 years or so we relaxed the rules a bit and started welcoming close friends into the group. Moving forward i think opening the camp up to more friends and to encourage more women to come up is the right thing to do.

crappie55369 wrote:

Traditionally our camp was family only. It was also men only but we never had a rule that women weren’t allowed we just didn’t have any women in the family that were into hunting. In the last 5 years or so we relaxed the rules a bit and started welcoming close friends into the group. Moving forward i think opening the camp up to more friends and to encourage more women to come up is the right thing to do.

Agreed!
The worst that can happen is someone isn’t welcome next year, but it is hard to predict the many “best things that can happen” by expanding your invitations!

Sounds like your on the right path Crappie I bet it will be awesome in the future and the people invited will feel honored.

Fun and entertaining group to hunt with; albeit unfavorable hunting conditions.

Pretty sad meat pole but we all had opportunities and passed.

They all admitted the group is getting smaller and new blood was welcomed and I was welcomed back.

I never knew you could put so many professional bass fisherman in one room… bass bass bass

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glad to hear you were welcomed back fishblood!

here is a photo from our camp. the old man got a nice 8 pointer. the deer was on the run and never stopped. hit the deer right in the kill zone. that ole monkeybutt is one hell of a shot i tell ya. Only 3 of us at deer camp this year for opener but we had a great time!

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I’ve been going to the same family deer camp for 37 years, and I’m not family. I am a guest of the camp and I never take that for granted. Every year I ask “You got room for me this year?” Of course the answer is always yes, and I have the greatest respect for my friends there. The point I would like to make however, is it’s important to recognize the history of the camp, particularly how it came to be. It’s a great way to help pass down the traditions others in this thread have mentioned. Some folks keep a camp diary of every year, who was there, what was shot, who rolled underneath their truck…
This camp in particular was formed in 1962 when 6 brothers, all farmers of German lineage, pooled together $900 and purchased 26 acres in the far reaches of NW Wis. None of them had a pot to go in, and I’m sure the wives thought it a fool’s pursuit, but now with 4th gen kids coming up, it’s important to recognize and appreciate what they created way back when.

well said nice fella and thanks for adding your story to the thread

crappie55369 wrote:

I guess I’m just feeling sad and a little lost right now. Anyone else feel the loss of a hunting family tradition? This can be an opportunity to make it something different but I can’t help but feel the end of a great era is upon me.

I’ve been through it twice. We are investing a pile of money and time this coming year to revive our deer camp tradition. Unfortunately I’ve been part of a camp in Montana that grew old and apart. My personal camp in Northern MN just grew apart. We have some young up and comers in our families that we are hoping to get into the mix. New land management, a new cabin and adding a variety of cabin uses as opposed to just being a deer camp will hopefully bring it back to life.

Hey everyone,

Sorry I’m late to the party but I’ve been busy hunting! I’ve 24 days in the woods in MN & WI the past few months and I didn’t harvest a deer but I loved every minute of it!

Great thread you started here crappie! I have to say I agree 100% with Randy… Time marches on and as our society moves away from hunting many hunting traditions are dying and it is sad for those of us who love the outdoors BUT the most important thing that each and every one of us needs to understand is that the best thing any of us can do is to start our own new traditions!

Just looking in this thread makes me see how many of us are doing things right! Grouse has created a little slice of heaven for his family to hunt, Wade is working to transition his family traditions to the next generation, and anyone who saw Bigwerm’s photos with his Xbow buck and little boy knows he’s doing his part.

I myself am a first generation hunter and fisherman as well… We had zero family traditions for hunting or fishing when I was born. I was a very energetic youth (to say the least) and my parents quickly realized that the only time I would sit still was when I was watching a bobber. I started camping with him at 6 years old and that quickly became our tradition… As the years passed we brought a few of my friends along (their parents also were not big fishermen) and a lifelong love of fishing was created for a whole group of boys. This past year marked 25 years that my high school friends and I gather back in Malmo for our annual fishing opener get together. It has grown now to 8 boats and over 25 people who attended last year, a tradition that we created.

Due to sports and my family not hunting I didn’t start deer hunting until I was 21 years old. I bought my first rifle from a pawn shop and began a journey of what is now my largest passion, chasing whitetails! What started as me by myself has turned into another 20 year tradition of friends who now join me each year for hunting camp at our family cabin. Not only that but my stepfather who had given up hunting decided to start again and we bonded over it becoming close in a way that we never previously been along the way. Unfortunately he passed away 4 years ago, but life marches on and to ensure that our tradition doesn’t die I purchased our family cabin.

Now I am the patriarch of two amazing fishing/hunting traditions that started just from my dad taking me fishing and camping!

The past several years I have spent much time improving our land for wildlife by planting food plots, apple trees, and adding ponds. This winter I will be doing timber stand improvement and some logging projects to help add more food opportunities for both grouse and deer. All of this is in preparation for when my boys are old enough to hunt to help make sure that the tradition lives on. I took my boys with me in the woods for the first time this year and even though no deer were shot their excitement made my entire season a success!

I guess what I’m trying to say is exactly what I believe Randy was getting at… It is each of our responsibility to help continue traditions and if they don’t exist make new ones.

The future is in our hands so shoot straight everyone!

Will

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I’ve been incredibly lucky to have been invited to hunt with a close friend of mine and his family in Wisconsin on nearly 500 private acres. This year was, I believe, my 7th year. I’ve gotten very close with the family and they treat me as one of their own, and now my 9 year old son comes with me. Soon he will have his own stand as well. I’m so appreciative of them allowing me to hunt there, because my only other option would be finding public land and going on my own. I love the traditions, the shared experience, the camaraderie. I never got to hunt with my dad; he passed away when I turned 12.

I worry about what will happen someday when the landowner where I hunt passes away. I know all the land is in a trust and won’t be sold, but what exactly would happen to deer camp itself? I pray that is many, many, many years away.

If I could afford it, I’d buy land of my own. Even right in that same area, and put up a little shack. Unfortunately land prices are so outrageous it puts that out of reach.

I don’t take one single second of deer season for granted, and I hope my son understands what an amazing thing it is to be welcomed so openly to a group with amazing land, that has had their own traditions for years and years and years.