Rodd's Ramblings: Deer hunt is about more than venison

Another Minnesota firearms deer season has come and gone, and while some hunters enjoyed a bountiful harvest, others, like me, left 2019 in the rearview without adding any venison to their freezers.

The fact that I was unable to harvest a deer this year did not diminish the overall experience and just solidified the reasons those of us who like to deer hunt do what we do.

At least four or five times this past week I was asked by non-hunters why I hunt. What is it that makes it appealing to go and sit in bad weather in a deer stand? Fair question, but in the end I am not sure if there is a simple answer.

One of the biggest reasons for hunting is the camaraderie of friends at the shack. Stories are told, and often embellished. Food is to be eaten and, in general, it’s just a good time in a setting most of us don’t get to experience very often. An old shack with wood heat and glowing lanterns all make for an ambiance that brings us back to days gone by.

This season all of these things came into play during my hunt and also a highly unusual experience. On the second Saturday of the hunt my son AJ and I, along with friend Mark Bodin, left the shack to head to our stands. After a 15 minute walk to my stand I noticed what looked like someone sitting in my stand. It was dark, but not so dark that I couldn’t see the silhouette of a person sitting in my box stand. I had my headlamp on so I wasn’t concerned that the person would think I was a deer, but I approached with caution.

When I got to the base of the stand I yelled up. “What are you doing in my stand?” There was no response, so I asked again. Still no response. At this point I had to make up my mind to either stand there like an idiot or go up and see who was in my stand and why.

As I opened the skirting to enter I found out why the person didn’t answer.

It was because it was a cardboard cutout of a character from the latest Star Wars film. Somehow my buddies from a neighboring shack had managed a stealth mission in the week prior to the opener.

I had a good laugh. That night as we sat in the shack we talked about their prank and how they had pulled one over on me. It was at this point that I realized this is what the shack is all about. It isn’t about how big a deer we harvest or how many we harvest; instead, it is about the friendships kept and the stories that are made during our time in the woods.

As we sat back and enjoyed a brew or two, old stories came out about Al, who got lost on the bog, or about how the Hallo-

ween storm wreaked havoc on the season years ago, or how the straight-line winds of a couple of years ago changed the travel patterns of the deer.

Far more than hunting was discussed. Old hunters were remembered, traditions were honored, new traditions were started and memories were entered into the log books so they would be there for our children’s children in years to come.

On Sunday, as we began to pack up, I took one last look around the shack before locking it up for the winter. Memories flooded back about Mark falling inside a pop-up blind and rolling around in the swamp trying to extract himself while I was bent over in laughter. The memory of being in the open-air outhouse and having the toilet paper roll pop up and land in the newly fallen snow and then watching it slither into the woods with no flashlight to look for it. Those stories are the reasons I keep coming back year after year. Oh, and to also try and harvest a deer.

WKLK radio personality Kerry Rodd writes sports for the Pine Knot News and can often be found coaching softball when the weather gets warmer, although he says he’s done with that now.