UP bound - son's first deer hunt

Steelsearchin

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 19, 2013
Messages
491
Location
Kzoo, MI
We leave tonight, September 20th. Today marks what would have been my maternal grandfather's 86th birthday. Unfortunately, he died when I was seventeen on November 5th, 1996.

On November 5th, 1997, I shot my first whitetail buck with a bow. I refuse to believe that the timing was pure coincidence. Since that day, my brother and I have sent a lot of arrows through a lot of whitetail bucks on November 5th.

Like most grandfathers, Gramps walked on water in my eyes. He grew up on a broke horse farm in Michigan's "thumb" and learned the value of hard work at an age that would be considered cruel in today's society. The first of his family to attend college, he worked his way through a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State. When he decided engineers "didn't have any fun," he quit his job and enrolled in med school at the University of Michigan. By the time he had earned that piece of paper, he and Grams had four kids running around with a fifth on the way, which was followed by a happy career delivering babies. At Gramps's funeral, my uncle clearly articulated what we were all thinking- that his dad had been, "both a dreamer and a doer."

48 years later I followed in Gramps's footsteps with a ME degree of my own from MSU, but I still haven't felt the need to attend med school, and I figured two kids was good enough! When my wife and I had a son of our own, we named him after my grandfather. When I was in high school, Gramps bestowed some wisdom on me that I have carried with me for the last 25 years. Along the path of Randy's signature line, Gramps told me to "Work hard, but do what you love when you can make it work. When I had the time, I didn't have the money. When I had the money, I didn't have the time. Now I've got plenty of both and my body won't do what I want it to anymore." At 64, he left this world way too soon.

We leave tonight, on Gramps's birthday. My now eight-year-old son and I are heading north on his first deer hunt. He's been with me on some successful hunts, but this will be the first one where he gets to man the trigger. We're spending tonight at the cabin that Gramps built, along with help from my dad and my uncles, just before I was born. With a little luck we'll find a "rally chicken" on the way up or tomorrow morning who will hold still long enough for my son to get his little .22 cricket sights settled on it. Either way, on Friday we'll finish the second leg of the journey and cross the bridge into the UP.

Along with my dad, Gramps taught me to work hard but also instilled a love of chasing trout with a fly rod, pursuing grouse through clear cuts, dragging bucks out of cedar swamps, icing lake trout, and grilling steaks. Gramps always said, "when the Jack is gone, the steaks are done" and he never grilled a bad steak. If my son picks up half of those bad habits, I'll call it a victory.

When I left for work this morning he told me how excited he was and that he'd have trouble concentrating at school today. I told him it will only get worse as he gets older...and I've been looking forward to this since before he was born.

Watching a doe.jpg

Future grouse killer.jpg

Head stone.jpg

Even if we don't punch a tag, we should make some more good memories.

If you think of it tonight, raise a little glass in memory of my grandfather and cross your fingers his great-grandson is able to connect on his first deer or grouse this weekend.
 
Great background story and congrats on passing the torch to the younger generation. Good luck to the both of you and I'm looking forward to an update. I grew up in a similar situation, only in northern Wisconsin and those memories will forever be etched in my mind.
 
Cool story. Man I miss eating grouse. Hope bag a few of those also.
 
Good for you and your son... I pray that you get an opportunity....
 
Cool story. Man I miss eating grouse. Hope bag a few of those also.

I'm staying at a buddy's place, and we always do at least one breakfast of grouse fillets cooked in fry magic and bacon grease. Slows the heart a bit, but it's a great treat and an annual tradition. With a little luck, we can do it again this year with my son. Hardest part for me will be leaving my 14 year old bird dog at home this year. If he's still moving, he'll get his chance later in the season. Hunts for him will be short, but I think he's got a few points and retrieves left in him.

Thanks for all the well wishes! Hopefully we have something good to post on Monday.
 
I'm staying at a buddy's place, and we always do at least one breakfast of grouse fillets cooked in fry magic and bacon grease. Slows the heart a bit, but it's a great treat and an annual tradition. With a little luck, we can do it again this year with my son. Hardest part for me will be leaving my 14 year old bird dog at home this year. If he's still moving, he'll get his chance later in the season. Hunts for him will be short, but I think he's got a few points and retrieves left in him.

Thanks for all the well wishes! Hopefully we have something good to post on Monday.

I went to college at Tech. Living in Iowa I shoot my share of pheasants. I would trade 3 for a grouse every chance I could get. Dam things are tasty.
 
I went to college at Tech...

I had a very short conversation with my parents about going to MTU...

Mom, "That's way too far from home. Plus there's nothing to do up there but hunt, fish, and drink beer..."

Dad, "What do you think he's going to do at MSU?"

My old man is a genius. I caught 68 steelhead my last semester and somehow found my name on the Dean's List. Not really sure how that second part happened.

Had a good friend from high school that was up at Tech from 1998-2002. For a few years he lived in a house known as "the north pole" and I think they had bars on all three floors of the place. He came back from break one time to find a snowmobile assembled in their living room. Always wanted to make it up there for winter carnival, but it never happened.
 
Dude your killing me Im half choked up thinking about my Grandpa . He was the hardest workin and fairest man I ever knew . He taught me a lot growing up damn I miss him . Happy to hear you and your son are out together the outdoors is a special place and these youngsters need to experience it .
 
Back
Top