Deer Hunting Traditions in Minnesota (It's in the Chili)

Deer Hunting Traditions in Minnesota
(It's in the Chili)

From the earliest memories I have as a child I can remember “Opening Day”. Even when I was so little that I couldn’t purchase a license, let alone carry a rifle, I remember standing in the living room watching out the big picture window over the back yard and staring into the pasture beyond hoping to see some blaze orange or maybe even a deer.

Growing up with a family of eight brothers and sisters on a small farm at one point we all hunted. Some took to hunting more than others however we all simply love the tradition of deer season opener. As a beginner hunter we would layer our clothes so much that we could hardly walk because we all looked like huge blaze orange marsh mellows. We would layer our homemade socks that Grandma made us and stick our feet into bread bags so our feet wouldn’t get wet from our very non-waterproof boots and it also made it easier to remove the boots once we managed to pack our feet into them.

Our traditions change slightly every year as if its part of an evolving process. We used to all sleep at my parents place and be up late telling deer stories and all putting in our inputs on “Who will shoot the first deer?” or “Who will shoot the biggest deer?”. I remember my Mom, who passed away from cancer in later years; she was always so fair to all her nine children. When we would ask her opinion on who would shoot deer she always would rattle off all our names and she never would forget Pa. She always added Pa first even though he often went many years in-between filling his tags.

Once my older siblings received their driver’s license we added a process into our tradition. We would wake up at 4 am and drive in the local town, Hinckley, and buy entirely too many Tobie’s doughnuts! That tradition lasted for several years and finally ended when someone talked the group into trying White Castle instead. Needless to say our stomachs were not used to that type of food and we all later paid for it dearly, most arriving back walking rather swiftly from our opening morning deer hunt and praying there would not be a waiting line for the bathroom in the old farmhouse.

Our hunting party grew and shrunk over the years. The next change in our tradition was adding new hunters. With having older brothers and sisters we started to have a few nephews joining us at “deer camp”. I purchased what was a home to me but referred to others as “The Cabin”. We shifted our meeting place to The Cabin. Our crazy afternoons of pre-opening season was filled with laughter and great food; often pizza. We never did get much sleep and that caused us aging hunters, at least some of the others were aging, to begin to sleep in until a more reasonable time other than 4am.

We always played pranks on each other. One year my brother took a pair of binoculars and placed pencil lead where one’s eye would go and we talked a couple of nephews into “trying out the binocs”. We all laughed when we saw the dark rings around their eyes, but they didn’t find it as humorous as we all did. Another year I saved a brown coat and white stalking cap until we were about ready to head out to the stands. I came walking out of the bedroom with this brown and white combination… you should have saw the looks on their faces. “You can’t wear that, you’ll get SHOT!” Of course I can’t. It’s the unexpected pranks at The Cabin that added so many memories. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the Halloween candy. Being Halloween was always a few days prior to opening day we always had to stuff our pockets with candy before heading to the stand. It seems every year someone would forget that even in cold weather a snickers bar will melt when put in your pants pocket. Sometimes not realizing it until the hunting party starts to point and laugh. I didn't think that was too funny myself.

In the early 1990’s we built a deer hanging trellis at that point one of my nephews was quoted as saying “We will never use that”. Several years later we lost count of just exactly how many deer have hung on that trellis. We would always field dress the deer and drive over to my parents place, a sure sign of success was a pickup backing up to the trellis. Mom, and probably the strongest tradition to date, would always have chili made for us. The successful hunters would hang their deer and gather in the house for a hot bowl of chili. Mom would come out and view the deer and always be anxious to hear our stories, especially the stories of “the ones that got away”.

As we all became older, married, and had children of our own our camp made another change. We meet at “The Cabin” which is now remodeled into a 4 bedroom home for my wife and 3 children. We meet the Friday before opening day and we talk about our plans. We still discuss “Who is going to shoot the first deer?” and “Who is going to shoot the biggest deer?” We still have great food; often pizza. However we added some technology, something called “The Outdoor Channel”. But then we all depart for the night in the comfort of our own beds.

Currently we have special accommodations for my 80-year Dad that still hunts. We built a deer stand that has a staircase instead of a ladder. His stand has a heater and windows. My sister drives up North to be with him on opening deer season weekend. She makes us Mom’s recipe of Chili. We all hang our deer on the trellis then enjoy a hot bowl of Mom’s chili.