Deer hunting; a family tradition

Three generations of hunters The Smith family, from Bullard Township in rural Staples, have been hunting deer in that area for over a century. Pictured, from left, Bill Smith; his granddaughter, Christina; and his son (Christina's dad), Brian Smith, pose by one of their newly constructed deer stands, complete with an aluminum ladder. (Staples World photo by Dawn Schimpp Timbs) It's beginning to look a lot like...deer hunting season.

Folks all over are decked out in blaze orange, sighting in their rifles; and planning strategies for driving out that prized buck that somehow got away last year.

For the Smiths, of rural Staples, it's their favorite time of the year.

"Yeah, we'll be having our 'tell lies and talk smart party' the night before deer hunting opens," Bill Smith, a 1961 graduate of Staples High School, laughed. "It's tradition."

He's looking forward to being out in the woods; and of spending time with his family, Bill said. "There's five of us that will be getting together. My sons, Mike and Brian; Brian's wife, Heidi; their daughter, Christina; and myself."

Rifle collection Bill Smith, rural Staples, holds up a few guns that have been a part of his family's deer hunting tradition over the years. From left to right: a Thompson Center 270 that his wife, Sandy, recently won at a Bingo game; his dad's gun, a 30/30 Winchester Model 55; and his grandfather's rifle from the Civil War era, a 4477 Sharps. The antler rack behind Bill was from a deer his dad, Bert Smith, shot years ago. (Staples World photo by Dawn Schimpp Timbs) Bill's wife of 39 years, Sandy, keeps everyone fed. In addition to preparing supper Friday night, Sandy's in the kitchen early Saturday whipping up a hot breakfast for the hunters. "Oh, we'll have biscuits and gravy; and pancakes and sausage," Sandy said. "They're out the door by six a.m."

The Smiths have been hunting in Bullard Township since 1891, when Bill's grandfather, William, first homesteaded the family farm, located about 15 miles north of Staples.

Bill now owns the rifle his grandfather used to hunt grouse with...a 4477 Sharps. Rumor has it, Bill shared, that the gun dates back to the Civil War. "My son, Brian, saw the same one in the Oklahoma Cowboy Hall of Fame," Bill said. "There aren't many around."

Got antlers? Sandy and Bill Smith, rural Staples, don't lack for antler racks at their home. The Smiths both come from a serious line of hunters; and they have some record breaking antler mounts to prove it. Sandy is holding an 12-point rack from a deer that her dad, Danvy Powell, shot in her hometown of Big Falls. (Staples World photo by Dawn Schimpp Timbs) Handling a rifle was a skill Grandpa William passed down to his son, Bert; and to his grandson, Bill.

"Dad didn't hunt all that much; he could only see out of one eye," Bill said. "He The Smith family, from Bullard Township in rural Staples, have been hunting deer in that area for over a century. Pictured, from left, Bill Smith; his granddaughter, Christina; and his son (Christina's dad), Brian Smith, pose by one of their newly constructed deer stands, complete with an aluminum ladder. (Staples World photo by Dawn Schimpp Timbs) shot two deer in his life...at the same identical place," he added.

Bert liked being out in the woods, though; and he had a knowledge of bringing the deer out, Bill recalled. "Half the time he didn't have shells in his gun; but he was always a part of the hunting group."

Bill still has his dad's gun, a 30/30 Winchester Model 55; and an antler rack from one of the deer his dad shot hangs on the wall of the Smith home.

"I've got a lot of hunting memories," Bill said, paging through a thick photo album devoted entirely to snap-shots of orange-clad Smiths, posing by hanging deer with impressive antlers.

Born in 1943, Bill said he's been hunting since 1954. "I only missed one year, when they closed deer season back in the 70's because it was so dry," he recalled. His first rifle? An old Winchester 30/30 that had belonged to his uncle, Ed Smith. In 1961, he bought himself a brand new Winchester 308.

Like his grandfather

and father before him, Bill

taught his own three kids - Michael, Michelle and Brian,

all about the sport. He now has two grandchildren that also hunt.

Deer hunting has changed since he was a kid, Bill said.

"Years ago, it was really a community event. We'd get together with our neighbors... Naniks and Dauges," Bill recalled. "Now, it's progressed to mostly families hunting together."

Gone are the deer drives that Bill remembered from earlier days. "Now we have deer stands. We've got 18 of them on our property."

Sandy doesn't miss the deer drives, she said. An active hunter for years, Sandy said that she decided to hang it up one bitterly cold November. "They'd send me through those swamps and I'd come back to the house soaking wet after falling through the bogs a few times."

She decided she'd rather stay in the house, make coffee and keep the crew fed throughout hunting season.

Not that Sandy doesn't have a few of her own good memories of hunting.

Growing up in Big Falls, where her folks were in the logging business, Sandy associates hunting with survival as well as sport.

"If it hadn't been for rabbit and venison, there were many days we wouldn't have had anything to eat," Sandy recalled.

She still has the antler rack from a deer her dad, Danvy Powell, shot years ago. "It was a 12-point buck," Sandy said. "It scored 185 and is in the record book," she added proudly.

Bill has a few impressive

antler racks from deer

he has shot over the years. "This one I shot in '65," he

said, holding up a 12-point rack from a 300 pound buck that he remembers was standing six feet away from him at the time.

He's collected a lot of

stories over the years as

well as antlers, Bill admits. "We used to drive an old

Nash Rambler when we were out hunting," he said, adding that someone had attempted to fix the muffler and had mistakenly put it on backwards.

"Well, we were just driving along, when all of a sudden there was all of this banging," Bill said. "The muffler had gotten hot, was smoking; and caused the shells under the car seat to go off," he added. "Scared us half to death."

There aren't as many deer in this area as there used to be, Bill said.

He attributes this to a number of factors, including

overkill from the DNR

and the lottery system. "There's not as much farmland

around here, either," Bill added.

An influx of timber wolves in the area has also had an affect on the deer population, Bill believes.

"A friend of mine, Marv Rothstein, has a camera set up in the woods not too far from here," Bill said. "He has seen three timber

wolves, two bear, five bobcats and a cougar."

In addition to the dwindling deer population, the Smiths have been worried that there aren't as many young people interested in hunting.

"We're losing so many of our older hunters; and the kids are more interested in computers these days," Bill said.

Four years ago, the Smiths decided to start the Wahoo Valley Area Chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunter's Association. Bill and Sandy's son, Brian, was the first president; a title currently held by Bill.

The purpose of the group, according to their website (www.mndeerhunters. com) is to work for the betterment of deer and deer hunting by educating youth and adult hunters; and by acquiring and improving deer habitat.

Along with others involved in the MDHA, the

Smiths have been planting

food plots for the deer. "They love turnips," Bill

said. "We also plant soybeans, clover and rye."

The Wahoo Valley chapter has paid for a few young people to attend deer hunter's camp at Deep Portage, near Hackensack.

Brian's 13 year old daughter, Christina, attended the camp recently.

Christina said she enjoyed camp; and went hunting for the first time with the Smith clan last year.

"It was really cold," she said. "I think the part I liked the best about deer hunting was going inside," she said with a big smile.

A child of the computer generation, Christina plans to keep in touch with

her friends while out on

the deerstand with her dad. "Last year I got a text message

from Mackenzie Holst letting me know she got a deer," Christina said. "Kelsie Zetah texted me, too."

Spending time with his daughter is one of the things Brian likes the best about deer hunting these days. "It's pretty special," he said, giving Christina a quick hug.

Bill can't help but smile as he heads out with Brian and Christina to finish working on one of the new deerstands. "We're going with aluminum ladders these days...I had a friend that was injured pretty badly after falling from his deerstand recently," Bill said, explaining that the wooden ladder attached to the stand had rotted through. "Luckily he's going to be okay."

He's looking forward to deer hunting opener this weekend, Bill says again.

"Anymore, deer hunting is secondary, though," he says. "I like getting outside, sitting in the woods. It's peaceful out here."

Yep, deer hunting season has got to be one of his favorite times of the year, Bill says, looking out at the field where his grandfather, William, first hunted so many years ago.