MI Deer Camp 2016 Photos"Deer camp is were friends and family reunite and enjoy being in the outdoors"
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Welcome to MI Deer Camp 2016!
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| From Left to Right: Steve, Chewie (NOT WEARING ORANGE), John, Kruger, Jimbo, Joey, and Dave
MI Deer Camp had a full camp this year with 7 guys. We were just missing Larry, but he was there when we were sighting in. It has become a tradition that we met up with our neighbors at the the Ee-ya-kee Camp. This year we, passed the bottles around their fire.
At MI Deer Camp have been wanting to have a sweatshirt made with the with the mideercamp.com information. Kruger finally made it happen this year. With the warm temperatures, the sweatshirts were perfect to wear. That is why you will see them worn in a lot of the photos.
We hope you enjoy the 2016 photos and stories. See you in 2017!
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| John and Kruger shooting off of the picnic table. It is not very comfortable and we never seem to be high enough. After all of these years, we still have not fixed it. So it’s shooting off of bags, boxes, foam and whatever we can grab. |
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| John throwing lead at 100 yards. |
Larry telling us we can’t shoot. |
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| Chewie are you sighing in or playing Wheel of Fortune? (There's always one guy who sights in on the wrong target. This year it was Chewie.)
“Chewie what you need to shoot straight is a device called a "mansbunonkruger". It is from Germany. It allows you to fell the wind and direction so you can adjust your head properly.” |
John is giving a demonstration on how a buck mounts a doe. |
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| Dave sighing in “Dr. Thunder” |
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| We know this is NOT Steve’s target. |
Joey went up a day early to claim our campsite.Text messages from Joey…..“You shit heads getting my messages? Deer Camp caught on fire!! Now I got your attention huh. Everything is fine just want to make sure you guys got the message about these jackasses with the dune buggies going up and down the strip. And its sounds like somebody’s got a machine gun out here been firing for the last two hours. Deer already scared off. Like 240 bravo full auto. Damn glock left an imprint on my forehead and is now full of drool after my nap. Green jeep…is an asshole like a diesel mac truck whenever he passes every camp sight. Jeeps are rolled like 10 deep. In town getting a hot, then going back. Sleep in the truck. Woobie ain’t cutting it…get that stove here quick! Oh and bring a rake! Hurry up before Negan takes over the camp site. #walkingdead” Joey
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| These guys did all the work….. |
…because I am 6 months pregnant with Steve’s Child. |
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| Chewie is holding up Krugers pole. |
Finishing up the mess tent. |
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| Kruger ran over something in camp. TWO flat tires! Truck tire and trailer tire. Kruger called AAA on the radio and they were going to send the Jeep Club. Joey wanted nothing to do with the Jeep Club so he jumped in and helped out. |
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| The final look before Dave smashes you in the head with a hammer. |
How many more stakes? |
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| Jimbo |
Steve “I took the cookie when no one was looking” |
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| The inside of the tent is starting to look good. |
We have enough wood for an hour John. |
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| Mess tent taking shape. |
On Scout Day, Dave warmed up some Egg Sausage Casserole his mother-in-law made. |
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| Kruger is still sleeping. “I love the feel of morning wind blowing through my hair.” |
I can’t believe I got two flat tires. I wonder if my mansbunonkruger will help me fix it? |
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| John marinating his steaks for Opening Day. What would John be saying... "You see here kid..." “…you need to cycle and squeeze” “…Joey you can’t move around when you hunting” “…You don’t touch the wood burner. Stay in your lane!” “Blah...Blah...Blah...big crane” |
Jimbo making tough choices. “Do I choose coffee or beer? If I choose beer they may think I have issues, but it sounds so good….” |
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| Steve “I need my Superman Outfit” |
Joey has a wearable woobie |
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| John chopping up Sugar Beats |
Looking for great spots to hunt on Scout Day |
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| Steve and Kruger fighting for their spot. Both of them killed their first deer in this location. |
Steve cleaning up the area where Kruger will be sitting |
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| Krugers hair got stuck in the thorns. |
Steve and Kruger making their way back to the truck. |
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| Humm…hot showers 8 miles away. I bet Joey will drive… |
Steve is marking his location…. |
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| Breakfast is served |
Alligator and Noodles. Yes Alligator. Chewie's meal. |
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| Passing the bottle at Ee-Ya-Kee Deer Camp The night prior to Opening Day. We went and visited Ee-ya-kee. There was a lot of guys around that campfire. It was good to catch-up with them. |
Hot Fire! |
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| Joey made scrambled Eggs, Sausage, and hash browns. He had the best looking meal of the week. |
John’s dinner meal on Opening Day. It has been a tradition of steak, shrimp, mushrooms, and all covered with cheese. Love it every year. |
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Story Time With Dave“On Opening Day, I was one of the last ones to get into the stand. I was not feeling the greatest after passing the bottle at Ee-ya-kee the night prior. I just wanted to sit down and take a quick nap. I watched the squirrels for a while, but then I heard noise a few hundred yards out. It was about 8:13 AM and the sun had only been up for about 45 minutes. From my chair, I was having a hard time twisting my body to the right to look through my scope. Finally, I could make out that it was a deer moving towards me. I wanted the deer to get directly in front of me so that I could see it without branches in the way and without having to twist my body for a good shot. The deer was right in front of me at about 100 yards away. I waited for it to pass a big group of trees. I could then see it was a nice doe. The doe was pausing and eating some of the bait that I had scatted around the area. I grunted at her and she stopped in her tracks. I then squeezed the trigger letting that .308 fly . I hit her and she ran on an angle towards me staggering slowing with each step. I cycled the rifle and was ready to squeeze again. I watched her fall down about 100 yards away directly to my left. I had seen her when she was to my right, shot her when she was in front of me, and she fell to my left. I watched her through the scope to see if she would get up, but she never did. I let her lay for a while thinking a big buck might come looking for her. While waiting, I looked down and saw the empty cartridge that I ejected onto the ground. The empty 308 cartridge was laying right next to another one that was weathered about a year or two. I had shot that cartridge either last year or the year prior. Both years I had killed a doe in this location. I went over and checked her. She was down. The doe was not a doe, but a spike. I had not seen the small horns through the scope. So I tagged the spike and dragged him out of the woods. It took me forever to gut that deer. It was awesome to have a deer down within the first hour of Opening Day.” -Dave |
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| Kruger looking sexy with his pink hat and his long hair. |
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| Kruger singed Dave’s hair after Dave made fun of Kruger’s long hair. |
Supermoon November 14, 2016. According to NASA, this is the closest the moon has been to the earth since 1948. We will not see a supermoon like this again until 2034. It was neat to see this at Deer Camp. The entire sky is so bright, because there are no lights from the cities. |
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| Chewie looking like a Deer staring at a camera. |
A Deer looking like a Chewie staring at a camera. |
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Story Time With John"Ummm sooo there I was, in my Heater Body Suit, three tags burning holes in my pocket and keeping me warm. It was about 7:20 AM on Nov 16, 2016 and sun was just rising. I looked up and saw deer, zoomed the scope, unzipped the body suit, and as soon as I had it in the scope I dropped the hammer as he was fading going past a hill. I cycled and squeezed again. I didn’t know if he’d bailed when he was down wind or what. I walked down and noticed a rack, but wasn’t till I got up to it that I saw it fully. The first shot had hit him in the spine and the second in the shoulder.”-John
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| Dave’s Spike and John’s 8 Point hanging from the buck pole Nov 16, 2016. |
John's awesome 8 Point. |
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Brothers enjoying a real cool moment. |
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| Deer Check Station. “It is official. You killed Bambi.” |
“It is Official. You killed Bambi’s Father.” |
| The DNR Biologist never said this. They are very friendly, professional and are always willing to share information and educate. |
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| Dave’s meal was pork chops and tater tots. Kruger helped out with deep frying the tater tots. Steve was official Taste Tester. |
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| Chewie made breakfast sandwiches. |
Dave at Doe Ridge. |
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Story Time With John“So there I was. No spot to hunt as I had killed that morning and a buddy was sitting near where I hunted. I wanted to go out for the evening hunt. So, without scouting any new areas, I was on a luck, driving back towards the main drag. I came to an ORV trail and noticed there were no quads this year. I parked at the head and walked in till I found a few tracks and saw where they were leading. So, I headed that way, found an off route from the ORV trail and walked in about 200 yards. Cut another set of tracks and said, this is good as any. I climbed up a steep slope and found a good tree to sit next to. After an hour, I heard something behind my right side. Well, the gun was facing the left and it’s too late to turn around. So, I kept looking that way. Up a steep hill, this doe pops up about 15 yards. Well, being the hunter I am, I whispered to the deer to stay there and started to slowly swing the gun around from left front to behind right. She stayed right there looking at me wondering what was happening; only to have me get a bead on her and slap the trigger. She never made another step. Fell right there.”-John
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| The temperature was so warm that we had to keep the deer on ice. |
“Just give me one good picture...”For every good Deer Camp Group Picture we take 25 others. This is just 1 of those 25. Guys always got to ass around and Dave gets pissed. |
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| John has the tent about 100 degrees. |
The tent has cooled off to 60 degrees. |
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| Tent life prior to lights out. “Steve there is no point in looking. You don’t have a signal” |
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| “It is so hot in here!” “The heat is coming from that location” |
“Gun Show” “Good thing Michigan has Open Carry” |
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| One of John’s Hunting Spots. |
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| Dave watching this location and sees a doe behind a log. |
While watching a doe, a second doe pops up 30 yards away. Dave has to watch the deer between the scope and the rifle because she is close and he can not move. Do you see the white dot between the rifle and scope? |
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| When the doe walked behind the Gnarly Tree, Dave slowly swung the rifle. The Doe saw something and was looking at him from behind the tree. |
A head shot dropped her. When she kicked, cycle and squeeze… |
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| Recovering from a sprained ankle, Dave had a very hard time dragging her out of the woods. Steve and Chewie helped him pull the doe up the steep hill. |
2016 Michigan Successful Hunter Patch |
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| Mess Tent |
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| Goldilocks dreaming of meeting a Chewie. |
A Chewie dreaming of meeting a Goldilocks. |
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| Getting ready to do some cooking. |
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| Joey downloading the trail camera photos. |
“Joey I don’t remember seeing a Bitch Step or a Traffic Cone on the Packing List.” |
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| Steve to Kruger….“Do you mind if I just touch your hair?” |
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| Steve eating leftover pizza from the Faull Inn. |
Every year we ask the question, “Do you think they have done anything with the burned out house?” Every year we drive by and see they have not touched it. |
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| Warming up leftover pizza on the fire. Spray the foil down with PAM and remove after only a minute or two. |
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| The guys enjoying the last fire before heading home. |
MI Deer Camp 2016
Weather: Weather for 2016 was warm with no snow. Fog during the morning of the 15th and 17th.
Nov 14, 2016 Low 35 High 55 | Nov 15, 2016 Low 29 High 53 | Nov 16, 2016 Low 29 High 56
Nov 17, 2016 Low 28 High 63 | Nov 18, 2016 Low 47 High 66
Nov 14, 2015 Low 33 High 46 | Nov 15, 2015 Low 31 High 61 | Nov 16, 2015 Low 28 High 64
Nov 17, 2016 Low 36 High 56 | Nov 18, 2016 Low 52 High 59
Deer Kill Times: Dave (Spike) Nov 15-8:13 AM | John (8 Point) Nov 16-7:20 AM | John (Doe) Nov 16- 5:15 PM | Dave (Doe) Nov 17 4:02
Meals: Chewie-Alligator and Noodles, Egg and Turkey on a English Muffin
Kruger-Venison Chilli
John Steak with shrimp, Breakfast Burritos,
Dave-Italian Sausage and Breakfast Sausage Egg Casserole, Pork Chops and Fried Tater Tots
Joey-Scrambled Eggs, Hashbrowns |
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| 2016 The traditions of Deer Camp... |
1959 ...have been passed down from generations. |
| MI Deer 2015 | Back to Deer Camp Photos |