Back in 1963, my dad asked if I wanted to go deer hunting in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (what we locals call the U.P.). We had no tent, no camper and no cabin, although we did have a horse truck, and we converted it into a deer camp.
I was 17, and I had no deer rifle. I couldn’t afford a deer rifle as I had no job. Helping care for 60 horses at my family’s ranch was my job, but it did not pay well. I went into Postema’s Hardware in New Era, Mich., and inquired about a deer rifle. Henry Postema handed me an 8mm Mauser (German) rifle, which I could rent or buy: $1 per day to rent for the season and $14 more if I wanted to purchase it, for a total of $30. My initial look of skepticism about the efficacy of the rifle must have been noticed by Henry, as he added, “Jim, it’s been through a war!” It had no scope, some rust, and it was a little beat up, but it was beautiful! I hunted with that rifle for many years.
Life got busy after that hunt, with two years of junior college, a tour of duty in Vietnam, marriage and kids, so I never had the chance to get back to the U.P. much.
Fast forward 61 years. For a few years now I have been thinking about returning to the spot where I took my first whitetail buck. My son Matt asked me to do some tree work in Door County, Wisc., so I thought I would take the S.S. Badger ferry across Lake Michigan to meet him, then drive back home through the U.P. over Labor Day weekend. On my way back home, I found the area where we camped on the Sturgeon River. I climbed some hills and searched for the tree that I sat against so long ago. I found “the spot” and the saddle on the ridge between two swamps. The tree is now quite a bit wider, but so am I. I sat down and leaned back on the big tree, and it felt good.
I remembered the foggy morning when the 4-point came sneaking through without a sound. The front sight on my rifle covered his chest. The safety was loud, and he may have heard it, as he stopped and looked my way. It’s now or never, I thought. I was calm, but the rifle was a little nervous! Things worked out and he dropped in his tracks. My first deer hunt lasted 30 minutes. I clamped my metal tag on his antler. After field-dressing him, I started dragging him, even though he outweighed me by quite a bit.
I now have a new spot, not so far to walk to and not so far to drag a deer back from. It’s called my “back 40,” but that’s another story.
2026 “Member’s Hunt” Prize Package
In 2026, every author of our 12 “Member’s Hunt” departments published here will receive an NRA membership prize package including a handful of hats (including a hard-to-get American Hunter hat), a made-in-America Buck Slim Ranger folding pocketknife, a rechargeable headlamp, a gun cleaning kit, and a packable duffel.
