The Collegian

Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: Down the Hill

Media Credit: Michael Mayday Fifth year senior Joe Stempien draws his compound bow and takes aim just as he does every year when hunting white tail deer throughout Michigan's hunting season.

On certain silent mornings between October and January, a few Hillsdale students make a pre-dawn exodus from campus to the woods, where they hope to catch sight of one of Michigan's whitetail deer.

For many hunters, including fifth year senior Joe Stempien, the start of bow hunting season on Oct. 1st is a ritual.

"It's a big family thing, " he said. "I started hunting with my dad. If he didn't do it I could care less about it. It's become a big bonding thing."

Stempien and his father spend the summers building stands overlooking the deer's feeding paths and rut lines, where bucks leave their scent for does.

"I have a fear of heights," Stempien said, "but I sit in a tree stand every day."

Stempien said that it can sometimes be a long wait.

"I would tell a beginner that you have to have a lot of patience," he said. "It's very tough to get a deer at 35 yards," (the maximum range of most bows).

As a result, there are those who prefer to wait until gun season opens on November 15th. One of these is junior Justin Dailey, who hunts with his friend, senior Aaron Falk, on his family's land in Jonesville.

"I've had bad experiences with bow hunting," Dailey said. "One time I hit the one stick I didn't cut out of my shooting lane. I kind of gave up on it after that."

However, Dailey also described the opening day of gun season as something close to pandemonium.

"At about five o'clock in the morning on opening day people are just unloading on everything they see."

Falk agreed, adding that it's like being in a war zone.

There are a number of local places to get deer meat processed, including the Jerome County Market on Highway 12. However, most of the hunters on campus avoid the high cost by processing the meat themselves.

Falk, who uses processing equipment belonging to his friend sohpomore Michael Marsh, also claimed that often professional companies lump all the processed meat together.

"Apparently you don't even get your own deer," he said. "That's a drawback. If you do it yourself it's a lot of fun."

Falk and Dailey enjoy making venison sticks - which Dailey likened to summer sausage - and Stempien's recipe for venison burgers involves grinding up the shoulder meat and adding pork.

Although Michigan's comparatively few regulations make it a good state for beginning hunters, the sport is still rigorous, and bow-hunting especially attracts die-hard enthusiasts.

"If you want to be rewarded, you have to spend a lot of time in the woods," Stempien said. "Three hours in the morning and three hours at night if you're serious."

But Stempien also maintains that hunting is a rewarding experience, even if you don't always get a shot.

"You can go in the woods, escape your job, escape the world," he said.

He described the actual shooting of a deer as an additional "blessing and reward."

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