11-year-old joins deer camp
By Greg Seubert
Coming up empty on opening day of Wisconsin’s gun deer season was not a big deal to Luke Schaning.
He knows there will be plenty of opportunities down the road to harvest a deer.
The 11-year-old from West Allis spent Nov. 17-18, the first weekend of the season, with his dad, grandfather and other relatives at the family’s property in Waupaca County, a few miles south of Weyauwega.
Armed with his own 12-gauge shotgun and a mentored-only hunting license, Schaning hunted alongside his mentor and dad, David.
“I wanted to do it,” Luke said when asked why he wants to hunt. “All my family members do it, so I thought it would be cool. It’s fun.”
Mentored-only license holders can hunt without first completing a hunter education class. They must be accompanied by a licensed hunter, hunt within arm’s reach of their mentor and follow other rules.
The Schanings spent most of opening weekend together in a deer stand.
“It was fun to see all the deer and count them,” Luke said.
He said he counted 38 deer on opening day and even had a chance to shoot his first one.
“I got a scope on her and I was about to pull the trigger,” he said. “Right when I was about to pull it, the deer ran away. I was disappointed. I just said, ‘Oh, I’ll just get a bigger one now.’”
David purchased the 95-acre Town of Lind property with his dad, Dave, and Dave’s brother, Mike, more than 20 years ago.
“Those two wanted to buy this in ‘96,” he said. “The greatest thing I ever did was buy this land.”
Luke, who attends Wilson Elementary School in West Allis, agreed.
“I like to see all the animals,” he said. “It’s different than the city.”
While Luke’s friends were sleeping in on a Saturday morning or playing video games, he and his dad were in their stand by 6:30 a.m. on opening day.
“I’d rather be out here,” he said.
“It’s the best,” David said. “We look forward to this every year. The best part is being with my dad, my uncle, my sons, my buddies and my nephew.”
This year’s hunting party also included Dave and Mike; Chase and Billy Schaning; CJ Pinto; and Joe Hluchnik.
All live in the Milwaukee area.
David, Dave and Mike will spend the entire nine-day season at the property.
“I love to come up here for the whole week,” David said. “I don’t even care if I don’t see anything. I love to sit out there and enjoy the wildlife.
“I see the people we’ve hunted next to for 20 years now,” he said. “I know exactly where they sit, they know where we sit. There’s a guy that hunts right behind me and we’ve been talking for 20 years.”
The property includes a mix of grassland, swamp and woods.
Improvements over the years include two ponds, storage sheds, trail cameras and a trailer.
There are also enough elevated stands for each hunter to hunt alone if they want.
“We’ll double up and hunt together,” David said. “Some of the guys have to go back to work after the first weekend and then some of them will come back the second weekend.”
Someone from the family is usually at the property each weekend during the year.
“We have a tractor and my dad cut some paths for us so we can walk a little easier and we have some trail cameras out there. It’s not too hard to walk unless you’re walking through the tall stuff. You have to be careful.”
Plans are for the family to keep the property so hunters can Luke can carry on the family tradition.
“The deer love it out there,” David said. “We respect the animal itself. We shoot so we can feed ourselves and have some fun with it.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re huge hunters,” he added. “We’re here more for the camaraderie. Shooting a deer is just a bonus.”