An Outdoorsman’s Journal

By: Mark Walters

The Joe 2023

Hello friends, This week’s column is a whopper of success and happiness! Please read on if you want to read a happy, happy story.

Friday, December 8 High 53, Low 29 MacKenzie Environmental Education Center is managed by the WDNR and a goldmine for outdoor education with sleeping and dining facilities. The vast property was one of my favorite biking hangouts as a young boy while growing up in nearby Poynette. KAMO “Kids And Mentors Outdoors” www.kamokids. org has six very active chapters in Wisconsin. KAMO was started by readers of this column and yours truly, back in 2007 and our purpose is to get kids outside in a variety of ways.

I think our first Joe Hunt was in 2009 and what we do is have a simulated deer camp at MacKenzie where a few of the kids hunt the property, and the majority of this year’s group of 23 young hunters, hunt private land. Before I forget, thank you to all of the private landowners that help us out.

This is a WDNR Learn to Hunt. Lots of paths are required to have a successful hunt. Kevin Seymour is an old friend of mine from when we were in middle school and he worked out most of our paperwork. The paperwork is so immense it can cause brain hemorrhaging when you consider paperwork for kids and mentors. Rick Miotke is another buddy of mine since we were kids and he took over our kitchen this year with the help of many others. Rick and Kevin are from the Baraboo River Chapter of KAMO.

Bob Brodeur is quite possibly the heart and soul of this hunt. Bob was one year younger than me growing up and runs the show at the Lake Wisconsin Chapter. Bob along with his wife Linda, son Josh, and grandson Jameson figure out land acquisitions, where kids are going to hunt and with what mentor as well as our massive deer pole which they build and take down each year.

This weekend I will be hunting with Carsyn Thiede an 8th grader at Mayville Middle School. Her 11-year-old brother Conner would be mentored by his 20-year-old brother Tanner Weber. I have been doing three hunts a year with these kids for 2 years and we have a blast. They can handle my level of insanity, and they are active and fun.

The deer were extremely active deer and good training for our kids, we ended with a 7 pointer and 3 antlerless deer on the meat pole for our first night.

After a great meal and a class given by WDNR conservation warden Ben Gruber the kids, from all over Wisconsin, began meshing together and running around like a bunch of coyotes.

Saturday, December 9 High 44, Low 28 Conner and Carsyn along with mentors Tanner and myself are hunting the brother/sister farm of Eugene and Marsha Vangen near Otsego. The three of us are connected at the hip because my family had a multi-generational tavern in Rio, “Herb and Lucy’s Cubbyhole,” that they socialized at and I poured many tap beers for customers starting at the age of 7. I also had a great aunt and uncle with a bordering farm. Last night Carsyn and I had 3 separate turkey experiences and one deer. No shots were fired and this morning both Conner and Carsyn were hoping to harvest a deer, or a turkey and it would be the first for The Joe. About 8 this morning we heard a shot in Conner’s direction and it turned out that he had dropped a very large doe.

This afternoon Carsyn and I had moved our blind about 50 yards as we had saw 11 deer in that area but could not get a shot. Good luck came Carsyn’s way when a group of turkeys came through and she harvested her first ever turkey and the first for The Joe. I was with Carsyn when she harvested her first buck, and this girl loves to hunt. This morning the KAMO Kids harvested five deer and tonight they put 7 more on the deer pole. Our record had been 13. We now had 16 and the mood in camp tonight was electric.

In our annual bingo games for the kids, Baraboo River Chapter president Greg Wagner called the games. We had donations for all the kids, so many games were played. One of our championship games“I think it’s called blackout”was for a Savage 6.5 Creedmore. Kensie Reifsnilder who is 12 and had harvested her first deer that morning won the rifle.

Afterwards, once again, the kids ran around together like a pack of coyotes.

The following morning we put 4 more deer on the pole for a total of 20, ate some inner loins cooked over a fire and said goodbye. Folks check out the website, we can use mentors and kids. We are willing to start new chapters and would put your cash donation to good use if you can help.

Smile lots, these kids did!

Sunset

The KAMO Kids put a number on the local deer herd in Columbia County.

Kensie Reifsnilder is from The Dodge County chapter of KAMO and harvested her first deer during “The Joe, ‘’ and also won this Savage 6.5 Creedmore in one of our bingo games.

Thirteen year old Carsyn Thiede of Mayville harvested her first turkey during “The Joe” which is KAMO’s biggest hunt of the year and held at the MacKenzie Environmental Center near Poynette.