Outdoor Wisconsin host Dan Small welcomes you to his special on-line sanctuary. Sing along as Dan asks a question that some are eager to answer, and some are not.

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12/9/98

"Didja get yer deer, hey?"

by Dan Small

Ever notice that the guys who ask if you got your deer are always ready to tell you of their own successful hunt? They’re the ones who shot a buck opening day, and before the carcass cools, they’ve been to a one-hour photo shop to get their trophy shots printed. Or worse, they carry a Polaroid camera for instant documentation. Bill Wiese, a hunter, poet and song writer from Menomonie, has penned a tune that captures the essence of the “I-got-mine-ha-ha-how-about-you?” attitude:

Didja get yer deer?
The tag-filled hunters sneer,
Always checkin’ first to see your clothes are clean.
They avoid you like the plague when they know a kill you’ve made,
And the cleansing blood on clothes is clearly seen.
Refr: Are you washed in the blood, vindicated by a slug
On an autumn morning dawning crisp and clear?
Washed in the blood, redeemed from annual query,
I am saved, no need to ask, I got my deer.

Didja get yer deer? The question makes it clear:
There’s a buck born that’s to die by your own hand.
After several days afield, when you’d really like to yield,
You must still continue freezing on your stand.

Didja get yer deer? The question raises fear
That the hunt is more important than a game,
Without venison to carve, that your family will starve,
Your impoverished pilgrim clan forever shamed.

Didja get yer deer? The question makes it clear
There’s a buck you are responsible to kill,
That if you do not do it, Western life, as those who knew it,
Will come crashing down the hill like Jack and Jill.

Bill sings the song at occasional gigs in the fall, but as yet he has resisted the urge to follow the lead of Bananas At Large and Da Yoopers and release it on CD. The tune came to mind as I drove home on I-39 (Hwy. 51, to most of us) on Sunday of opening weekend. Deer carcasses festooned every manner of vehicular conveyance, as tag-filled hunters paraded home. The sight helped ease the pain of the Packers’ Minnesota misery.

Strapped-to-the-roof was the most common method of transport, but those metal deer carriers that fit into a Draw-Tite hitch came in a close second. Spikes, does and fawns were slung unceremoniously into trailers or trucks, with often just their dainty hooves sticking out the top. Bigger bucks, though, poked their heads out of pickups for the rest of us to admire.

The most elaborate display asked Bill Wiese’s question in a unique way. Towed behind a Suburban, a flatbed trailer carried an antique sleigh, complete with a dummy dressed as Santa. Propped upright and hitched to the front of the sleigh was a buck with a big red nose. On the back of the sleigh, a sign read: “Xmas Canceled.” As I passed, the hunter grinned. Dr. Suess would have had fun with that one!

©2000 Milwaukee Public Television

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September 22, '98: Tiger in the Woods
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May 2, '98: Mine Disaster in Spain an Omen?
March 25, '98: Wisconsin Needs More Wardens
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December 5, '97: How Was Your Deer Season?
November 8, '97: Shining Puts Bad Light on Hunters
October 18, '97: Taking Toms Is Tough In Fall
October 12, '97: Cow pies + nice lawns = algae!
September 16, '97: WCSFO taking a shot in the dark?
September 16, '97: More Online Fun!
September 1, '97: Hunt, Fish, Shoot, Scoot Online!
March '97: Sports Show!
January '97: Award Seeks Good Nominees