SAUK COUNTY, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Hunting is a huge part of many Wisconsinites lives. For a lot of them, it's more about the people they hunt with.
Deer camps serve as a place for people to gather before and after they go searching for a buck.
For Brad Hasheider and his family, it's not only where they go hunting now, but where he taught his kids to hunt too.
“Some of the best hugs you ever get from your kids is when they get their first deer,” Hasheider said.
For the Hasheiders deer camp is where they can hang out during deer hunting season, share stories, play cards, and just be together.
Just like things always were when he grew up too.
“It's fun because when we grew up that was fun is the deer camp was just in a house, that was part of the ritual was to get together and family and friends and talk big and act smart and play some cards,” Hasheider said.
The camp is on a piece of land important to the Hasheiders.
Brad and his brother Kevin bought it back in the early '80s. It used to be the family farm Brad and Kevin grew up on.
“Well it's pretty sentimental I remember when we did buy the first 40 acres back, my dad thought we were absolutely crazy, but he didn't see it from the same side we did,” Kevin Hasheider said.
Now it's an important part of the Hasheiders and their family, friend's and neighbor's lives each year.
It's deer — or any kind of hunt— camp for at times more than 10 people at once.
Including Brad's sons.
“It's a family thing, we've been out here, they learned to hunt here, we learned to hunt here,” said Cody Hasheider, Brad's younger son.
Tyler — Brad's older son— and Cody went out even before they could hunt just to sit with their dad while he did.
“That was awesome, that was like a dream come true seeing all the deer,” Tyler said.
The hunt comes second to the camp for them.
“Camaraderie is the biggest thing,” Cody said.
For the Hasheiders the camp is a chance to see people they may not see the rest of the year.
“This is a nice time to just kind of slow down, be outside, be with some friends and try not to plan too much ahead, just go with the flow,” Tyler said.
For the Hasheiders and families like them across Wisconsin, this week is like a holiday.
“It's the getting together and sometimes that, some of the people maybe you don't see all the time,” Kevin said.
And being with family.
“It's definitely a family-oriented sport,” Brad said.