Truth be told, I miss the whole way it use to be and that way of life went away long before Saturday bear. Long before AR and HR.
Back in the 1970s and into the 1980s, deer camp was a way of life. Guys went up for the week. It didn't matter what was going on in life, they went. Where our old camp was, the whole road was lined with deer camps.
For us, a few things happened. The farmer who let us hunt his land died. The farmer up the street bought it and posted it. Some guys gave up. The rest hunted SGL. Then guys got older, some died, others lost interest.
I think the whole phenomenon of bowhunting the suburbs killed camp as well. Talk to 9 out of 10 fellow hunters now-a-days and they'll say, "why would I drive all the way to camp when I can hunt down here?". And guys that do still go to camp won't if they tag out in special regs in archery.
The new generation isn't tied to the hunting camp tradition like the older guys. I grew up with it. My dad took me up since I was a little kid. I looked up to all those guys and loved every minute in camp.
We haven't gone to the old cabin since about 1984. But I can close my eyes right now and hear the front door squeak, smell that musty smell when you first open the place up - before it was filled with the smell of wood smoke.
I think the whole hunting camp tradition is dying. It's a sign of the times.