Hunting gal bags 52nd deer

MAPLE LAKE, MINN. — Celette Couette remembers the reaction she got when male hunters spotted her in a deer stand back in the 1950s:

"They'd do a double-take; some would talk to me, but others would move off without saying anything," she recalled.

Hunting was mostly for men.

But that didn't bother her, and for more than a half century she never felt out of place toting a shotgun or rifle afield with her husband and son to pursue ducks, pheasants, ruffed grouse or deer. For the family, hunting, fishing and a love of the outdoors has been an integral and essential part of life.

And she was always a full-fledged participant.

That's why Couette, a spry and lively 80-year-old, of Maple Lake, was in the north woods last week with her son, Bill, 48, rekindling a cherished family tradition. Though her husband, Russ, died seven years ago, mom and son keep the tradition alive. It was her 50th deer season. Shortly after 10 a.m. on opening day, perched alone in her chair on a ridge near Northome, she squeezed the trigger of her 30.06 rifle, bagging her 52nd deer.

Later, back in their motel room, mom and son celebrated, as always, with a sip of apricot brandy.

"That's another tradition," she said, chuckling.

A man's world

She never felt like she didn't belong out there.

"I love being outside. I still do. I've got to be with nature," she said the other day in her rustic home overlooking Maple Lake, west of the Twin Cities. Her family room is testament to that: It resembles a hunting lodge, with mounts of deer, caribou and elk, a pheasant, goose and duck, and a bearskin rug.

Outside on the lawn, cement deer welcome visitors.

She knows that, as an 80-year-old female hunter, she's a rarity. And she feels she was a pioneer of sorts.

"Oh, I was, yes, very much so," she said. "There's a lot of women out there now."

Today, about 9 percent of the state's 700,000 hunters are women, but that's likely far more than hunted in the 1950s, when she started.

Celette grew up in south Minneapolis, and fished with her brothers. But she didn't start hunting until she married Russ Couette in 1953. He was a lifelong hunter and catalyst for the family's love affair with hunting. She started hunting ruffed grouse.

"He taught me how to handle a gun."

A few years later, he convinced her to try deer hunting. She declined a new deer rifle, and used her .20 gauge shotgun with slugs for her first hunt in 1956. And what a first hunt. She bagged her first deer ever on opening day, and four days later shot a 10-point buck that weighed 260 pounds, field dressed.

"I got two deer and my husband never fired a shot," she said, laughing. "He was elated. He was always happy, even if he didn't get one."

An astonished neighbor called the Minneapolis Star, and a photo of her and her big deer resting atop their car was published. The deer, the largest she has shot, still graces her family room. Her 50th deer, a small buck, is mounted next to it.

Tales from the hunt

They have plenty of other deer hunting tales to recall.

There was the time bow hunting when she witnessed a buck and doe in heated embrace. "THAT was something to watch," she said, laughing. "But they were too far away to shoot."

And the time a buck and doe moseyed towards her stand. She shot the buck, but when Bill arrived, he found two dead deer.

"When she shot the buck, the bullet went completely through and hit the doe, killing it. She got two with one shot," he said.

And the time she had colon surgery a week before the deer opener. With staples still in her, she headed north again.

"I hobbled her out to her deer stand," Bill said.

Several days later, after returning home to have the staples removed then driving back to the woods, she got her deer.

"That's what you call a deer hunter, isn't it?" she said, laughing. "The doctor couldn't believe it."

They also chuckle when recalling the time Russ was bent over searching for his lost wedding ring where he had gutted a deer the day before when another deer appeared.

"I up and shot the deer, and Russ laid down on the ground and said 'What the hell is going on? What are you shooting at?' I told him I got a deer," she laughed.

'A family thing'

Son Bill has been a part of her hunting tradition almost since the beginning.

"There was no choice," he said.

"We had him up deer hunting when he was 6 weeks old," his mother said. "We got a baby-sitter, and she took care of him; I only hunted half days. I didn't get a deer that year."

He become hooked, too, and the threesome hunted together for years.

Said Bill: "It was always something we looked forward to. It was tradition. It really bonded us. It was something so meaningful and deep -- something you never wanted to disturb.

"It was a fantastic way to grow up. It made our family very tight. We've had fun whether we shot anything or not. It goes way beyond getting venison."

Russ died in 2000. He and Celette were married 48 years. But Bill, an airline pilot who works for the Airline Pilot's Association in Washington, D.C., continues the family's hunting tradition with his mom every fall.

They return to hunt the Chippewa National Forest near the Blackduck-Northome area. They go for the week.

"No matter what it takes, I make it home to be sure we go hunting," Bill said.

They stay in a small motel, play some cards, sip apricot brandy and reminisce about past hunts. Bill's buddies know that the deer season is exclusively a mother-son tradition.

"They know we hunt together as a family. They never ask to go hunting with us, or ask me to go hunting with them. They know this is a family thing -- a sacred thing. It's extremely special. This it our time together."

Each morning, Bill walks his mom out to her spot in the woods.

"I get her all set up, make sure everything is OK, kiss her goodbye and say good luck.

"When I hear her shoot, I come back."

Which, over the years, has been often.

The hunt means so much, that when it ends, it leaves them melancholy.

"It's pretty quiet in the truck on the way home," Bill said.

But there's always next year. The pair already are planning a moose hunt to British Columbia. And, of course, the trip back to northern Minnesota for deer.

Celette's health is good. And the desire to get outside remains strong. How long does she plan to hunt?

"As long as I can get into the woods. I'm going to keep going out there as long as I can."

Doug Smith • dsmith@startribune.com