Four Generations at Fort McCoy

Hunting runs in the Stolowski family. Michael Stolowski has been hunting for 54 years, starting at the age of 10. Michael got his first deer at age 12 while tagging along with his father and older brother and, from there, was a lifelong hunter. After hopping between various hunting lands, they eventually settled on a place in 1977: Fort McCoy.

“I heard about Fort McCoy from my dad when I was a kid because he trained there during World War II and my brother trained there in the late ‘60s when he was in the Army National Guard.”

Michael himself joined the Air Force Reserve and would take his unit up to Fort McCoy for training on the weekends. He even used the official business trips as a chance to check out different areas and do some site surveys.

Michael has been hunting there going on 45-years. Fort McCoy holds a lot of history for the Stolowski family, both as a hunting ground and as a military installation. It’s gotten to the point where the fort feels like Michael’s backyard; he can even tell you where every deer trail is.

Thanks to this expertise and familiarity with the area, Michael was able to harvest his biggest deer ever in 2018. He started setting up around 5:30 AM and waited for two and a half hours before he saw his targets.

“I just noticed a doe come running from the left straight at me. I was able to get a shot off and dropped her.” Michael looked around to survey the area, “I saw antlers sticking out from behind the tree. The buck took one step, and I had a perfect shot at his shoulder and dropped him right in his tracks, about 20-yards from my stand.”

Michael tagged out in less than a minute. At the time, he had what’s called a bonus tag; meaning, he was able to shoot a buck and a doe.

Everyone who hunted that day was extremely successful. Michael attributes this to the perfect conditions, “It just happened to fall right at the peak of the rut.”

One of his younger brothers just moved back to town, and Michael plans on adding him to his usual hunting party: Michael, his son Paul, his brother Pat, and his other brother Tim.

“We hunt the same patch of land that we have since 1977.”

The newest addition to the party is his granddaughter; she’s sparked a renewed wonder in the joy of hunting.

“She has fun. We’re putting on our boots and she’s running down the trail yelling, ‘C’mon! C’mon! We gotta go out there; we gotta check the deer hunting spots!’”

Michael plans on sharing the responsibility of teaching her the hunting ropes.

“It’s going to be a joint effort.”

The most important thing is that his granddaughter is enjoying herself, but Michael sees no trouble there.

“She’ll see a deer at the side of the road and she’s like, ‘Oh, that’s just a girl deer.’ We gotta wait for the big buck, right Grampy?’” Michael describes. “It gives you a good feeling that she’s got it in her. You planted the seed basically.”

Hunting runs in the family, and there’s no better place to continue that tradition than on the military base that housed three generations of Stolowskis. Michael learned how to hunt from his dad and older brother, and he passed it on to his son. Now, he’s excited to continue the tradition and inspire his granddaughter in the same way when he was her age. 

Photo courtesy of Michael Stolowski.