2011 - 60 in 88

November 22, 2011 • Voyageur Press

Paul Huiras (pronounced Hooooraas) has a few stories to tell. The Bruce, Wisconsin native just shot his 60th buck at the Don (Rumpy) Olesiak farm near Brookston, Minnesota. Paul has every single set of horns to prove it too.

Paul has been a member of the Olesiak hunting party now for some 19 years and has become part of the family. “Paul has been hunting in Minnesota and Wisconsin for the past umpteen years,” said Paul’s longtime friend Rodney Olesiak. “There weren’t any deer where he was hunting, so he asked me if he could come hunting in Brookston.”

Rodney talked it over with his cousin Rumpy and said he has an old guy that wants to come hunting. 

Rumpy agreed and Paul came up and became the camp cook. Little did they know at the time, but Paul would become a good friend.

“Even though he comes up and nails all our deer,” said Rumpy. “You just never know where you are going to find him.One minute he was here. The next minute he was there!”

“And it gets worse every year too,” added Rodney.

 Rumpy recalls the year Paul had his knees replaced and was still bound and determined to hunt. The decision was made to send him back home and Rumpy decided to build a nice big stand with stairs.

“I haven’t shot a deer out of that stand, but Paul has shot a couple of nice 8-point bucks, including the one he shot this year.”

“It’s like a house,” said Paul. “It has a stove in there and several windows. It has carpeting and you walk as quiet as can be.”

Two years ago, Paul shot a nice buck and then last year he shot two. “We were all worried about him getting a deer,” said Rumpy. “Now we worry that he shoots too many of them.”

Paul’s hunting history is a long one and Rumpy shared that he is quite a fanatic. “He goes in the woods too early in the morning and stays out too late at night,” said Rumpy about Paul’s addiction to hunting. “He hunts too much. The other day he went out and never came back until dark.”

“Can you imagine going out in the morning and never coming in the whole day?” added Rumpy. “When he comes in late we are worried about him.” 

This year, Rumpy was teasing Paul about shooting all the bucks. “I told Rodney to tell him that he is not going to go kill all those deer this year, because he will kill every buck out there if he can get them.”

Rumpy’s son Bruddy called with the following message: “You let Paul kill any deer that he wants out there,” Bruddy said. “You don’t restrain him.”

“I said we are just slowing him down,” Rumpy responded. “I made him sleep in this morning!”

 Despite a few restraints as of late, Paul is just happy to have deer he can shoot. “The camp life here is great,” said Paul about visiting Olesiak Farms. “It is a great bunch of guys to hunt with.”

Paul is not only a dedicated hunter, but he was the dedicated camp cook at the Olesiak’s up until about four years ago. “He is an awesome cook,” Rumpy shared. “He did all the dishes and the guys took advantage of him.”

“Now we feed him, put clothes on him, load his gun and send him down the road,” said Rumpy. “He just loves hunting.”

Paul’s 60 bucks are all accounted for. He has each set of the horns and two of them are mounts. Paul still recalls that first buck. “It was in 1942 and that was the first year I went hunting,” said Paul who was 19 years old at the time. “It was fun experience.”

Paul still remembers the 16-foot World War I army tent they camped in.

The second year, Paul didn’t get a buck, but he made up for it the next year. “I got two dandies,” he said. “I shot a 12-pointer and an 8-pointer.”

In 1950, the family purchased some land near Hayward and they built a cabin. That was the year Paul got married to Theresa. “That year, I was on a honeymoon. I didn’t hunt deer that year.”



The Hayward camp included his father, his brothers, his uncle and his uncle’s boys. “We hung up a lot of deer there,” noted Paul, but the deer population has diminished as of late. “I didn’t get a buck last year in Wisconsin. The deer hunting has gone down hill.”

Paul is the primary buck slayer in Wisconsin over the years. He shared that his biggest deer was a 9-pointer with a 23 1/2-inch spread. Over the years, Paul has shot about 20 bucks that are 8-point or better. “I never pass up a buck,” said Paul. “When you hunt with the gang, you take all the bucks you can.”

When not hunting, the camp crew was quick to point out that Paul likes to have a little fun on the town. “He likes to go partying with the girls at night,” shared Rumpy. “They take him up to Floodwood and he dances on the tables.”

In all seriousness, Rumpy enjoys having Paul at camp and shared that he received a nice letter from his daughter Carol. “It is the most beautiful letter you’ve seen in your life,” said Rumpy. “She expresses how much she appreciates how we take care of him.”

Every year he comes up, he is a perfect gentleman,” concluded Rumpy.