MILWAUKEE -- Hunting is more than just fall fun for Chris Lang and his father Larry.
"Like Green Bay Packers football, Wisconsin hunting is full of tradition," said Chris.
Those traditions are never more alive than at the Langs' deer camp. Whether it's food, friendship, or recounting decades-old hunting stories, deer camp is where it all comes together.
"The camp itself and getting together with your comrades, experiencing that camaraderie, that's really the draw," said Larry.
Camaraderie breeds traditions, and for the Langs, tradition takes the form of nicknames, earned through mishaps or especially memorable moments over the years.
Larry recalls one unique nickname given for a case of mistaken identity. A fellow hunter was trailing what he thought was a buck through the woods, only to discover he was actually following much smaller prey.
"He stalked right up to it, popped over a log, and it was a wood duck," said Larry. "And the mistake he made was he told us that."
From that on, the nickname Duck followed that hunter wherever he went.
Chris narrowly avoided being branded with his own unfortunate nickname early on. His first deer season, he was sitting alongside his dad when a small deer came into range. Larry said his son was eager to bag his first trophy, so he gave him the green light.
"So he says 'I'm going to do this' and he reaches down and picks up his flashlight and points it at the deer," Larry said.
Now, the flashlight story tends to come up just about every year, but Chris admits that's just part of what makes deer camp what it is, and he knows that having those stories is part of the appeal.
"It's the tradition, the values, being with my dad, and one day bringing my son with me as well," he said.
Chris is already planning for the day his son can join him in blaze orange.
"If he is interested and when he's ready," said Chris.
So even if it's not this year, someday soon deer camp will be a three generation tradition for the Lang family.
This story originally appeared on WTMJ.com.