Good luck to all the deer hunters!

HolyMoses

HolyMoses

New member
I am taking the year off because I sold my place up north and didn't have time to get a place to stay on the acreage. Didn't really seem to bother me until today at work. Listening to all the guys getting ready for deer camp. Oh well....next year. Anyway:

Have a safe and successful hunt! :cheers:
 
I last deer hunted at our place in Vilas County in 2007. The deer just went away. I dont really miss it anymore.

I drove to/from home and green bay yesterday and am amazed at the amount of corn still standing. Wow its getting late. I know some fields are wet but some just appear to be idling..
 
Deer opener was great for pheasants today. The corn was continuing to go down and it helped push the birds back into the cover.

I picked up a bird today that had a 27 inch tail :eek: The dog finally pinned it down and when it flushed I almost forgot to shoot.

Looking forward to trying some other spots to see if the corn is going down elsewhere.
 
shorthairs4life said:
Deer opener was great for pheasants today. The corn was continuing to go down and it helped push the birds back into the cover.

I picked up a bird today that had a 27 inch tail :eek: The dog finally pinned it down and when it flushed I almost forgot to shoot.

Looking forward to trying some other spots to see if the corn is going down elsewhere.
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Saw some coming down up here too. About darned time!
 
And, on the deer hunting front...

for the 24th year in a row, I did not see a deer on opening morning. Why do I go out? I must have a flat-line learning curve.

Lord it was cold on the skin. Just loading and unloading the rifle and my old fingers were in pain...have no idea what wind chill was, but those who were stuck out there for hours on end have my sympathy.
 
Kismet said:
And, on the deer hunting front...

for the 24th year in a row, I did not see a deer on opening morning. Why do I go out? I must have a flat-line learning curve.
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They do the same thing down here. I swear they have a sixth sense or something.

Nick
 
I deer hunted the crivitz area this weekend. Saturday morning it was 12 degrees with sustained 20-30 mph winds. This morning it was 4 degrees with just a slight wind.

I love the time spent with my dad deer hunting but in this cold I would have much rather been in rooster pursuit. Grand total we saw two deer. I whiffed on a nice buck last night. :mad:
 
Neighbors have a lot of land and a core group of 4 or 5 guys, usually with a couple of guests, who hunt adjacent properties. VERY safe hunters and real serious about safety first, then horns second.

The entire group got one adult doe total, while freezing their butts off. Never occurred to me, but one was complaining of his fingers getting frozen while texting.

TEXTING? sheez.

I have all week and am not above getting a deer from DNR. I want venison, and then I want to go pheasant hunting after the rifle-toters go home.

It was cruel weather to sit.
 
Saturday I was swaying back and forth in my tree, wondering how I was going to shoot accurately if I had the chance. I made it only until 9:00 am opening morning before having to get down and walk around. I hate the body chills.

Sunday morning 8 below in Langlade County. It got a bit nicer later in the day. The last 3 years I have not seen a deer. 18 days total between Langlade and Vilas counties. Sunday late I saw the flags of two deer, so at least I saw something, although the tracks revealed only bambi and momma. I wonder how long before the wolves get the little one.

I've never seen so many wolf tracks as I saw this past weekend. Marking their territory, others coming up to sniff it. Everywhere I went wolf tracks. A set of huge bear prints Sunday morning. Bobcat more than I've ever seen. Coyote all over, too. There's no shortage of predators and we wonder why we don't see any deer!

In Vilas the deer hang around the homes. One, some of the neighbors feed them. Two, they feel safer from the wolves. My brother in law watched a wolf kill a fawn in his back yard last summer. I don't let my setter run loose without me being there and watching close.

One spike buck taken early this morning is all for our group of seven.
 
Dad and I hunted Marinette County opening weekend. Private land. We saw a grand total of one deer each. Both are still walking. Was the least amount of shots I've heard in hunting 30+ years on the same land. :(
 
519vx said:
Dad and I hunted Marinette County opening weekend. Private land. We saw a grand total of one deer each. Both are still walking. Was the least amount of shots I've heard in hunting 30+ years on the same land. :(
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it is quiet around here (NE fond du lac county) too.
 
Ranger Rick said:
Saturday I was swaying back and forth in my tree, wondering how I was going to shoot accurately if I had the chance. I made it only until 9:00 am opening morning before having to get down and walk around. I hate the body chills.

Sunday morning 8 below in Langlade County. It got a bit nicer later in the day. The last 3 years I have not seen a deer. 18 days total between Langlade and Vilas counties. Sunday late I saw the flags of two deer, so at least I saw something, although the tracks revealed only bambi and momma. I wonder how long before the wolves get the little one.

I've never seen so many wolf tracks as I saw this past weekend. Marking their territory, others coming up to sniff it. Everywhere I went wolf tracks. A set of huge bear prints Sunday morning. Bobcat more than I've ever seen. Coyote all over, too. There's no shortage of predators and we wonder why we don't see any deer!

In Vilas the deer hang around the homes. One, some of the neighbors feed them. Two, they feel safer from the wolves. My brother in law watched a wolf kill a fawn in his back yard last summer. I don't let my setter run loose without me being there and watching close.

One spike buck taken early this morning is all for our group of seven.
Click to expand...

we have a place in N Vilas Co. This is why I gave it up after the 07 season. 3 years without seeing a deer, enough was enough.
 
I hunted 55 and heard a lot less shooting then normal. I saw a couple flashes run past Saturday night right about shooting time and that was the extent of my deer sightings.

Saw a smallish bear and decent amount of grouse.

Played lots of euchre, ate well, lost a little cash at the casino, drank some booze, and froze my ass.

A lot of deer hunting time left here in Southern WI.
 
DNR's take on opening w/e

http://dnr.wi.gov/news/Weekly/?id=407#art1

Preliminary opening weekend results show enthusiasm is high, though temperatures as well as harvest numbers came in low

MADISON – Though opening weekend temperatures were cold, more than 615,000 people bought deer licenses to go out hunting, nearly 27,000 of them buying licenses to go out hunting for the first time. Many hunters went out with hopes of getting a deer, knowing that despite extremely cold temperatures, they would likely all be guaranteed the making of warm memories.

Though hunters define success in different ways, 110,298 deer were successfully harvested and registered in Wisconsin during the opening weekend of the nine-day deer season. The tally is based on preliminary call-in numbers collected from registration stations by Department of Natural Resources staff.

“Congratulations to all hunters who endured the cold and were able to harvest a deer opening weekend of the nine-day. Though getting a deer is often the ultimate goal, it’s the whole experience of spending time with friends and family, engaging in the traditions, and getting outdoors that makes the hunt so fun, even if a deer is not brought home,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. “I hope those that weren’t able to get a deer during the season opener will get back out there and enjoy the rest of the days of the season.”

“We saw quite a few new hunters taking part in the traditions this year, with females representing 33 percent of resident First Time Gun Deer licenses sold,” Stepp said. “With the extremely cold temperatures opening weekend, many of these new hunters had quite the initiation. This makes me even more proud of the stories and the photos being shared with us, showing them having fun whether they got a deer or not. If people haven’t checked out our Facebook photo album of pictures collected over the weekend, they really should. It’s a great reminder of what the season is all about!”

To view some of the photos and stories shared, please visit DNR’s Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/WIDNR
 
I just got back to Indy from my WI trip. Awfully cold Sat morning with the wind howling. I hunted a spot I hadn't in years, deep in the woods and down along a little creek (out of the wind somewhat). I usually hunt a little bottle neck between some woods but that's on top of a hill.

Saw 8 deer right where I expected them. had a couple does show early and didn't shoot even though I have a tag. Was hoping for a nice rack. A little after they moved on four bucks showed up together. None real big but I took the best of the bunch (a little 7 pointer). The other three didn't leave and three more does showed up t see what was going on. Didn't shoot them.

My brother wounded a really nice buck for about the 10th year in a row. I swear the guy cannot actually kill a deer he just maims and cripples.

Saw a crap load of turkeys and yesterday went out by my lonesome with no dog after the snow and tracked down and killed one nice cock. Not bad for an old guy.
 
Murph: Does your brother take the time to target shoot his rifle before the season? We've got one guy in camp that is a terrible shot. Some years ago he missed a standing buck at 35 yards. Asking him about how it shot when he sighted it in before the season and he admitted he hadn't shot it at a target in years. That was at least 15 years ago and as far as I know he still hasn't.

Two brother in laws hunted together this past weekend up in Vilas County. The one, who is a bit of a diaper dandy, gut shot a spike on Sunday, standing at 40-50 yards. The other one tracked it for a long way before jumping it and finishing it off. The original shooter wanted to quit after tracking a couple hundred yards.
 
Well... after popping off about people missing close shots, gut shots, etc., my karma - I missed a small 6-8 point last Friday. On a drive, I didn't like the place I was standing. Poor visibility, a couple of narrow shooting lanes, but someone needed to cover that corner of the swamp. And ya, my rifles' sighted in. Not the shooting iron, but the shooter.

The buck and I saw each other simultaneously as he popped into an opening. I shouldered, put the crosshairs on his shoulder and fired. He just stood there, but bolted as I jacked in another round. Missed twice more going through the brush, leaping 10 yards at a clip. Second shot I know was high, third blew up an ironwood tree. Damn!

When I was a kid, we shot our 22's all the time. I was a much better rifle shot then and that was a long time ago. I figure I jerked it, slapping the trigger like a shotgun, fresh off a great bird season. Missed him, plain and simple. Even though I was busted, I had more time than I took and rushed the shot. Thing is, I hadn't even seen a deer the previous 3 seasons, then get a chance after all that and blow it.:mad:
 
Ranger Rick said:
Well... after popping off about people missing close shots, gut shots, etc., my karma - I missed a small 6-8 point last Friday. On a drive, I didn't like the place I was standing. Poor visibility, a couple of narrow shooting lanes, but someone needed to cover that corner of the swamp. And ya, my rifles' sighted in. Not the shooting iron, but the shooter.

The buck and I saw each other simultaneously as he popped into an opening. I shouldered, put the crosshairs on his shoulder and fired. He just stood there, but bolted as I jacked in another round. Missed twice more going through the brush, leaping 10 yards at a clip. Second shot I know was high, third blew up an ironwood tree. Damn!

When I was a kid, we shot our 22's all the time. I was a much better rifle shot then and that was a long time ago. I figure I jerked it, slapping the trigger like a shotgun, fresh off a great bird season. Missed him, plain and simple. Even though I was busted, I had more time than I took and rushed the shot. Thing is, I hadn't even seen a deer the previous 3 seasons, then get a chance after all that and blow it.:mad:
Click to expand...

Rick - you and I should start a club. You're story is nearly the same as mine. Opening day evening I missed an 8 pointer slowly walking at 50 yards. I was certain I had him...only 50 yards, gun had been sighted in etc. Watched him run off after the shot and marked the last place I saw. My dad came over and we both covered the area. We had about an inch of snow...not one speck of blood, no dragging hoof, nothing. Waited til morning then did a complete back track as well as a grid search. Absolutely nothing. :mad:

Stone cold missed. I too used to shoot a lot with .22s and think that helped my aim when younger. I hadn't thought much about it until I read your post, but in hindsight, I'm wondering if I didn't perhaps rush the shot and snap shoot more like I would at a rooster.

Frustrating...as I haven't gotten a deer in 5 years, and have seen a grand total of 4 deer (total) in the in last 4 years.
 
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