Big Game Hunting
2015 Gun reports
11/20/15 @ 10:51 AM
Displaying 30 to 44 of 95 posts
I did ok but wow haven't hunted Wisconsin in 10 yrs and man does it suck!! I shot a 5 pointer and help finish off a big 8 that my buddy hit and got a half rack later in the week. Only 3 deer I saw. I haven't seen a doe not one I wouldn't shoot one anyway but wow and the number of hunters is way way down.
Late report from opening weekend. Season opened at 640 by us (Eau Claire county) 644 got a text from my brother he shot a doe. Then 654 I get another text from him saying Big Buck Down. Ended up shooting a big 9 pointer. 17 inch inside spread. He scored it at 143 1/2. The rest of us saw enough deer to keep us interested. Sunday morning my buddy that ends with us shot a doe and basket 8 pointer by 830. Once again the rest of us saw some deer and passed on a few small bucks. Overall good weekend for us. Got out this morning before the rain and saw two does out for a morning walk. I will be out the rest of the week trying to fill my buck tag.
Ragekilller, dont expect the situation to get better anytime soon. Poachers ares still active in the northwoods, so what the wolves dont take the poachers will take. Within one mile of my hunt, 4 deer were poached in the last 3 weeks. All in the wee hours of the night. Doesnt leave much for us legal hunters and therefore takes away incentive for hunters to travel north.
On opening day I hunted the Grand River Marsh for the first time in about 4 years. I remember the first couple years when I first started hunting in 2000, there were tons of deer all over the area, and we didn't have a problem filling tags.
Before this wolf crisis and some of the lowest populations in the state in decades, usually someone in our group of 4-6 people would shoot a decent buck, and a doe here or there, if they wanted to make the 2 mile drag uphill to get back to the lot. However this year I was very disappointed (as were I assume many other hunters) in the amount of deer they saw, or the LACK of deer they saw I should say.
This year my best friend and I left Oshkosh at 2:00am to put us in the parking lot at right about 3:00am. We always try to be the first people there, get everything all ready, and then when the first car pulls in we get out of our vehicle and start making the 45 minute walk as far back as we can possibly go. This year when we pulled in at 3:00am we were shocked to see over 10 cars already in the lot! Had I been able to scout some other areas prior to us getting there we would have turned around and went to a different spot. However, we knew we were going pretty far back and hoped that not many other people were as ambitious as us. On the walk to the stand, we were being flashed by flashlights about every 50 yards. Both of us found a tree to put our sticks and stands on and waited for shooting light. About every 10 minutes or so you could hear another person coming through the woods and I would shine my light at them and hope they kept moving. unfortunately that was not the case, as shooting time approached and it got lighter and lighter, I saw more orange than I have ever seen before. I'm talking a different person not more than 50 yards apart (in most cases even less than that.) So with such a high number of hunters out, and the deer population so low, it can almost go without saying how many deer the two of us saw on opening morning. Around 11:00 when my buddies pants and feet were frozen stiff he needed to warm up and at that point I was happy to get out of there. We each saw one lone doe run right at us, and there was a small 10pt killed in between where the two of us were set up that we didn't see, I would have passed, my buddy would have been happy to kill his biggest buck to date. Except there were already 3 or 4 people shooting at it before it even got close to him.
So long story short, deer hunting in Wisconsin is not anything like it used to be, and in the future, hunting is only going to continue to be the same. Until they (DNR) get the wolf/predator population under control, and keep the buck only zones where deer populations are still hurting, it won't change. And if it does change it won't be for many years of closely watching the deer population through out the state. It might also be wise to add a buck antler point restriction to non-mature bucks, just to again- help the future of deer hunting in the state of Wisconsin. There is my 2 cents anyway, good luck to everyone the rest of the season.
The year started out great for my brother and I as we filled 3 of our tags with the bow ( 1 buck & 2 does ) & seen lots more deer. He talked me into heading back up north for rifle season with the guys. Its been 10yrs since i have made it up there. Friday morning as they were picking me up we stopped down by the barn so i could feed the chickens quick and there stands a nice 8pt and a doe. I looked at him and said "you sure you want to head up north lol" anyways we hunted northern marrinette county same spot my family has hunted for nearly 30yrs we have pulled alot of deer from this spot and some big bucks. Six of us out there sat thru monday and only 4 deer seen two of them were seen by all six of us at the same time. Saturday At noon standing around the truck eating lunch we had a big doe and her little one walk out 10yrds from us if that! Truck running some of us out of talking and not trying to be quiet and she didnt even pay attention to us. We watched them slowely make there way down the logging road till they were out if site. That was pretty cool to see. Less then 20 shots all weekend as far as our ears could hear not a single one i bet within a mile. Dad made a freind out there with a mole he fed half his lunch to. Freaked out a couple squirles as i let them get damn near on my boots before kicking my boot up lol.. they do some pretty cool backflips in mid air lol... over all a great weekend i realized how much i miss being up there with the guys opening weekend. Deer or not im not staying down here anymore opening weekend. I will be there with the guys. Good luck to all still giving it hell i will be back out this weekend and next with the muzzleloader down here in sheboygan county. Happy Turkey day everyone 
Hunted Sat-Mon on public land in Adams Co. 4 of us, 7 tags and got 1 doe. Deer sightings continue to go down, while number of hunters somehow keeps increasing. My dad said there were 20+ vehicles in the 160 acres we hunt. Saw 1 buck, 5 does and 2 unknowns for the 4 of us (Yes I know more than some of you on here, but worst numbers we've had). *Still had one of the best times hunting because I was in the same tree with my wife, who just turned 8 months pregnant today. She was a trooper and sat as long as she could, never complained and was just happy that we (I) shot a doe on Monday and she was there. Busted up uncontrollably laughing a few times, but don't even care that we weren't quite. Had a blast! Good luck to all still hunting and today I'm thankful for my current hunting buddy and my future hunting buddy on the way!
Hunted the first 3 days in Price County in the National Forest. The first day there were 0 shots fired anywhere close to us, just a few in the distance. I saw 1 unknown deer in some thick stuff, it moved out of little openings quickly, never found it in the scope. Openings as in I saw a leg, an ear, and a tail LOL.
Sunday there was 1 shot sort of close, within a mile or two maybe. That was it. 0 deer seen.
Monday, no shooting and 0 deer seen.
Quite a few people out hunting too, all with the same luck. Had 4 bucks, including a big 10 on my camera by my stand the week before the season, but I'm sure they figured it out like all the deer did and sat tight.
Came home and tried my neighbor's land that I can go on. I sat in my stand for a bit but it was so thick it just felt dumb, its a bow spot. I got down and started to still hunt along an edge and after a bit I caught movement and had a doe and fawns come through. I ended up getting the doe, so got some meat anyway. That is the difference I guess between hunting where there are deer and hunting where there are very few. Only took me an hour to get one back home. 
Displaying 30 to 44 of 95 posts
