Here's a blast from the past. My father, who is 76 years old now, told me about hunting on a refuge in Necedah, WI back in the late 50's, early 60's. This was a pretty big refuge, several sq. miles, and was opened to bowhunting AFTER the general firearm season had taken place OUTSIDE of the refuge.
In other words, the place was packed full of deer that had run to the refuge for cover. And the place was packed for, I think, 2 days with hunters for the archery hunt. My dad said that all the action was basically the first morning, and that deer were running everywhere. You pretty much set up o a good run and waited for the action to come to you.
I guess you had to check the kills in, too, and at the end of the day there would be a line of cars over a mile long.
Ay of you more "Elder Statesmen" of the trad world ever participate in this hunt? Any other memories from the experience?
Thanks, All!
Tom.
Our cabin is a mile down the road from the refuge. My father-in-law spoke often of those hunts. I remember him telling me when a deer ran through you could hear a continuous clanking of wood shafts hitting trees because of the number of hunters in the area that would take shots. Most of the shooting he said were of deer on the run because of the large number of hunters keeping the deer moving. The refuge is about 90 sq. miles but I believe they restricted the hunters to certain areas
I hunted there once in the mid-sixties, had a nice eight pointer run by, made a nice shot on him and sat down for 45 minutes to let him tip over. BIG MISTAKE!! followed the blood trail where I found a gut pile and tracks of a couple of hunters dragging my buck away. Came to find out that if you hit one, you better run it down! A friend that was there with me had the same thing happen. Not my kind of hunt, never went back.
My grandfather hunted there during that time, pretty much the same story as SMOKE1953 said, i shot my very first gun deer there as a teen, and 3 years ago my son who was 15 at the time shot 3 deer there opening weekend of gun season! Never bowhunted it, but i am planning on giving it a try this year, ain't as many deer as days of old, but still enough to be had.
By the way snufer it's nothing like that anymore. For bowhunting there are very few there. Because of the negative publicity over the years people left. I get there often since I'm just down the road and have plenty of isolated hunting areas.
Shot my "first" there Dec 3, 1967. Deer were running everywhere that morning before daylight and just after a button buck showed up at 15 yards and I sent the arrow thru his chest and dislocated his front shoulder. He went down in sight and as I was walking over to him another guy RAN to him. I thought it was going to get ugly but all went well. I did get somewhat a bad feeling dragging him out though as at least 2 guys I met actually asked me if I had shot it myself or just ran it down. It was quite an experience. Actually I had hunted in Necedah's north zone in early season and enjoyed it. There was a north, central and south zones. The north was open in early bow season and north and central open during gun season and all three open the late bow season.
My grandparents and their group hunted there once. As I recall the story, my grandfather shot a deer, and when he recovered it the thing looked like a pin cushion surrounded by a handful of guys fighting over who got to take it home. He removed his arrow, told the group to fight it out amongst themselves (probably with some rather colorful language), and never came back.
:confused:
huh!
I drive through Necedah on the way to teh family farm. Usually a lot of road Kills in that area.
The bowfishing on the reservoir is good.
Now that a couple of you fellas mentioned it, my dad also said that it was not uncommon to see either deer with an arrow(s) running around, or a bloodied animal.
My dad also had a deer stolen by another "hunter". Sounds like a place that I would take every effort to avoid, these days. Not my idea of a quality outdoor experience. Thanks for adding all your memories!
Just remembered, after my deer was stolen, I went back to my stand to sit and fume, a "bowhunter" came along dressed in a brown overcoat, carrying a longbow that he must have found at a rummage sale, carrying two arrows in his hand and, get this he was wearing loafers!1t was a few degrees below zero when I went out that morning, with a several inches of snow on the ground! This "hunt" did draw a few strange people.