Forgot to mention. Look for logging activity or recent cutovers with some new growth.Deer magnets in Mn. Deer do not get disturbed by these activities and seem to be curious about  what is going on and just have to check it out.

Hunting near logging roads or trails deeper in forests also is a good place as they like to come out in the evenings and munch on the grasses next to these. Anywhere sunlight has a chance to penetrate and grow some grass and seedlings.

Been up there alot..ya need to look for edges...where hardwood meets pine.. clear cut meet woods that type of stuff...Funnels or narrowed down terrain features that force Deer movement..if your on a lake there should be movement around it..although there is alot of water in the woods this year..good luck.

Keep at it Lotz's! Tell George hi for me! I'm going out to my ground blind after work tonite myself. I got busted by moonlight 2 nights ago also. Looked like noon out there!

Ferret, that sounds like so much fun. I't's not the deer but the time with friends that counts the most. Jawge

Of course you are right Jawge.

Did it Tom, George says hey back.

Found some nice buck sign this afternoon, a scrapeline and a nice rub. Brian hunted over them tonight and heard one but saw zip. George saw zip. I saw 2 but nothing close. It almost came together for Di tonight. Ground blind in a small opening. She was sitting in amongst some pine trees and we only took out a couple small branches for shooting lanes to help preserve her cover. A doe and a yearling came in once and stayed for 10 minutes eating grass but never offered a shot. Then they left. A little later they came back, again never offering a shot. She had a great time watching them and "hearing" them rip up grass and eat it.

Man the moon is full and bright. 2 more days left to hunt before heading home.

Thanks for all the hunting tips guys. I hunted ane edge tonight at gottabows sugestion, and we have noticed the little buds nipped off the ends of the aspen/poplar trees, and most of the tracks/scrapes we are finding are in the sandy logging roads

Pm sent

Cool for Di! I had a similar situation only there were 6 does within 10 yards of my ground blind. No shot though. I posted the night's events on the daily hunt stories thread. That moon sure was bright eh?

What???  Are you a transplant??? Cheezehead is one word!!!

Bowmania

Transplant? We're just visiting ha  ha

Headed out the door in a couple of minutes. Report back tonight.

George sounds like he's adjusted to the retired life, sleepin in at camp  :rolleyes:  
You guy's have a great time!!

Hey Dano. Yea, like you he seems to be adjusting to it well ha ha

Interesting evening. Everyone saw deer but me. Brian saw 2, George saw 3, and Dianne had a spike buck come in and feed on grass practically at her feet and never saw her sitting on a stool less than 5 steps from the end of his nose. Of course he never offered a good shot either, but she enjoyed the experience.

One more day

Yeah, it's cool when they are right there next to you at ground level!

25 DEGREES this morning brrrrrrrrrr and no deer. Lots of grouse hunters up this way.

One more evening and then we're headed home in the morning.

Micky and Dianne,
Good luck to you both. Hoping it is a good Last evening on Stand. I suspect that you have both had a rewarding hunt already. Sounds like Wisconson is a great place to hunt. I have never hunted there, maybe in near future! Get back to Ohio safely.
Harry.

Good luck tonight and have a safe trip home.

Bill

Hope somebody gets a "last minute" deer!  Looking forward to some photos when you return.

Thanks Ferret. Good luck to you!

Headed home deer less but happy none the less. I saw 3 deer tonight, nothing close and George saw 1 standing beside his truck when he came in. Di and Bri saw zip.

Will post some pics tomorrow night or Sunday depending on how tomorrows drive goes.

See ya

Ferret

Welcome to the promised land.      :D     (...points to name)

BTW, if you're looking for some pics of native Wisconsin bucks,  here is the link  to some of the nicer ones (well that and just some neat pics) from my trail cam this year.

I've been out a few weeks and didn't have access to my computer so didn't see this thread until now.  Too bad you didn't see more deer.  I have some land a little farther north in Douglas County. (Near Dairyland, Kevin).  

Anyway, I think your experience is fairly typical of those hunting the Wisconsin north woods, particularly in the northwestern part of the state.  There are several differences between the deer in the far northwest and those in the central and southern part of the state.  

First, there aren't as many of them, but when you find them, they tend to be bigger.  They generally have bigger bodies and longer legs to handle the deeper winter snows.  Severe winters (of which there haven't been many recently) and predation (bears on fawns in the spring and wolves all the time) and, of course, hunting, keep the deer numbers lowers in the north.    

I live in the southern part of the state, and on a 120 acre farm I used to hunt there, it was not unusual to see 20-30 deer a day, a half-dozen or so or those bucks.  In the north, I have access to thousands of acres of public land and can go for several days dark to dark without seeing a deer.  

Second, in the big woods, they're just not as patternable.  You won't see the same bucks in the same place every day.  The bucks travel a larger circuit, particularly during the rut.  Also, their natural movements have been severely altered by baiting.  Due to the prevalence of baiting in the north, a lot of deer simply move out of good habitat to be near bait.  They may be nearby, a quarter or half-mile away, but that doesn't do the hunter any good.  Many also become nocturnal near baits.  They're learning that it's dangerous to come into baits in the daytime.  In short, baiting changes their feeding patterns and movements.  Baiting congregates them, and they don't follow normal feeding/bedding patterns.

They're also a lot more wary, particularly since the reintroduction of wolves.  Where the wolves are back in strong numbers, including where you were hunting, the deer seem as if they're on pins and needles all the time.

All that being said, there's no other place I'd rather hunt.  You have to work at it, but it is possible to get away from baited areas, and when you do, you can still hunt truly wild and wiley deer.  Take one of those, and you've done something.  

Hope you'll come back and give it a try again next year.  And if you do, come a week or two later.  They'll start chasing this week, and the rut will likley kick in about Nov. 5-7 or thereabouts.