Well the 44 took another deer(so far) this year. I thought I was shooting a doe and it turned out to be a little spike buck, oh well meat in the freezer.
Overall the hunting in northern Wisconsin is approaching abysmal levels as there is a complete lack of deer. Early reports indicate that the number of deer registrations are down %50 overall the first weekend. I think the reason for this is a bear, wolf and now cougar population is on the rise. The bear population for one has exploded in recent years and have been very hard on the fawn populations.
I think perhaps I will go find a spot to hunt in Buffalo County, they seem to be shooting record sized bucks left and right.
Anybody else hunt Wisconsin? How's it going in your neck of the woods?

Not in Wisconsin but the hunting here in Michigan is the same. To many people in the southern part and too many predators in the UP. I love how the DNR helps the sportsman out. We pay them to manage all wildlife and in the end they only care about profit revenue from license sales. Just my two-cents...

I hunt buffalo county. Numbers waaayyy down there also. The Kwik Trip usually has a waiting line to register. I was the only one when I was there. The farm I hunt has not had as many deer all year and not much seen bow hunting. I shot the only buck, 9 pointer with 17 inch spread. Usually we shoot 4 or 5 like that. I also shot a large buck that was supposed to be a doe, big animal, 1 spike about 3 1/2 inches. The other 4 animals shot were smaller does.

I haven't seen a quality buck in over 10 years up north....pretty sad really. Don't get me wrong the big bucks are there but they are few and very far between. I remember years ago when I just started hunting I would see 3-5 nice bucks every season and pass up small 8 pointers.
It seems that the DNR policy of shooting up the does has worked a little too well, that coupled with the rise in predator populations has been very hard on the deer. Also I have noticed that the hunters are to blame as well, many more are going to the policy "if its brown it is down".

Herrettman,
I have heard that anyone seeking to hunt private land in buffalo county won't find any because it is leased out to other hunters or to outfitters. Anyone seeking to gain access to private land and not willing to pay handsomely for it is out of luck. Is this true?

Not WI but here in northeastern South Dakota our Deer population is WAY DOWN. I was fortunate to fill my tags but other than the two deer I took I only actually saw about 5 or 6 other deer while hunting.

South Dakota has been issuing Double Antlerless Tags to hunters for many, many years. If they were trying to reduce the deer numbers, IT WORKED.

Larry

Very hard. The big farm next to ours has big elevated pods where deer hunters pay $500 A DAY to have the privelage of sitting in.

I started hunting there over twenty years ago. I was asked to come out back then. Too many deer. The extra doe tags weren't available yet. The farm I hunt on had kids not old enough to hunt yet. There were deer running around like rodents. They were everywhere. With the Mississipi River tags, bonus, tags, earn a buck, etc... the population is probably where it should be. We get spoiled after years of seeing 50 to 100 deer.

I'm glad I can still hunt there and consider it a blessing each year.

That's pretty much what I figured.
Thanks for the info.
I'm still torn about what I'm going to do next year, I don't like the idea of asking someone else to hunt their land but I don't think our land up north will be back in shape anytime soon. I do know one thing I'm not pay'n no 500 smackers a day to hunt that is insane.

That's sad. Here in VA I've passed on shots at more than 30 small bucks so far in 5 days of hunting and I don't know how many does. The big boys are still hard to come by - they're clever and I'm convinced they are mostly nocturnal.

Well, I hunt in the Western U.P. of Michigan. I hunted 13 days out of the 16 day season. We've been a QDMU for 6 or so years now. I saw no fewer than 9 different bucks - maybe more (did not count those that I may have seen more than once. Most were spikes, forks, or six-pointers. Nothing I wanted to shoot there. I did not see many fawns or adult does. Our camp consisted of 4 hunters and, overall, the experience of all 4 was similar. We only shot one nice 10 pointer. We have a fair number of wolves and a good number of bear as well but I don't think these are responsible for the fewer number of deer sightings. We've had some pretty severe winter kills over the past few years and I think that is the primary factor in play here.

Many years ago (I won't say how many) my immigrant grandfather said, "Mikey, some day in this country it will be like in old country - only rich people can hunt." We are not there yet but I really believe it is only a matter of time. In my younger years, most private land was not posted and it was relatively easy to get permission to hunt there. These days - almost impossible. As others have said , landowners have found they can lease the hunting rights to rich city folk from Chicago and downstate Wisconsin/Michigan for big dollars. State lands and paper company lands are heavily hunted now and the overall quality of the hunt has been degraded severely. A few years back you could still find decent hunting if you were willing to walk-in further than most were willing to. Even that is no longer possible as more and more logging took place and the lazy crowd discovered four-wheelers and mechanical feeders. All in all, prospects are dim for the hunter who doesn't own a couple forties or is willing to pay dearly for a quality hunt.

we have about the same here in this part of new york not like
the days when you hunt from one road to the next now its all
posted.
larry

I am hunting is southern WI in the cwd zone. The group that I hunt with have never seen a year as slim as this year. Sitting on stand we saw very few deer, driving the land that we drive we got very few deer out of. Some of the land that we drive no one else even touches. Is the dnr's plan to slim down the deer in WI working too good, or did the weather and deer get the best of us. All I know is I keep getting the same report from everyone. I am new to this site and it is good to know that there is more WI guys out there handgunnin.

I am hunting is southern WI in the cwd zone. The group that I hunt with have never seen a year as slim as this year. Sitting on stand we saw very few deer, driving the land that we drive we got very few deer out of. Some of the land that we drive no one else even touches. Is the dnr's plan to slim down the deer in WI working too good, or did the weather and deer get the best of us. All I know is I keep getting the same report from everyone. I am new to this site and it is good to know that there is more WI guys out there handgunnin.

chiefs50 I could not agree more with your grandfather...I think we are headed there quicker than we would like to admit...

Gary you must be living the dream...I have seen only three different small bucks all season and I started with a bow on October 1st. Lets hear the story when you get another big one so I can drool...

I would also agree that quality whitetail hunting is becoming more and more the providence of people who can afford the money.
It wasn't all that long ago that I would offer the local farmers a couple of days work on the farm and provide him with a couple of deer and I would have exclusive rights to their land. Now a lot more are leasing or charging for the right to hunt, and that is a line that I won't and can't afford to cross.

Here is an article on the subject.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/35292859.html

I hunt in MN, directly to the west of you.

There was a lot of talk about the numbers being down this year in Minnesota as well. Personally, I think this is to do with two factors:

1. Whiny suburbanite party-hunters believed the hype in the years when there were record numbers and expected deer to be swarming around like flies on crap. So when they arrive and don't find hay fields with hundreds of deer standing waiting to be shot, they quit hunting at noon on opening day. Then the go to the local bar and b!tch about how the deer numbers are down and blame the DNR.

2. The MN DNR has cracked down on rampant Master Baiters and the fines are now stiff enough and there is enough enforcement that the Master Baiters have had to quit whacking a deer off of the corn pile about 3 minutes after the season opens. Now their only option is to hunt deer the old-fashioned way. This is also known as "work" so many "hunters" go to plan B. See above part about going to the bar and whining about how bad the hunting is.

My experience is that deer numbers appear to be down slightly from their peak of about 3 years ago in NE Minnesota. What this means in reality is there are still huge numbers of deer in NE Minnesota.

However, our season is the first 2 weeks in November and with the string of very warm and snow-free deer seasons over the last 8 years, the deer have been very difficult to hunt, despite the high numbers. Deer don't need to move and feed as much when daytime highs are in the 40s, so fewer deer are shot, especially by lazy weekend warriors. I also suspect that rut activity slows when the weather is warm, so the bucks don't move as much and don't do as many stupid things like following does out into fields where they can be picked off easily.

The bottom line is that with a low harvest this year, there will likely be even more deer next year.

Grouse

I do wish they would do away with baiting all together in Wisconsin. And make it a much stiffer penalty for taking four wheelers off marked trails. I have heard hunters in the bars up north scoff at the $152 fine you get if you get caught off trail. I don't know that it is the real amount I'm quoting what they said the fine was. Combine that with hunters hauling out massive amounts of bait into the woods which in my experience drastically changes the deer patterns.
I think if Wisconsin abolished baiting of deer and increased the fines for four wheelers off trails hunting would improve.
I do believe numbers are down based on the amount of scouting I've done this year, and I've seen a decidedly decreased rut this year. I didn't see the rut even get into full swing in my area, which I do believe was in part to blame on the weather.
I also wonder about the ratio of breeding does to the number of mature bucks but that is another post as this one is getting way to long:)