A buddy and I were talking about possibly taking an out of state archery (whitetail) hunt this coming fall. Right now our top choice is Wisconsin. What can we expect for a DIY hunt? We're thinking of sticking to central to southwest corner of the state. Is there pretty good expanses of public land in that region? I tried downloading maps yesterday but my computer was acting up when I tried. I was reading there is a first time buyer archery license. Would we be qualified for that? Never hunted WI before. We don't know much more as far as specifics as we just recently talked about it. Any information you guys in WI or anyone out of state that has hunted it would be greatly appreciated!
If you have not had an archery tag in WI in the last 10 years you qualify for the first time buyer. As for public land I know there is alot more in the central part of the state and west not sure about SW I live near the S central and have seen some small pieces but I know up by Adams county there is alot of public hunting land
The public land in southern WI generally consist of smaller parcels that see a lot of pressure. That doesnt mean the deer aren't there but they are well educated. Best of luck to you, I have the strong urge to hunt out of state as well. Hoping to head out west some day and try my luck at a antelope.
Thanks for the responses guys. Going to look into some more and decide what we're going to do. I'm about 2.5/3 hours to the WI border so the drive won't be too bad.
My advice is to think about a different state... There is good public land, but 99% is pressured like crazy and assuming you'd come here for maybe a week and/or a few weekends, it may take that long just to find good area without the pressure.
Couldn't one say the same thing for any top 10 destination whitetail state? My advice if you want to hunt public ground is go early in the season rather then late.
You could, and it would be generally accurate. Only problem with WI is that EVERYONE hunts. I've seen various reports with slightly different numbers and I don't know the exact figures off the top of my head, but I believe WI has 14 hunters per square mile, and I remember that it was a lot more than most other destination states. KY was up there, as was Ohio. I'm not saying WI isn't a great place to hunt. I'm just saying that if you are limited to a week to scout/hunt, you are better off looking elsewhere. Actually, maybe it depends on the caliber of buck you want to go after. If you would be happy with a 2.5, then I'd say you could have a decent chance of succeeding
If you want to hunt buffalo county, come up by me. I hunt my 100 acres, and there are 2500 acres of state land that no one hunts. It's swamp land, but there are bruisers down there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There's plenty of public land to hunt that usually isn't too pressured during early bow season. I drive through about ten miles of public hunting land everyday to and from work and last year there was never a day that I saw more than 2 vehicles parked on that stretch of road (most days there were 0.) I also work on a bombing range that has about 14 square miles of public hunting area and we only had 2 guys bowhunting it last year (and they were only here on weekends/after work.) Gun season is a different matter altogether, but if you get here early there isn't much pressure that I've seen. I personally hunt my familys land in Southern WI, but I see plenty of nice deer here in Central WI too.
I have hunted 9 different states and feel that the area of S.Western Wisconsin has some of the best public land hunting and its very over looked and un-pressured unlike a lot of the rest of the state.. Its hill country though, and unless your used to hunting hilly terrain and how deer move in hilly terrain it can be difficult to beginners. You real;ly need to think about the terrain types your used to when choosing public destinations. For me, success has come from studying areas that are farther away from towns and more in farming areas with no camping or motels for miles. I like traveling to that area during the rut and try new grounds a lot when I go there.
I grew up and still hunt in NW Wisconsin. I will say what everyone else has already said. The earlier your out on the public the better. At least in the NW part of the state. Last year was a different story for some reason but in 2012 and 2011 the guy I bow hunt with and myself pretty much had all of the public land to just the two of us till late October. For some reason last year there were several other people around. I would say if you wanted a quality experience with an out of state hunt I would go with an Antelope hunt in Wyoming. Its the cheapest western hunt you can get and you will see 100's of animals. As for the first time archery tag. It says you get a discounted rate as a non resident. They don't state what the price is, but if I had to guess its not that big.
