Camp Ripley Bowhunt I am going Oct 15 & 16. Anyone from MN have suggestions. Maybe by the boundry near the river? http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/outdoor_activities/hunting/deer/2009/cr_map.pdf
Thanks Cooter, I know it's a bust hunt but I want to get in far away from most. I know many are too lazy to drag a deer far. If anything I wiull spend a half a day scouting and hunting the other day and a half.
Tribal go to http://www.bing.com/maps/ and type camp ripley minnesota into the search bar. It will pull the area up in street map form and you can see the entire base and boundaries. Then switch to aerial to see good aerial photos of it and one step beyond that you can use the birds eye view mode which is insanely clear photos of the base. Compare that to the map you posted and come up with your top 4 or 5 spots and see what happens. Even though I have never hunted this base or in Minnesota for that matter I hunt several bases in VA and one thing I will mention is this, the areas within the base that are flagged off as no hunting areas can be secret honey holes for deer since no hunting = sanctuary. So if you can find a good looking piece to hunt that might border or butt up to one of these no hunting areas it may be worth a look. Just make sure you are careful about being in the proper areas on base. Good luck.
After looking at the base some more it looks very interesting. The birds eye view works on most of the base but not all. Lots of waterway and road pinch points, you can see what appear to be pine thickets scattered throughout, and for the time of year you are going I would be interested in finding some oaks that are dropping acorns. You may want to check out a topo on it as well at acme mapper 2.0 website to see hidden drainagaes, ditches, elevation changes, ridges, etc. That base is huge, do you know if they farm it? If so knowing what areas hold crop will be important not just for knowing where the deer feed but also I'd be willing to bet 75% of the hunters will probably focus their time near them, and you can use that to your advantage.
Yup never been there cant help you on this one, But if im opinion counts i would try and seclude yself and let all the other guys push the deer towrds me :D
I've hunted it a couple of times. I don't like going over on the river side - it's too obvious and more hunters go over there and the South end than anywhere else. Since there's more hunters over there, they do push the deer around. It can sometimes get dicey claiming your deer if it goes over a 150 yards after the shot too, though. Check out the Northwest quarter - lots of good woods, surprising amount of oak and birch so there's some mast on the ground typically. Not as many guys and there's a good number of trails to park off of. Don't get too close to the restricted areas though - if you drop a deer in there you better not cross the line or a) You get caught and they take your deer and boot you out or b) You step on some old ordnance and blow up. There's a lot of property elsewhere and you can easily find a spot of your own. Look at the topo of it - there's a lot of hills in there so you can may be able to find a good spot for a groundblind. I've done it and almost got a shot at a nice 8 pointer last year from it - 2 steps and a bush and he was mine. It was nice to have too because it was windy as blazes last year - up to 40+ mph winds! And some snow! And by the way - the roads are marked only on your maps, not on the ground. So keep track of where you are and be sure to get back out by 7:30 (I think that's the deadline each day) or they'll get cranky with you. Don't speed on the roads in there either - you'll get one warning then the boot. All the guys there are pretty good guys (a few ladies also). A lot of them set up targets back on the line by the trucks to target practice each day/evening. It's a great place to go but there's a lot of luck involved. Enjoy yourself and who knows, you may have a monster come by!
Well said Rackstacker on all accounts!! I've never hunted there but my dad has a few different times. It's one of those trips that could be a complete wash or a buck of a lifetime. Good luck Ron!!! Off topic but how'd the bear hunting go for ya?
First off thanks NEW61375 for the link to the map. Great tool I will be using for Ripley and now on. Ripley is 53,000 acres and enough to hold some deer. I in no way expect a monster behind every tree. I do know they shoot about a dozen incredible deer out of there a year. I am hoping for the best, great advice above Rackstacker from what I remember that is exactly the drill. I am excited to give it a go. And Schultzy my bear hunt was scrapped due to my resort owner who was going to bait for me had something come up where he could not help me out. So that bites but am looking forward to it again real soon. I was thinking about you I know you all spend some time up there how did it go? I didn't see a post on it and was going to ask you when I saw you were back.
camp ripley 2009 Howdy, I saw your forum and me and my buddy are sitting here reading your chat. We too are going next week and are pumped. This will be our fifth year going. The best advise I can give you is too stay away from the crouds and try to sit all day and not move around much. There will be a lot of hunters in the woods and will be pushing deer all day.. Exspecially from 10-2 when everyone is getting down for lunch. This will be the best time to be in your stand. Good Luck.
