Maybe if you think they are that dumb you should give them a pass. You know, let them pass on their genes. But seriously never know what can happen this time of year. Stranger things have happened.
Well that does it. Tore down and headed in. Just rounded the same corner out into the lake and I can still smell a buck there. He's probably going to go cross the outlet now
Deer are moving here in Northern Wisconsin! Was driving down the road just looking in the woods at a trail I hunt, 3 Large does, No bow with me at the time
Seems Whitsler's Ridge is a hot spot for the rut. Any reasons not to crest that hill? Pulling for you to get something down this year, WI or MN. I couldn't imagine having those type of permit restrictions and changing each year. Hopefully you can put Buster on the ground and draw a wolf tag next year. Bit of icing on the cake so to speak.
Speaking of wolves. Fitz what have you seen for wolf activity? I know where I am up north the wolves seemed to have moved out the last couple years, barely even see sign. Definitely not like you used to. I'm guessing they will move back in when the deer population picks up a bit. I guess it is possible that some may have died off due to low deer numbers. Either way there doesn't seem to be as many in the area.
Funny you ask, I was just talking to my wife the other night about this. I haven't seen one all season, which is odd. I've barely gotten picks this year either. I think the big pack that had mange took that hit and now boundaries have shifted again. Last year we had more sightings that ever. The few picks I've gotten this summer and fall have almost all be Smokey (the black wolf) and her mate Bandit.
Yeah, I've stayed out of their on purpose this year. Our neighbor that I access that ridge through has been using their property a lot more this summer and Fall. I knew that was going to be the case which is why I decided to put some time and effort into scouting & hunting the North Shore. Just before rifle opener she told my dad that they were going to stay away for a couple weeks. I should have hung a stand up there but with the Outlet blowing up and all the bucks I was getting on camera on the Grassy Bench, I decided to hold the course. Bad move perhaps. I wanted to for this year, but possibly next summer, I'll pick a trail to the ridge that doesn't involve using their property. The biggest problem remaining is that she walks her dogs up there a lot now. She even "made" a trail this summer. Starts at their barn then follows my path right to the pine Blade was shot out of. It splits and goes right to my dad's ladder. She had no clue she was just trimming my access trail. SMH
Hey Fitz, about how much land do you cover with your stands. The cabin I'm hunting is roughly a 1000 acres of property and we have around three or four shooters and they moved to north to another 1000 acres. How far do you think your bucks move during the rut by you?
It's kinda hard to say. The general area I hunt is 1200-1500 acres, but that includes the lake (300). Realistically though, my stands cover a small part of that. This year for instance, I have 3 stands out and then my mobile set-up. Dad has two ladder's and a tripod. my brother has his rifle stand. That's a whopping 8 stands. That's 1 per 150-200 acres. Of course they tend to be a bit clustered. Pretty much the same story with trail cams. I only have four out these days.
That's also why it's so important for me to be able to run & gun with my assault. There's just so much area to cover. Not to mention that 30 yards is a far view for most of my stands. It's happens quick when they come through, that's for sure.
I know some of the bucks we have regularly are on cameras 2 miles apart. I'm positive they go further than that.
I hear you about running and gunning. I hope I can invest in a lone wolf setup someday so I can make that happen too. I think one if the problems we have in northern wisco is the baiting. Bucks will travel miles between bait piles. Makes their patterns even more difficult to decipher in my opinion.
You could say to yourself, setup between the bait piles but I think the bucks hang out in the impenetrable swamps that we have which you are no stranger to by where your hunting.
They sit in those swamps until dark then come in to feed. Really smart of them and is no mystery of how they can get big.
