NW WI report

Just got back from Southern Bayfield Cty. MY camp of 5 never saw a deer. We did see fresh tracks every morning. They were completely nocturnal. Most of the camps in my area got blanked as well worst hunt they have experienced. I have hunted the area since ’76 and this was the fewest shots I have ever heard. Local registration station was at 147 bucks and 217 does as of 2PM Sun. A normal season used to be over 1000 animals. Yet my zone was intensive harvest . $2 bonus tags. DNR estimate 33 deer per square mile. What a joke. A friend in Fredric got 1 doe for 9 guys there worst year ever. The neighbors had similar results. My Brother in Amery never saw a deer unheard of in farm country they saw bears and coyotes instead. Deer drives produced the bears and coyotes not deer. Something is broken with the herd estimates. This is 3rd year we have not shot a deer. We do not bait and what little sign seems to be nocturnal. We didn’t kick up any deer grouse hunting this year which is not normal. Questioning if the license fee is worth paying. Can’t wait to see the counts for the area. They somehow left out NW WI deer reports on Wed deer update wonder why?

Mwal

My fam stopped going up there & my father quit hunting altogether because of that same crap in that same county. They’re treating that area like it has CWD. I don’t get it, never will.

Deer are (in my opinion) evolving more into crop animals. The big forestland doesn’t have much food to offer. Why would they stick around? The population is much more fragile in these areas – and the DNR is letting them all get killed.

Suzuki on here is in the exact same boat.

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My fam stopped going up there & my father quit hunting altogether because of that same crap in that same county. They’re treating that area like it has CWD. I don’t get it, never will.

Deer are (in my opinion) evolving more into crop animals. The big forestland doesn’t have much food to offer. Why would they stick around? The population is much more fragile in these areas – and the DNR is letting them all get killed.

Suzuki on here is in the exact same boat.

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I watched the brief interview with “Dr. Deer” and his upcoming involvement with the WI DNR in evaluating the deer herd and management practices. Interesting your thoughts and points on the “forest”. He commented heavily on the fact of 83% of WI is private land and how much of that is mature forest with lessor food sources. Will be interesting to see/read the upcoming reports from him and his assembled team on everything from forestry management to CWD!

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My fam stopped going up there & my father quit hunting altogether because of that same crap in that same county. They’re treating that area like it has CWD. I don’t get it, never will.

Deer are (in my opinion) evolving more into crop animals. The big forestland doesn’t have much food to offer. Why would they stick around? The population is much more fragile in these areas – and the DNR is letting them all get killed.

Suzuki on here is in the exact same boat.

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Oh Yea. Herd control my a$$. I didnt take a deer this year. I refused to shoot a doe with the population as it is. I had 5 opportunities to harvest a doe and passed. Even on the last two days of the season. I’m sick I dont have venison for myself and my wife but with the number of deer around my area it would be foolish to take out many does. Yet the DNR keeps handing out tags like a GD raffle. I think they are opening up the December extermination season again this year too? I have two friends that opperate businesses in the area that check deer. The number of fawns coming in is shocking. Next year can only be worse. Especially with a bad winter. More bears, more yotes, more wolves and more tags. The deer population can only spiral down.

On a side note I was fortunate enough to hunt some very large private land up there this past weekend. The deer numbers seemed more normal. The owners hunt responsibly. They like deer and dont try to eliminate the species.

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Oh Yea. Herd control my a$$. I didnt take a deer this year. I refused to shoot a doe with the population as it is.

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I’m in the same boat here.

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On a side note I was fortunate enough to hunt some very large private land up there this past weekend. The deer numbers seemed more normal. The owners hunt responsibly. They like deer and dont try to eliminate the species

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I find this to be pretty accurate from what i’ve seen/heard this season as well. The landowners with large tracts of land and sound management principles still got their deer. When you have habitat that can hold a population year round and you practice sound management year after year, your odds of sustaining a healthy deer herd in your area are much better.

I just wish the majority of hunters could have the type of self control as these landowners demonstrate and not shoot everything that walks just because its legal.

I saw one group of 12 on that private land yesterday. Seemed like the good ole days. It was nice.

good points on the management stuff.

But, hell, you throw some panfish and some food in your pond and a year later you got a pond full of fish! Same goes for deer. If you feed them and don’t kill them, they’ll stick around.

The DNR’s job is to take care of the bigger picture and the laws at stake. They are failing big time. Apparently if you want to have good hunting in WI you need to invest $millions, guard the property to keep the jackwagons off, convince your neighbors to participate in QDM, and don’t fill all the tags they give you. Sad state of affairs.

I hunt west of spooner. Two years ago and beyond I saw more than 100 deer/season. Last year it was 20 this year it was 15. Some deer on the cameras, but mostly at night. I’m guessing this will be a 20 or 30 year low in deer harvest numbers statewide. Maybe worse up nort. My dad talked about not seeing a deer at all when he was younger. Maybe those days are coming back. For the record we hunt private land. Its normally a good area for deer.

Here in Pierce county is was by far the worst year ever…I think the problem is hunting pressure…around here, it was common to see people hunting every piece of property around us, and this year in a couple of square miles, there were maybe three trucks parked along the roads. This is an area where everybody knows each other, and they are all saying the same thing…no deer. Get rid of herd control, allow one doe only per person. Just my take…

Back when I was young and the deer were managed to the opposite extreme it was a big deal for us to get a doe tag. Seems like every 3 years per person was the avg. I remember many years of nobody in our group being drawn. Back then the number of deer was incredible. You could see groups numbering in the teens go by. I would like to see it somehere between that and what we have now. Eliminating herd control where it should not be is a good start. If that doesnt do it then bring back doe lottery for gun season. Let the bow hunters shoot either/or. If every hunter feels they have a “right” to eat venison every year then pretty soon none of us will be eating any.

agreed. If I were in charge:

-Start bow season 2 weeks later

-No extra seasons of any kind except youth

-No over-the-counter tags

-North of 8 you get one buck tag and that’s it

-Rest of state you get a hunter’s choice tag

Do this for 2 years to let the population bounce back and re-evaluate at that time.

what about all the ag. tags that are shot each year.

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what about all the ag. tags that are shot each year.

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Good question. Generally farmers are good stewards of the land but I recall talking to a retired guy that shot ag deer all summer long. He didnt say if it was one spot or several. They probably need to get a handle on that as well.

Heard a story a couple years back about an Amish family that had taken 80+ whitetail on ag. tags in one summer/fall.

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agreed. If I were in charge:
-Start bow season 2 weeks later
-No extra seasons of any kind except youth
-No over-the-counter tags
-North of 8 you get one buck tag and that’s it
-Rest of state you get a hunter’s choice tag

Do this for 2 years to let the population bounce back and re-evaluate at that time.

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How long would your bow season run? Same length of time including the late season? Other than that question, I agree with you.

I’m 100% okay with people that shoot does, or whatever they please for meat. I’m just saddened by the fact that our deer heard across the state has diminished as rapidly as it has. The DNR is doing a horrendous job of managing the resource in my eyes.

Scroll to the bottom of this link I posted and watch the videos if you have time. I find them pretty interesting. We should maybe model our deer management similar after our neighbor to the west.. Thoughts?

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/DeerHunting.aspx

The traditions in WI run pretty deep, and many people have their brains programmed that they need to fill their tag regardless of the means/consequences. For me, I would much rather have a system more similar to Wyoming or Colorado that would split the seasons into more phases and vary the bow hunting/gun hunting up to occure during different dates. Then do a kind of round robin for the early late seasons so things get mixed up. There is a lot of guys that like muzzle and rifle and don’t bow hunt. Would give them a fare chance during years of early rut. But then, I’m a stalker/still hunter so what do I know

I’ve hunted in Washburn County since the late 70s too. We have 80 acres in the Washburn County Forest that has been in my family since the 40s. It has been a tradition for me to take the entire Thanks Giving week off to hunt. I finally made the decision to not leave my deposit for next year. The last 3 – 5 years I’ve been averaging seeing less than 5 deer per season. The other members of my party as well as others I’ve talked too, have seen simlar numbers or less. I’m not claiming to be the best hunter in the world, but I’ve killed my share of deer. Its been close to 5 years since I’ve killed one. I can’t justify it with the low numbers. That hasn’t stopped the DNR from stuffing my backtag holder over the years with free bonus tags for my area. Count me as one who is extremely disappointed in the DNR deer management practices in my part of the state. It can’t get any worse.