Grow the Hunt

Happy New Year!

Welcome to Winter

- By Brandon Wikman

The bone-chilling Canadian air has settled across the Upper Midwest. Temperatures have plummeted into the negative degree marks and snow frosts landscapes as far as the eye can see. It is safe to say that winter is upon us.

Earlier this week Wisconsin was blanketed with a heap of snow. A blizzard from Canada broke over the border and annihilated the northern part of the United States. The storm blasted throughout the entire night and into the next day. We received over two feet of sloppy snow. In fact, nearly the entire state’s school systems closed their doors, including universities all across Wisconsin.

It’s amazing to attempt grasping how animals cope with paralyzing weather, such as deer for instance. I complain walking out the door every morning and having to start my vehicle so it can warm up. It takes a whole 30-seconds to accomplish this miserable feat, but I absolutely hate every second of it! Deer, along with every other animal that finds themselves hunkered into the woods, water, and fields, don’t bare it, they live it.

Deer walk on the tips of their toes, which are hooves. Hooves are equivalent to our toenails. They basically have no sense of feeling. If I were to walk barefoot in a foot of icy snow, my feet would turn purple! Deer don’t have feel extremely cold ground surfaces thanks to their hooves.

Whitetail will generally not move during extremely frigid temperatures. They will sit tight and conserve as much energy as they can. They will find food, bed near it, and lie low. This gives them an opportunity to survive during sub-arctic temperatures that we find common across the upper portions of the U.S. The hide that wraps their body is like a sleeping bag. Their fur is dense, which boosts their ability to stay warm.

Lastly, one of the most important points to note is that a whitetail’s blood-flow varies according to different situations and circumstances. In freezing climates, such as Minnesota and Upper Michigan, a whitetail’s blood flows to the brain and critical organs, such as the heart. The blood flow avoids the animals’ extremities because those are the least important parts of the body that will help them survive.

If a deer’s blood flowed to it’s legs, they’d lose heat and much colder blood would flow back into the deer’s body. This would make the animals much chillier and begin shutting down systems from hypothermia. The legs turn into a state of senselessness. This amazing capability of adaptation stirs my interest.

As humans drag out their winter jackets, snow-pants, and gloves, deer grow their own jacket and let there body systems take control. This is just another incredible attribute to the amazing whitetail world.

Duck Hunting at Camp Woodie

- By Rich Miller

For the past couple of years I have b involved with the South Carolina Waterfowl Association (SCWA). The reason being SCWA is committed to working with members, groups and individuals to enhance and ensure the future of public duck hunting. They also assist private property owners in managing their properties to make them as attractive as possible to waterfowl and other wildlife. SCWA also has a camp in Rimini, S.C. called Camp Woodie that is used to promote and preserve the positive traditions of waterfowling and hunting in general.

I have heard a lot about Camp Woodie over the years but have never been lucky enough to see it. After several years of being on the committee for the Anderson chapter I was invited to attend the annual committee duck hunt this year. I have really had a lot going on, but I couldn’t turn down an invitation to go on a duck hunt. That would be like telling Santa you didn’t want anything for Christmas.

Another committee member and I headed down on Friday afternoon and the plans were to eat, get a good night’s sleep, and then do a little duck hunting Saturday morning. When we arrived, there were already a lot of members already there. The accommodations were awesome; we were to stay in the bunk house that had what looked have about fifty bunk beds in it.

After getting our gear put away we headed to the fire pit to get the details for the next morning hunt and to meet some of the other committee members. That afternoon we met a lot of nice people and had one heck of a meal. They had some great ladies cooking, and the rubs and barbeque were as good as I have ever had.

That night I was pretty restless anticipating the upcoming hunt and was up at 4:30am ready to get in the blind. When I got to the main lodge the coffee brewed and our guide was there waiting on us. We were assigned to hunt the blind known as 8 acre #2, which was a flooded millet and chufa field. Once we were settled in the blind I was excited about the setup we were in with all the food in front of us and the cover that was around us to keep us hidden, it was going to be a good morning. As the sun started coming up we began hearing the quacks and whistles from the ducks in the area. While we were waiting on legal shooting time the only thing that could hurt our hunt happened. The wind started hitting us right in the face. What made this so bad was there were a huge stand of tall pines behind us and with the wind hitting us in the face it made it hard for the ducks to land in our spread.

We did get to see a lot of birds in the air all morning until about 9:00am, but all they wanted to do was tease us a little and then head to another pond on the property. By the end of the morning I was able to knock a few out of the air that got a little too close for their comfort. Some of the guys hunting in the other blinds got their limit, but we had just as good of a time as they did even though a limit was not in our reach that morning.

After the hunt we headed back to the lodge and there was a breakfast on the table fit for a king. The ladies in the kitchen made homemade gravy and biscuits, and I swear those were the best I have ever had.

It was a quick overnight trip and even though the hunt didn’t go as we planned, I did get to check out the camp and see what I have been wondering about for a while. Camp Woodie is a great looking place to send kids for an outdoors learning opportunity. I take my son with me every chance I get, but as soon as he is old enough to attend the camp I will definitely send him to one of theirs. If anyone has kids they want to get involved in the outdoors this would be a great opportunity to plant a seed. They have camps that run from June through August and you can get any information you may need at http://scwa.org/.

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Food Sources Key to Late-Season Hunting

- By Rich Miller

The stories of big bucks hitting the ground are few and far between over the past couple of weeks. I think the rut is pretty much over for most of us. Now there will still be some good bucks taken but it isn’t going to be like it was through November. There is not a need to quit hunting just because the rut is over though - bucks are still out there.

Some does still haven’t been bred, and if any of the does cycle back around bucks will breed them. Hunting does gets a little tougher this time of year because of the weather and deer movement. Depending on the areas you hunt and the pressure that has been put on the deer for the last couple of months, deer movement can really slow down. The key to finding them in this late season is food sources. Does are feeding up for the winter and the bucks are trying to recover from the rut.

A lot of guys have put a lot of pressure on their food plots hunting them regularly during the rut trying to catch bucks cruising for hot does. In the cases I have heard, they are telling me they are not seeing any deer right now. The problem is by now deer have patterned hunters. They know that there has been a lot of human activity around food plots, feeders, and corn piles over the last couple of months and this has made deer nocturnal.

The solution to this problem is pretty simple and the only thing it requires is a little thought and leg work. By hunting these areas regularly all year you should know where deer are coming from when heading to feed. Usually the same place you hunt to intercept the deer in early season between bedding and feeding will work just as well during the late season. The only thing that I might change is try to find a little thicker cover during late season hunts because deer shy away from open areas and tend to stay closer to thicker cover.

When trying to find a good stand site between bedding and cover, I normally look for it during the middle of the day and always make sure the wind is in my favor before entering these areas. I try and not get any closer to the bedding area than I have to because bumping the deer this late in the year could affect the rest of my season. Anywhere from 25 to 75 yards off of the food source can make a world of difference in getting a shot on a deer during good shooting light. Deer get a little more predictable again this time of year so if the stand site isn’t close enough to get a shot, don’t hesitate to move the stand after seeing where deer are using.

It doesn’t matter if you are still trying to fill your buck tag or if you are trying to do a little herd management, food sources are the key to this time of year. A deer’s stomach is controlling them this time of year and they will be going to feed no matter what. This is the time where hunters really have to hunt deer to figure them out instead of sitting and waiting on them to come to them.

Wisconsin Firearm Season

- By Brandon Wikman

The blaze orange army of 600,000-plus raided the woods in search of a trophy last weekend. Wisconsin’s opening weekend of firearm season didn’t begin with a big bang like previous years. It sounded more like a dud.

Many reasons for the lack of deer sightings were passed among hunting families over the dinner table. Many high hopes and big anticipations evolved into despair. Wisconsin’s opening weekend deer count was down 33,000 for several reasons.

As the dawn of gun season shadowed and the hungry hunters began drooling for daylight, a blanket of fog choked the forest. A cloud of white concealed any sort of life that stretched passed twenty yards! I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Many hunters complained of hearing footsteps, grunts, and crunches in the leaves, but couldn’t identify the source.

Many giant whitetails bearing a set of massive antlers escaped the gun down phase of the morning. The fog didn’t lift until around noon. The gunshot count was as low as it would be in muzzleloader season. A faint crackle ignited the woods every now and again, but not nearly to the typical standards of opening weekend’s firework show.

The overwhelmingly strange weather also infringed on the deer sightings. The muggy weather tempted many hunters to remove several layers of clothing articles by around eleven! The temperatures rose to nearly sixty-degrees in some parts of Wisconsin, which flat-lined the deer movement considerably. Many deer hugged shady areas and bluff ledges to cool off and hide from hunters. As many of you know, weather affects every bit of animal activity.

Lastly, the most credible reason hunters from across the state spotted far less deer than usual was because of the Wisconsin DNR’s faulty deer estimation. The DNR reported that there was an overabundance of whitetail in Wisconsin. They proceeded to condense the population of deer by implementing programs that focused on culling doe; in fact, a lot of doe. Nearly half of the state has been in “Earn-a-Buck,” for the last handful of years. The “Earn-a-Buck” program challenges hunters to harvest a doe before pulling the trigger on a buck. The herd reduction program didn’t stop there. Many parts of the state that were not included in “Earn-a-Buck” sported a “T-Zone,” which is an all out doe hunting blitz with a rifle during archery season. Free doe tags were given out when you made your license purchase, which could be used for units of Wisconsin that were designated to “T-Zone.”

Both programs have effectively reduced the once thriving deer herd in Wisconsin, but some say it’s gone too far. We cannot forget that the bottom of the entire state is still locked in a “CWD Zone.” The zone gives hunters an opportunity to harvest an endless amount of deer. For every one doe that you shoot, a buck tag is handed to you. It has been another extremely controversial program setup by the Wisconsin DNR.

It isn’t often that hunter’s criticize the DNR, considering they are the protectors and stewards of our environment. The feelings soon turn raw once hunters feel cheated. The DNR has admitted to overestimating the deer herd. Now it’s time for the DNR to go back to the statistics, estimations, and records and begin a new phase of duty, which is helping the whitetail population of Wisconsin increase.

Regretting a Hunt

By - Rich Miller

I have finally made it back from my Kansas hunt and now I have to wait another year before I get to hunt those giant whitetails again. The 14 days I stayed out there hunting was over before I could turn around. It is hard to believe that after all the preparation and anticipation that it is now over.

The trip out there went great. I went through Cadiz, Ky. to pick up my cameraman, and Jim Strelec had a big pot of chili beans prepared so naturally we had to stay there and eat supper. After getting our bellies full, we visited a while and then hit the road to pull an all-night drive.

We arrived in Kansas about 6:30 in the morning and immediately started unpacking and getting stands ready. When we arrived, the temperature got up to 70 degrees and stayed that way for several days. The first evening and next morning were pretty slow in the stand, but while going to the stand and coming from it in the truck we saw a lot of big bucks chasing does.

The first morning of the hunt, my Uncle Jimmy that hunts with me scored on a nice 14-point buck and that really got us excited. The deer came into his Carry-Lite deer decoy and acted just like you want a deer to act.

My cameraman and I were seeing a lot of deer, but they were just small bucks. A couple of mornings we saw some big buck but they were locked down on does and would not respond to rattling, decoying, grunting or anything else we threw at them. I thought if we could get some cooler weather or some sort of weather change that the deer would start moving more during the daylight hours.

Well, as they say, in Kansas “if you don’t like the weather, then wait a minute.” We got our wish on Sunday morning because it did cool down some, but about the time we got settled into the stand the flood gates opened up. We stayed as long as we could stand it, but the camera started getting wet so we headed to a warm and dry place.

Sunday afternoon we hunted a totally different area on a good friend’s farm where he had been seeing a lot of nice deer. We got a little luck when we headed to the stand because the rain had gone from pouring to just a light drizzle. There were deer in the field when we arrived so this place looked good from the start. The rain held off for the rest of the evening and we started seeing deer about as soon as we got settled into the stand. The problem we were having is that it was so cloudy and we were losing camera light fast.

There were a couple of little bucks feeding in front of the stand and the cameraman kept looking at them through the camera to make sure we had enough light if a shooter came out. Darkness closed on us fast and finally he told me he didn’t have light to film anymore, but we were going to stay in the stand till it got completely dark so we didn’t spook any of the deer around us. It didn’t seem like it had been a minute since he told me about our light situation that I looked to my left and out stepped the biggest deer of my life. I did as any of us would do, I grabbed my bow and asked my camera man (Squirrel) are you sure you don’t have any more light? He confirmed that he didn’t and then I asked him if he could just see the outline of the deer. Even though he couldn’t see the buck through the camera I could see him perfectly standing broadside at 15-yards. I don’t know exactly how big to tell you this buck was, but I feel like he was between 180 and 200 inches.

After watching him for a few minutes he chased the two smaller bucks across the field and out of my life. I stood there on my stand in complete shock that I didn’t take the shot on that deer. Squirrel looked at me and said he was sorry. Other than that he was speechless and looked as if he had seen a ghost. I have hunted my whole life to get a chance at a buck like this and then I let him go because we couldn’t get it on film. I really don’t know what I was thinking and have been kicking myself in the butt ever since. As you might guess I didn’t sleep very much that night and we were back in the same stand the next morning. We stayed in the stand a couple of hours until the heavy rain started again. Then the rain turned to a sleet and snow mixture so we had to get the camera out of the weather again. The nasty weather set in for the next couple of days and that is the way my last couple of days went till I had to get back home.

I have had a sick feeling in my stomach since my encounter with that monster Sunday afternoon. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if it would have worked out and we would have been able to get a successful hunt on video, but not accomplishing that makes it even worse. We had a lot of highs and lows all week. A couple of times we were really close and we thought we might get a shot, but we never could close the deal. Now I have a whole year to anticipate and prepare for my Kansas hunt again.