Deer Hunting Success?

[Mnswede]

Well I started out the season well this year.  Got a fork buck and doe at around 8:30 am and than a doe at 1:00pm opening day.  All three shots were taken at around the 300 yard mark with one shot for each deer.  Sunday it was skinning and taking the deer to the processors.  How successful was the hunting for the rest of you Minnesota hunters?

For hunting zone 178 it started out real slow with the shooting on Saturday with more shots heard throughout the afternoon.  Spoke with hunters at registration station and the processors and most hunters stated that Saturday was real slow for them or never saw a deer on opening day.  Most of the hunters I spoke with stated that they had better luck on Sunday.

[rifleman]

4 for 6 (3 dads, and 3 sons) on Saturday by 3:00 PM near Fergus Falls. A nice big bodied 8 pt buck, and three does.  Kinda half hearted (self satisfied actually) hunted awhile Sunday AM. Butchered Sunday PM. Got the trimmings to the locker plant this AM and already got most of it (burger and breakfast sausage) back and in the freezer this afternoon. Headed up north for a few days either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Dave

[goalie]

I was in zone 242 on the north shore of Whitefish lake.

I shot a doe on opener morning, and a large 9-point buck with 4 minutes of legal shooting time left on opening night.  All total, we took 4 on the opener, and one on Sunday. 

[Friar_Tuck]

Spent a week in the cabin with my son, we got 5 deer in 6 days of hunting.
Two bucks, two fawns, and one yearling doe.
More importantly, we had a blast.
I will be going back tomorrow for 5 more days, but will be alone at the cabin, and it will be low key.

[Mnswede]

Well, update.  Friend and son joined me on Wednesday through Saturday.  My friends son got a seven point buck by 9:00am and I shot a 8 point buck Wednesday afternoon.  We went and weighted this buck and it came in at 158.6 lbs dressed.  Since Wednesday, i have seen only three does and had no chance to take a shot on any of them.  The wind has been brutal in the stands in the open swamp areas that we were hunting.

The freezer is full with four deer and I have two doe tags left for the season.  Still waiting for all the sausages to be processed also from the two bucks.

Nice looking deer Friar Tuck!

[T-Rex]

I hunt in 178, also.   This year a couple of out of state hunters showed up setting up stands within feet of mine.  So, because of the increased pressure, I didn't run right out to my stand early on opening morning.  I just parked my truck near the edge of an open field and sat in a lawn chair for about 45 minutes before walking out to my stand.  Of course these guys showed up a few minutes before legal shooting, and thrashed through the field heading to their stands.  So, after things had calmed down I headed toward my stand and came to an understanding with the first deer I saw on my way.  That happened to be a nice doe.  Not what I had in mind, but figured I better take what I could under those circumstances.

Half of the others in our party of 10 also scored on opening morning.  Sunday was really windy, and we only shot one.  I only had the one tag, so was party hunting only for a respectable buck.  I did pass up a couple more does, and one forked buck.

So, my experience was a mixed bag, better though, on Saturday than Sunday.

[carbineman]

Saw deer most everyday in area 107 near Orr. For the season I saw a total of 10 deer from Saturday to Saturday before returning home in Wisconsin. On Saturday the 10th I shot and drew blood on a real big bodied deer which I estimate would have dressed out around 180 lbs. I didn't concentrate on the headgear but it was a larger beamed buck.

This was around 10 AM when I shot the buck and he disappeared into the brush and big timber out of the cut I was hunting in. After waiting 45 minutes I found the blood trail and my buddy and I returned to our camper and then proceeded back to follow and recover the buck. After the walk to our camper it started snowing the wet and heavy variety and upon return to the trail it had covered most of the blood up and the tracks. Eventually we could no longer track the buck and did not recover him. I was really disappointed to say the least.

Congrats to all who scored a buck or doe...............

[Two Bears]

How many deer can you dudes take up there (with in the law )?

Us southern Minnesota hunters can take 2 deer but don't see enough to take 1 so far. Maybe during the muzzleloader season the wife and I can find one to bring home.

[T-Rex]

How many deer can you dudes take up there (with in the law )?

In my area, 178 in zone 1, you get one deer per tag.  The first one with the normal big game tag can be either sex.  After that there are management tags that can be purchased.  I believe they are called "intensive harvest".  These must be antler-less, and again one per tag.  I don't remember how many of these you can buy, but it is at least two or three.

[Friar_Tuck]

In my area, 110, you can get an either sex with the first license, the you can buy 4 more half priced tags, antlerless only, for a total of 5.  Then if you hunt the early season that is on where I live, you can get two more, for a total of seven.
And just west of here is an area that they are concerned about bovine TB, and there you can buy as many tags as you want, for I think $2.50 a piece.  We have come a long way since the years of 1 buck, and even a closed season I remember.
Jim

[Mnswede]

For area 178 it was 1 tag either sex and you could buy 4 more tags for half price for doe or button bucks, ( 3 inches or less).

On the last Saturday of hunting, I took 3 does to finnish up my season.  Two of the does went to my neighbor to fill her two tags.  Five deer in the freezers and waiting to pickup the sausages that I am having made.

[bearfat]

Couple bucks, three doe on north shore block 180.

Got a nice 8 inch spruce too. Look at bottom of tree. Doe turned at last second and it was getting very dark so I made the split second decision to shoot.

[HuntingGuy]

BF - Did the brother beat you out again???  Gall darnit... I was pushing for you this year!   

[bearfat]

It was quite sad. We wouldn't let him sit in our best stand until the 7th day. We finally tell him. "Well guess you can go out there." One hour later a nice 8 pointer comes in. I can't believe his luck.

But he totally humiliated himself again a couple days later. For the second year in a row he swore he completely missed his doe. I had to go out there in the dark and follow the OJ Simpson blood trail to a bloated doe 50 yards away.

I didn't tell him it was bloated either...hope it tastes like it smelled.

I made him go out the next morning for blood tracking 101. I think this pic pretty well sums it up. He's been in this kneeling position for about 10 mins looking for a drop of blood...that or he can't get up.



Several words come to mind looking at his face. It's like someone has tossed a cell phone into the monkeys cage at the zoo and he knows it is something magical but he can't figure it out.

Here's what I don't get...he gets two 10 pointers and an eight pointer in 3 years. It's like the monkey not only has turned the phone on but he has randomly dialed the front desk of the zoo, not once but THRICE!!!!


                                   "It ain't luck boys."

[bearfat]

How many deer can you dudes take up there (with in the law )?

My brother and I are 50 miles North of Duluth and we could have legally taken 10 deer.