Author Topic: MY LAST SEASON  (Read 2136 times)

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Offline Odinbreaker

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MY LAST SEASON
« on: November 21, 2012, 12:17:00 PM »
BEEN HUNTING SINCE 1967 WORST SEASON YET.  MY LAST YEAR LOTS OF GUNS GOING ON SALE NEXT YEAR.

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Offline Ranger99

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2012, 01:26:36 PM »
sorry to hear of that.
i hope that is by choice and not
a decision forced by circumstance.
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Offline ihookem

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2012, 06:37:22 AM »
Well, I hunt NW Wis. and I thouhgt it would be a banner year. Instead it was almost a flop. My 15 yr old son got a 3 pt. on Monday evening. I have not seen a deer the last 3 gun seasons now. I hunted 3 days this year, 5 days in 2011 and 3 in 2010. I'm going back out for the weekend. Don't expect much neither. I don't blame ya if ya quit. Maybe go somewhere else.

Offline Odinbreaker

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2012, 10:52:55 AM »
I got a disabled shoot from car permit 3 years ago good friends helped me.  Now they relocated because of economy.  I get to my old stands with a 4 wheeler. Others have moved into private land and deer ar gone or nocturnal.   I just don't want to struggle anymore.
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Offline jcn59

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2012, 05:03:27 PM »
I haven't been able to hunt much this season due to temporary health issues but I'm in the process of finishing my 5th Wisconsin deer season without seeing (any) deer.  Not one.  NW/WI.
 
I have this baseless (?) concern that the deer numbers have intentionally been run down to limit the possibility of anyone getting off the grid, which would reduce our dependency on comercial protein  (making it impossible to live off the land for even a short period of time), under dire circumstances.  I read something to that effect 5-10 years ago covering PA to MN.  Sounds kind of "far out" to me.  Still, that's what it has come to.
 
I do know for a fact that the doe killing has reduced the number of live fawns, and that 70% of those born are eaten as they are dropped by predators (bears, wolves, coyotes, and bobcats) here in WI.
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Offline Odinbreaker

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #5 on: November 25, 2012, 11:18:11 AM »
There is something to that I dion't know what. At least amatuer week is over. Black powder now less hunters deer settle down.
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Offline Poopers

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #6 on: November 25, 2012, 01:14:14 PM »
I hunted in WI from the time I was 12 till 25 and I only missed one season, we hunted every day of the season too. I got ONE deer that entire time, my father got two and my grandpa got a few too. Most years we didnt even see any, and the ones we did see were when we were walking in and kicked them up.


I moved to Montana and this season was my first deer season here. I got one literally 5 minutes into opening morning.


I dont know what is going on there, but for my family, it has been going on for awhile. We hunted public land in the northwoods by Tomahawk. I lived down by Oconomowoc. Saw deer everywhere there...on private land of course


JCN, while NOTHING the government is willing to do would surprise me, I think the people with the most to gain from low deer populations are auto insurance companies. I wouldnt be surprised if they slipped one of their guys into the DNR

Offline jcn59

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2012, 01:26:18 PM »
This is barely on topic, but I thought it was strange that the state ordered Sawyer county and others to remove the cabins on land leased by the county.  I'm told those were 25 year leases, paid annually, I believe.   I didn't own or hunt out of any of those cabins but I liked the idea that regular people who have trouble making ends meet could afford to build a cabin on $100./year leased county land.  It was a nice opportunity for the common man, and that includes most of us.  These cabins had to be a certain size and meet minimal standards, and most were without electric, but they were an affordable alternative for most of us.  I would add that it was comforting to know that if one had serious problems during deer season, help was usually close by.  The rest of the year, particularly in winter if you were out coyote hunting or trapping, and severe weather set in, you could probably find a cabin to be safe in.
 
Anyways, they are all gone now.  Thanks again to the state.  I understand they threatened to withold $$ from the counties unless they obeyed the Madison tyrants, and the county just "rolled over".  I think it's all part of the greater scheme that I referred to earlier.
Vote them all out, EVERY election!
 
Does anyone remember the scene from "Quigley Down Under" showing the aborigines lined up on the skyline as far as you could see?   That needs to be US!
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Offline ihookem

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2012, 03:16:01 PM »
I think some aholes went and put up more than just a cabin. Poopers, I hear stories like that aaaaallllll the time. As a matter of fact I hunt about 50 mi. west of where you hunted. It is about par for the course, 1 buck in 10 or 15 years. I have been hunting west Price co. for 25 gun seasons now. I have not seen a single deer in 2010, 11, and 12 till today, I saw 2 does and had to put out some corn by the cabin. I let them go. Such a little fawn and a nice doe. Would have been a pitty to shoot one. I just don't understand why so many think Wis. is such a nice place to hunt. North of hwy 8 it just plain SUCKS!! 

Offline popplecop

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2012, 02:29:07 PM »
Kill was up over last year.  Drove to my sons for supper tonight, 5 deer feeding a picked cornfield and I never left the city of Portage.  Been hunting in Wisconsin since 51, missed 1 year as I was in Korea, seen deer every year I've hunted.  Granted some years more than others.  Kinda of handicapped with joint replacements, since 92, numerous orthopedic surguries, have to wear a brace on one leg.  Managed to break a rib on the second day of the season, had to take a couple of days from hunting, but did hunt the last 4 days of the season.  Don't know if I'll be able to hunt in the eastern Baraboo hills much longer, but there's always the river bottoms.  Always hunt from the ground and never have used bait nor will I.  Give up deer hunting, naw don't think so.
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Offline Odinbreaker

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2012, 05:46:43 AM »
Well year is ended did not see a deer in any season.  Might be lots of stuff for sale this fall.  I'll keep my range guns.
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Offline daniel2013

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2013, 04:16:14 AM »
For over 20 years I owned 160 acres in the Richland Center area.  My family harvested an average of 16 dear a year off of it with both gun and bow.  Our best year was 27 deer.  This amount of deer never affected the population at all.  Harvested some nice bucks off of it.  About seven years ago my wife took sick and after taking care of her as long as I could had to put her in a nursing home.  On the advise of an attorney had to put the place up for sale as I didn't know how long she would be in the nursing home and anything besides our home would be ate up.  With the taking care of her I could no longer care for the property the way it needed.  We used to go up there and work all weekend and joked about making it look nice for the deer and turkeys.  This was the place we planned to retire to.  Well she only lasted 3 months in the nursing home but their were too many memories at the "Farm" as we called it.  I have not deer hunted since and have no desire to go to public hunting grounds.  I still have my guns and enjoy shooting them on occasion especially the pistols that I hunted with the last few years I did hunt.  Something changed in me after my wife's death and I do not have the desire to hunt like that anymore.  I do have a close friend who has had a bad bout with cancer and hopefully it is in remission.  He is like a brother to me and we hunted together for years.  He is trying to talk me into one more year of hunting and going to a public place we used to go to once in awhile, close to where my land was. I may do it for him though I am not sure I would want to pull the trigger on one.  O' well, just setting in the woods and enjoying nature and being with my friend one more time out there might be worth it.

Offline daniel2013

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2013, 04:27:20 AM »
 
The Last Hunt
One last time the old gun was cleaned,
It had just been sighted in.
The old hands treated it with T.L.C.
Like it was a cherished friend.
The blueing it was almost gone,
There were scratches on the stock.
Each one held a memory,
In his heart was tightly locked.
Many years had come and gone,
And this would be the last.
He gently wiped away a tear,
As he thought of hunts long past.
He’d passed on all his knowledge,
To his only son.
He had taught him how to hunt,
His legacy would live on.
One last time he would arise,
And walk out to his stand.
One last time the old gun,
Would be cradled in his hand.
To Father Time he’d paid the price
The body was old and lame.
And every time he took a step,
It was filled with pain.
They found him seated against a tree,
The old gun was in his hand.
Not far away lay the buck,
That had dared to cross his land.
There was a smile upon his face,
He’d found his peace at last.
 The body that was racked with pain,
Was something of the past.
A younger hand picked up the gun,
With a gentle, loving touch.
Everything this man had taught him,
Had now come to mean so much.
He knew that he would pass it on,
As he looked at his own son.
He’d teach the things that he’d been taught,
The legacy would live on.
By Danny W.

Offline JonnyReb

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2013, 09:12:50 AM »
 Sad to read some of ya'll posts as the reality that "20 more years and its me" sinks in. All the guns and all the good times only last so long. Look forward to my next year(s) in the woods.

 Our deer counts are way down because of all the freakin coyotes that have showed up over the last decade. I remember hunting the late 70's and 80's, we almost never saw a deer but i did take 2 during those years. The 90's there were deer everywhere and i took 2 a year off the same properties where we struggled to just SEE one only 10 years previous. From 2005 or so on we've seen a big decline although i was blessed to see a gorgeous 8pt and 5 or 6 does this past year, Missed the buck on opening day blackpowder and just didn't feel like pulling the trigger after that.Next year i'll take one, Lord willing.  J
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Offline gcrank1

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #14 on: February 19, 2014, 09:12:15 AM »
Im north of MadTown and south of 'Where the North Begins', the last 3 years have been dismal here for seeing deer at all, except for dead along the roads. Ive lived here 25ish years, and grew up about 20 mi. north of here, we used to see deer all the time. This past gun season we didnt even see a bagged deer on a vehicle until mid-week! And the blaze orange; used to be you could see hunters in the woods edge and fields, etc. and lots of people in their vehicles wearing their hunt clothes. Hardly anything to be seen. Im pretty sure the deer have learned when to go nocturnal from our long established seasons, but even so, if we had to live off the deer I could bag we would be a lot thinner than we are now.
For sure and certain, the deer hunt here is a dim shadow of what it once was.
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Offline jgrabow6493

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #15 on: February 20, 2014, 11:38:55 PM »
I retired in 2012 and bought a home with acreage in Sawyer County early in 2013. I’m surrounded on three sides by National Forest. I put out some corn for the Deer and Turkey every day just to see what is around me. I identified 12 different Bucks on camera coming in to feed periodically in 2013; some came in almost every day. No Does came in to feed. Then, about a month prior to gun season, the Bucks vanished and several Does began coming in to feed. I think the Bucks leaving coincided with the rut.

I hunted with my brother on my property during gun season and I didn’t see a Deer. He saw one Doe. Based on our experience during gun season, you would think the area was devoid of Deer, but I know otherwise.

I’m originally from Illinois and hunted and fished in Douglas County, WI periodically beginning in 1963. I decided to buy a home further East because of lack of game and too many hunters in Douglas County. We were getting large groups of hunters coming in from Minnesota during the gun season. Now I wonder if game was really lacking based on my experience in Sawyer County.
Jim

Offline jcn59

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #16 on: February 21, 2014, 01:56:30 AM »
If it was illegal to bait at night, we could train the deer to feed during the day.  Then we could kill the last of them.
Vote them all out, EVERY election!
 
Does anyone remember the scene from "Quigley Down Under" showing the aborigines lined up on the skyline as far as you could see?   That needs to be US!
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Offline cjensen

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #17 on: February 26, 2014, 03:29:39 AM »
Long story short, I'm throwing in the towel. 34 years, it was a good run.
My goal in life is to have a carbon footprint the size of Al Gore's. I can be living the good life and know I am not causing global warming. Make Al your carbon standard.

Offline jcn59

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #18 on: February 26, 2014, 04:36:47 AM »
I will predict a final Winter Severity Index (WSI) of 175 for the Barnes-Winter areas with 130 considered "very severe".  I'd guess that we could lose 60% + of our northern Wisconsin deer population (It's not a "herd" anymore).  I'll be damned if I shoot a doe and I hope you are too if you shoot one.  The deer you see in the woods are the LAST of our breeding stock.  Leave them alone.  If you have to shoot something, shoot wolves, bear, and coyotes.
Vote them all out, EVERY election!
 
Does anyone remember the scene from "Quigley Down Under" showing the aborigines lined up on the skyline as far as you could see?   That needs to be US!
NRA Life Member

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2014, 05:05:11 AM »
This is a very sad topic , Sorry so many are losing their hunting. Here in Va. we still have deer but not as we once did. There has been sickness , changes in farming , coyotes , Mt. lion and bears coming into the area I hunt which have reduced our deer heard. The last few years have been the worst. Our problem is no where near the one you have but I have missed several days as it just didn't seem worth the effort. I have some medical concerns also diabetes and need of knee replacement . I never thought I would miss a chance to hunt by choice . I guess at 59 your needs change.
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Offline jcn59

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #20 on: February 26, 2014, 06:17:42 AM »
I've been thinking during the last several years that I should stop hunting due to the limited number of deer then it occurred to me that I haven't shot a deer for six years.  I guess I can keep on hunting.  (I was 59 when I signed on to Graybeard nine years ago.)
Vote them all out, EVERY election!
 
Does anyone remember the scene from "Quigley Down Under" showing the aborigines lined up on the skyline as far as you could see?   That needs to be US!
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Offline Buckskin

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #21 on: February 26, 2014, 07:02:42 AM »
Population is taking a big hit this winter and it will definitely show in the kill next fall.  I would guess that a lot of folk will stop hunting for a few years, but the pressure will always be there.  Another thing that not to many people talk about is the change in forestry practice the last couple decades.  Clear cutting is what regenerates the forest for deer to thrive, selective cutting is what is going on now and the habitat will likely never again be there for large herds up north.
Buckskin

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Offline gcrank1

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Re: MY LAST SEASON
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2014, 07:39:38 AM »
I guess I dont even need a license to go out and video.....though it makes for thin soup.
I find the DNR harvest numbers hard to believe.
"Halt while I adjust my accoutrements!"
      ><   ->
We are only temporary caretakers of the past heading toward an uncertain future
22Mag UV / 22LR  Sportster
357Mag Schuetzen Special
45-70  SS Ultra Hunter with UV cin.lam. wood
12ga. 'Ol' Ugly OverKill', Buck barrel c/w  SpeedStock  and swap 28" x Full bird barrel, 1974