Nine day Deer hunt winding down

[Old Time Hunter]

Today is the end of the traditional Wisconsin gun deer season and after 43 years it so far has turned out the worst. Must be because of the yahoo that just got elected. Our hunting party of seventeen hunters have seen a total of six deer, of which yours truely saw two. On top of that, not one was even fired upon. Can not speak for the other gents, but the first one I saw was 'bout 1:45 pm opening day while I was walk'n in. With the sun behind me, I perceived what looked to be a silhouette of a deer head amongst a dead fall tree in dark heavy pine forest about 40 yards from me. I stared and stared, saw no movement and assumed it was a tree stump or something and proceeded to move my gun to my left hand as I pulled my glove on with my teeth on my right (temperature was just breaking 0' F at the time). Looked back to the left and there was a huge buck standing look'n at me.... With the best slow motion movement I could muster (I am getting old) I brought the rifle to my right shoulder and transfered hands. Since I was tot'n my .444 Timber Carbine with Ghost Ring sights, it took nary a milisec to home in on the buck's behind as it bounced twice away from me into some thickets. Had an opportunity, but at a camp meeting the previous night we all agreed no more butt shots. Knowing now, what I didn't know then, that buck would be hang'n. The other was a little doe, walked right up to me on my right hand side as I sat in my son's skinny little tree stand that hugs my fat butt so tight I can not move a quarter inch. No way to turn right..the doe looked at me stuck her tongue out, snorted, kicked the ground and moved on. All about ten yards from me. I am buying my son a two man tree stand for Christmas, so one person like me can fit in it!
Unbelieveable season, worst ever, still have 'bout 5 1/2 hours to turn it around, but it does not look good. Start'n tomorrow is muzzle load'n season for ten days and then a four day antlerless gun season....hopefully, hopefully I'll fill at least one tag in Wisconsin this season.

[RIHMFIRE]

Well ....at least there was a chance to score a big buck...
All I have seen all season are does, fawns, buttons, spikes and hens!
Good luck next time!

[El Chivo]

starting to sound like California (except for the cold)

[TedH]

That's too bad, but at least you got to see a nice buck. I never saw a legal buck during our regular firearms season. Now it looks like I won't get a chance to get out during the muzzleloader season at all.

Good luck with the front stuffer.

[Pete44ru]

Our annual Maine/November deer hunting jaunt was a bust this year, too - in more ways than one !

The guys with doe permits only saw does when hunting "bucks only" areas (we hunt several different areas on the border of two Game Management Zones).

Only three bucks were seen - all at night.

One friend broke an ankle (simple fracture), another sprained an ankle and a shoulder in two different falls, and two others had terriffic head colds.

I was the only hunter in anything like hunting shape - and I'm fat, ugly, and the camp cook.

I pretty much spent a lot of time adult babysitting.

Anyone for checkers ?

.

[Mike D.]

starting to sound like California (except for the cold)

Hmmm. I don't have a problem with filling my CA tags each year. Fork horns are not acceptable, either. 3X3s, or larger, are all we take.

[Nath]

Good luck with the front stuffer, hope it's a proper front stuffer

Nath.

[Old Time Hunter]

Nath, it is a Lyman Great Plains Hunter. We got ten inches of fresh snow over night and the winds are pushing gusts over 35 MPH. The Deer might be hunker'n down because of the weather for now, but should be up an hungry within a day or two. Have a very optimistic feeling....

[BenT]

It was the same across the state of Wisconsin. I didn't see a buck at all. I did shoot an adult doe opening day at 2 PM. Butt , I did a texas heart shot and didn't quite hit the hole under the tail and lost some meat in the rear quarter. The 444 makes big holes. But I let a doe go by at 7:45 . I knew the young neighbor boy was sitting across the fenceline hunting. I could see him walking around at the top of the ridge , I beleive to stay warm. Besides it was too cold to gut out a doe. But I know people hunting all around the state and deer sighting was way down. We'll see what the DNR has to say this week. I beleive winter kill was worse than what they think.

[Old Time Hunter]

Ben, I hunt near Amberg and the people all have said it was way, way down.

[JerryB]

I can see that as your name says you are like some of the rest of us here, as Nath said a "proper" muzzle loader.Those are realy well done rifles.