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Big Game Draw

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:22 am
by cgates
It's that time of the year when grown men and women that love to hunt check the mail phone in or check online for that elk or moose or deer tags. How did everyone do? Did anyone score a Triple Crown and draw all 3?
I got nothing I only hunt deer in 63A

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 4:57 pm
by MLR
Bull tag for archery in WMU 57. I can hardly wait

Antlerless tag in WMU 57

Days are getting shorter...

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:03 am
by smitty55
I got a doe tag in 64A. Not that I was worried, as the deer population around here is low and we should help preserve the herd. My first choice is still to take a buck, but if I'm still out in December and a doe comes by I'd be tempted for sure.

Cheers

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 12:56 pm
by bradford2
Also got a doe tag in 64A. What part of the unit you hunting Smitty? In the east end, towards the river, there seems to be lots of deer. I wouldn't call it high, as in 2004-2006 high, but seems to be normal. Good luck this fall!

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 2:45 pm
by scarkner
64A - UNSUCCESSFUL.

Darn :-(

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:20 pm
by RJ
No Doe tag for Birdee either.

RJ

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:26 pm
by kingmarc
We got lucky and got a bull tag

And just found out i also got a doe tag but i am really looking for a buck. Its a good insurance for the last days to put meet in the cooler.

We still have some good fishing to do before hunting gets here

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:53 pm
by banjo
No tag for 63a.
Lots of deer on the trail cams, and sides of roads and fields. I definitely would not say poor deer herd. Moderate to good, not quite road hazard deer. If I would have gotten a doe tag, I would have used it first chance. I hunt for meat, not for conservation. But I didn't, so I will work with the 'Ministry' imposed conservation. Hopefully everyone who gets an ethical chance at a doe takes it, I know that if I didn't plan on harvesting a doe if I had the chance, I wouldn't have put in the draw.

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 8:31 pm
by fishingcarpenter
No doe tag for this guy, went for 64A and 58... May end up focusing more on ducks instead of bow season this year.

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:12 pm
by scarkner
fishingcarpenter wrote:No doe tag for this guy, went for 64A and 58... May end up focusing more on ducks instead of bow season this year.
Lol, that's my plan too!

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:22 am
by CBB
Me and the wife lucked out on a doe tag for 65. Grand daughter is happy as last yr we seen does each time out and no tag. Really don't care for bucks in the rut as they are to strong on the taste buds for me.

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:39 am
by tidefighter
66A successful! 1 other guy in our group as well from what I've heard so far.

Can't wait..

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 10:40 am
by smitty55
bradford2 wrote:Also got a doe tag in 64A. What part of the unit you hunting Smitty? In the east end, towards the river, there seems to be lots of deer. I wouldn't call it high, as in 2004-2006 high, but seems to be normal. Good luck this fall!
Tks Brad. Good luck to you as well.

I'm in the north end of 64A, just south of Wolf Grove rd. When I moved out here 20 years ago it was common to see at least a dozen deer every evening/night in the field beside me. Back in the heyday just as they started handing out all the farmer's tags and then the extra hunter tags my daughter counted 47 one early evening. There's a big chunk of pure bush not far from here so all the deer migrate to the fields to feed. Then one farmer in particular close by went crazy with his tags, even to the point of taking deer off already harvested fields, a big no no. He was reported at least twice by locals out here. Some farmers were even practicing SSS from stories I heard. Now all this is before hunting season of course. He had a huge gang and back then would brag about getting 80-90 deer in the rifle season. After a few years he finally got wind that folks were ticked off and changed his tune. Couple that with up to six tags for hunters everywhere, then some bad winters and the deer around here took a real chit kicking. It's never recovered, the field beside me may have two or three deer now for the last 5-6 years at least. Don't hear many yotes anymore either, they used to be all around close. All the other fields out this way are similar from what I see on my late day tours.
It's also super dry around here this year, crops are terrible. We keep missing the rain. Hay is maybe 40% at best. Corn has stalks but no cobs. The beans that have pods are empty. Good creeks you can now step across, marshes are bone dry, swamp shorelines have receded big time. I figure the mast crop will be bad this year too with this drought.
Anyway I look at it, it's going to be a hard year on all the critters, with the lack of food and water. And it's not getting any better. Beans I drove by today looked real dry, with little rain, if any, in sight. I'm already seeing leaves turning and falling.

I don't see how it can't affect hunting this year, starting with waterfowl. If it keeps up it could be another hot hunting season for deer and moose too, which certainly makes it even worse. I'm thinking that hunting close to good water will be key this year, as it will naturally focus all animal activities even more.

Back to the OP, I was talking to a very dedicated and successful moose hunter from CP yesterday that my sil hunts with.This trophy Pike fly in lake is only open for two weeks of moose season and Al books it for two weeks every year. What can you say, there's no icon for that lol. Other members may change between the two weeks on some years. One year there was a Pike fisherman there for a week. Walleye off the dock. All Pike to be released. The three lakes area they have to hunt are the natural winter yard, and are known for trophy racks. So this year it's 4 guys for 11 days. 2 bull tags. Like that's a dream come true, you couldn't ask for more. I wish...

Cheers

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2016 11:09 am
by chappee77
Our gang went 5 for 7 on doe tags....64a
Should be a good hunt!

Re: Big Game Draw

Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 4:09 am
by Bigcvin
68b antlerless here I come baby!