WI Hunt day by day (Success on a doe photos added)

[Whip]

After spending the past few days hunting up at our cabin I am back home for a couple of days before heading back up.  I have some good hunting right here behind the house, and normally hunt here as much as I can.  

But this morning I was lazy and stayed in.  Only to look out the window a few minutes ago and watch a beautiful tall tined 8 pointer chasing three does all around the prairie grasses below our house.                    

[Ray Hammond]

CJ, keep after them. You're in the right location if those does cooperate and stay around.

[scbowhnter]

This morning was a beauty! Right at daylight I spotted a nice buck across a cut soybean field. Way too far away for me to tell what he was or for him to hear my grunts. Here's a photo of the view from the front of my stand.

 

I started seeing more deer, including a couple of little bucks running does. Suddenly I picked up a decent buck heading my way through the binos. He veered off and went to a lone oak for a scrape I assume. With nothing to lose I started grunting at him. He takes an interest and starts working my way.

 

Forgive the fuzzy photo but I shot it through my bino. Which works great if you can get locked in tight. Unfortunately I was a little wobbly since I had to lean out to see. Turns out he never gave me an option to take him or pass him. Halfway to me something got his attention and he turned around and marched right back where he came from. Nothing else I did got his interest.

Later on a couple of big does started picking their way towards me. After turning around, changing directions and everything else they finally ended up in bow range. Facing me, but in bow range. I'm looking behind my tree when the lead doe starts heading my way. Looks like she's going to the left behind my tree so I ease my harness strap over my head and carefully slide my recurve to that side of the tree. Easing an eye out from the tree, I realize she has changed directions and will now pass on my right side. Once again I switch sides and safety belt without getting busted but she is right under me and I just don't like that angle.

She works a little farther out and just when it looks like both will walk off without giving me a shot, the lead doe turns and takes a few critical steps opening her up for a shot. I drop the string on the stalker and she bolts only going about 60-yards. I could actually see where she fell from my stand.

 

And here's one of my ugly mug with the doe. Compared to those "pine goats" I'm used to shooting  in SC she is huge!! I'm pretty fired up about getting her but I'm still hoping a good buck will wonder by before I head home.

 

[rastaman]

Very cool! Thanks for continuing to share this hunt with us.  Good luck with your "buck quest"!

[Whip]

Way to go CJ!! Sounds like you are really in the thick of it there.  Doe down, and a good buck still to come I'm thinking    
Thanks for the updates - I'm enjoying tagging along on your visit to our state.

[Gottabow]

CJ, awsome Doe..where abouts are you hunting in Wisconsin?

[scbowhnter]

I believe I'm hunting North of Pardeeville.

Thanks for the kind words.

[steadman]

Congrats on a fine doe!    Thanks for the updates they have been great.

[maineac]

Great doe.  Good luck.  I don't think killing a doe will affect your area.  I have had friends see bucks smelling the gut pile of a deer shot the night before too often to worry about messing up an area with a kill.

[stik&string]

Great job, hopefully you will get a crack at a buck before you leave our state. I start a 10 vacation tomorrow and this thread has gotten me even more excited to hit the woods.

[Greg Szalewski]

Good going CJ. I hope you get a crack a nice buck. I regret not taking a few more days off right now but plan to make up for that soon. I see you enjoy the hunt here. Good for you! Wisconsin has become a tougher state to manage the deer herd. We have habitat from one end to the other but climate, predators, agriculture, and hunting methods vary greatly and the gaps get bigger every year. Hopefully some of those problems can be fixed.

Thanks for keeping us posted. How long will you be here?

[scbowhnter]

Well, I tried a new tactic this afternoon and sat on the ground. My set up was at the head of a draw that I thought would funnel some deer into the acorn flats I'd seen them feeding in before.

I just backed into a thicket and did a little trimming. About 15 minutes after I got set, 12 gobblers came through. I'm thinking all my scratching around to get set up must have made them expect to find more turkeys. They were looking around like turkeys coming to the call. The gobblers hung out for a little while about 15-yards in front of me. Wishing the whole time I would have bought that turkey tag after all. Oh well...

About 5pm I saw a doe come out on the far side of the hill and actually bed. She stayed there until a young doe came by just to my right. The second doe was so close I could actually smell her.....Had to be within 7 or 8 yards.

She eventually fed in front of me and walked off. The other doe got up and feed across the draw and ended up in front me under a red oak feeding at about 20-yards. Eventually she turned broadside and put her head behind a patch of briars.

I was sitting on a low log and needed to twist a little more to my right to make the shot. Since I was rewarded with the load whack of my arrow burying into the red oak...I'm guessing I should have twisting a little more....or held my mouth different...or anyone of the other hundred reasons I came up with for my miss. No matter what I missed....

[Paul Mattson]

I just got back from hunting up North in Iron Cty.  It is a Buck only area, only saw one doe while hunting.  On my cameras the biggest Buck is a fork horn.  

Good Luck on your hunt CJ.

[Chris Surtees]

       

[scbowhnter]

Just finished up my last hunt here in WI. Saw a little buck and a doe this am and about 8 or 9 does and fawns this pm. Great hunt, with awesome friends and I love coming here. It truly is one of my favorite places in the world to hunt.

Here's a photo of the sun setting I snapped from my tree this PM. Thought it was a nice way to close the thread out. Thanks for reading!!

 

[Greg Szalewski]

Thanks for sharing. Glad you had a good hunt. Fill us in again next year.

[Guru]

   

[Whip]

Thanks CJ, and congrats on a great hunt.
Come back soon!

[Bonebuster]

Excellent!!!  

[Bivyhunter]

Nice job on that doe CJ, sure enjoyed following the hunt.