MNGunTalk.com

You guys see any increase in deer populations? Hope you're doing well.

I hunt mostly in zone 119. It was weird with the super warm first few days and I unfortunately left just as the snow fell. I only saw a few does. I did see 9 wolves two weeks prior in the same area grouse hunting so that is another thing to factor. I heard one shot on Sunday so I think my experience was the local average. Today hiking near Ely (switched zones) I saw my first real sign (tree rub). Hope more of you are harvesting more than just good memories and exercise.

Hunter’s choice in my area so only one tag. Shot a 10 on Saturday 4 mins before noon. We are far enough south that the wolf issue has not decimated us yet. Heard decent shooting all around me all morning. Passed a couple of scapes on my way to my stand so activity seemed pretty good to me. Only had squirrels all morning. Even had one get in the stand with me for awhile.

Then just before noon had a doe with 2 fawns and a spike buck show up. The fawns played awhile and then when they moved off saw the spike go to follow only it was not the spike coming out of the brush this time! Saw the horns had a split second to decide and then the season was over. Finn thing is after I shot the spike pipes out to look at me and stared for several minutes. At the shot the 2 fawns and mama ran of course but I also had something start crashing through the woods behind me that I am assuming was another buck coming to the doe. So basically had a 10 min window where I had 6 deer under my stand and that was my season.

Checking my game cameras I do have what I believe to be a wolf on one so I think our days are numbered.

The big challenge this year was the heat. Gutted and got it hanging right away to drain them packed up camp, packed the cavity with ice and got it home, skinned, deboned, and the meat in the fridge. Took till midnight was a whirlwind of a day after the shot.

There is always the aftermath to deal with following a good shoot....................

Congrats......

The kids hunt over a bit east/SE of Mille Lacs. They saw a few deer and have seen them on the trail cams but they said there was far less shooting over the weekend than they normally hear. Weren't sure if that was due to deer population or fewer hunters because of [warm temps, covid, hunting interest reducing for younger folks].

hammAR wrote:There is always the aftermath to deal with following a good shoot....................

Congrats......

Yeah, I've got three deer worth of backstraps cut into medallions and vacuum sealed. I've got a lot of quarters to bone out before sausage making commences.

It's a good problem to have.

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Came home empty handed after the opening weekend. Saw one deer’s butt for 3-4 seconds before it went over the hill, but that was about it

Congrats to all that had a successful hunt!

unfortunately can't hunt this year due to recovering from bypass.

my group saw very few this last weekend in the Wabasha area and only harvested one

goalie wrote:

hammAR wrote:There is always the aftermath to deal with following a good shoot....................

Congrats......

Yeah, I've got three deer worth of backstraps cut into medallions and vacuum sealed. I've got a lot of quarters to bone out before sausage making commences.

It's a good problem to have.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Just finished vacuum sealing the last of the sticks. Still have hard salami in the smoker which is the last of my processing. Should hit temp around midnight and then it will hang in a basement closet for a couple of weeks. The house and garage have that old tyme butcher shop smell.

Congratulations H&H and Goalie.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out and hunt next year. I sure miss fresh venison, and my wife has never had the joy of tasting it.

Good luck to all the other hunters out there.


PS: H&H any pictures of the 10 PT?

Hunted near Cook. We ended the weekend with just one 5 pointer for the group of 6. Added a spike late Monday morning. Two people in our party reported wolves in their area. I watched a small doe for a while on Saturday. Wind was an issue on Sunday and rain on Monday morning. The wolf pack in the area is probably the biggest factor. I only go opening weekends, so I'm all done for the year. Good luck to you all.

I am seriously considering finding another area to hunt, the wolf population in our area is a problem more than it isn't. Own land near Morris, but whole different type of hunting down there. Tried one year, but I don't think I did it correctly. I've been raised to be a stand hunter and I think you need to be more active down there to be successful.

Was out opening weekend and Veterans Day.

Have seen some, but not the historical number of deer. Nothing worth shooting.

Had a pile of them killed by cars last year due to a highway detour, and the numbers are still down where I am at.

The warm weather and wind did not help last weekend.

It’s been a strange year.

The duck hunting was decent, but very different patterns than previously, probably due to midweek pressure from all the “work at home” types.

My elk and antelope trip was weird due to unusually warm weather. No elk, but a pronghorn which was hard work due to no access on private land.

Roughly, a normal year. The weather plays it’s games and local pressure modifies the animals reaction to it.

Saw what was left of someone's buck Monday morning on the highway. Looked like it was a nice size buck.
Semi's do a real number on a deer. Broadheads do a number on tires.
Ultimately, a bad day for hunter, driver, and deer.

This year has not been a good year for deer in my area. Don't think any of the 5 fawns this spring made it.
Coyotes have been super active this year.
None of the game animals are plentiful. Rabbits, squirrel, pheasant, are all at a low population this fall.

TSKNIGHT wrote:Saw what was left of someone's buck Monday morning on the highway. Looked like it was a nice size buck.
Semi's do a real number on a deer. Broadheads do a number on tires.
Ultimately, a bad day for hunter, driver, and deer.

This year has not been a good year for deer in my area. Don't think any of the 5 fawns this spring made it.
Coyotes have been super active this year.
None of the game animals are plentiful. Rabbits, squirrel, pheasant, are all at a low population this fall.

Accident or did the deer fall off? Or a wounded deer that ran onto the road?

BigDog58 wrote:Congratulations H&H and Goalie.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out and hunt next year. I sure miss fresh venison, and my wife has never had the joy of tasting it.

Good luck to all the other hunters out there.


PS: H&H any pictures of the 10 PT?

Working on it. I have to reduce the picture size to get it to upload. The rack is really nothing to write home about. The 8 I took last year had a much more impressive rack. But 10 points over an inch.