Sherburne Game Refuge

[DHost21]

Hi everybody I was wondering if anyone has ever hunted there before. The owner of the farm we have hunted for my our whole lives passed away and we dont have hunting rights anymore... I live an hour away from the refuge and was wondering if it holds some good deer in there and if anyone has had luck. I am going out there saturday to scout a little it is hard to try and learn a place in so little time so if anyone had ideas that would be awesome. And also i was wondering about access and roads? are there roads throughout the place cause its like 30k acres i think i read and that would be hard for people to get to parts of the refuge. Any advice or information would be wonderful! My mom and I are searching hard to find a good place to bow hunt

[Jameson]

I have only done a little hunting there without much luck, and it's been a while. So, I can't give any info on the current state of things. Remember to check out the regs specifically for that refuge. Some areas are shotgun deer hunting only, and some of it is no deer hunting.

Good luck!

[pulleye16]

Get out deep, cross the swamps and get thick...monster bucks have been taken out of their if your willing to get a little dirty. Good luck and stay safe out there...its pretty busy!

[Powerstroke]

Its public land within 1 hour of the cities.....good luck. It will be busy. However, there is good hunting to be had in the refuge if you're willing to work for it.

There are roads. some are open and some aren't. Get a map. If you can't one online, they are available at the information kiosks in the refuge. It will detail the hunting boundaries and any pertinent rules.

[mrklean]

ive hunted it a few times likes said its public land close to the cities so there is heavy pressure, the more you get away from everyone else the better shot you have at getting a deer.

[elkhuntingfan]

I've hunted the Refuge for about 25 years. Somes years are great and others not so good. Last year was real tough because it was so dry. The deer were way out in the cattails. There are some very nice bucks out there. It can get very busy with hunters. You see a lot of groups doing drives, so the deer are hunkered down pretty good by about the third day. The last seven or eight years we've had a group of about 12 guys come in and drive everything in our area on Sunday and Monday. That makes it real tough after that. We've had years where it seemed like there were guys in every other tree. One year I walked by a big oak and there was a husband, wife and three kids in the tree. It looked like a Christmas tree with big orange ornaments. That was worth a good laugh. Other years it seems like we need more guys to move the deer. There are some very nasty, big swamps out there that make it a bit of a challenge most years. If you are willing to hunt hard, you'll get your chances.

Check the map of the Refuge. Some areas are open to bow and gun hunting. Other areas are only open during the gun season. I know a lot of guys like the latter areas because the deer aren't pressured all fall by the bow hunters and squirrel hunters.

Good Luck

[sticknstring]

I've been in there quite a bit the past two seasons. More so after gun season & into December. Pleny of deer around but it's tough hunting. It's a big place and there's a decent road system. If you have access, use a bike to travel around. You'll be able to get further in and away from most hunters and pressured deer. Just like anywhere else, you'll need to do some scouting. Get on Bing maps and check out the birds eye feature, most if not all the refuge is available on there. It'll get some pressure on the weekends but if you can get out during the week, you'll pretty much have the place to yourself.

[mrklean]

can you find a decent map anywhere that shows parking and what not? I think the one i had i picked up someplace at one of the info stands out there

[SartellMN]

Sit as much of the day as you can. All the people walking in and out keep the deer moving.

[elkhuntingfan]

I don't know of any other maps. A lot of guys park along the highway. There are a few no parking areas, but they are labeled. A number of parking areas have been removed over the years. I don't know why. A parking area is safer than parking on the highway. They've done a few goofy things out there over the years. One year they did a controlled burn in our area right before gun season. We didn't see much.

They've recently cut out a lot of trees to return the area to an oak savanah. It doesn't seem like the brightest move with all the oak blight problems in Sherburne County. Those area will probably end up as prairie.

[DHost21]

Awesome thanks for all the advice im heading there saturday to scout a little i dont do gun hunting due to the amounts of hunters. I love late season bow hunting and i hope to get out there during the week late october before the gun season so im gonna head deep in the woods and swamps and see what happens

[Archerysniper]

DHost I hunted out there for 5 years and never really had a problem with other hunters but like the others have said I was at least 1 mile back from the parking area or roads. I have shot some nice bucks out of there and try to find a small point that goes out into a swamp the deer will come right through there. Also stop at on of the info stands and get a map some areas are closed to archery hunting another good thing is that it's closed to muzzleloader hunting so you have a place free of guns during that season.