Muzzleloading luck?

[DRH1175]

Anyone seeing any deer in the Muzzleloading season yet. We hunted Sat and Sunday and nothing. Lots of tracks in the fresh snow. But no deer seen.

[K_Josh87]

Just this guy last Saturday evening. Still trying to get another one for my hunting buddy... No luck on sunday. I do not think he has been able to make it out this week after work yet. Try it again this weekend I guess.

[Boar]

I got deer coming out of the wood work no pun intended,, last sunday I had seen 20-25 deer but coulndt get the shot. was in the woods an couldnt get the shot then came outa the woods an they were all in the middle of the feild,know where I'll be on friday for sure.

[psepuncher]

just does with fawns

look for active scrapes to see if there's any 2nd phase rut

activity. Wyoming may be the same as Isanti where it's intensive harvest, so not to many does left around that missed the first cycle.

The mature bucks sround here have chased off the insubordinate bucks.

The early moon is also helpng deer come in later to feed.

So for me, the best bet is around food sources, checking previous scrape lines and laying a scent trail in hopes of a {newb} decent 3-1/2 running through at the right time.

[bigbucks]

Saw 10 Saturday night in an hour. Most exciting thing was seeing a buck that I think was the one I hit poorly with my bow a month ago & he looks like he's doing well. I still wanted to shoot him, but just didn't have a good shot.

Saw a couple last night before dark, I wasn't hunting though.

[paceman]

I was out Monday afternoon, saw 7 and Tuesday morning, saw 4. all does/fawns. Happy to see that many. will give it another go this friday/saturday. Hopefully the snow sticks around til then. I just love hunting in the snow.....

[sportfish]

This full moon and the temp is a little warm is slowing things down a little . I wish it would snow 6 inch and get to 15 for a high and I would be in heaven !

[Mr Special]

I've got about 25hrs in now and havent seen a deer. alot of squirrels, some grouse and a chipmunk. alot of fresh traks but im starting to think they mite be a lil nocturnal in my area. seems as tho there are more ML hunters then normal as well, but still very nice to be in the woods this time of yr. gonna give it another go this wkend.

good luck everyone

[96trigger]

Deer are still moving, I have been on the road alot this week at night, they are moving right a dusk. Have not been seeing them in the fields like I was. They are pretty skittish right now. I would get in the woods, I don't think they are going to come out in the open anytime soon. Warm weather has not been helping. Last weekend it was a below 10 degrees when I shot a doe, the deer were moving then.

[Musky Buck]

Very nocturnal but that's the norm generally after rifle and even before now for reasons I don't quite get other than the deer stand building checking pressure, trail cam pressure, lots of bow pressure in my areas, who knows, etc. A lot less around for deer in my area so the ones around likely are very smart and ones surviving rifle are very smart, the dummies are in freezers and they're not very dumb. The most deer sightings I've had muzzleloading are in the super cold seasons or at the tail end of muzzy, glad to have 1 down by rifle so no muzzy for me, buddies are seeing a fair amount of tracks, but never during shooting light, they are today organizing some little drives or they won't see a deer from their stands, every deer in there section knows where they sit, took me 3x moving my ladder stand during rifle to finally outwit him, if you religously go to the same stands walk the same path etc. etc. they change there ways and know dark is best,safest.

[Musky Buck]

I fish muskies apparently, yes, to me they kinda operate like mature bucks in a sense or deer in general, you try to stack every odd(s) in your favor, I'm a huge believer in weather changes triggering feeding or movement for deer and muskies and anything really so with nocturnal musket deer, any weather change especially significant ones I'll be out hunting hard or fishing hard, the 2 days before it and the day of it the best I can, and it still may be a big 0, then I'll take some of the average type days off. It can happen in a moments notice for reasons that only those or that deer knows, my first 6 muzzy seasons I never saw a decent buck, the past 5 years I've bagged 3 decent bucks, I really had to learn and re-learn the how,when,where,and why did I finally get a chance. Good luck, don't give up, there's nothing easy about being colder, no scope, little if any shooting hour movement, fewer hunters maybe moving some your way, I'd say be mobile, try to get between where they bed and eat and get as tight to bedding cover as possible playing the wind and some day it'll happen for you. I get the frustration, me 6 years and never pulled the hammer back, never saw much, likely had 40 to 45 days of nothing really, so when it happened it was as special as any deer I've ever taken. They are all special.

[lichen fox]

We've been seeing quite a few deer, but we're only after the big ones...non of the 7 of us hunting have anterless tags...here is the first one of the muzzy season for our group. My brother got it on Monday afternoon...

[pikestabber]

Just this guy last Saturday evening. Still trying to get another one for my hunting buddy... No luck on sunday. I do not think he has been able to make it out this week after work yet. Try it again this weekend I guess.

Awesome, great deer, Josh! Cool looking rack, too.

[pikestabber]

We've been seeing quite a few deer, but we're only after the big ones...non of the 7 of us hunting have anterless tags...here is the first one of the muzzy season for our group. My brother got it on Monday afternoon...

That's a dandy! Nice work.

[fr0sty]

That's a beauty.

[TruthWalleyes]

I've got about 25hrs in now and havent seen a deer. alot of squirrels, some grouse and a chipmunk. alot of fresh traks but im starting to think they mite be a lil nocturnal in my area. seems as tho there are more ML hunters then normal as well, but still very nice to be in the woods this time of yr. gonna give it another go this wkend.

good luck everyone

If your able to find some large WMA's or something of the like with big areas of cattails that are holding some water. Start walking through those. Zig zag to cover nearly everything. Take 5-20 steps and stop for 30s to 2 min. Most the deer i kick up, go after i'm silent for a while - making them nervous. I wouldn't be afraid to walk something that was just hunted. Deer will remain in those large tracks of land, they just do a good job of hiding.

I guess what i'm saying is that if sitting isn't working out at all for you, it's time to move and find them. A little sweat can make for a happy hunter. You might need stilts in cattails though jk

Good luck.

[Mr Special]

If your able to find some large WMA's or something of the like with big areas of cattails that are holding some water. Start walking through those. Zig zag to cover nearly everything. Take 5-20 steps and stop for 30s to 2 min. Most the deer i kick up, go after i'm silent for a while - making them nervous. I wouldn't be afraid to walk something that was just hunted. Deer will remain in those large tracks of land, they just do a good job of hiding.

I guess what i'm saying is that if sitting isn't working out at all for you, it's time to move and find them. A little sweat can make for a happy hunter. You might need stilts in cattails though jk

Good luck.

[bowhunternw]

We've been seeing quite a few deer, but we're only after the big ones...non of the 7 of us hunting have anterless tags...here is the first one of the muzzy season for our group. My brother got it on Monday afternoon...

Nice deer, been seeing many others?

[Musky Buck]

That's a great deer with open sights and the billowing haze after the shot !

[sportfish]

I took a doe in a food plot tonight !! I haven't seen any thing yet till now and i have been out 4 times . My Father in law wanted some summer sausage ,So I just got him his Christmas present !!

[K_Josh87]

Thanks Pike, he's a real decent buck for the area we hunt... We saw him twice during slug we are pretty sure, kicked him up once on a drive, and the last weekend he snuck behind me at first light grunting up a storm... but it was to dark to make him out good enough for a Shot (it was literately at the first min or two of shooting time.) So, It was cool to get him during slug season. Nine pt, a taller narrow rack, I think I am going to do a euro mount on him if I can talk my self into making antler stew!

[Boar]

Fox is that curt? Awsomw buck nice job!

[mnviking28]

Boar-Curt isn't his brother-Dave is. And that isn't dave, that is the youngest brother-Danni. I hope to have my hands on it this weekend. There are a few people on around the area asking for a score, so I hope to do that tomorrow. I am guessing high 140s. It is 18" inside. Beautiful deer.

[lichen fox]

We've been seeing quite a few deer...But not alot of "shooters" so far other than the one Danni got...our dad seen a really nice one the same day Dan got his but it was a little out of range for the muzzy. Hopefully, things will heat up this weekend!

[pikestabber]

Thanks Pike, he's a real decent buck for the area we hunt... We saw him twice during slug we are pretty sure, kicked him up once on a drive, and the last weekend he snuck behind me at first light grunting up a storm... but it was to dark to make him out good enough for a Shot (it was literately at the first min or two of shooting time.) So, It was cool to get him during slug season. Nine pt, a taller narrow rack, I think I am going to do a euro mount on him if I can talk my self into making antler stew!

It's always rewarding to catch up to an elusive animal, that's for sure! It can be frustrating climbing out of your stand for the day when one gets by you, but that's part of what makes the "kill" part so much fun. I think a euro-mount will look great.