whitetail with a bow help

[madison man]

I was wondering if anyone out there can point me in the best part of the state to hunt whitetails with a bow. Fished devils lake before but thats all i've done there. Is there a higher population of whitetails in certain part of the state that also has some public ground like southcentral, northwest, just a general area like that please. thank you.

[Whelen35]

Hunt along the red river and you will see lots of deer.

[whitetips]

You can shoot a big deer where the locals manage what they shoot, most guys up there covet there buck tags and dont shoot the first buck they see, unless its a monster or something thats bigger then prior years, the lottery for Non residence is 1% of buck tags rifle, a preference point system, its 1 in every 3-5 years for a buck tag, then landowner permission on posted land, and there is more all the time. There is some state wildlife management areas but they get hunted hard, Find a group to hunt with and a network to scope out a big buck is my advice. Its getting posted more all the time, talk to farmers and check out buck contests in towns its a way to hone in on good areas.

As far as bow its first come first serve, but any deer licence comes out of Bismarck. Have herd of some monsters shot this year but it was on private land.

No one gives up there hot spots especially on the internet.

LOL

[madison man]

thanks for the replys i realize no one is going to give up a good spot. What i was looking for is what part of the state has the highest population of whitetails and i was going to go from there. Let me get this right i can buy a archery tag over the counter and then also apply for a rifle tag on that same bow tag. and if i don't get drawn for gun i can still go with the bow.

[whitetips]

Yes, to a limitation what the licence says, Whitetail bucks are thru the first week in Jan. Any deer licence Non Resi Bow (mule deer or whitetail) is 15% first come first serve thru Bismarck. doe tags Non res rifle are 55 after the 2 lottery draws are over. orange req during rifle if bow hunting. 200 for the bow buck tag just like rifle

[lenny4077]

How far are you looking at driving?? For a bow hunter I would expect you would be looking for some trees. Some areas to look at are along any river bottom, the Turtle Mountains in North Central ND, or the Cheynenne National Grasslands. The areas around Grand Forks has a lot of shelter belts but I hear that they are hard to get on unless you plan on waiting until after all the locals have gotten a deer already. If you are interested in mule deer then you would need to look further west (at least as far as Bismark and to the south west are some of the best areas I have heard of). If you feel confident in your shooting I would suggest that you find a WPA or some open grasslands and then pick a highpoint (usually only a couple of feet in elevation) in the grass and glass the area with a good pair of binocs or a spotting scope. I try to do this through the middle of the day as the bucks bed down in the crp fields and move to the crop fields to feed at night and in the mornings. Once you spot a nice buck you have to crawl through the grass, get as close as you can, then wait for the deer to stand up and take a shot. I've done this with a rifle, and have had good success, but most of the shots might be too far for a bow hunter. This can be done anywhere in the state. If you are just looking for a deer and not a monster you can go anywhere. Some of the areas that have been producing nice deer that I have heard of are the areas around Jamestown, Lisbon/Oakes/Milnor area, Upham/Bottineau (small towns near the Turtle Mountains), McVille, Grand Forks, Caviler, any where you can get access to the Red River bottoms, and Harvey. You can go out in any of these areas and get a good quality buck. Also, you could call the Game and Fish department and they will tell you some of the better areas. And also check to make sure that any of the areas I listed are open to hunting - I am mostly going off of what I see & hear while I am driving around.

[lenny4077]

I also forgot to mention to pick up a PLOTS guide - it lists all the public property in the whole state and gives you maps on how to find them. PLOTS are Private Lands Open To Sportsmen, but they also show all the state land, WPA, refuges, ect...

[madison man]

lenny thanks for the help. I should explain myself alittle, i live in south central mn where if you shoot a 115-120 class deer you did great. I'm looking for some public land were i got a chance at a 130 whitetail or bigger i can catch off gaurd during the rut. I would like to stay out there for 7-10 days during the rut. I've also been told that some of the locals don't care so much for the whitetails as for the mulies. Would also take a doe if the laws allow. Thanks for the help i will contact the dnr and get those plots maps and look for some river bottom land.

[lenny4077]

I don't want to make it sound easy - but if you take your time, put in the work, and don't shoot the first antlered deer you see - you'll have about a 95% chance of getting a 130 class deer. The areas to key in on, especially for bowhunting, would be a larger patch of woods/river bottoms adjacent to CRP fields. I know of one spot near Lidgerwood. I can't give you exact number address, but the way to get there is to take Hwy 13 west out of Wahpeton, when you get to Wyndmere turn south on Hwy 18, you will come to an "S" turn, after the second turn (bottom of the "S") you will be heading south again. Go one mile past this and take a right on a gravel road. You will go down about 3-4 miles and see a large slough on the left. This area is colored red in the PLOTS guide. Keep going past the slough and take the first left, go about 1/2 mile and take a right into an approach/grass road. There is a good shelterbelt and a planted corn field. This area is used by Richland County Pheasants Forever and holds a lot of deer (bring your shotgun as there are tons of pheasants in the area as well). You could try this spot, or go out of the approach/grass road and take a right, go back to the north. At the first intersection (where you took a left before) take a right and head west. About a few miles down there is some PLOTS land with a small creek/river going throuh it. I was talking to some of the people I work with and they have seen two nice "shooter" bucks chaseing does last week in the picked corn field. I know these guys and for them to say it's a shooter they are going to be close to 140 class deer. If you need any more information or can't get a hold of the PLOTS guide let me know and I'll pick up a few for you and send them out. Email me at [email protected].

As for people not caring as much about the whitetails vs mulies - that could be true further west but not in the east half of the state (all we have are whitetails) As I'm sure you know this is probially because the mulies get much larger than whitetails (both body and rack size).

Lenny

[harvey lee]

This might be a little late for this year unless you dont mind the cold.I am from Mn and have hunted the Sheyenne river area and the Sheyenne National Grasslands for the last 15 years and I can tell you there are some real beautifull deer in that area and alot of them.Most of my hunting is done on private property along the river,but ther are deer around the general river bottom area.I hunt about 10 miles south of Leonard on land that abuts the grasslands.

[madison man]

thanks lenny; the last thing i want or will do is intrude on someone elses hunting spots. I might take you up on the plots maps thing i got your address.. HARVEY i see your from close to my home range also see your posts on sc minnesota site, thanks for the insight on nd any outher tips would be greatly helpful. Is there ample hotel accomedations in that area or is that hard to come by?

[marine_man]

Here's a link to the Plots maps online... you can download .pdf files of each area:

http://www.nd.gov/gnf/info/plots.html

As far as where to stay... where are you planning on hunting? The Sheyenne Grasslands are a ways away from lidgerwood...

marine_man

[lenny4077]

I think there are some motels in Lisbon as well that is a little closer to the Grasslands. As far as hunting that land - it is open to the public, hunt away. I hunt some private land up near Jamestown for deer anyways. I do some pheasant hunting down there and I also drive around a lot for my job - that is how I know where some of the deer are.

[lenny4077]

I finally wrote a post that didn't read like a novel!!!

[harvey lee]

The nearest town by the grasslands is Leonard and there are no motels.To the west approx. 20 minutes is Enderlin which I think has a motel.If they dont you would probably have to drive 30 -45 minutes.If you think you want to hunt the area,I know of some pretty good areas,and yes it is a nice buck area.Now that I think of it,to the north and west a little is a town called Casseltoon which should have a motel.If you think you might go up there next year,I can call a few friend there and they would know where to stay.

[marine_man]

Lisbon has a Super 8 motel (Phone number 701-683-9076) and is only about 1/2 hour west of the grasslands... depending on where you plan on hunting...

marine_man