Wendell, MN - Deer and other hunting?

[TrophyEyes]

I am looking at buying some land out by Wendell, MN. Does anyone know how the deer hunting is out that way? I have primarily hunted up by Grand Rapids or down in Houston County the past 8 seasons and have been spoiled by the numbers and the size of the deer. I am actually trying to find a spot that has a little bit of everything, Pheasant, Waterfowl and Deer. I would say that most of my time would be on Deer, but I am wondering if the numbers around Wendell, MN support good deer hunting. I am not looking for land, I already have some picked out, just looking for area information. Information about the other species would also be helpful in making my decision.

[dukhntr]

Trophy

I have a lake place about 40 miles from Wendell. My experience has been that the deer are likely smaller than what you are used to in southern MN. The duck hunting is likely as good as it gets in Minnesota, being in an area that is so close to the Dakotas. Also, in that part of the state, the pheasants seem to be making a comeback.

Hope this helps.

dukhntr

[Dave S]

my in-laws used to deer hunt the area around Wendell. They had some good firends who ran hundreds, if not thousands of acres of land. If I remember right, the thing that worked best was pushing the deer from one section of woods to another a mile or two away due to the land scape. There are a few wooded areas that might hold deer.

As far as ducks, I have hunted the Mastinka River several times standing on the old railroad grade. Be forewarned, there are some "REAL JEWELS" who also show up to hunt and just don't give a hoot what they shoot or how many people are already there.

To give you an example, one group saw a flock of birds coming up river, just above the water and all we could hear was geese geese geese. No matter what we said, they pulled up and shot, dropping several comorants in the process. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is against the law. Later in the morning this same group was looking to the north wondering what we were watching. All they saw was a white bird heading south towards us. They offered their advice and said don't shoot the swan. It was an Egret.

The following day, the same group shows up bright and early. They sent their biggest knuckle-head out in the boat to toss out the decoys............right at the beginning of shooting hours. While he's out there banging around, a killdeer gets up from the grass and this ^&*(&^ in the boats stands straight up and says, "HUH, A WOODY"!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say we couldn't contain the laughter.

Another group the year after shows up on the other side from us with a couple kids. As the day wore on, the conditions were great for hunting that day. Here comes a flock of birds, again skimming the surface of the water. The adults left the guns down and let the kids pull up on them. As they neared the railroad grade, the birds gained some elevation as most do in the area to clear the railroad. The whole time I'm watching across the river at the other group about 50 yards away, kids leading the birds and as soon as the birds were directly between us, all hell broke loose and the shot was flying our way with hunters diving into the trees. All for a flock of coots.

I haven't been back since. Hopefully your experiences in the area are better than mine.