Hunting Results

[Guest]

Well, opening weekend has come and gone, so I'm wondering how everybody has done so far. It seemed like this year I didn't hear near as many shots fired as other years but our registration station in NW Waupaca County said they're about even with other years, and they are registering more bucks than does. I saw 19 deer through Monday and didn't get out today because I am back at school until tomorrow night. I passed on two little bucks on Saturday, then on Sunday I heard a noise by my shooting lane and turned around to see the hind end of a very large deer crossing my lane. It was a bright brown color, not gray like most are this time of year. There were two does with it so I shot a doe since it didn't sound like that big guy was coming back. After I shot he ran off and an hour later another guy in our group shot at him and said it was the biggest body he's ever seen on a deer. Oh well. So far our group of six has a nubbie, a doe, a 4-pointer (would be 8 but missing half a rack), and a really nice 9 pointer. The biggest buck registered as of Monday morning at the bar was an 18 pt. with a 22 inch spread. That equals last year's big buck which had a 19 point, 20 inch rack. Looking at the pictures of some of the bucks registered there are some really huge deer around here, but haven't been fortunate to cross their paths yet. There were numerous bucks registered that had 18-20 inch spreads.

[Havin' Fun]

Rooffisher,
Where abouts are you in Waupaca county? Town??? I'm becoming slightly familiar with the area. What is there for land to hunt? Is it pretty easy to get permission or are most people hunting state land around there? I only ask because I may be moving there eventually and am worried about finding places to bow hunt.

[Guest]

We hunt by Big Falls (population 72). I can't remember for sure what township it's in, but it's between Iola and Big Falls. Our land is along one of the branches of Whitcomb Creek. I don't really know how it runs as far as getting permission for land, my dad's group has been hunting the same parcel since 1978. We rent it from a lumber corporation there. If you're looking for free land to hunt, there are a number of parcels of public land in Waupaca County. Off-hand, I know of a few by us that are also on Whitcomb Creek, there's also some big chunks of public land by New London along the Wolf River(if you also fish, the Wolf River is just plain awesome for walleye, panfish, and white bass). There's also some public land south of Waupaca along I think Radley Creek and Highway 22. You can get a plat book from the county courthouse for about 20 bucks. I was thinking about starting bowhunting next year, and I drove around the county looking at public land to see if there were ever any bowhunters there. There are very few people that bow hunt on public land, but gun hunting gets pretty crowded sometimes. I think most people who bow hunt in the county own their own land or lease from someone else. Our lease is for 60 acres and $500, split up between 6 guys it's not bad. Our land also ajoins 80 acres of public land and 640 acres of Ort Lumber Company land which practically nobody hunts because there isn't a road access. If you're looking to lease land, the Appleton and Green Bay newspapers always have a bunch of listings for leases in the summer and fall. However, I think public land is just fine. I've seen some nice bucks on the public land next to us. In fact, the big deer I mentioned in the top post ran across the state land before the other guy shot at it. Should you choose to hunt here, you won't regret it. Waupaca County is always in the top 10 in the state in buck kills both gun and bowhunting, despite being one of the smallest counties. You shouldn't have too much of a problem finding a good place to bowhunt.

[Guest]

Hunted western part of unit 71 Tons of shots first thing opening day but it was like everyone went home after noon and never came back. Saw 6 doe Saturday and 1 Sunday. Group of 5 saw 40 total through Sunday noon. 1 doe harvested. 1 dandy buck missed by someone in the party.

Cousin got a 22" inside spread 10 pt 150 class buck on Sunday in unit 72 near Westby. Nice rack but an average body maybe 160 lbs.

Will probably try again this weekend to put some meat in the freezer.

[Guest]

Well, it sounds like you guys all had better luck than our group did. We hunt in Clark co. by Neillsville and we didn't do worth a s%&*!! Our group usually fills up by Monday, this year we had only three does out of 8 people. We hunted hard up until this afternoon and still only had one buck in the group. Just a couple weeks ago we were seeing several nice bucks on the land we hunt, it was like they just disappeared. It was the poorest season I have seen in 15 years of hunting that area. It beat working though

[Steve Foss]

Yeah, funny how hunting and fishing ALWAYS beats working.

Been planning to hunt with the rellies starting tonight down by LaX for the long weekend. I may not be able to go after all, but, if that's how it goes, guess I'll just ice fish. Not a bad tradeoff at all.