Buck pics

[Cooter]

The local news station has a big buck brag board going:

http://www.weau.com/bragboard

[Musky Buck]

Hey Cooter, not familiar with Wisc. counties are these giants from all over the state or primarily from a group of counties close to the station, nontheless, these bucks are getting the chance to shed a few racks before harvest ! Thanks Cooter !

[sticknstring]

For all the naysayers against pushing the MN season back a few weeks since you can't kill big bucks outside the rut. Hogwash. That time should be for the bowhunters!

[mrklean]

All photoshopped every last one of them not real deer Nice deer wish i could get one

[Cooter]

I haven't taken a real close look yet....will get back to you on that. Nonetheless, dandies come from all over the state - especially the past 5-10 years as QDM has really grown. I know plenty of guys passing up nice bucks on public land.

Here's another from somewhere in scoonie:

[Cooter]

My grandma gets a small country oriented paper that she saves for me each year around hunting time - the real droolors end up in there. I'll see if I can get some of those pics up soon.

[kr8r.tom]

you'll never see a liberal minded minnesota t.v station have a big buck page on their websight. hooray wisconsin! lets have a beer!

[Musky Buck]

I don't know stick and string, you get 56 AM/PM hunts before rifle season and another 45 AM/PM days after that, of course a person can't make it out every day. Are we sure we are rifle hunting the rut anymore, I know by calendar we are but ? My area things aren't the way they were and I've really seen the change in the past 5 years. What good would pushing our rifle season back have other than to give bow hunters that week in Nov. ? I haven't seen a dry doe in 25 years so they are getting bred. You can legally bow hunt during the rifle season and if it's so easy to get a deer during the rut, I'm sure with a bow people would do just fine. We have skinned out and some other groups around us as well finding broadheads in the hides etc. Should deer hunters have to garbage their tags if they wound and can not recover the animal ? Like for ducks and geese you have to count the cripples if not found, in your bag. Just a yucky thought sure to bring out a response, sorry.

[archerystud]

MuskyBuck,

You are correct and I could legally bowhunt during the gun season but I choose to gun hunt as well.

At the same token, you could also take up bowhunting. That option is also available to you.

[Musky Buck]

You are correct archerystud, and I have bow hunted, it just happened that I'm a football coach and start August 15th most years, been coaching for 12 years now. I don't know how you guys can handle the early season mosquito population and the late season cold. The couple of years between college and coaching when I could bowhunt I did so only if we had a monster behind the house. Then I'd go a little bit, didn't want to run him out of the area so I'd start in on the geese and pheasants. I apologize to stick and string. I am wondering what would the advantage be by moving our gun season back again or how it would disadvantage the gun season. I say no to bait and leave the gun season alone, this years weather was more what it was like in the prior to our way to warm seasons.

[archerystud]

MuskyBuck,

Well I coach hockey so needless to say my coaching starts in October and I'm still willing to move the gun season back.

I gun hunted WI for the first time in my life this year. All I can say is if they can produce bucks like what I saw over there then I'm all for it. If you aren't interested in getting larger bucks then I understand.

If you are interested in getting more mature bucks in MN then SOMETHING has to change.

[Musky Buck]

I hear ya A.S., do you really think the Wisc. monsters are a result of having a later rifle season ? If it's that simple bring it on. Hey stud, how many bucks did you see in Wisc. and how many were decent, meaning certainly not first racked bucks? I would tend to think almost every nice buck you see shot at one time someone had that same buck in their scope or open sights or peep sight only to let it go to grow. I wish I knew the Wisc. terrain better, we have such a diverse State, it's like ND in places, Wisc.in places, and bluff country, and lots inbetween. Bottom line is every year the 1 1/2 year old buck population is hammered hard in a lot of places, almost erradicated in some sections of land. As Jim Lindner states there has never been a 40 pound muskie that at one time wasn't a 20 pounder, same holds true for bucks, there has never been a trophy buck, that at one time wasn't a 1 1/2 year old. I've been letting the runts walk freely, most rifle hunters today wouldn't starve to death if they didn't get that 6 pointer, it's more about shooting, telling others you shot, and trying to say you got a pair because you got your buck. But people travel through the 4 stages of hunting differently, some don't make it out of the got to get one phase.

[archerystud]

In 5 days of gun hunting in WI I myself saw a decent 8 pointer 16-17 inches inside but not much for tine length (probably 100-110 inches). In the evening after legal light I saw a 150 inch and a ten pointer that would have been right around 170, he may have made book with the gun.

I saw 10-12 more wall hangers in the back of trucks (130+) bucks and we didn't drive around much while we were there. The check station had a photo album with 40-50 bruisers from this year alone. Compare that to the 3 bruisers that were registered in my hometown and I think the numbers speak for themselves.

I think moving the season back would help those little guys a little bit but you are right in the bigger reason is that people are letting them walk (in WI) and they have better cover.

I totally agree with your diverse state comment. That's why I'm not sure if the season change thing was good or bad. As for where I hunt in the old zone 4 I don't think that gun hunters needed more time. However, moving from two seasons to one meant that there were less hunters buying tags since some of them lost their hunting spots.

One of our properties (in MN)has GREAT cover and plenty of water, it just lacked food. This is the first year that we've gotten a decent amount of food plots in. I figure I'll see if it pays off in a couple of years. I had 2 decent bucks there on camera this year, we'll see if at least one of them made it.

[mrklean]

very well said archery, i would like to see what would happen if we did move it back to late november or december just one year.

[Musky Buck]

Hey Thanks archerystud, good luck with those plots and we aren't producing the big boys like other states. I agree with that. I was checked by 2 CO's near Ottertail Lake on November 10th, they saw the buck I got and said it was the largest one they'd seen taken opening weekend in that area from probably Perham to New York Mills to Battle Lake etc. I had them age it, they said 3 1/2 year old. The buck I took wasn't that great. I wasn't happy in the least when they told me that. I know in New York Mills they have been aging them for years there at the registration station, couple years ago I asked, how many mature bucks registered here thus far ? The report was 3 at 3 1/2 years or older, 21, 2 1/2 year old bucks and like 101 yearling bucks. That was there report. Archery stud, our state is kind of a mess right now. I can only kinda speak on behalf of farm country in Ottertail and Wadena county, most of what I type wouldn't hold true in Houston County or Kittson or St. Louis or down by Luverne. The only thing that holds true is that if a little buck is killed it is dead. It will never get a chance to mature. It is then venison. I do understand all sides of the fence, the tradition part and trophy type hunters and the rest. In the end all we can do is obey the law at hand and hunt when our favorite season is open. I do wonder about switching Zone 4 to a straight go 9 day season, had way better success meaning deer sightings when it was zone 4 and they had 5 days without hunting or people driving them etc. Seemed like the first 2 days didn't always let every deer know the season was on and I saw way less nocturnal rutting. 2 Seasons prior to zone 2 12 days hunted saw 37 deer. 2 Years of zone 2, 10 days hunting saw 9 deer. I know I know rut,weather other factors, but those are my well documented numbers so some day grandpa musky buck can remember some of the stories etc. Good Luck guys !

[Musky Buck]

Hey archery, love hockey too, good luck with your team !

[archerystud]

Hey MB,

Do you live in OT county? I spend almost all my summer weekends up there. I have a cabin on the same lake as Gissert.

Back to deer. It always amazes me how people are so resistant to change. I'd like to see something change a little bit to get some bigger bucks in this state but as of right now we are in the minority. However, I think the minority is growing.

I'd like to see a little change but I'm not sure what the answer is.

[jltimm]

I'm for change to, but there are to many na sayers out there that are stuck in their rut. Move the season to late November at least!

[eric29]

To tell you the truth i am for pushing the gun season back out of the rut but that is the only policy of our neighboring states that i want to adopt. I dont like the whole management thing. There is something about the hard work and endless hours of scouting i put in every summer, and the countless days i spent sitting in my stand in the fall with my bow that make it worth when i do get that big one. I like the challenge of not seeing 30 wall hangers in a weekend. I like the fact that every truck in a hundred mile radious doesnt have a monster in it. Wheres the bragging rights when everyone and there sister shot a big one. Is it fair for us hunters for this clown who has grandpas old .22 out, never hunted before, smells of booze and cigerettes to take a monster just because there so many of them. I dont think so, id like to see that guy fail and give it up. It takes hard work to get that big one, i put the time in to better my chances. If everyone else put just the same amount of time in as they do whining about how every other state is better than our own, they have a better chance too. MN has plenty of big bucks in all the areas and you can bag one with hard work and a lil bit of luck. On my trail cams this year i have pics of 3 wall hangers, all in a 60 acre woods with no food plots and no baiting. I think 3 big one in one area is plenty, I also know that those arent the only big ones in the area. On tuesday went out with 4 other guys muzzleloading to a bunch of state land. We had a chance to take 3 monstrous deer. But luck as it be wasnt on our side. In one of the instances my buddy trail some tracks in the fresh snow and got within 10 yards of what he said was a 150 class buck and his 209 prime was a dud. I think if that were me i probably woulda broke my gun went home. Last year in the same state land muzzleloading we took a 14, 12 and two 10 pointers out of the land. The big bucks are out there you just have to go find them.

Oh and by the way i havent ever taken a wall hanger but when i do i want to be as excited as i was when i was 13 and shot shot my first buck(a 6 pointer) and i dont think i would be if i saw 50 trucks in the area that had already bagged one to put on the wall.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I go along with Eric 29's thoughts and theories, there are quality racks in MN but you have to work for them, they don't survive that long by being visible.

[Cooter]

Trust me, it isn't 'easy' to get a nice buck in WI - lots of hard work and patience goes into the vast majority of them. For each pic of a hunter with a nice buck you could take dozens of those that went home emptyhanded or with antlerless deer. Not all 800,000 hunters got nice bucks.

[Bear55]

Just because there are more mature bucks around it doesn't make them any easier to kill. Sure a few more guys might get lucky every season but most the time the guys putting in more work will be the ones who get opportunities at the larger bucks. Even if Minnesota set some kind of crazy 10 point minimum law it doesn't mean you are going to see everyone shooting big deer all the time.

Everyone always seem to talk in extremes, its either there are going to be big bucks behind every tree and everyone will shoot one and they won't mean the same as shooting a big buck now. Or guys are saying there are plenty of big deer around but you aren't putting in enough work to get the big one. The truth as usual is somewhere in the middle.

I have said before that I have friends that live in buck friendly states, they don't put in half the time I do yet they see multiple pope and young bucks every year, most of the time those bucks get away. I am lucky to see one nice mature buck a year hunting, I might see a couple more scouting but that is usually it. Now I would love to live in the woods each fall but like many of us I have work and family responsibilities. All most of us QDM people are asking for is a few more opportunities a year, we know we have to put in the work to get them and many times those big bucks are going to get away but it would be nice to see a few more every year whether we get them or not.

[Musky Buck]

Right on, people that have excellent MN deer land and those individuals who consistently take a mature buck almost every year have the kind of land or a lot of land often times that of course will hold other bucks and that prevents them from being casualties and those left overs are the next seasons dandies.

[Musky Buck]

Ever see the QDM being practiced north of Wadena, up in the Sebeka/Menahga area on a big hunk of property ? In 2007 every guy took a trophy buck and I think there were 12-14 guys if I can remember the picture from the paper. I haven't seen the pictures this year but hear they had another unreal rifle season with many 200+ trophies. It does work. I think why it doesn't is most people don't own that kind of land so we realize our deer cross many properties so many hunters feel like filling their tag rather than have that same animal on the neighbors meat pole.

[Bear55]

Ever see the QDM being practiced north of Wadena, up in the Sebeka/Menahga area on a big hunk of property ? In 2007 every guy took a trophy buck and I think there were 12-14 guys if I can remember the picture from the paper. I haven't seen the pictures this year but hear they had another unreal rifle season with many 200+ trophies. It does work. I think why it doesn't is most people don't own that kind of land so we realize our deer cross many properties so many hunters feel like filling their tag rather than have that same animal on the neighbors meat pole.

I did see that photo, someone correct me if I am wrong but I want to say it was a group of maybe 35 different land owners that were all working together. I don't think every guy in on the program shot a big buck but they had a lot of success and that photo was a great display of a plan comming together.