Lakewood, Townsend, Mountain areas

How has the deer activity been in the Townsend, Lakewood, & Mountain areas?

Scout, I did the same thing and stalked a couple with fresh tracking snow.  Its my favorite way to hunt if conditions are right.  Not many people hunt that way anymore.  In the 4 days I hunted up there, I heard less than 20 shots.  

Good to hear WW!! Glad you saw some action.  We had the usual line up of good bucks on camera but opening weekend our group of 3 only saw 1 doe.  That is MUCH slower than the previous few years.  We were all sitting thick security cover and didn't have anyone hunting near us which might have had something to do with the lack of movement but it sucked haha.  I went back up 2nd weekend and put on about 16 miles of still hunting and tracking.  Could have shot 5 does and had a quick chance at one small buck but wasn't what I wanted.  Had fun with my parents and buddy who came up, wishing I could get back up for muzzleloader because I walked some nice area but not in the cards this year.

Checking in on the Northern Oconto crew.  I hunting the last 3 days of the season and 1st day of muzzle.  Tried some new spots and saw more deer than the last 5 years combined (gun hunting).  Definitely more deer on the landscape.  Hoping for a low severity index for this winter.  

I don't hunt out of pop up ground blinds but have family that do.  What we have found, is that if you put out a pop up, you should hunt 100 yards downwind of it    The deer in the northwoods do NOT tolerate them, especially older age classes.  In timbered areas, there is just too much room for deer to be able to avoid them, why would they travel past something they know does not belong?  This is just my observation, but hunting from the ground next to a blow down, tree and anything else has been much more effective.

I hunted out of pop up blinds for years. Brush the blind in with vertical brush. The deer will pick up on horizontal brush easily. Keep the windows behind you closed. Wear black as much as possible, especially gloves.

I hunted private land, so I left my two blinds out all season long. With two blinds I could set them up for different wind directions. It’s fun to be eye to eye with a deer.

Thank you,  i did notice i do better when just "hiding" in the brush

Kempdog, I am stuck hunting from a ground blind now. I have found deer need some time to get used to a blind setup. The more you can bury it into existing cover the better. Adding vegetation around it helps as does leaving the windows open as you would when hunting out of it. Leaving the windows open then doesn’t change its appearance from when it is in use or not in use. As with any deer hunting young deer are less wary and more mature deer are more alert. 

Kemp, do you have it out in the same location all the time, or are you always popping it up in a new spot? It takes deer a long time to get used to some changes in their habitat; they know what belongs and what doesn’t. Turkeys on the other hand, are clueless about such things. 

You may be better off sitting against a tree in the elements and leaving the blind at home, if you can. If not, brushing it into a thick spot so it’s less noticeable might help. 

Good luck. 

Question i can not climb tress this year. Got a ground blind took it out and it seems the deer stop at 60 to 70 yards and will not come closer wind in my direction.

Any ideas

Thanks

Great video SK, keep up the good work!

Nice job again scoutking! I enjoyed the video. I found more sign in our hunting/camping area then I have seen in a few years Friday. Saw a pair of does with fawns Friday afternoon and a single near our camp. I did not make it out after the snow to look around. Going to finish my stand selection Thursday. 

Good luck and have a safe hunt.............

Sorry to post about the same thing, but just thought since I feel like I "know" the folks on this Topic best, I would share the video of the hunt in case anyone was bored.  Best of luck this gun season!!

Just ended my 2 week rutcation on Oconto County public land. Over the course of 9 days in the woods between 11-2 and 11-12 I saw 20 deer. 4 of them were smaller bucks and 2 decent 8 pointers. Most bucks were just cruising to and from bedding areas. No chasing that I saw. No shots taken as the bigger bucks were both 50-60 yds away. Not many big bucks on camera this year but I will try my luck a couple more times before the orange army gets out there.

Nothing moving by me this morning or evening! Little breezy today.

Glad to hear you are finding plenty of deer!! Looks like some great bucks you have targeted.  I really miss bowhunting up there as I haven't made it up hunting at all.  I will be headed up for gun season and hoping for a miracle!!

Unrelated to the Townsend area, but I was fortunate to take a decent buck in IL this past weekend.  Hoping to punch the WI tag this weekend but will only get out in SE WI.