2020 GUN DEER HUNT

I don't see a 2020 gun deer hunt thread? Hunted Vilas County and on Saturday saw five does and one three point buck which I harvested.  Very few shots heard on Saturday.  St Germain seemed like a ghost town. Motels were almost empty.  

Our group of 3 got one buck and saw about 15 deer per hunter for the 6 days that we hunted.  None of us saw a deer on opening day except for one guy that saw a doe on his way back the house.  1-3 deer per day was the average.

I hunted our family farm in Marquette County Sat-Wed morning and Friday evening- Sun morning.  Opening weekend for me I planned on only taking a nice buck.  I saw tons of small bucks and a few larger sized groups of does and I did see a very nice buck about 150 yards away on our neighbor's land at the same time about 430pm both Saturday and Sunday.  I asked him where he was because he's normally out there, but he got stuck working all weekend or else he'd have been right there.  

The rest of the time was typical for what our area has turned into after opening weekend.  Very few deer on our property during the day and tons of nightime pictures. I did see a few, but nothing presented a good shot for me.  During gun season once the deer figure out they're being hunted most of the deer just stay on another neighbor's 160 acre clear cut and don't move until night time.  Bow season is so much better on our land.

As a group we did have some success, but nothing to brag about.  3 smaller bucks with the biggest being a 12" wide 7pt.  The other two were a spike and a small basket 8pt.

I hunted Vernon County for 15 years until just last year where the landowner said due to her health problems we couldn't hunt there anymore.  Yes I saw deer every year there, but I saw fewer and fewer deer the last few years I hunted it.  The reasoning I think?  Fewer hunters in the area. More and more people bought land around us that didn't hunt and the deer didn't move as much.  I saw deer on the property in only one spot - I used to see them almost everywhere.  That spot I saw them was just a spot where they were cruising thru from one field to the next on the edge of some woods.  So yes there are definitely deer in Vernon County but it was way better, in my experience, about 10 years ago than it is now.

Johnny-There are pockets of very high populations but that is not the average across the county. Coon Valley area has a very high population and almost no public land. I know several farmers in that area and none of them shoot does. The DNR already gives out almost unlimited tags for private and public (they still haven't sold out for this year). If some of these big farms don't shoot does there is not much you can do. Giving out more tags for the rest of the county will not help. How many does did you shoot this year to do your part? 

While I did not see 40 deer a day I did see deer on pretty much every sit.. hunted 5 mornings and 2 nights and saw 18deer all of which were in bow range except for 1. Rock county

I can tell you Johnny that you DONOT want that. It destroyed our herd and it has yet to return. Jackson County- private ground

Hunted Vernon County.  Saw about 40 deer per day.  Big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, three legged ones, some with arrows in, etc... Really need earn a buck.  should have to shoot 5 does before you get a buck tag.

Very nice schneicks!!

Last season was my sons first mentor deer hunt and this year was his second year....and boy did he not disappoint this year. Opening morning magic for him at 6:45, made one hell of a shot on this buck through a small opening in the lane and he went about 40yds before crashing. 100 yd shot and after teaching/helping him gut the deer he took out the heart and the bottom of both lungs. So the deer was a dead deer as soon as it got hit. One hell of a season to remember seeing that this is his first deer. We also stayed up the whole week and after Monday did not see another deer. He went out with me every day except 2 sits. I am one proud dad and so grateful to continue the Wisconsin gun deer camp tradition alive. Now it’s time to open the wallet for a shoulder mount for him. Money well spent to keep a memory alive! Wish everyone the best and congrats to those who punched their tags. 

I mentioned in a previous post that I didn't go to my cabin in Price this year, instead hunted with my inlaws in Manitowoc County.  Little different hunting, everyone who went out the first day shot a deer except 1 person.  That person had 2 opportunities the following day.  In total we shot 7 deer out of 6 people.

My wife got the first one, which was a doe.  I shot a small buck on opener as well.  After that the two of us were basically done unless a giant showed up, I had 2 deer from archery already.  Did see a few more does after that point.

The only bad thing about it is that I pulled my cameras from Price and on 11/15, a day I normally would have been bow hunting had I not been setting up gun stands last minute...I had a decent 15" wide 8 at one of my stands that I typically bow hunt from.  That same day there was an 18" wide 8 behind our cabin where my dad likes to sit.  Karma from the northwoods I guess.  Cameras went dead come gun season though, even with less people than years past, there are still enough to cause that to happen.

Hard to believe they are still doing the extra doe seasons! 

Well another season in the books, between early bow and gun season it went by fast this year. Got out a couple times after Thanksgiving, pretty quiet around me. Heard a couple shots each day but that was it. Would like to get a doe for the freezer during the 4 day doe hunt but almost feel guilty shooting one off of public land. 

Toughest gun season in my 58 years of hunting. Four of us never saw a deer in first 4 days of hunting ( nine hour days). This morning (day 5) I finally had 4 doe walking at 60 yards, of course I missed. Another jumped a doe on mini drive, freezer bare this year. Trail cams say there's deer around but where !! I hate the though of antler less hunt coming up, but if I want another chance at venison may have to hunt it.

I tried for a doe this morning in Dane County on public land.  Saw plenty of signs of deer but did not see any myself.  I'm pretty sure the deer are hiding in the marshes now - what's left of them.  I'm going to have to hunt this spot next year during the bow season.  I bought a crossbow the other day so I'm looking forward to hunting more next year.

Double batch of tag soup for me this year. 12 days in the stand between bow and gun in Adams and Oneida counties. Only 4 deer seen. All on Halloween morning in Adams.