2023 gun season

Hookem if youre down south of W then maybe you know where Pennington is. I hunted there 30 years ago. Had a lot of family there and the hunting was reasonably good. Not sure what its like now for deer. I always thought you were on the North Fork in Sawyer county.

Fishsqueezer, you did really good and likely because there is a bait ban in Sawyer co this year and next because of CWD up there in one of the  counties. That is also likely why you saw a lot less hunters. The state might as well just ban the whole state now. There are only a few counties left anyway.

Oneida/Vilas county report. 5 guys in camp we took 2 bucks. We saw 15 deer of which 7 were bucks. 2 spikes were passed and another buck was missed. Closed camp today but did not put out much hunting effort the passed 2 days. Opening weekend heard a good amount of shooting both mornings til about 8:30. 
This Oct/Nov i deer hunted 30 days and saw 11 deer(7 bucks).  Xbow 6, Mn rifle season in the Superior natlional forest where there are about 6 deer per sq mile I saw 1 and Wi gun season 4 deer seen. I filled all 3 buck tags. I will rate my 2023 deer hunting very good. I saw more buck sign this fall than the past several years. Lots of wolf sign. The worst part about Wi is all the people that continue to bait. 

2023 gun deer in books, last go round for me in that spot, camped and hunted up there for 20 + something years,
w/dad and brothers, am going to move on and look for new pastures..... Hunted by myself 3 days, till, brother, and eventually, son
joined in for a few days..... was nice to relax, quiet time in woods, reflect on things, good and bad, hope to go somewhere for a few
days w/muzzleloader before that's over.

We went 4-4 this year on buck tags in the big woods public sawyer county forest near winter. A 10, 6 (old deer) and two spikers, one of which our youth hunter vanquished. All were chasing does. Fewest hunters we’ve ever seen, which is just fine. Our success strategy involves going where the ATV’s (and thus cornpiles) can’t go. Pack in a change of clothes and sit all day. It generally involves taking a few months off our lives but in the end it is worth the effort. Much more daytime/natural movement when the ATV’s aren't milling about illegally or legally four times a day. Over the years, we’ve shot very few deer before 10:00, most are between 10:00 and 2:00, this year held true to that. 

The usual season, in the land of no deer, but trail cams, rubs and scraps say there there. We set they stay put with no one pushing them. We have a forty in the middle of hundreds of acres of farm land, no other hunters at all. Didn't hear a dozen shots opening weekend. Brother & I saw 2 doe opening weekend, one this past Friday, were 80 & 77 so don't move much. But die hard old hunters on are last leg !! We see deer during the rut in bow season, when there moving. 
Gun season has really changed during the past 20 years, I believe the main reason is the cross bow, its brought so many more hunters into bow season. And there all looking for wall hanger. Most of the deer have been spooked or shot at for 2 months already, one benfeit  of having your own land. 
My ace in the hole is my grandson who's a hunting fool, with bow & gun. He shoots & skins them I do the processing. I just hope I can make next season !!

I know I am very fortunate to still having family lands in a great area. Still I  won’t  be happy only seeing 10 deer. That is definitely not why we hunt there. I was just commenting on how things have changed. All the farms around us would be moving deer with hunters now they’re just as nobody I just miss the good old days. I was the only one of four to get a buck again. Those guys hunted hard and I feel bad. There were no deer moving for them guys Hope y’all stay safe on the last day and if you get into muzzleloader or bow again good luck.

we process all our deer just for this reason. Hobart grinder and mixer. was alot of talk of  no one seeing  deer pre opener. it became clear that the deer had no reason to come to the bait piles with the abundance of acorns this season. (no I don't hunt bait piles) watering holes was the ticket!!

Well here is my report, been a good season by my standards, saw deer everyday I hunted, saw bucks more days than not. Did see a lot of spikes and forks, saw a couple of bigger bucks, not sure how big.  Killed a busted up 10 later on Friday.  54 seasons are behind me, probably not a lot in front of me, still love the challenge. Rut is still going strong in the big woods that I run in. Good luck to all still hunting.

I didn't even see a doe today...

Finally connected on this nice 8 pointer this morning. Hunted almost every  day, with the exception  of Thanksgiving.  Pretty slow overall. Good luck to those hunting day 9!

10 deer in one season??!!  I would kill for that in the big woods , although I dont think you are up north... 44/45 , that is funny stuff " no one in our camp has ever seen 10 deer in one season". Bud wise, you are ok, just dont drink  the tranny fluid, and if you hurry, you can take the meat to the butcher and have the sick looking meat you have tossed in with everyone elses... Nasty trick I never did though and now you know why I wait a few months to take my deer in for burger. As for me , I passed on 3 does yesterday afternoon . Not sure why, I have 3 more doe tags left for SE WI. .Just wanted to watch them instead of dragging, I guess. Must be a trait when ya turn 60. No? I sure enjoyed watching them.

this season was good for us. only one mature  buck taken by my cousin though.. freezer is full again thank goodness.(((( sausage!)))) the bucks muscle was extremely lean and tough looking must have been to busy doing his thing than eating. almost unedible looking.

BMR nobody has ever seen 10 deer in an entire season in the Nicolet forest by me in my 45 year's of hunting. You have absolutely nothing to be upset about!
It's the whole experience that matters to us the most. Last year between the 3 of us nobody saw a deer. But our tradition keeps on going.
We hunt until noon on the last day and have shot bucks on the last day just strolling through the woods. No pressure, no hunters, just two of us.

Worst gun season I have ever experienced. Less than 10 deer seen. No shooting nobody hunting thousands of acres where nobody is hunting or pushing deer makes it very difficult. Not complaining just reporting.