Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: LongTatLaw on December 04, 2007, 09:42:12 PM

Title: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on December 04, 2007, 09:42:12 PM: Ok so Ive been back for several days but the only pics I took were real film so had to get them developed... I hate stories and threads without supporting pics.

In May, while in Iraq, I discovered that a 10 year friend had never mentioned a 200 acre farm in his family in Washington County Wisconsin. Well, I had my research done an hour later. So, I took leave from the Army, hoped a plane to Chicago and drove to SE Wisconsin for a 7 day hunt for whitetails. On the drive up I saw a 10 pt buck chasing a doe just after 12 noon... in a wide open field... just at the Illinois / Wisconsin border. It seemed like a good sign.

I arrived at the farm and glassed from the house but saw nothing but cows... moooo cows that is :P

5:00 am, Im in a ladder tree stand freezing my butt off... all I see is a doe.
Later that afternoon I see a 1.5 year old 3x2 in my 20 acre field for an hour...never even thought about
pulling the trigger. I climbed down around 530pm.

The next several days are spent the same way. Nights in a hotel, lunch in my stand, dinner was Taco Bell burritos. I was staying on the stand from 5:00am until 5:30pm with about an hour of scouting and stand shifting at 11am or each day.

I kicked my doe up next to a swamp during a mid-day scouting trip following a rub line. Strapped her to the trunk and took her to the check station.

I was getting nervous later in the week so I tried tracking deer in the snow. I hit some public land only to have a deer drive push right under my stand and all they pushed out was me.

I saw a 150 class 10pt and discovered my rifled barrel and scope combo on my 12 gauge isn't made for 200+ yard shots. Neat to see him though.

The day before flying home... after seeing plenty of bucks all week and holding out looking for 140 class deer I had neat little 9pt buck stop in...and I decided he would do.

He is no where near the monsters Ive seen people take in the area... he isn't even related to the 150 class 10 pt I missed... but he was big enough to ride in my rental cars trunk.

Ill be getting him put on the wall... and Ill be back after that 10 pt next year unless Im back in Iraq.

Thanks for reading.

dave

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffsu.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Fpid%3D41395368%26amp%3Bid%3D5228153&hash=d15507f6702248c4505a5baa9a023d952551ce3e)
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: M_ray on December 04, 2007, 11:19:40 PM: Nice job! (even though I cant see your photo) I lived in Milwaukee for 8 years and in Chicago for 1. Saw lots of nice deer on those drives from Milwaukee to Chicago but unfortunately My employer's at the time wouldn't allow me to hunt :( I would like to return to Wisconsin or Illinois though. But one small conselation is that I met my Wife while there and she is from Western Michigan so I get to hunt there from time to time.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 05, 2007, 12:38:19 PM: Alright I got the Pic's :)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F9.jpg&hash=ef48e495a0616c897480754179d3835e2482aa7e)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2Funtitled.jpg&hash=2c4f4c9fc94d24cd91f17c19afd53599d70081c1)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F1.jpg&hash=7f00d684a65eb5d21bb0175321cbcaebab0512f1)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F3.jpg&hash=4ee75cfc68dff70efcaa7de8431d899ec098b382)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F4.jpg&hash=1db7009202e78231dca896efa609d3197fe23528)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F5.jpg&hash=a79277f9840df0e21caa92ea38178209e3d3dded)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F6.jpg&hash=44057222e87174abada18451062ead5d37086d01)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F7.jpg&hash=e1b1f0e24f969bc19dbaa21d443f7e8e42cedead)

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi126.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fp115%2Fmichellestaxidermy%2F8.jpg&hash=49704247b85698a5df98c35d1ca8c9ef770de115)
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: archery288 on December 05, 2007, 12:54:16 PM: haha on the back of the pontiac and in the trunk! :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: GoldTip on December 05, 2007, 01:19:27 PM: Gerat story, great pics and meat in the freezer, what more can a man ask for! good Job!
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: NRA4LIFE on December 05, 2007, 03:58:28 PM: Long,

Near what little burg in Washington County? That's where I grew up.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on December 05, 2007, 06:10:02 PM: I was hunting a farm off of waterford road which is like 2 miles south of Hartford.

30 minutes from West Bend.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 05, 2007, 06:21:28 PM: :chuckle: I gotta ask. Did you turn the car back in with blood on the car and hair in the trunk? Wisconsin CSI probably has that car by now! :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Ray on December 05, 2007, 06:21:41 PM: I like those photos of the deer in the trunk.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Wea300mag on December 05, 2007, 06:29:33 PM: HAHA, that's the first thing that caught my attention. Way to not let your vehicle limit your hunting. Good use of a rental. :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: jae on December 05, 2007, 07:00:38 PM: job well done, and like you heard "meat in the freezer"!
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on December 05, 2007, 10:06:02 PM: I cleaned the car but I thought ahead and claimed the trunk was stained when I got it...my lil white lie.

I used an Eclipse as my hunting truck for over 40 dear!

I once pulled up with 3 does (killed minutes apart with a bow after Christmas in GA) to a deer check station to show off what my Eclipse had where a speaker box should go...although, GA does run 50-80 pounds live weight...lol so they stack well.

As for the Wisconsin trip... it was fun to chase WT deer again...these damn black tails just aren't the same! The snow hunting was something Ive rarely been able to do except in North Carolina.

I put meat in the fridge... Grandpa's...not mine. I got me a lil buck for the wall to remember the trip... and I saw a monster in rifle range... that made the 7 days..13 hrs a day in the stand... 12-19 degrees each day plus wind chills pushing below freezing. Snow and cold...all worth it.

I plan to go back next year but Im going back to Iraq so Ill have to go in Bow season if at all.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 05, 2007, 10:17:45 PM: :dunno: Thought you were just going to do a European mount?
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on December 05, 2007, 10:34:57 PM: It will depend if I fill my WA deer tag or not. Either way, he will end up on the wall!!
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: NRA4LIFE on December 06, 2007, 10:05:05 AM: Nice job, BTW. Funny you mention West Bend, that's my hometown. Had an aunt and uncle in Hartford too. Great deer area. I used to hunt my grandparents farm just to the east, between Jackson and Slinger.

Funny about the rental car, here's my rental car story. Used to live in MO and have some land there. I still hunt there every year. Had a rental car on one of my trips, a raather small one. Shot a huge doe that year and needed to transport it back to the house I still owned near St. Louis. We had hung it the day before and it had froze pretty good so the deer was like a 7' long popsicle. It would not fit in the trunk so I put it in the back seat with it's hind legs sticking out one of the windows. Got a lot of strange looks on the highway. When I took the car back the gal asked me if there was any problems. My answer was "You might want to do something about the smell".
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on December 06, 2007, 09:59:21 PM: The farm in Hartford has good potential but I met the guy next door and they kill spikes all the time so it doesnt matter what standards you have if the guy next door kills 10 yearling bucks a year ( whole bunch of spike hunters ).

hey... Im dying to hunt MO... I thought about hunting FT Leonardwood. Is that the best bet for public land or do ya have a better suggestion? Do they have a 1st week in Nov rut?
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: NRA4LIFE on December 07, 2007, 08:07:45 AM: I'm not familiar with hunting that part of MO. My land is in the NE part near Mark Twain Lake. The deer hunting there is as good as it gets. Problem is that public land is few and far between and what is there is terribly crowded. The Mark Twain NF in the south can be good I guess, but if you have access to Ft. Leanord Wood, that may be a good place to start.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: robodad on February 21, 2008, 12:44:21 PM: Ahhhh Yes, Deer Popsicles,

You guys just brought back some good memories, I figured I would share some Popsicle memories with you !!

Also seeing that car with a deer in it is very common in Wisconsin, The rule is that all deer must be transported in broad daylight until it has been registered at a game check station and the state tag is attached. Quite different from here !!

Enjoy :

Some pics of our deer after hanging in the garage and froze so we set them up in the snowbank like they were still alive !!

(https://hunting-washington.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10689/frozen_deer_edited.jpg)

These are just the ones my cousin and I shot that year

(https://hunting-washington.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10689/frozen_deer2_edited.jpg)

Here is my cousin and I with my second buck.(me on the right)

(https://hunting-washington.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10689/frozen_deer3_edited.jpg)
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: WDFW-SUX on February 21, 2008, 12:51:15 PM: Quote
but he was big enough to ride in my rental cars trunk.

I always get the insurance......then the conversation goes like this.......Sir is that blood in the trunk?..............Why yes it is I took the car hunting.....Gasp..............Well it looks like you got the insurance have a nice day.

There is nothing in the rental contract about putting dead things in the trunk. :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: actionshooter on February 21, 2008, 07:09:11 PM: That first picture looks like your hooking up the deer sled team :chuckle: :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: NRA4LIFE on February 22, 2008, 11:16:45 AM: Robodad,

We used to do the same thing!!! The pictures are hilarious. That brings back good memories of my more youthful years hunting at my dad's shack in Northern WI. Great fun.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: Coasthunterjay on February 22, 2008, 11:57:55 AM: great pictures! ahhh, wish i could hunt right now!
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: robodad on February 22, 2008, 02:14:39 PM: Yeah times are changing, now when I go there I'll be lucky to get 3 deer and usually have to do it with no snow. I wish I could go back and relive some of those times cause they were a blast.

Which part of Northern WI did you hunt ??

I usually hunt in Chippewa, Eau Claire, Buffalo, and Dunn counties.
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: LongTatLaw on February 22, 2008, 03:07:22 PM: That scene of frozen deer is freakin awesome...lol

I love it!
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: robodad on February 23, 2008, 10:51:39 PM: Yeah they are pretty cool photos, I can hardly believe that was 18 years ago already, my oh my how time flies when you have it off !!! :chuckle:
Title: Re: 7 days hunting Wisconsin!
Post by: NRA4LIFE on February 25, 2008, 08:22:27 AM: Price County, near Ogema, about 25 miles west of Tomahawk. Also down around the Jackson and Juneau county line north of Mather in the cranberry country. Haven't hunted there in way too long.