I hunt in SE MN primarily on the 40 acres we own and also occasionally on a friend's farm. On my land once my corn field was picked in late October we averaged seeing 8-10 does and 2 bucks per evening sit. This is actually a little lower than last year which was the first year we moved here - last year I had it all planted to food plots and this year most of it was corn. The field I typically hunt on is about 5 acres, so it's a great place to see deer, but often difficult to have the right deer walk into bow range. I don't own the woods they typically bed in, so my best chance is hunting the field edge in stands that can allow me to enter and exit without being spotted. Hunting a 5 acre field gets a lot more productive during gun season though and my dad bagged a nice 112" 8 point buck that was either 2.5 or 3.5. I had the farmer leave a few rows of corn standing and told him he can't plow the field up until spring, so I think my average deer sighting will increase until the end of bow season.
Next weekend we'll be hunting my land in Rusk County WI and my average deer count will decrease significantly. We're usually lucky to see one buck per year up there during the gun season, so we're not going to be too picky. I still look forward to the WI gun opener more than any other day - up there you just never know what will cross your shooting lane in the black spruce swamp.
Next weekend we'll be hunting my land in Rusk County WI and my average deer count will decrease significantly. We're usually lucky to see one buck per year up there during the gun season, so we're not going to be too picky. I still look forward to the WI gun opener more than any other day - up there you just never know what will cross your shooting lane in the black spruce swamp.
