Laurie Ritger

For Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com

Hopes for a state record whitetail buck were dashed when scoring for antlers from a Johnsburg man’s buck fell short.

Jeff Weber registered a 15-point typical buck Oct. 6, 2011, at Dutch’s Trading Post in Fond du Lac after spending hours tracking the deer the previous night. Weber was new to bow hunting and the shot at his massive “Weber buck” was the first he had ever taken with a bow.

“It wound up short of the state record,” Weber said of the impressive set of antlers.

Share your trophy buck shots | Browse 2011 trophy shots

Weber had to wait for a 60-day drying period for final measurements on the antlers to be taken. The buck was scored at 173 1/8 inches after deductions were taken. The current Pope & Young bowhunting record is 187 inches, Weber said.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Fond du Lac area man’s buck falls short of record | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com.

By Richard Price

Well, here we are in the “two-minute warning” of deer season. I will personally be glad to see the sun set Sunday. Last Saturday, Margaret Ann and I got up and made our usual morning hunt. As usual, we didn’t see anything. As a matter of fact, I had quit even loading my rifle.

Anyhow, back at the camp, we fried fish for dinner. Mike, Terry, Margaret Ann and I ate about five pounds of river catfish. Then my sugar went up. Remember last Saturday evening, about 80 degrees and the wind blowing right outta somewhere? Boy, I sure was glad when Margaret Ann remembered she had to make church bulletins for Sunday. I brought the big ol’ “jinxed” Four-Fifty-Eight home.

I have got to hunt a good bit this year, I reckon, but have seen fewer deer, bears and turkeys than any other year that I can recall. Looks like we might have to start huntin’ with deer dogs again. Maybe a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. I just really believe that our deer, under so much hunting pressure, are literally becoming seasonally nocturnal. And most everyone I’ve spoke with has come to grips that deer season in Louisiana is too long. Most concur that deer season in Area I should open the Friday after Thanksgiving and close 60 days later. Open and closed case. Archery season should open Nov. 1 and close the Sunday after the 60th day.

We have too many tags per person. This has no bearing on those hunters who take 15-20 deer a year anyhow, but a limit of two bucks and a doe would suffice. There ain’t no way me and Margaret Ann can eat six deer, much less process them and store that many. So who else can either? Of course, the powers that be will see this as a reduction in sales of licenses that will therefore dwindle the bank account. Go figger. Remember when we started hunting outa “tree stands?” A deer would not hardly look up.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Louisiana deer season in need of adjustment | The News Star | thenewsstar.com.

Adam Burt of Birmingham killed this massive 14-point buck on Dec. 29 while hunting in northwest Alabama. Burt said taking the buck helped put the finishing touch on an otherwise tough 2011 and helped change his outlook heading into the new year. (Submitted by Adam Burt)

By Jeff Dute

By his own account, most of 2011 will not stand out as a stellar year for Birmingham’s Adam Burt.Laid off and unemployed for nearly five months, Burt landed a new job around the first part of October.Still, hamstrung financially and mentally by the long search for work, Burt was also concerned getting on with a different company would limit the amount of time he’d have to make the 90-minute drive to his hunting club near Haleyville in northwest Alabama.  So it was on Dec. 29 that Burt climbed into his stand to enjoy a little Zen time and maybe take a fat doe if the opportunity arose.Euphoric would best describe how he felt leaving those woods a couple of hours later. Riding to camp with a massive 14-point buck on the back of your ATV has a way of doing that.Burt’s stand was set up overlooking a hardwood bottom that ran uphill and through a thick transition zone before it ran into a stand of planted pines.Earlier scouting had revealed that a buck under the spell of an early breeding urge had left behind several scrapes and rubs along the thick area between hardwoods and pines.Hoping to lure the buck within shooting distance of his rifle, Burt walked in that day with some Top Secret Hot Mama.  Click Link Below For Full story!

via Birmingham deer hunter finds spirit in the hunt, taking huge buck | al.com.

By Amy Sancetta, AP

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – White-tailed deer populations in parts of eastern Montana and elsewhere in the Northern Plains could take years to recover from a devastating disease that killed thousands of the animals in recent months, wildlife officials and hunting outfitters said.

In northeast Montana, officials said 90 percent or more of whitetail have been killed along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River from Malta to east of Glasgow. Whitetail deaths also have been reported along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana and scattered sites in Wyoming, South Dakota and eastern Kansas.

The deaths are being attributed to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. Transmitted by biting midges, EHD causes internal bleeding that can kill infected animals within just a few days.

“I’ve been here 21 years and it was worse than any of us here have seen,” said Pat Gunderson, the Glasgow-based regional supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Right now it’s going to take a few years to get things back to even a moderate population.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Northern Plains hit by deer-killing disease – USATODAY.com.

By Travis Faulkner

When you’re a father and hardcore deer hunter, it can be extremely difficult to juggle a demanding work schedule and family commitments with fall hunting. This is exactly the dilemma that Josh Hunt found himself facing during the magical month of November. In addition, Hunt had promised his 7-year-old son that he would get the first shot during Kentucky’s annual modern rifle season.

Needless to say, this guy was really feeling the pressure to tag-out with his bow. As a result, he decided to take the second week of November off from work and hunt from daylight until dark. Hunt’s perseverance and dedication was finally rewarded during the last day of his vacation. Here is how his amazing hunt unfolded.

During the first part of Hunt’s vacation, he was seeing a lot of deer activity near his treestand. He was setup directly between two bedding areas with thick cover, which allowed him to catch bucks cruising back and forth for receptive does. In fact, Hunt almost shot a 150-class bruiser the weekend before his vacation started, but the buck busted him when he was drawing his bow. At the time, Hunt felt like he had been gut-punched and that another opportunity would probably not present itself before the opening of gun season.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Patience Pays Off For Kentucky Hunter Who Took 180-Inch Buck | Outdoor Life.

by Marc Alberto

Chris Alberini was excited for the upcoming hunting season in Massachusetts. “I had a ton of good bucks on my trail cameras and it looked like I would have a couple “slam dunks” on some good bucks,” he said.

As the season got underway, Chris had plenty of does and small bucks walk by his stand, but the big ones that he had captured on trail camera were nowhere to be found. Frustration was beginning to set it, but Chris stuck it out and continued to spend as much time in the tree as he could.

With the bucks not moving during shooting hours, Chris changed his focus to the does and decided to take a few off the property to put some meat in the freezer.

By the second week of November things started to change and the bucks were becoming more active. Chris’ trail cameras captured several bucks as they cruised through the area in search of hot does.

While on the stand one evening, Chris heard a commotion coming from the swamp to his right and watched as a doe busted out of the thick cover. Trailing right behind her was the big nine pointer that Chris had been after. Light was fading and it was now or never for Chris. With the buck at a mere fifteen yards, Chris let his arrow fly and watched in horror as the arrow sailed over the buck’s back and buried into the mud. He was crushed.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Massachusetts Hunter Takes 13-Point Double Drop Tine Buck | Outdoor Life.

By Rick Taylor

The 2011 whitetail deer hunting season was fruitful for some and highly disappointing for many. I’ve heard the same story of disappointment from a multitude of hunters in our area and across the state.

So, what happened to all the deer this year? Some farmers say they’re still here living and feeding in the standing corn yet to be harvested. Other local farmers say they haven’t seen many deer at all this entire year. Matt Koenn, a local farmer saw so few deer this year on his farm that he didn’t apply for a “Crop Damage” permit this summer. Periodic phone calls to Matt only verified the low deer numbers on his farm.

Is this bad or good news for Matt and farmers like him? Well, it’s all in the way you look at it. Hunters will certainly be frustrated by low deer numbers but farmers like Matt will have less crop damage leading to higher profit margins for a change. I’ve often written about my Dexter “Honey Hole” over the years and how it consistently produces deer. Well, this year has proven to be amazingly unproductive. I haven’t seen a single deer the last 4 times I’ve been out there this fall.

Furthermore, there isn’t a rhyme or reason for this. There are very few hunters in the area, the weather patterns are similar and their food source remains unchanged. If you take anything away from this article then remember this; “there’s a reason why the DNR needs an accurate accounting of harvested deer in your area”. I strongly believe that hunters need to let their local DNR office know harvest numbers so they can more accurately forecast deer numbers the following year.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via 2011 deer hunting season disappointing for many.

By Travis Faulkner

Sometimes in life we don’t always get our first choice, but that’s not always a bad thing. For example, recently a hunter named Greg Allen decided to go ahead and cash in his one Kentucky buck tag on a deer that was actually not his first choice. However, it would be pretty difficult for any serious whitetail hunter to let a giant 18-point buck walk in order to hold out for something bigger. Here is an inside look at how this amazing hunt unfolded in Washington County, Kentucky just a few weeks ago.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Kentucky Hunter Takes 18-Point Monster Buck | Outdoor Life.

The state has reduced any-deer permits by 46 percent in an effort to boost Maine’s beleaguered population.

As Maine’s deer hunting season gets underway, the state is taking steps to conserve the population. Maine Conservation Commissioner Chandler Woodcock says any-deer permits–in other words, permits to take a doe–have been reduced by 46 percent for the coming season.

Hunters are allowed to take one antlered deer annually, but those with any-deer permits can bag a deer with or without antlers. State deer biologist Lee Kantar says the doe harvest this year has been set fairly low.

“By decreasing any-deer permits by 46 percent for the coming season, we hope to give a boost to deer numbers across the state for future growth,” he says in a statement.

Kantar says harsh winters in 2008 and 2009 took a tool on deer populations across the state. He predicts that about 4,800 antlerless deer will be harvested this fall and about 12,000 antlered bucks.  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via Maine Deer Hunting Season Begins Amid Conservation Efforts.

By Mark Demko

Archery hunters in search of a mature white-tailed buck know there’s perhaps no better time to be in the woods than the first two weeks of November.That’s because with the rut here, it’s the one time of the year that the big boys are likely to give up their primarily nocturnal ways as they head out in search of receptive does to breed.For archers who are hoping to score on a nice buck during the rut, one of the primary keys to being successful is keeping your impact on the whitetail’s world to a minimum. As with any time during the season, paying attention to wind direction is crucial and a hunter should refrain from over-hunting his favorite stands if possible, so as not to alert deer to his presence.Petersen’s Bowhunting editor and former Hellertown resident Christian Berg says if a hunter wants to harvest a mature buck, he has to be on top of his game and pay attention to detail at all times. “That means carefully planning entry and exit routes to your stands, never hunting a stand when the wind is wrong and doing your best not to educate lesser deer of your presence,” Berg said. “Remember, there aren’t many mature bucks out there and you are going to encounter a lot more does and young bucks. Many times a mature buck may be hanging back out of sight and if you spook the deer you don’t want to shoot, you may never see the one you do.”  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via For deer hunters, rutting season is best time to harvest | lehighvalleylive.com.