Interesting bow data
Wisconsin
I asked the DNR for the data on the sheets we fill out when we kill a deer. They were extremely kind and have given it to me for Waupaca county. A friend of mine evaluated it. The most interesting summary chart is attached.
Observations:
1. Biggest buck and total kill date was opening day last year 9/14. 88 bucks were shot, 209 total deer
2. Hunter deer sightings remained relatively flat all season at 3-4 per outing. It only ticked up 1 deer per outing in Nov. I was surprised.
3. 10 bucks and 11 does were registered as bow kills during gun season
4. On weekends there are spikes in kills which make sense. The biggest kill days in November for bucks was 11/8-11/10. The 8th was a Friday.
5. The weekend of Oct 26th was the best weekend in Oct for buck kills
6. I was surprised at the number of does people are shooting during November.
Nothing earth shattering but fun info
This info kind of blows the late rut article by Charles in D&DH. If I remember right he said 11/22 or so would be peak
You make a good point Rick. Wish I had hunter participation.
On the road, when I get back I will send graph of deer sighting per sit.
Rick,
I am lost?
"The peak of the rut might well be the 2nd Sat in Nov since thats when the most gun bucks will be killed. Its an effort thing." ???
Gun season is not open then?
Deer shot x deer seen on hunt
Hours hunted that day. Amazing how flat, expected a serious uptick during the rut
Another surprise. Deer seen flat till gun season. Ave for the county 3-5 per outing.
Interesting, thanks for sharing. Are there really that many deer shot opening day? That seems awfully high relative to the other times like the rut. Or are ones where they don't have a date (ie couldn't read it) being lumped in there?
They sent me a big excel spread sheet. I just graphed the data unadjusted.
There was some missing data that zeroed out and for example someone saw 100 deer on one trip. I am sure he was jacking around.
I would guess opening day has the largest number of hunters of any day. Probably drives the kill. Wish I could get hunter participation by day.
The 11/9-11/10 were weekend rut days. So were 11/2-11/3 and 11/16-11/17. I would guess participation was close those weekends
I think the kill rate on the 26th of October and November 8...at least impart reflects moon phase. I know a lot of you guys think it is B.S. but, I live by it.
I have last years moon dial, when I get a chance I will mark the red A days to see if there is a trend
Very cool Bull. My most successful days are Sept. 28, October 26, and November 7 with the 7th being golden. The earlier dates have always been good night hunts and the November dates are 100% morning between 7 AM and 9 AM.
The green bars are the hot times per my moon dial 2013. Some correlation for sure
Sorry, noticed I didn't finish the rest of the year
10 - How are your sightings been, during full moon, I was curious, seems like you hunt alot. for those who really do alot of hunting, I would be curious of what others have seen during full moon days.....
But for me, (Weather Affected) my best of best days, have been late season, Dec 27 28 and 29th, 9am - 2pm..
I personally believe the moon influences movement in early season and in the South. Not so much during the rut when feeding is #2 priority.
Bull - You have some intresting data there. How many days in the field, do you average, or have the time for..... Do you keep your own logs,,,,,,,,
I only bow hunt my land 7 or so days a year but log every sit on my property.
I get 20 or so days of data a year.
I also typically get 1-2 hunts in other states. This year heading to AL and IA (got invited to the Governors muzzleloader hunt, if he stays in office).
The rut in the South is different - not as intense from my experience. Feeding patterns stay relatively in check. In WI all heck breaks loose in Nov and I don't see the relationship with moon times. In the rut, cold fronts, frosty mornings, cloudy afternoons seem to over take moon position.
Surely not an expert, just an opinion
Thats pretty cool..... in Oct - Jan I am in the woods just about every day, except fishing time...... I see deer here, but I know what they are feeding on, and I place alot of attention on natural vegetation, and what is going on....
we hunt two completely different worlds, but sharing data is something I always enjoyed...... you never learn enough
Yellow dots weekends. Tells a story there
Razorhead, I saw more deer last year then previous years. I let anything under an eight walk and take a doe about every other year. I am very careful about not spooking the does in my area. The bucks are just passing through or searching during the pre-rut and rut. My property has a natural funnel to it in two different places. See the very crude diagram. I do not enter the timber stands until the last week of October, no matter what! I hunt the perimeter and watch the moon phase religiously. In the off season, I cut and rake down to black dirt trails. The bucks love them for moving silently through the timber. NO stands directly on the food plot. During gun, I sit the pine tree island I made to allow the deer to funnel into a safe zone. To be honest, I really don't care that much about gun deer hunting anymore. It is a joke in this state. If the wind has even a hint of east to it, I stay home. Most important is the safe zone! My worst fear, and it has happened, guys sneak in and push does out. A guy can only do so much. I do not allow the farmer to touch the property from about October 20 to after the open of gun most years. He is real cooperative and is not a plow every inch of land kind of guy. Manure is off limits until after the opening day of gun. He pounds it in spring in time for the manure eaters. LOL. I am truly blessed to have this especially after surviving the second great depression. I say a prayer every time I step into a stand and give thanks.
OOPs sorry B.S. are bow stands, GB is a hay bail ground blind the farmer set for me, and GS is the only gun only stand I have on the property. No tree condos, all open air stands. Just not my style. All my bow stands are ladder. This 40 acres surrounded by private land on three sides and a road on one side. 27 acres are quote wooded.
