Milwaukee Metro Subunit
Wisconsin
I hunt in Grafton as well and yes it's been this way for a number of years.
I've gotten permission from a landowner in Grafton to hunt there either gun or bow. I was doing some reading in the regs and that season runs until December 10th.
Maybe I've never paid close attention to these areas because I've never hunted them but has this season always been extended or is this something new?
Alderrub how's the hunting been for you?
Plenty of deer around the area. We're pretty picky about what we shoot. What side of town will you be hunting?
If any of you know of any landowners in the Milwaukee Metro Subunit area that are looking for responsible/respectful hunters to help out, please pm me. My 15 year-old son and I have been out asking. We've received plenty of "no's" and not a single "yes" yet.
I've met plenty of people griping about too many deer, but haven't found any yet that want any help with reducing the number of deer???
I'll be hunting near County Highway I.
Plenty of local hunters that have been trying to find places to hunt for as long as I can remember. Very difficult to find a spot.
It has been that way for years and should be changed! Come Dec. 20th at River Edge the County advisory will hear my wrath. It is complete B.S.. Unit 77m should be no different then any other unit. 9 Day gun deer season, buck fawns off the table, end archery the same as all other units.
Zonks, don't bother in Mequon. The cops down there unethically use their influence to lock down the area. More than one land owner has told me no, I have a Mequon police officer hunting here and watching over my place.
Not as much pressure in the Bog west of Saukville during late season. Even less during January!
My experience with bow hunting the metro zone in January is that there are very few of us out there. I'll be hunting the same places in January I hunt now but in January I'll see more deer during shooting hours. I don't want to lose that extended season.
In metro units there should be a program set up for landowners to access and find hunters, all hunters must pass a certification course. Course would consist of ethics and how to handle situations that will arise that are unique to metro areas. I think this would put landowners at ease and help hook hunters up with hot spots.
Year round seasons would be of little use if you cant get on the land.
I'll be heading out tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully be lucky and see something and get one on the ground.
I hunt 77M and it should be eliminated and made a regular unit! At least close the season north of Hy 33. These extended seasons are B.A.D. for the herd. They never get a break and all it does is spawn greed!
10 why is Hwy 33 the magic line? What do you mean they never get a break? And spawn greed??? What's that about.
My guess is you are one of those that doesn't bow hunt during January.
Doug - What do you mean by ethics?
The only unique situations I'm aware of with the metro zone is having to track a wounded deer across multiple properties. That's not unique to the metro zone either. That can happen in any suburban area outside the metro zones. So why a certification course for just the metro zone?
sat all day at a property north of 60. saw about 9 turkey come through in a pack. i didn't see any deer but they were spotted 200yds south of me crossing at sunset. fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Two feathers, there are not near the number of deer north of 33 that the DNR claims. They have the entire 77M at 17 per square mile. Not even close. Granted there are pockets in Mequon greater than that but, Mequon and north of 33 are two different situations. You give the guys north of 33 in 77M extra tags and days to hunt, they use the opportunity to slaughter the herd. That is where the greed comes in. No, I don't like the January hunt. That is taking the season too long. There are too many seasons in the first place. IMO, the area will handle 30 to 40 per square mile with all the agricultural land that still exists. The deer are onto all the pressure and are so nocturnal it is ridiculous.
Have not seen a deer since Jan. 17. My boy and I sat tonight and did not see anything.
Sat again Sunday and saw nothing but small game. Last night same story. I agree they're almost nocturnal. Track coming through and they're eating on the bait. Just not during daylight hours.
I hunted last Friday afternoon near Grafton and didn't see any deer movement. Still getting adjusted to the property and where the deer come and go. I'm hoping to try this spot during late season.
I have met many hunters that think "they" are the most important people around. They have little respect for others and the land and I know from first hand experience landowners are "scared" to let hunters on. Many landowners in the populated areas of the counties no few if any hunters and paint us all with a broad brush.
I think if there was a State certified program we could take that would hit requirements that are unique to METRO areas. Such as limited land, conducting ourselves in a "modern civilized fashion", how to handle public scrutiny, proficiency test, etc. I think this would put some landowners at ease, at least they know you are serious and have the basic ethics needed to be hunting in the public eye.
In my area there are hot spots. These landowners have had trouble many, many years ago, and since have not allowed hunting. The surrounding areas are absolutely pounded brown its down. Yet every night the area is over run with deer, longer seasons will do nothing to solve this problem.
Will a certified program help? Well thats a question a warden could answer if they would stop in at the known hotspots and ask why there was no or restricted hunting. But from the conversations I had I think it would help.
So Doug are you saying your having a hard time finding hot spots to hunt in the metro zone? Do you really think a little certification card is going to change the minds of these landowners? And I have to have a certification card to hunt public land in the metro zone?
Doug, have you ever had to take a proficiency test to be able to bow hunt? I have. I've had to take three of them in different states. I personally think it's a waste of time and resources. All three had us shooting paper targets at 20 yards standing on the ground. Everybody passed. The test is no comparison to shooting at a live deer when your 15 - 25' up and your body shaking with excitement.
brewcrewmike - 10 got it right when he said: "The deer are onto all the pressure and are so nocturnal it is ridiculous."
I'm not seeing any either, in the metro zone or out of the metro zone, but I know that will change. I know they are around because they leave sign and they are still on camera.
I have about 8 different private properties in Ozaukee I don't even bother hunting until January because of all the pressure from other bow hunters and gun hunters. In January I have these to myself. Everyone else is done for the year. The later it gets in January the more daytime deer I see.
Doug, with all do respect, when I first started looking in 77M years ago the first North Shore Nancy I talked to called me a "F(ucking filthy pig" when I very politely presented a DNR permission card and asked for permission to hunt their acreage in Mequon. The house is in the woods on the Mequon side of HY C at the top of the ill overlooking the Milwaukee River. She cursed me like a drunken sailor. A course will not make a difference.
Haven't seen any deer since I've been hunting the property. Some small new sign but nothing crazy. Been trying to adopt some new post rut techniques. Almost gave up hope last time but found this baby 25yds from my stand.
10orbetter
I understand the course will make no difference with the like you encountered. But I know of landowners that either do not know hunters, or have had experiences that could be eased with proper education.
I feel this will do more good then lengthening seasons and handing out more permits.
I've seen a few deer the past weeks. A couple does and a nice 6 pointer. Deer are moving during daylight. Plenty of coyote tracks around. Let a grey fox pass today. Glad we have these extra weeks. I'm on small residential property and enjoy the extra time in the woods.
Two feathers, I'm hoping you are correct. I'm still going to be heading out this month, just have to be careful not to shoot a buck that has dropped already.
10orbetter - I'm coming down to Ozaukee sometime this week to hang some stands. First I have to pull them from up here. Saw zero tonight but they were out. No tracks going in but fresh tracks when I came out. All is done here in Manitowoc county.
10, Check out the Bog. I've taken deer out of there and it doesn't get much pressure in January. I always came in from Cedar Sauk rd. by Covered Bridge road and had better luck on the north side of the big power line. I liked hunting that late, late after everything is frozen otherwise I was up to my ears in muck. I know to the west by the Mud Lake access guys were baiting in there last year so that got pressured.
The more places you have "fresh" to hunt, the more deer you will see. In Ozaukee baiting is legal and I bait up. Most of these places I hunt in Ozaukee are small and don't hold any deer but the deer travel through them and it doesn't take long for the deer to find the treats.
Good Luck!
Two Feathers thanks for the recommendation but, I have quality land just north of the bog and a little south of the bog. It's just that they are locked up during the day! I am confident, I will still see a few. Just need to change my approach a bit.
10 or better, I am not great hunter, but I have taken two of my best bucks after Jan1. Of course I got lucky, but I hunt some nasty stuff.
My area in germantown use to be really good, since I had beans out, during the late season and chopped corn. However MMSD bought the farmer out, now its just weed field, not much there ........
This time of year, its rare for me to be in a tree, get picked out too fast, and I hunt from the ground, as close to the beds as I can. The snow shows me where they are. I will follow a trail, right into the beds, find a spot. A few days later, they will be back in there.....
I do not bait, just can not do that, but maybe I am stupid, but that is me. However, this is the time of year, I do use a compound. I like the let off, when shooting from the ground.....
good luck...... Weather is now the factor.... I have found deer on the move, after severe cold and wind, and it settles down. For example this Fri and Sat could be really good...... Also I had my best luck mid day.....
My honey hole is north of Hwy A, but that is out of the zone........ I did ask a new landowner, who bought out one of my other areas, along the Milw River..... The guy bought 150 acres and a 30 that belonged to a neighbor. He allows no hunting, but said I could look for sheds if I wanted too. I hate to tell you how many deer are in there, alot......
I know 3 spots, between 33 and the bog, allow no hunting, and I bet there are 100 deer in total in all of those spots. Lots of feeders.....
I have no intrest in finding sheds in areas I could never hunt.....
razor, all good points. I will give the ground a try. I'm north of 33 about 800 yards from River Edge.
What day are you setting stands in the bog? Maybe I will bait this year. What do you use for bait, and are there any tricks.....
razorhead - I doubt I'll put any stands up in the bog. Right now it will be all private lands.
My favorite bait is apples. Not as effective when froze solid. Pumpkins - even in below freezing they will eat up the inside of pumpkins - seeds and pulp. Corn is good but that can get expensive. If I can I get corn still on the ear, they don't clean that out quite as fast and it's usually free.
I've been tossing a couple apples out here and there also hunting on the ground. I counted 7 does today, came in groups. Some smaller some on the larger side. Passed on them today but I don't know how many more times I can let off. Put some hot doe scent hoping for a late season stud to bite but haven't seen any bucks beyond a small spike.
Hang in there anthem, my mistake was believing all the good bucks had left one of my spots (no sightings or camera shots or even good tracks in weeks), only to see three older bucks running together Friday — on camera — a day after I'd shot a doe there so was resting the spot. Go figure! Am wondering if there was a hot fawn or doe in the area to make that happen, as one shot shows a 12-point sniffing the ground and an unknown deer about 15 feet ahead. There's another shot with three of them all in the same frame, not a great shot but I can make 'em all out, including a high and tight 10 that I would love to see what happens to his rack this year.
Two Feathers - Got the all clear from the doctor to hunt, and I looked at two nice bucks in the house. I decided, they fell without bait, so forget it......
I came close, in my mind, but just can not see myself killing something, coming in for something artificial in the area.....
Nothing wrong with that, its just me. I will stick to being on the ground, and in the beds......
good luck to all
Was a very cold morning. Had a unexpected day off from work and since my usual area is closed I went back to my high school town of Cedarburg to hunt. Know a number of landowners and spent this morning on stand and saw 2 does and a scrap buck. Just south of Cedar Sauk and Covered Bridge. Boy has the area changed and filled in with homes.
Lots of homes in that area now and also some nice bucks!
TrapperJack - a 1965 CHS grad here! I know that area.
Two Feathers, 1980 CHS grad. So many new homes out there. I use to hunt a from called the Krohn Farm (sp) that ran along Cedar Creek. Now it is a sub-division. Back in the 70's and early 80's that whole area was a lot of farmland and woodlot along with the bog. You could always find a place to hunt by knocking on a door. Do you know if that hunting shack that is on the north side of the bog is still there. I believe it was a duck hunting shack. I use to push that area around it for rabbits.
TrapperJack - I grew up on Western where they sell the Christmas trees.
I don't know about the wooden shack or don't remember it.
On the north I side I didn't get far from the parking lot. From the south side I've been across Mud Lake after it froze. Never been on it in a boat.
You know maybe we should all hook up one day in Cedarburg during Jan and do a day of driving deer with the bow and arrow. We did that in Georgia and it was fun! More fun than rabbits :)
I remember the white house on Western that sold the trees. It was near downtown. I lived up near Lasata. When the bog was frozen it was easy to get around, when it wasn't it was hard. You sunk! I actually got a john boat from the bog one year. Back then you could not leave them in the bog after the duck season. The local game warden told me if I got it out he would give it to me. Took work but I ended up with a nice boat. I won't have the chance of making another trip to the burg until after January due to work and a vacation I promised the wife.
TrapperJack - I knew the Klein Farm on Pleasant Valley and the back end of that ended up on Cedar Creek but not the Krohn Farm. My honey hole was on Lakefield along the Milwaukee River.
I don't know any of those places but they sound great and I would love to learn them and do a bow drive. The deer are moving during daylight out here in grafton. Plenty of fresh tracks. Gotta love the snow. Hopefully I put some brown down within the next couple days. Been nothing but doe patrol since early December. Got one 6 point on camera and haven't seen him since. Got my camera on the rub line. Fingers crossed. Stay warm.
anthemmess - I hunted Grafton last night. I was close to I-43 and forgot how loud the highway traffic was.
If you "Cedarburg Boys" can gain access, try any of the fields near/around the Ozaukee Ice Center off of Pioneer Road. Every time I take my daughter there for a hockey game, we see deer. We always see deer in the fields east of the rink and west of the Milwaukee River, north side of Pioneer.
Two Feathers, the Krohn Farm is the area of covered bridge rd and pleasant valley and the south side is kaehlers mill rd. Cedar Creek is the east border. There is even a small park called Krohn park at the corner of covered bridge and pleasant valley. Not much of the farm is even there, all sub-divided and homes. It was a honey hole for deer, ducks and pheasants.
Feathers - I'm on north lakeshore drive so far enough off 43 to only hear the big Rigs. I've got residential traffic here and there, nothing the deer in our area aren't used to. Drove past a herd of at least a dozen in a cornfield mid day. Just need them to come a couple miles to where I am. The only thing consistent is how inconsistent they are coming through my area. I can only stay out 3-4 hours at a time in this weather.
My property is also near I43 in Grafton. Caught another guy hunting on closed federal land across the street from me yesterday. The I didn't know card is getting old. Talked t warden today. He'll be getting a call every time from now on. Deer have been moving in daylight last few days.
Bluewing closed to all forms of hunting.
What federal land is closed there? I am curious...
I was thinking about the bow pushes in Georgia. The reason I think they were so much fun was because we didn't have to worry about frostbite.
razorhead - I'm curious also. I know there is state land that is closed to hunting (waterfowl production area?) in that area. At least I thought it was state land, maybe it is federal.
When I lived in Cedarburg the population sign said 2,190. Yesterday when I was there the sign said 11,900 and something. A lot of lost habitat.
alderrub - it wasn't me. I was on private land.
Haven't seen anything on or off camera in 3 days. I've seen them in a herd of12-18 hanging out in a cornfield 100yds of exit 92 off I43. Currently trying to find the landowners contact information....
I use to hunt that field. Access there is full of family members now.
TrapperJack - I wasn't far from Lasata last night - NE corner of Hornes Corners and Bridge St.
My then girlfriend use to work at Lasata then got smart and married me and moved up north. Was waiting to hear if you have had any luck yet in the area. You were close to an area that years ago I help plant trees. The Senglaub place on the NE corner of Granville and Western Ave. I think it is a preserve now.
TrapperJack - I needed to get something out of my tub tonight and decided to pull in at Krohn Park and do it there. When I got there here stands a big doe between the wooden fence and Pleasant Valley headed north. Made me think of you. Also another deer in the field on covered bridge just south of cedar sauk. That's a good deer area through there.
Drove 164 from Slinger to Waukesha today, there are four dead bucks laying on the side of the road. All had shed their antlers. Two, one near Sussex and one near Lake Seven that were very bodied deer. Dishonorable way for a majestic buck to die! Now some dick politician wants to increase the speed limit to 70 state-wide. We need it like we need more wolves!
10 who drives 70? I live down here in the south and if you aint driving 80 you better get on a side road! Cant understand why they even have speed limit signs.
Yup Two Feathers, the area across the creek at Krohn park was the main area I hunted during my high school years. Remember biking out there from the Burg with a shotgun or bow strapped to my bike as I did not have a car at that time. Another area I hunted deer with a bow and pheasants was near the Strobel place. That was on the corner of Cedar Sauk and Covered Bridge. SE section plus the land south of their place. There were some hidden ponds back there and some nice woods. Sometime when I have some time I'll scan some pictures of deer taken back in the 80's by locals in the area. You might know some of them. Hunt hard as the season is almost over. Me, I'm gearing up for the maple syrup season now.
Hey guys I used to hunt the milw. metro unit years ago . Would hunt the Jackson marsh area . Anyone hunt there now?? Saw deer there but at the time they where to far away for a shot bow hunting.
Hey guys I used to hunt the milw. metro unit years ago . Would hunt the Jackson marsh area . Anyone hunt there now?? Saw deer there but at the time they where to far away for a shot bow hunting.
TrapperJack - I know where your talking about. Good Spot! A few years ago I stopped by Duey's office in Cedarburg to ask permission to hunt that land. All I got was a "no". Today was a hunt day. I hunted hard. Got in my ground blind on I at 0530 and came out at 1230 - chilled like a popsicle. Ate, warmed up and went over to Grafton for the afternoon hunt. No deer seen. Now work and Mr. Mom duties are going to interfere with hunting.
Wisbowhntr - I drive by the Jackson Marsh on occasion but I've never hunted it.
Passed a small doe up Saturday. Haven't seen any horns on or off cam. I'll ne hunting hard these next few days. Coyote hunting in February. I'm dropping the next thing I see unless it's a Bambi. Everything on cam is between 8pm and 4am. Good luck.
Starting a clearcut just west of Cedarburg. We'll see if attracts any of the local deer. I'll keep you guys posted.
Precisely Pasq. Up to 70, they will drive 80. Never ending cycle.
Howatt, Hahahahaha. Oh God.
Hey Kylet, where are u working at? I am in cedarburg and have 40 acres. We are looking to have some clearcut and some thinned. Mainly pine and spruce. Found a guy in Oshkosh who can do it this summer. Would you have any interest in looking? Been hunting a few weeks ago and took a doe. Saw 17 deer one night and 12 the night i took the doe. Many bucks around but most are small. One ten point on camera but only at night.
Messer - want to let me pluck one of those does off your property. I haven't even seen 12 deer all season let alone in one sitting. Jeez!
Deer switched back to a nocturnal pattern. Nothing on or off camera during daylight. Hoping to tag out here in the next three days.
I quit hunting late pm, seen deer now midday, jumped a nice buck on a ridge this am at 10am, wish I had seen him first, got up within 35 yards
I'm just the opposite. Everything I've seen has been after 2pm. Got out of the stand at dark thirty and walked out on 3 does 40yds out. Too dark to see the pins and wasn't 100% so didn't take a shot. I would rather not fill my tags than wound a deer. Tomorrow, tomorrow...
