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Waupeca must be loaded with deer. Over 7000 bonus tags? That's crazy
They are all small and easy to fit in trunks.
Lol. Easy to pack out. Where all the big bucks at? Y'all shot them all? Lol
7,000 is a lot if all filled. However from past sales/registrations they know how many are typically filled per unit (now county) and thus give out far more than will be used in hopes of hitting "quota." Most farmland zones won't come close to selling out on tags.
All of the big bucks are on private land where landowners will prosecute to the full extent of the law. We also take great pride in harvesting a lot of antlerless deer throughout the hunting season
Bonus tags, yes. Get them before they are gone. I am betting there will be plenty private land ones left at the end of the season.
Are you here to help us out or just sit in the bar wearing your camo or blaze orange eating greasy onion covered burgers sipping your Sun Drop and complaining about the private landowners getting all the deer???
Maybe you could talk to a farmer near the public land you are going to hunt and he can give you a couple cobs of corn so you can get a bait pile to shoot a spike over.
Mike F. I was just messing with y'all. We will be hunting private land. 80 acres. My buddy and I have no problem helping y'all out with does. We each have 2 tags and plan to use them. The only reason I wanted to hunt some of the public lands is because I like hunting new areas that may be holding some good bucks. Like I said before I'm still new to wisconsin. This will be my second trip ever. Why do u say all big bucks are on private? Is there really that much hunting pressure on public? I've been hunting public land here in louisiana for many years and it can be tough at times but I always go the extra mile and still get a few deer every year. I been looking at google earth and the Dnr site. There seems to be a good bid of public land to go around. I just found some spots that look like it would hold some good deer. I'd like to give it a try if we not seeing any buck sign on private propert we hunting. My buddy and I won't be sitting in a bar. We will be sitting in a tree. I'm not spending money on a long trip to sit in a bar. We are hardcore hunters and we will definately get a few does. I just want a good buck too. How's the hunting pressure first week of October?
Southern boy. You'll do just fine. You know the pros and cons to public land. I've seen some really nice bucks just south of you in waushara hunting public. Waupaca is a fantastic county to hunt in. Putting a couple does down for your freezer shouldn't be a problem. But tagging a mature buck. Well you know. Good luck this fall
Thanks and good luck to you too. I'll actually be hunting waushara. I've been looking at some areas of the Mecan River. Some good looking areas that I found on google earth. Can't wait to get up there and do some scouting
Yes much of the public land gets hunted hard. Especially in gun season. The main issue is that on public land most hunters kill the first buck they see. On a lot of private land there is more desire to let the small ones grow up for a few years.
Sounds no different than Louisiana. Public land here getting pounded hard. But, I still find areas with little pressure and good some good deer. Just gotta do my homework. I'm guessing the same tactics will apply up north.
I hunt Waupaca County. Seeing more deer now as we get farther away from the earn-a-buck years. Have high hopes this year.
There are quite a few tracks of public land around the county. I suspect all are hunted but some not hunted real heavy during the week. You just have to be there. I would stay out of them in the gun season.
Saw a doe last evening that had an orange collar on. It appeared to have a tracking device on it.
PB-
There are quite a few deer with collars in Waupaca county. Remember they are legal to harvest if you choose to do so.
What's the buck to doe ratio in the area? Seems to be too many does
Anyone to take a guess at this will most likely be wrong considering it will be a guess. Southern boy I will tell you waupaca county is top 3 county in Wisconsin. More deer are harvested in this county than any county alone. 200 in deer come out of here year after year. the quality of mature bucks are definitely high. And anyone to disagree with my statement needs to do a lil research.
I believe it just based on the what I read about Waupaca. I was just amazed at the number of doe tags of one county. Where would Waushara County rank in comparison to Waupaca? About the same? I'm not sure if we have the time to explore Waupaca as we will pretty much be hunting close to Coloma in Waushara county. My plan use a full day to do some good scouting to hopefully pinpoint some buck bedding areas. Is it worth to sit all day early October or just focus on mornings and afternoon hunts?
Yes, 200 inch deer come out of Waupaca every year, along with many 150 to 170 class bucks too. They don't get this big because they are lucky. Most from private land where QDM is practiced.
As far as the population there are areas where we are at over 40 deer per square mile of habitat. Don't be afraid to get some antlerless tags and fill them, it won't hurt the population.
Buck to doe ratio for the county? I don't think anyone has ever done a study at the county level. When we had our block done we were at 48 deer per square mile and a buck to doe ratio of 1 buck for every 8 does. Yes we have a lot of deer. But the landowners and myself seem to like seeing 20 to 30 deer every day.
We harvest a good number of deer and so do our neighbors.
Mike F 48 deer per square. Your guess seems pretty solid on a buck to doe ratio. That's exactly what my guess would be. Hats off to you for making me put my foot in my mouth. Hahahaa Southern boy if I remember correctly you said the first week of October and you'll be hunting for a week with a couple doe tags in hand. So if I were in your position. I would choose to fill my doe tags in the morning. Typically cause the bigger deer are probably bedded for the day. And hunt a different area in the evenings for your buck. If you can. Hopefully you can find THE food source. Also depending on your scouting skills. If you are 100% certain your on to a big deer. Try grunting it may convince him to get up a few mins earlier. They move so slow this time of year. It really does come down to minutes. Last: waushara county is an amazing one at that. Lots of QDM in that area also. You really can't compare the two since the border one another
Yeah I like to see that number of deer too. I wish Louisiana could be like that. Our herd is way down with our liberal limits and the number of outlaws in the state. Here in Louisiana, I'm sometimes lucky to see one deer on any given day. The most I've ever seen in one hunt here in Louisiana is 11. I guess I'll be getting a little spoiled hunting up in Wisconsin. I have 2 does tags and I may buy more depending on how our hunting is going. I don't mind donating meat because I can only bring so much on plane. I'm pretty sure the property we hunting holds some good deer because nobody other than the landowner and my buddy hunt it. It's only 80 acres with a few food plots. Last year I didn't find any good buck sign other than a few small rubs. I'm gonna spend more time scouting this year. I don't mind burning a full day of scouting to learn some new areas. October 1st can't get here fast enough. Can't wait to get up there
Nocturnal8-
Not a guess. We had a study done because the DNR was telling us that the numbers were much lower. Our group paid to have a population survey done on the properties in our area.
Now with the good fawn crop this spring we are higher than that!
With our liberal limits we still are seeing 20 to 30 deer a day. Not complaining! As far as getting the meat back home, I would ship my luggage and take the meat with me on the plane. We do it all the time when we come home from Alaska.
Mike F. How much does it normally cost to ship your hunting gear home? If I choose to ship my bow and luggage, about how much it cost?
I live in Waupaca co. Tons of deer and some dandies but most on private land 80 acres is quite large here most are only 40's
Last time I believe it was just under $100 to ship my gear home from Portland, Oregon and bring back 2 cooler boxes of frozen meat as luggage. I ship the gear either Fed Ex or UPS, what ever is more cost effective. Remember to insure it in the event of damage.
I have yet to have anything broken in shipment or lost.
Thanks Mike. I'll have to look into that. I'm just kinda paranoid about shipping my bow and something happening to it. I guess that's that chance we take.
