WI sportsmen win again
Wisconsin
Good, but wish it could start a bit earlier than Sept 1 so bear hunters could get stands on their baits a bit longer before the season starts.
I would not assume that if it works in the north it would work in the south. So much more private land and so much less state land as you go farther south.
Woodsdweller, you got me motivated. I emailed the following to the NRB liason.
I am really glad to see that tree stands will become legal to be left overnight on state land in the north.
This year bear season opens Sept 6, dogs first. If bait hunters were first it would be nice if bear bait stands could go up 2 weeks before bear season opens instead of just 5 days so bears could have time to get used to the stand and the disruption caused by putting it up. Also gives the hunters and guides a better time window to work with in setting up their stands. Also just to have a constant date might as well set the date regardless of if dogs or bait hunters were first. Pretty hard to tell if a bait site was setup for dog versus bait hunters anyway. I would suggest about 14 days before the first of the two seasons usually opens. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. It is really, really, really nice that stands no longer need to be taken down every evening. Nothing worse than taking a stand down at quitting time and having bears watching and hearing it happen every day.
Also, I would be skeptical about if this works in the north implying that it will work in the south part of the state. With less public land and more hunters looking to hunt public land things could get complicated for hunters and wardens. Proceed with caution when you start to contemplate this change further south.
I would like to see it south of 64 also, at least for the bear hunters. There is less of a chance that there will be conflicts between bear hunters, unless another stumbles across the bait early enough to just watch and then hunt it before the guy baiting. I can see some conflicts, but all in all it's a good idea.
Going to be a lot of stands and blinds for sale on eBay and Craigslist this fall. LOL
Ruger taught me a long time ago when I moved north. Just make natural blinds and it's no issue leaving them up all season and for seasons beyond.
They could have used 94/29 but that would not have added much state land anyway.
Quick reaction to my email. Got this from the NRB liason.
Your email has been shared with the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board as well as with appropriate department staff for their consideration. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank you for your comments related to tree stands on state land.
Please be aware that each Wisconsin Natural Resources Board meeting is webcast live. You can forward the following link and information to others so they can watch the meeting. Go to http://dnr.wi.gov/about/nrb/agenda.html and click Webcasts in the Related Links column on the right. Then click on this month’s meeting. After each meeting, the webcast will be permanently available on demand.
If you have not done so already, I encourage you to “subscribe” to future Wisconsin Natural Resources Board notices (e.g. agenda, brief of action, calendar) and receive email or text updates. You can do so under SUBSCRIBE at http://dnr.wi.gov/about/nrb/.
yet another win for the lazy.
Droptine, on National Forest, lands up here in the north where leaving blinds and stands up all season. They can be placed the day before the season begins and taken down the day after the season closes. That means that even ground blinds made of natural materials must be broken up and scattered. Does anyone do that? Not that I have seen.
Smokey, good to know because there is a gun season ground blind that did not get taken down very close to one of my hunting spots. Like 2 yards from where I sit on the ground without a blind but looks in another direction. It will be history next time I get in that area.
"That means that even ground blinds made of natural materials must be broken up and scattered" I don't think they have or even enforce that, if so I have never heard anyone getting a citation or warning. Cutting shooting lanes and lives trees are a different story.
There's a local property that was transferred to DNR ownership a few years ago. First thing they did was go through the property and take done all the stands left from trespassers. Each year since they have continued to take down stands at the end of the season from guys still trying to claim "ownership" of their little corner.
Perfect, the whiners get their way, and it's still not good enough for Jeff. Its a bear, not that smart, no need to worry about disrupting the "bait" site...you go in there all the time to bait anyway, a bear won't give a rats ass if you leave something behind as long as he has cookies. Be funny if they say" look at that we haven't even had a season yet with the new rule and we already have complainers...maybe we should switch it back" LOL
OK, now we have a whiner on the other side of this change. You may be right about 150# bears not giving a rip about putting up your stand while they watch you hang a stand and get all sweated up.
