Michigan bucks???

[dan]

I know you hunted here some early on. What was hit experience? Did you take some mature deer and how was the hunting?

I hunted a property in the U.P. I think it was Houton county? Non-res bow tags were $75 back then and you could buy two... The guys I hunted with had private property surrounded by state ground... They kept telling me that there were no big bucks up there and that winning the lottery was easier... I kept getting invites and challenges and finally went. I think it was early or mid-October (long time ago) anywho... They gave me the run down on where everybodys permanent stand ( and corn pile) was, and told me to pick my own "spot" I studied where everybody else hunted and walked the rest of the property with the stand on my back... The 1st day I hunted I shot a 120 class 10 pointer, and everybody kind of freaked out and said it was the biggest buck ever shot on the property... On the second day I shot about a 110 inch 8 pointer... Everybody suddenly did not like me and I was asked to leave camp. I am no longer friends with that group. I figured both bucks to be 2 years old but the others thought them to be older.

It "seemed" pretty easy to shoot a decent buck for that area by just getting away from all the bait piles... But thats really my only actual hunting experience in Michigan...

[BCam]

I understand what you are saying dan. I think we were just trying to answer the original question is all. Like i said... U wont see me complain.

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[BigHunt]

Wow and I though wis was bad....im glad to hunt here

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[dan]

Again, not calling anybody out as a complainer, just trying to get the point across that life is better when your glass is 1/2 full, rather than when its 1/2 empty.

[BCam]

Again, not calling anybody out as a complainer, just trying to get the point across that life is better when your glass is 1/2 full, rather than when its 1/2 empty.

True dat

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[dirt nap giver]

I thought we were asked about mature deer

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[Uncle Lou]

I love hunting in this state. Sorry I didn't answer the question.

[BCam]

...Eberhart wrote its not uncommon for areas to have over 15 bow hunters per sq mile...

That's pretty good! I often see 30-50 hunters per sq mile.

Its not the same across the board. 15-20 hunters on a square mile with only 20 acres of woods and a few fence rows is not the same as farther north where it is miles of unbroken woods and swamp.

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[Jereme]

Number of hunters, hunter mentality, and land access have the biggest negative factors on the herd here. Hunter mindset being the #1 factor in my opinion. Most of the people here still have the mentality of I have to get my buck...any buck. That is why we are close to 67% of the buck harvest being 1 1/2 yr old deer. With close to 3/4 of a millions people in the woods ready to kill anything with a 3 inch spike on its head it doesnt take long to see why the deer here just dont get much size to them...they dont get old enough. It takes a pretty darn skilled hunter to figure out how to kill a 3 1/2 yr old buck here year in and year out. The road work has begun to change the landscape here with the 13 counties in the NW part of the lower peninsula having a 3 pt per antler restriction. The DNR figures that will protect more than 50% of the yearling population.

This is it in a nutshell. I've been trying to learn how to hunt the most undesirable places just to get away from hunters (and their attitudes). I have gained access to public swamps through private access which gets me in the middle of some pretty big cattail/phragmite swamps with very few trees. Problem is both times I've hunted these areas this year I've had to deal with trespassers. I have some big bucks on camera on public ground. I know they are there but a bunch of guys bumming around through there all day long isn't helping. Plus the mindset "If I don't shoot it someone else will" keeps anything from getting mature.

[Uncle Lou]

I really like this topic. I think my answer to the question would be lots of hunters and two buck tags definitely contribute to high harvest of young bucks getting shot, and lots of hunters equal a lot of pressure. There is a big divide amongst Michigan hunters, some want better quality bucks and some want to shoot deer.

We have a ton of deer, not evenly dispersed but a lot. There are also a lot of big bucks, not percentage wise, but with a herd as large as ours there is no doubt there are big bucks. And there is a lot of whinning from the hunters here that want more big bucks.

I totally support managing deer on private land if that is what the landowner(s) want, but not really into those same people telling the rest of us how to hunt.

Michigan has a lot to offer to deer hunters. A big diverse state, lots of public land, a large deer herd, and easy over the counter tags. I really think that for those looking for a challenge you can find no better state.

[magicman54494]

Again, not calling anybody out as a complainer, just trying to get the point across that life is better when your glass is 1/2 full, rather than when its 1/2 empty.

True dat

I guess it depends whats in the glass. Lol
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[dennism]

Thanks Dan. That needed to be said. I totally agree.

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[dennism]

I really like this topic. I think my answer to the question would be lots of hunters and two buck tags definitely contribute to high harvest of young bucks getting shot, and lots of hunters equal a lot of pressure. There is a big divide amongst Michigan hunters, some want better quality bucks and some want to shoot deer.

We have a ton of deer, not evenly dispersed but a lot. There are also a lot of big bucks, not percentage wise, but with a herd as large as ours there is no doubt there are big bucks. And there is a lot of whinning from the hunters here that want more big bucks.

I totally support managing deer on private land if that is what the landowner(s) want, but not really into those same people telling the rest of us how to hunt.

Michigan has a lot to offer to deer hunters. A big diverse state, lots of public land, a large deer herd, and easy over the counter tags. I really think that for those looking for a challenge you can find no better state.

Well said.

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[DEERSLAYER]

I don't mean to be so abrupt and blunt but I am pressed for time at the moment.

This is probably going to be unpopular, but I really roll my eyes every time I hear all the complaining from Michigan guys, or the "we can't kill a big buck cause our land is worse than yours" comments... Come on over here and try the public where I hunt ...

From what little I seen last year (& I must stress that I didn't see a lot) the amount of hunting pressure was next to nothing. Granted I had very little exposure to the area, but in Michigan it would have been a far different picture at any given time short of some bad weather.

...Good bad or ugly, it is what it is, and you gotta man up and make the best of it. If it upsets you that your not killing "big" bucks your probably judging yourself against guys hunting in other locals or places... I have always hunted areas with few big bucks, a lot of the time by choice.
If your taking the best bucks your property has, your doing great... Period. You should care less what guys in Iowa, or Texas or Buffalo county shoot unless thats where your hunting...

This is easy to say when your hunting rivals these places.

I don't mean to be so abrupt and blunt but I am pressed for time at the moment.

...I would never judge a guy by the bucks that hang on his wall. If you get past that, you will be a better hunter.

Dan, I don't have the time at the moment to dig and find it, but that is not quite true. You have stated the opposite before when talking about a hunters skills. Your said that the proof is on the wall.

I agree with Dan on this one. I think people just find ways of making excuses for themselves when they fail on their mission. The one thing we have here is an HUGE amount of public land. I have spent weeks driving and scouting every night to find on good buck to chase...he might be the only "mature" buck I find that year but I will single on that specific deer to hunt. It is pretty fun chasing one animal and matching your skills against his. I will say that after a lifetime of hunting severely pressure whitetails here in Northern Michigan, it made the hunting out of state a lot easier for me. More so because of the availability of older deer to hunt than anything, but learning how to hunt pressured animals will make you a better hunter. I have had some outstanding hunts in SE Minnesota, and Ohio using the skills I learned here at home. But it has to mean something when I can look at all of the deer on the wall and say the 2 biggest bucks up there are from Michigan even though I have spent a lot of time in Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Illinois....so yes we have them here but you have to work your tail off to find and hunt them.

I agree with you to a point G3's, but as I mentioned to you last year, the best big buck hunting I have ever had (short my home county) on public land was up in your area. I really don't think your area represents most of the state though.

I know you hunted here some early on. What was hit experience? Did you take some mature deer and how was the hunting?

I hunted a property in the U.P. I think it was Houton county? Non-res bow tags were $75 back then and you could buy two... The guys I hunted with had private property surrounded by state ground... They kept telling me that there were no big bucks up there and that winning the lottery was easier... I kept getting invites and challenges and finally went. I think it was early or mid-October (long time ago) anywho... They gave me the run down on where everybodys permanent stand ( and corn pile) was, and told me to pick my own "spot" I studied where everybody else hunted and walked the rest of the property with the stand on my back... The 1st day I hunted I shot a 120 class 10 pointer, and everybody kind of freaked out and said it was the biggest buck ever shot on the property... On the second day I shot about a 110 inch 8 pointer... Everybody suddenly did not like me and I was asked to leave camp. I am no longer friends with that group. I figured both bucks to be 2 years old but the others thought them to be older.

It "seemed" pretty easy to shoot a decent buck for that area by just getting away from all the bait piles... But thats really my only actual hunting experience in Michigan...

I don't know when you hunted up there, but up until about ten years ago Houghton county was "the" place to go in the U.P. for big bucks and a 120" buck would have been respectable but nothing extraordinary. There are a ton of people in Michigan that don't know how to hunt anything but yearlings (& barely at that) so it doesn't surprise me that those guys never shot anything big despite how good Houghton county was. Like I said in an earlier post though, a decent hunter should be able to kill something older in the U.P. if they put their mind to it, but it's closer for most people here to just go to another state.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we don't have some good big buck hunting because we do. When you get down into the lower part of southern Michigan in our farm belt like down where Lou lives there are plenty of big bucks and loads of deer. The "good ol' days" down there are right now, but that's not how most of the state is. There is some awesome hunting down there.

Wow and I though wis was bad....im glad to hunt here

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Yes sir! The number of good bucks that people shine and get on camera's in Wisconsin amazes me. I have been hearing this from the Wisconsin hunters I have talked to for over 20 years. I'm not saying it's easy to kill them, just that it would be nice to always have always have nice bucks like that around wherever you live.

[dan]

From what little I seen last year (& I must stress that I didn't see a lot) the amount of hunting pressure was next to nothing. Granted I had very little exposure to the area, but in Michigan it would have been a far different picture at any given time short of some bad weather.

Your hunters can shoot 2 bucks if they buy two tags... The ones here have no limit, and the tags are free. Been like that for a decade. Come on over and show me how easy it is I think only one guy in our entire group that weekend seen a deer, and that was big hunt who saw a small buck out of one of my best spots... And regardless, even if your pressure is greater, or there is a million huge bucks over here and any one could take them cause there are so many... Why are you comparing? Its not a competition. If the best buck in your area is only 100 inches shoot it and be proud... I don't compare my hunting to Andraes or Lee and Tiffany... Why do you guys feel you have to compete with other states?

This is easy to say when your hunting rivals these places.

There are plenty of people around here that would disagree with you on this areas public rivaling yours... It probably does to some degree, especially if I traveled west an hour or two.

dan wrote:
...I would never judge a guy by the bucks that hang on his wall. If you get past that, you will be a better hunter.

Dan, I don't have the time at the moment to dig and find it, but that is not quite true. You have stated the opposite before when talking about a hunters skills. Your said that the proof is on the wall.

Your mis quoting me... If you have 10 buck heads on your wall that are the best representatives from YOUR area, your doing great. If you have nothing on your wall at all, or just one rack... Yes, that tells a story about your skill level. Size is irrelevant.

I agree with you to a point G3's, but as I mentioned to you last year, the best big buck hunting I have ever had (short my home county) on public land was up in your area. I really don't think your area represents most of the state though.

So good public areas don't count? We have plenty of public area around here that don't hold a big buck at all this year... I am smart enough to get in my car and drive a couple hours. I am still hunting public, and still in my state. It just might be a matter of how far you will go, or how much scouting and work you put into it.