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No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:06 am
by AR_Swampman
I am from out of state hunting the Kickapoo River and other surrounding public ground in SW Wisconsin. I have sat on the stand 2 times and have yet to see a deer.

First morning I sat near the river at the foothill of the hills. Great looking bedding area. Thick grass with briar and other underbrush. 3 or 4 trails and multiple scrapes and rubs. Have not even jumped up a deer while scouting.

This morning I sat on some MFL ground that looks incredible from aerials and on foot as well. I did bust a few deer yesterday evening whille scouting. Today I sat up between 2 bedding areas. I was near the bottom of a valley on the edge of a VERY secluded small corn fields with scrapes on the est side. My setup was very low impact and a good lookout setup.

I have seen no deer either morning.

Should I continue to hunt the areas because deer numbers are low and its typical to not see deer or should I spend more time scouting new areas where deer are. I have saw no other hunters on the side of the Kickapoo I hunted. I have some areas picked out on the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers to look at based on satelitte images if I should move hunting locations. I have until Saturday to hopefully shoot a 3yr old or better buck.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:09 am
by BigHunt
gota topo?

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:15 am
by kenn1320
Man have I been in your shoes. When I go out of state I have a hard time seeing any deer, let alone a 3yr old buck. Im headed to ohio tonight and my hopes of seeing a deer are slim, but the trip will be fun. Guys like Dor and Spy make it look effortless, just show up and kill big bucks. Maybe one of them will chime in with some helpful info.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:15 am
by dan
The most likely problem is that your hunting the low land valleys and not the leeward hill sides... The sign your seeing is being made at night. Post a topo and we can point some spots out for you.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:18 am
by PK_
Also if your hunting low land the wind maybe swirly and deer steering clear of your ambush.

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Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:44 am
by backstraps
I hope you have a turn around of luck and see some good deer.

IM JEALOUS!!!! I want to hunt WI so bad....justbwouldnt have a clue where to begin.

Good luck brother! The Beast on this site will surely get your map pointing you in the right direction

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Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:19 am
by Jackson Marsh
backstraps wrote:I hope you have a turn around of luck and see some good deer.

IM JEALOUS!!!! I want to hunt WI so bad....justbwouldnt have a clue where to begin.


Good luck brother! The Beast on this site will surely get your map pointing you in the right direction

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Come on up sometime, I bet many Wisconsin beasts would be willing to help you out.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:26 am
by AR_Swampman
I dont have a way to post topo maps. Dan...you replied to a post I made last week and you put a topo in your reply marking a couple areas for me to check out. I have walked to these locations and looked. No sign was in the area that my eyes can detect...well worn trails...fresh scrapes...rubs...etc.

Is it worth my time to sit at one of the areas that is at the leeward side and proper elevation just to do a visible check on whether or not deer are using the area in the morning? The woods were quiet open in the areas previously pointed out. I could sit on one hill and see all the way to the other hillside.

Since I didnt see alot of sign at one of the previous locations should I look for other areas on a topo map that exhibit similiar traits and then put boots to the ground and look for fresh sign at these new locations?

Im not familiar enough with the area to determine whether I should be seeing numerous deer each sit or numerous sits between each deer.

On a side note me and the wife saw a BIG Iowa buck in someones back yard while we were taking a rainy afternoon drive.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:14 am
by dan
You might not have a lot of sign on the ridges, but there should be some rubs. Even if there old rubs from previous years they will show the cruising elevation. If there is buck sign in the low land your looking at, there are bucks cruising the leeward ridges.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:17 am
by dan
You could also look at some smaller less known public lands. The area you are in is really good... I just hunted one day with a friend on a property near there and we both seen nice bucks on the ridges. Sat all day to see one nice one, but there was nothing moving in the sign riddin bottoms, I could see down there.

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:31 pm
by Chasman
One other point is that yes there is good public and the land you are on was probably red hot earlier in the year. I have been learning this year that you have to go back further, scout more to find out how the deer are reacting to hunters and like Dan said look for smaller pieces of public that get overlooked. Also land near cities get hit much harder than pieces that are more isolated. Good luck..

Re: No deer sightings- What to do

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:24 am
by wmahunter
Here in fl I had yet to see a deer all week. So broke out the topo of the area ,found a point just below a saddle. Snuck quietly in there yesterday with the wind blowing, found a couple of deer and a water source that doesn't exist on any map. Looks promising for early season only before all the pressure. The good thing was hunters have been ignoring this spot because it is off the trail and nasty. There are no Trees to hang a climber, you must use a hang on in there.

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