Less Hunters in Northern WI?

[BackWoodsHunter]

Where abouts do you guys hunt at? We own 120 acres and border another 40 we have permission to hunt and the land is a perfect square. We BORDER 151 and another road and on all sides of the roads is public land. We usually see low numbers, or the same deer on trail cams each year but this year based on cameras and time spent in the woods the herd seems to be way up. I've seen bucks on every sit just about and our trail cams are constantly picking up new bucks. Up until halloween, which is when the baiting seemed to pick up in the area, majority of our pictures were all daytime as well. I saw 12 deer in one sit last saturday. These numbers are pretty high for our area RELATIVE to recent years. There has been some changes on neighboring land which I'm sure helps but I took notice the LACK of gun shots all last season and lack of pressure as well. The public land across the street is usually heavily driven by hunters last yr it wasn't at all and I know that because we can't shoot does this yr, it probably won't receive any pressure again. Last thanksgiving I only heard a handful of gun shots and opening day was pathetic compared to the wild sounds experienced hunting further south in the state. I think the deer numbers are on the rise. letting the does walk this year and probably next year should really get the herd on their feet. Thinning out some wolves/yotes/bears would never hurt either. I don't spend too much time on the public land during bow season because grandpa and I have private land all to our selves but from what I'm seeing the herd is definitely in better shape than it was 2-3yrs ago or even last yr. I agree that baiting sends deer nocturnal though and its definitely becoming the way around us. Alot of the nieghbors and even guys on public land are getting older and losing ambition to still hunt/drive deer so instead they sit over corn. My uncle goes out to our land every night two weeks before season and baits right before dark-aka when hes off work. He doesn't understand that putting a pile of food out at last light trains them to come in after dark because if they show up earlier there won't be anything there. Some people will never learn so instead I have too. Its pretty ridiculous how the deer movements shift when bait is added into the equation. We had one central bait location since august and grandpa hunts over and has his camera out there. The deer moved in and out of there in the daylight and were always calm and relaxed around it. Now my uncles/cousins/relatives have 3 more bait piles going and the deer shift where they come from, where they leave, and how comfortable they are changes. Baiting is a shame but in this part of the state its hard to say if the herd could survive the winter without some corn thrown their way.

[ocontocnty]

There are definitely fewer hunters in the north than years ago.
50 years ago, everyone went up north. I hear all the local farmers around here talking about when they were kids and were amazed when they began to see deer on their land.
Deer are very adaptable.
I remember as a kid in the early 70's in northern Minnesota how cool it was to see a deer in the field somewhere. It was an event. The hunters had to go deep into the bush to have good hunting. They have adapted to the yards, and gardens, and feeders.
Just my 2 cents.