Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

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Bay-fieldBowhunter
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Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Bay-fieldBowhunter » Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:29 am

Was listening to a podcast with Tony Peterson today and he made the comment that in the big woods of Northern Wi there might only be 10 deer for 2 square miles and that if you see a legal buck it should be taken. He also said that it may be 5 years before you see a buck over 125 inches. I can’t speak to the entire region of Northern Wisconsin but he’s making it seem like an absolute wasteland and that shooting a spike is a great feat. Now we may not have giants everywhere but among my hunting friends and family we took 6 bucks over 100 inches and 3 of them were Pope and young class bucks. I have nothing against anyone taking a small buck of that makes them happy but I just felt he may have been a bit dramatic in his description would love to hear what other guys who hunt northern wi thought.


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Dewey
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:53 am

If you hunt in the area your username states you have it much better than most of the Northwoods. Head east over to the counties bordering the UP and you will see a DRASTIC change. Obviously there are a few good bucks around but your odds drastically diminish in those counties. I hunted up there for 25 years and saw it with my own eyes. It’s a WHOLE lot harder than it was even 15 years ago. Late 90’s to early 2000’s was exceptional hunting. Been on a downhill slide since about 2005. Buck only for many years just hammered the buck population. Very few made it to maturity for so many years. That’s the biggest issue right now.
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Boogieman1
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:00 pm

Never hunted that area. But I must say with the exception of wide open prairie Big Woods is the last thing I want to hunt. Just doesn’t set up well for I what I like to do. Think I would move :lol:
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JustinP
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby JustinP » Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:13 pm

I'm in the heart of that country to the east that Dewey is bragging about......LOL
I won't make any claim of being either a great or a hardcore hunter, but it's been pretty tough hunting for me for a lot of years now.

I do think some areas up here the deer are damn few and far between.
It could partly be because I hunt different areas now than I did years ago, but I'm not seeing many hunters anymore either, I think many have just given up on this area.

So yeah, I do think some locations really are that bad up here.
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szwampdonkey
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:52 pm

I have family up in the UP and they hunt in the lower part south west of the Porcupine Mountains right down to the Northern WI border. The deer hunting in that area is bad, really bad. If they kill a racked buck its basically a miracle. So yeah, i think the guy in the podcast has a point with a lot of big woods Northern hunting, at least what im familiar with. Ive been to the Bayfield area but never hunted there so cant speak to where you are.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby VilasCo » Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:34 pm

I have never hunted Bayfield County, but based on the aerial photos there appears to have a lot more agriculture/broken areas of land than that of the counties to the East as Dewey mentioned. In Vilas County the deer densities are quite low and it took several seasons for me to get on some deer. In 12 years of living up here I have maybe seen one or two bucks that break 125" so I don't think Tony's remarks are that exaggerated.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sat Sep 11, 2021 10:54 pm

I hunt 4 counties in northern wi, but bayfeild county primarily. I have the same thought on it as you.. I think it mainly comes from your weekend worriers that come up Friday through Monday of gun season don't see a deer, go home tell everyone at work that's theres no deer. There's a lot of ignorance and hear-say going on...

At the same time I like the fact everyone thinks that way because it creates less pressure. So let them think what they want to think.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Sun Sep 12, 2021 12:09 am

The big woods up north probably isn’t as bad as people say but it’s also a relative assessment.

If you compare the Bayfield area to say Jefferson or Waukesha Cty in terms of sheer deer numbers as well as the size of the bucks killed id think it would be fair to look at the north woods as barren wasteland of deer hunting in comparison to those types of areas so there is that as well.

I mean if you ever hunt Jefferson County there are no predators outside of yotes, TONS of ag fields with not just corn but stuff like carrots or turnips and the earth is as black and rich as you’d ever see. It’s no wonder there have been so many P&Y Bucks shot there. There are more cattail and tamarack swamps butting up to those ag fields than you can shake a stick at for cover as well. I know of one marsh that takes two hours to walk all the way around it on the dike. Imagine the hiding spots in those cattails, theyre infinite.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Jonny » Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:11 am

It’s not that bad. In the years I hunted in Oneida county I always saw more deer than people. I also never saw another hunter in the woods either….

All depends on your goals. Sometimes I really enjoy being able to roam and never worrying about running into someone. Can’t quite say that about the ground I hunt in central Wisconsin. And definitely not southern Wisconsin. But I see a lot more deer.

Just depends on what you want. And likely what you want will require either some extra leg work or windshield time.

I needed more numbers and less driving so I don’t go up to Oneida county anymore. I wanted less driving than I had in the central forest but I had huntable numbers. Now I’m 2 hours from home, right by my camper or within a half hour, have plenty of deer, but just not enough acreage to roam like I want. But it keeps me happy. Just a matter of what you want. Can’t have everything though.

Plenty of days I miss the solitude of Oneida county though
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Ol Split ( ) Toes
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:26 am

I would much rather hunt bayfeild, you get a 150 inch buck on public in those county's there 20 vehicles in the parking lot chasing him around. I find one in bayfeild county I usàlly have it all to myself. A person also has way more land available in bayfeild county. It no different than anywhere else put in your time and miles, find a big one, and hunt him
80 percent of the people that come up to hunt are in the bar by the second day saying there is no deer and at least there not wasting there time in a bar.
Lazy hunting will get lazy results no matter what county your hunting in.
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Dewey
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:44 am

VilasCo wrote:I have never hunted Bayfield County, but based on the aerial photos there appears to have a lot more agriculture/broken areas of land than that of the counties to the East as Dewey mentioned. In Vilas County the deer densities are quite low and it took several seasons for me to get on some deer. In 12 years of living up here I have maybe seen one or two bucks that break 125" so I don't think Tony's remarks are that exaggerated.

Vilas County is primarily the area I was speaking of and where a bulk of my experience was up till a few years ago. Also hunted far northern Oneida a lot. Huge difference north of Highway 8 and that’s where I consider the Northwoods to start. Further you go north from there the deer herd incrementally decreases pretty drastically unless you go to the far NW corner of the state where there is more ag land. If you don’t hunt and only drive around the towns you will likely see a bunch of deer. Obviously still a lot of illegal feeding going on. Go outside of town where you can hunt and deer sign pretty much disappears.

I also had a lot of experience in the UP years back and the herd is a very tiny fraction of what it was back then. Still spend some time up in the Northwoods fishing and pretty obvious deer numbers are still way down. A lot of deer camps shut down the last 10 years for a reason. Most headed to greener pastures. I love hunting up there but at some point you have to decide that if you want to see more deer you have to make changes to up your odds. I love solitude as much as anybody but if I’m not finding mature bucks to work with I get bored pretty quickly. If I lived up there I would absolutely hunt more but at this point it’s just not worth traveling up except for fishing. This will be the first time in over 30 years nobody is going up for deer camp in our group.
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greenhorndave
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:56 am

Can’t get a whole lot more north than Bayfield County, but it’s deer numbers aren’t bad. I have no trouble seeing them. There’s obviously wolves there as well. It’s generally pretty “edgy” with a lot of old clear cuts and some ag. I think that combo in the Cheq Natl Forest is actually pretty good. I like hunting up there, but I haven’t hunted any other Northern counties. Only other one I have some familiarity with is Florence, which has some insane numbers around the potato fields in the summer. Enough to make Marquette County blush.
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Ol Split ( ) Toes
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:35 am

Same her ghd don't have any trouble seeing deer, I would personally rather see a few less deer than be covered in guys also.
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JustinP
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby JustinP » Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:49 am

Here are 2018 Overwinter population estimates.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/documents/overwinter.pdf

I spent most of my time in Iron county and in recent years started migrating into Ashland.
Iron numbers are super low in comparison to most other counties.
But this map really shows that "Big Woods" is pretty broad and there is a vast difference in population densities from one area to the next up here.
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Dewey
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Sep 12, 2021 4:54 am

JustinP wrote:Here are 2018 Overwinter population estimates.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/hunt/documents/overwinter.pdf

I spent most of my time in Iron county and in recent years started migrating into Ashland.
Iron numbers are super low in comparison to most other counties.
But this map really shows that "Big Woods" is pretty broad and there is a vast difference in population densities from one area to the next up here.

Good post. Your right this really breaks it down and mirrors my thoughts. The Northwoods is not created equal. Drastic differences from one county to the next especially counties with wolf packs and buck only for many years.


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