Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

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PK_
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby PK_ » Sun Sep 12, 2021 5:18 am

Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote: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.


I haven’t hunted up there but this was my immediate thought. Is that when Tony Peterson makes broad statements like that, he is generally speaking to your average joe weekend warrior type hunter. Not the guy who is going the extra mile and having above average success…


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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby JustinP » Sun Sep 12, 2021 5:47 am

Dewey wrote:
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.


I don't normally geek out over stuff like that, but this thread piqued my curiosity so I did a quick search and I found that.
There was a bunch of other population information too, other years, more detail by county, and what not.
If anyone enjoys diving deep down into that kind of statistics rabbit hole there appeared to be plenty of info available to keep them more than happy.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Findian » Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:29 am

JustinP wrote:
Dewey wrote:
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.


I don't normally geek out over stuff like that, but this thread piqued my curiosity so I did a quick search and I found that.
There was a bunch of other population information too, other years, more detail by county, and what not.
If anyone enjoys diving deep down into that kind of statistics rabbit hole there appeared to be plenty of info available to keep them more than happy.



It’s nothing to drive around mason in bayfield county and see 35 deer per 40 acres in the fields. The surrounding area around Mason, Benoit is where it’s at if you want a good north woods experience. If you head up to cornucopia area you won’t find much to hunt. So yeah even within the county it changes drastically.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:22 am

Findian wrote:
JustinP wrote:
Dewey wrote:
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.


I don't normally geek out over stuff like that, but this thread piqued my curiosity so I did a quick search and I found that.
There was a bunch of other population information too, other years, more detail by county, and what not.
If anyone enjoys diving deep down into that kind of statistics rabbit hole there appeared to be plenty of info available to keep them more than happy.



It’s nothing to drive around mason in bayfield county and see 35 deer per 40 acres in the fields. The surrounding area around Mason, Benoit is where it’s at if you want a good north woods experience. If you head up to cornucopia area you won’t find much to hunt. So yeah even within the county it changes drastically.

How is that possible the wolves eat them all.. and there is no wolves in bayfeild county.. :lol:
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:24 am

I hunt iron county also and I think the lower numbers there have more to do with lake effect snow
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:38 am

Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote:
Findian wrote:
JustinP wrote:
Dewey wrote:
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.


I don't normally geek out over stuff like that, but this thread piqued my curiosity so I did a quick search and I found that.
There was a bunch of other population information too, other years, more detail by county, and what not.
If anyone enjoys diving deep down into that kind of statistics rabbit hole there appeared to be plenty of info available to keep them more than happy.



It’s nothing to drive around mason in bayfield county and see 35 deer per 40 acres in the fields. The surrounding area around Mason, Benoit is where it’s at if you want a good north woods experience. If you head up to cornucopia area you won’t find much to hunt. So yeah even within the county it changes drastically.

How is that possible the wolves eat them all.. and there is no wolves in bayfeild county.. :lol:

Nobody is saying the wolves eat them all. Each county is managed differently depending on the deer herd. Obviously in those counties where the herd is already struggling wolves make a much bigger impact. I realize there are a lot of wolves in Bayfield county but the much bigger deer herd can handle that. Also better deer habitat. I never hunted deer up in Bayfield county but have bear hunted there. I realized right away it’s much better deer country than the rest of the Northwoods.

Good point with the lake effect snows. Forgot to mention that and this alone can have a drastic impact. Just comparing northern Iron and Vilas to the southern ends of those counties is huge. 20 miles makes a BIG difference. Way too many variables impacting the herd. Some areas have almost zero deer and others have much more. You have to find the pockets. I’m sure that’s nothing new to anybody that lives up there. For the average hunter who goes up there only occasionally that’s hard to keep up with as it’s constantly changing.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:49 am

You can measure differences by ft. A lot of times in iron and ashland counties in a matter of 20 miles
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby JustinP » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:27 am

I guess when I think of "Big Woods" I'm think of the areas with large blocks of land and zero agriculture, not just up north.

If you've never been here, take the area you hunt and throw out all agriculture and all mast crops...............
I guess now that I think about it that way, the 6000 deer we do have are pretty god damn tough, aren't they!
The reality is we are lucky to have that many....LOL
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Findian » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:54 am

Dewey wrote:
Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote:
Findian wrote:
JustinP wrote:
Dewey wrote:
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.


I don't normally geek out over stuff like that, but this thread piqued my curiosity so I did a quick search and I found that.
There was a bunch of other population information too, other years, more detail by county, and what not.
If anyone enjoys diving deep down into that kind of statistics rabbit hole there appeared to be plenty of info available to keep them more than happy.



It’s nothing to drive around mason in bayfield county and see 35 deer per 40 acres in the fields. The surrounding area around Mason, Benoit is where it’s at if you want a good north woods experience. If you head up to cornucopia area you won’t find much to hunt. So yeah even within the county it changes drastically.

How is that possible the wolves eat them all.. and there is no wolves in bayfeild county.. :lol:

Nobody is saying the wolves eat them all. Each county is managed differently depending on the deer herd. Obviously in those counties where the herd is already struggling wolves make a much bigger impact. I realize there are a lot of wolves in Bayfield county but the much bigger deer herd can handle that. Also better deer habitat. I never hunted deer up in Bayfield county but have bear hunted there. I realized right away it’s much better deer country than the rest of the Northwoods.

Good point with the lake effect snows. Forgot to mention that and this alone can have a drastic impact. Just comparing northern Iron and Vilas to the southern ends of those counties is huge. 20 miles makes a BIG difference. Way too many variables impacting the herd. Some areas have almost zero deer and others have much more. You have to find the pockets. I’m sure that’s nothing new to anybody that lives up there. For the average hunter who goes up there only occasionally that’s hard to keep up with as it’s constantly changing.


This is exactly how you can constantly kill good bucks in the north woods. Being mobile but also knowing when to sit a area for a few days in a row.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Findian » Sun Sep 12, 2021 10:04 am

Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote:I hunt iron county also and I think the lower numbers there have more to do with lake effect snow


I agree the snow depth combined with wolves running them down. Although this year is a great year. The antler growth is amazing. If anyone wanted to come up this way and try to get on a good buck this is the year to do it. It seems that the majority of the does this year have one sometimes two fawns. It’s nice to see that the predators had a hard time this spring with the super early green up.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby JustinP » Sun Sep 12, 2021 10:47 am

Findian wrote:
Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote:I hunt iron county also and I think the lower numbers there have more to do with lake effect snow


I agree the snow depth combined with wolves running them down. Although this year is a great year. The antler growth is amazing. If anyone wanted to come up this way and try to get on a good buck this is the year to do it. It seems that the majority of the does this year have one sometimes two fawns. It’s nice to see that the predators had a hard time this spring with the super early green up.


I do think you are right, this year might be the one that things start to look up a bit more again.
I've actually seen a fair number of triplets this year too.

I mean I don't want to sound like I'm pissing and moaning to much about hunting this area, it's not like I couldn't pack up hunt some place else, I like the big roadless chunks and the low hunter count, I'll gladly put up with low deer density to avoid high hunter density.
Honestly if I had to put up with the hunting pressure most people do I'd quit hunting and take up golf, and I can't stand golf..............
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:51 am

The pockets of deer like dewey said is a great way to look at it, you do your homework and find those areas you have some really good hunting with some really nice bucks. No different than guys in the southern part of the state I know you guys do your home work before sitting
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:39 pm

Ol Split ( ) Toes wrote:You can measure differences by ft. A lot of times in iron and ashland counties in a matter of 20 miles

Exactly. That’s why when I plan a snowmobiling trip I stay in NW Vilas county. Trails always have the best snow up there compared to the south end of the county and easy enough to hop into the UP and hit the entire Lake Superior snowbelt. Deer have a much harder time surviving winters there. Pretty obvious why seeing it firsthand in the dead of winter.
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby Ol Split ( ) Toes » Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:47 pm

You could be in glidden in ashland county with only a few inches of snow you get from mellen to marengo totally different game there
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Re: Big Woods Not As Bad as People Say

Unread postby 1STRANGEWILDERNESS » Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:34 am

Lot of good info here. I’ve been considering buying Wisconsin tags and hitting the northwoods there some yr. I love the UP. When I was out of high school and big buck crazed I couldn’t be bothered with the thought of hunting the UP. I’ve lived here a while now and quite frankly yes the hunting is tough, would I trade a week here for a week in Iowa or Missouri this fall? No. I love hunting up here but there is a steep learning curve for most. Including myself. You go from corn country to most areas of the UP and you’re going to be tested.
I don’t think it’s as bad here as they say. Not great but not terrible. Unless you couldn’t be bothered with shooting a 100-120” buck

One thing I notice is these deer have peace and quiet all yr. a group of guys show up to a camp in the center of an 40-80 acre parcel. Hoot holler into the night drinking or drive atvs around the place etc. Then they don’t see much. Not all deer but most around here will vacate when that starts going on. I’ve watched them clear out when the noise starts in the distance. Then listened to the “no deer” complaints from the guys in that general area. If these guys would walk a ways they’d get into em. If you drive your Harley in there we’ll you aren’t getting within 300 yds. They will be booking it the other way.

I can’t speak for Wisconsin but in the UP MOST hunters rely on bait. The deer pattern em, go nocturnal on em. There are a rare few guys that have a good success rate on bait.

As said you find the pockets of deer. I don’t go hunt up near superior. It is much tougher in that snow belt. I’m not confident I could find a pocket of deer there. Maybe in town :lol:

also I want to barf when I drive around and see all the fed govt clearcuts planted in red pine. There’s not much food up here as it is. Hardly any oaks etc. Then you wanna spray the aspen shoots and such in a clear cut and plant red pine? You just destroyed the habitat. I guess it’s thermal cover but we’re already 3/4 thermal cover. Very little mast and not a lot of quality browse. I see deer readily browse balsam around here when we get near winter. That’s a starvation food that does nothing for them. The biologist say the deer never starve on an empty stomach. It’s usually full of balsam or something like that. They’re hungry so they eat it but get nothing back in return. Die with a full stomach.

Forestry is also a factor but I do believe it’s often overlooked.
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