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Archives for June 2014

Turkey Dogs Don’t Ruin Deer Hunting Areas

June 26, 2014 by Charlie 1 Comment

The short answer is no.

Turkey-doggers and their dogs don’t usually interfere with bowhunters or ruin their deer hunting.  Turkey dogging is a late morning mid-day activity, and the vast majority of bowhunters have already left the field by the time we start;  although deer hunters should stay on their stands if they see or hear turkey doggers in the area.  Deer have a tendency to bed down during full daylight hours, and as long as the deer don’t move, a stand hunter has little chance of seeing them.  When mobile hunters such as turkey doggers, other small game or upland hunters enter an area, the deer will get up and move around.  Deer are territorial; they do not leave their home range unless there is a lot of disturbance.  If the deer leave, it is a short time before they will return, just like rabbits who circle the beagles and return to where they started.   I see more trophy bucks within easy bow range when Vic is with me than I do sitting on my butt during “prime time.”  Turkey dogs and other hunting dogs are trained not to chase deer.  The dog may occasionally bluff a deer to get it away from the bird hunting area, but they rarely chase the deer for long distances.  vic willow call turkey (640x505)

Some bowhunters get upset about anyone else doing anything else in the woods perhaps it’s they start to feel ownership of a spot after placing their stand.  Or more likely it’s because–
The scent control salespeople and inexperienced outdoor writers have convinced many deer hunters that leaving any scent in the woods will destroy the quality of the hunting area and all the deer will “blowout”.  So they think if anyone walks around without a has-mat suit on the area is contaminated making it impossible for them to kill a deer let alone a trophy.
Oh well, what can I say about these guys? Except you need to get off your stand and out more.  Come on think about it- If deer boogied out of all the areas with human, canine or a scent they don’t recognize, there would be no area holding any deer.  Some scent is everywhere.

Turkey hunters are arguably the most considerate,  sharing and easy to get along with hunters of them all. That goes double for turkey doggers.  If you are sitting on your stand, a turkey dogger comes by, wave, so they know you’re there, and they’ll move out.  Then stay alert, it’s likely a deer, possibly a trophy will be by soon.

Good hunting.

Filed Under: Deer Hunting, Fall Turkey, News, Think Pieces / Opinion Tagged With: deer, Fall turkey, Turkey Hunting

South Wisconsin Bobcat Hunting and Trapping Season 2014

June 18, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

New southern zone bobcat hunting and trapping season will be offered in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources press release regarding Bobcat Hunting and Trapping during fall 2014:

MADISON – Wisconsin will offer a southern zone bobcat hunting and trapping season beginning in fall 2014. State wildlife officials say the creation of a southern management zone will make new opportunities available for people to hunt and trap bobcats.

The southern management zone, which includes all of Wisconsin south of Highway 64, is the result of recent research regarding bobcat population density and habitat use in central Wisconsin conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The effort was supported by hunters and trappers who asked for a surcharge on the fee for bobcat permit applications; these charges were used to fund the research.

The northern harvest zone will remain unchanged.

Bobcat hunting and trapping period dates will remain the same, and are as follows:
• Period 1: Oct. 18 to Dec. 25.
• Period 2: Dec. 26 to Jan. 31, 2015.

Those interested in hunting and/or trapping bobcats will need to apply to a specific zone (north or south) and time period (period 1 or 2) for the upcoming season. The application deadline for bobcat permits is always August 1. It is important to note that applicant preference points will continue as in the past.

Since the number of people who would like to hunt or trap bobcats exceeds the number of permits that are available, a lottery system is in place to distribute permits. Those who were unsuccessful in a previous year’s drawing are awarded a preference point each year. Previously accumulated preference points can be used in applying for either a southern or northern zone permit.

Those who have already applied for a 2014-15 bobcat permit will be allowed to change their application and will be notified via mail with instructions explaining how to do so. Final permit numbers for each zone will not be known until early August and will be published on the DNR website once finalized.

While education requirements are not necessary to apply for a harvest tag, all hunter education and trapper education requirements apply in order to legally harvest a bobcat. For more information on bobcat hunting and trapping in Wisconsin, please visit dnr.wi.gov and search keyword “trap.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: bobcats, hunting, news, trapping

Wisconsin Grouse Drumming Survey 2014

June 15, 2014 by Charlie Leave a Comment

Update August 2016: Grouse 2016 Wisconsin Outlook; Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey

Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse wintered well. Ruffed grouse are designed for survival in deep fluffy snow which northern Wisconsin had a lot of during 2013/2014 severe winter. The 2014 Drumming Survey is complete and indicates only a 1% decline in spring drumming activity statewide.

Excerpts from 2014 Wisconsin Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey

Wisconsin’s ruffed grouse population indices decreased between 2013 and 2014 (Table 1). This is the third decrease in the ruffed grouse indices since 2011. Survey indices show a decrease in drumming grouse in two of the four regions of the state (Fig. 1-6). Statewide, overall changes in results were not significant (P= 0.93) between 2013 and 2014. Transects completed in both 2013 and 2014 were compared to detect population changes. Transects were considered to have changed from last year if the change was greater than two drums per transect. The number of transects with decreased drumming outnumbered by 26 to 23 those that showed increases, with 65 transects unchanged.

Breeding grouse and grouse brood production were down during the spring and summer of 2013. This probably set the stage for a decline in breeding grouse numbers in 2014. Wisconsin’s primary grouse range, the Central and Northern Forest regions, showed mixed results. The Central Forest had a decrease in breeding grouse of 23.5% this spring, while the Northern Forest had a small increase of 3.1%. Wisconsin is well past the peak in the grouse cycle and appears to have settled into the bottom of the cycle; it is likely that declines in breeding grouse numbers will continue for a few more years until we start to see numbers go up till the next grouse high.

Despite a late arriving spring with much of the north with snow cover for the month of April, survey conditions for 2014 were similar to those in 2013. Surveyors rated the overall survey conditions as “excellent” on 56% of transects runs, while 58% rated the overall conditions as “excellent” in 2013. Surveyors rated the conditions as “Fair”, the lowest available weather condition rating, 6% of the time in 2013 and 7% in 2014. Survey conditions do influence drumming activity and may cause grouse numbers to be over or under estimated.

Table 1. Ruffed Grouse drumming results 2013-2014, drums per stop (routes run), %

change, and some routes with a change of greater than two drums per route from 2013 levels.

 Region Drums/Stop 2013(routes run) Drums/Stop 2014(routes run)  %Change # of Decreasing Routes # of Increasing Routes # of Routes with No Change
Central 0.85 (26) 0.65 (27) -24% 8 3 15
Northern 1.70 (41) 1.76 (43) 3% 15 18 8
Southeast 0.01 (30) 0.02 (30) 100% 0 0 30
Southwest 0.21 (17) 0.19 (17) -10% 3 2 12
Statewide 0.84 (114) 0.83 (117) -1% 26 23 65

 

 

 

Filed Under: Upland Birds Tagged With: grouse, hunting

Wisconsin 2014 Final Spring Harvest/Kill Stats

June 8, 2014 by Charlie 6 Comments

 

We’ve all been waiting for these.  Well all of us serious turkey hunters.  Scroll down for the final, complete 2014 Wisconsin Spring Hunt Wild Turkey Stats.

2014 Wisconsin Wild Turkey Spring Harvest/Kill

2014 Spring Turkey Harvest
Zone A B C D E F LTH Youth Total
01 3,300 2,446 2,090 1,737 1,260 607 155 545 12,140
02 2,016 1,865 1,700 1,356 1,421 1,149 285 571 10,363
03 2,669 2,181 1,955 1,452 1,032 569 192 467 10,517
04 1,187 1,050 926 907 725 626 99 238 5,758
05 386 416 361 266 261 183 56 84 2,013
06 122 122 101 75 73 31 5 15 544
07 61 77 74 54 51 28 2 7 354
01A 2 4 4 1 1 12
01B 6 4 6 1 17
01C 3 1 0 4
01D 3 1 0 4
01E 0 1 0 1
01F 3 5 0 8
02A 0
03A 1 0 1 2
04A 0
04B 3 1 1 5
04C 0
01G 1 1
01H 0
01J 1 1
01K 0
01L 0
02B 0
FM 29 22 1 7 2 10 0 0 71
Unks 0
0
Total 9,790 8,198 7,218 5,856 4,827 3,203 794 1,929 41,815

 

2014 Wisconsin Spring Wild Turkey Kill by Age and Sex Ratio

2014 Turkey Kill by Age and Sex.
Zone Toms Jakes Hens   Total  % of Adult Toms  
01 10,978 1,058 104 12,140 90.4%
02 9,258 1,008 97 10,363 89.3%
03 9,581 867 69 10,517 91.1%
04 5,340 396 22 5,758 92.7%
05 1,828 174 11 2,013 90.8%
06 489 54 1 544 89.9%
07 306 45 3 354 86.4%
FM 64 5 2 71 90.1%
Total 37,844 3,607 309   41,760  90,6%  

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Wild Turkey Success Rates by Unit and Season Time Period

2014 Spring Turkey Success Rates
Zone A B C D E F Total
01 27% 20% 17% 14% 14% 14% 19.3%
02 27% 25% 23% 18% 19% 15% 23.0%
03 25% 21% 19% 14% 16% 17% 20.3%
04 20% 18% 16% 19% 16% 14% 18.4%
05 19% 21% 18% 13% 16% 12% 18.1%
06 16% 16% 13% 10% 10% 5% 12.6%
07 10% 13% 12% 9% 9% 8% 10.6%
01A 17% 33% 31% 32.4%
01B 40% 27% 40% 37.8%
01C 38% 13% 0% 15.4%
01D 25% 8% 0% 11.1%
01E 0% 20% 0% 6.7%
01F 14% 24% 0% 12.7%
02A 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
03A 0% 17% 0% 10.5%
04A 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
04B 38% 13% 0% 20.8%
04C 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
01G 0% 0% 0% 20.0%
01H 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
01J 0% 50% 0% 16.7%
01K 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
02B 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0.0%
FM 35% 22% 3% 18% 8% 25% 21.9%

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Wild Turkey Mail Issued tags

2014 Mail Issued Spring Turkey Permits
Permits Available Applicants Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Period 6 Total
74,400 36,109 12,400 12,400 8,438 1,872 623 245 35,978
45,000 35,981 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 2,487 651 33,138
63,000 29,649 10,500 10,500 6,851 1,397 432 163 29,843
34,920 20,785 5,820 5,820 5,821 2,123 560 242 20,386
12,000 9,047 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 371 166 8,537
4,500 4,936 750 750 750 750 751 576 4,327
3,600 3,594 600 600 600 600 600 348 3,348
36 128 12 12 13 37
45 78 15 15 15 45
24 46 8 8 10 26
36 66 12 12 12 36
15 23 5 5 5 15
63 89 21 21 18 60
18 26 6 6 6 18
18 54 6 6 7 19
6 23 2 2 2 6
24 68 8 8 8 24
15 24 6 4 5 15
6 4 2 2 1 5
6 4 2 2 2 6
6 21 2 2 2 6
6 22 2 2 3 7
3 1 0 1 0 1
18 80 4 3 3 3 4 2 19
415 324 84 101 36 39 24 40 324
238,180 141,182 39,767 39,782 32,108 16,284 5,852 2,433 136,226

OTC Tags/Permits Wisconsin 2014 Spring Wild Turkey

2014 Spring Turkey “Over-the-Counter” Permits
Zone     Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Period 6 Total
01 3,960 10,521 8,445 3,999 26,925
02 5,011 6,851 11,862
03 3,647 9,102 6,008 3,226 21,983
04 2,771 3,946 4,184 10,901
05 1,219 1,376 2,595

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Wild Turkey Total Permits

2014 Spring Turkey Total Permits
Zone Permits Available Applicants Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Period 6 Total
01 74,400 36,109 12,400 12,400 12,398 12,393 9,068 4,244 62,903
02 45,000 35,981 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,498 7,502 45,000
03 63,000 29,649 10,500 10,500 10,498 10,499 6,440 3,389 51,826
04 34,920 20,785 5,820 5,820 5,821 4,894 4,506 4,426 31,287
05 12,000 9,047 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,590 1,542 11,132
06 4,500 4,936 750 750 750 750 751 576 4,327
07 3,600 3,594 600 600 600 600 600 348 3,348
01A 36 128 12 12 13 0 0 0 37
01B 45 78 15 15 15 0 0 0 45
01C 24 46 8 8 10 0 0 0 26
01D 36 66 12 12 12 0 0 0 36
01E 15 23 5 5 5 0 0 0 15
01F 63 89 21 21 21 0 0 0 63
02A 18 26 6 6 6 0 0 0 18
03A 18 54 6 6 7 0 0 0 19
04A 6 23 2 2 2 0 0 0 6
04B 24 68 8 8 8 0 0 0 24
04C 15 24 6 4 5 0 0 0 15
01G 6 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 5
01H 6 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 6
01J 6 21 2 2 2 0 0 0 6
01K 6 22 2 2 3 0 0 0 7
01L 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
02B 18 80 4 3 3 3 5 2 20
FM 415 324 84 101 36 39 24 40 324
 
Total 238,180 141,182 39,767 39,782 39,718 38,678 30,482 22,069 210,496

Wisconsin 2014 Spring Wild Turkey Learn To Hunt Harvest/Kill

2014 LTH and Youth Turkey Harvest
Count of Harvest HARV_SEX HARV_AGE
F M Grand Total
Zone Period A J A J
01 LTH 1 136 18 155
Youth 5 2 475 63 545
1A YH . . 1 . 1
1B YH . . 1 . 1
2 LTH 5 . 245 35 285
YH 3 . 506 62 571
3 LTH 5 . 162 25 192
YH 3 . 428 36 467
4 LTH 1 . 87 11 99
YH 1 . 221 16 238
5 LTH . . 52 4 56
YH 1 . 71 12 84
6 LTH . . 5 . 5
YH . . 13 2 15
7 LTH . . 2 . 2
YH . . 7 . 7
Total 25 2 2412 284 2723

A lot of wild turkey stats here.  Appears to it was a fantastic spring turkey hunt.  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Filed Under: News, Spring Turkey, Turkey Hunting Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, hunting, news, Turkey Hunting, Wild Turkey, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

Tough to Hunt Gobbler Led to Ghillie Suited Grass Setup

June 1, 2014 by Charlie 2 Comments

You all know this gobbler or at least have met/heard him.  He sits on his roost proclaiming himself king for the day.  He wants all the other toms to back off and leave all the hens to him.  Because he is stuck on gobble every hunter in the areas thinks Mr. Loud Mouth will be an easy mark only to find out this bird is king of hunter avoiding strategies.  My advice is when you meet this turkey find another to hunt or you’ll find yourself addicted to killing this particular bird.  You find yourself getting up earlier and earlier in order to head him off while each time for some not so obvious reason or maybe an obvious reason you can’t figure out due to the additional sleep deprivation.

grass setup closeup (1024x766)

Ghillie Suit hides the human form.  Make sure it is made of natural materials they reflect less light.

Anyone who knows me, knows I can’t bring myself to give up, so my sound advice above goes right over my own head which leads me to unusual or some would say desperate tactics.  Such is the case in the following tale of the grass setup.

This turkey out gobbled every turkey in the valley making him impossible to ignore.  He seemed to have a easy pattern and at first glance I thought he would be wearing my tag in short order.  However, his habit of leaving the roost and walking to the upper field ended the first time I setup there; he walked down hill.  Must have seen or heard me, odd all the other turkeys flew or walked into the upper field.  Next morning I arrived earlier and snuck into woods middle ridge, it stayed quiet except for the wing beats landing in the field.  Then after my 2+ hour wait he started gobbling at 6 O’clock and stayed on roost until 7 before dropping the ground and sprinting up into the field gobbling all the way.  His zigging and my zagging went on for days.

Then I remembered my grass ghillie suit.  A disappointing apparel purchase mainly because it was very hard to move in.  It picked up every sticker and snagged on every piece of vegetation.  I realized that would not matter since the field was freshly planted and the 12 inch high grass strip would provide sufficient cover to lay in.  There was one particular fold in that field where the turkeys moved through out of range of any edge setup.  With only 2 days left to fill 2 tags I smirked at how well this idea would work.

grass setup 2 (1024x493)

View the approaching turkeys see.

Morning dawned on me lying on dew coated grass wearing an artificial grass boonie hat dressed in a grass suit with gun resting along my right side.  Sure glad only turkeys are out in those early mornings.  Someone from normal society might try and lockup a camo painted face grass clad hunter.  Some things are just too hard to explain to those outside the know.

The target turkey sounded off and stayed on roost while a hen moseyed along staring at me.  I had called on a tongue teaser call, she came to point of call.   She purred and stared looking for the turkey she had heard.  A hunting buddy had told me a story of how he moved while hiding in some logs during a fall hunt thinking he messed up his chances when all of sudden the flock of turkeys came over to investigate.  He figured they were expecting to see movement and his movement looked turkey like to them, he shot his bird.  So I moved my head and the hen immediately came within a few feet of me continuing to purr.  The two us played this game for at least a half hour.

The turkeys were within and never showed any concern as I laid still watching.

The turkeys were within feet and never showed any concern as I laid still watching. Bagged a second gobbler from this setup the next day.

He appeared without warning, I had been distracted playing with the hen and not paying attention of the gobbler’s approach.  The gobbler stood at attention staring at me and the fading away hen, she moved up the field past my head out of sight.

The gobbler moved to a 45 angle a few feet from my feet looking down at me.  My plan, as had happened on so many other open area setups was to wait for him to strut,  pirouette until his fan blocked his vision, rise up with gun pointed and shoot as he came out of strut.  Sounds easy, that is, until the gobbler is not in the mood to strut and looking down on you.  Come on, there is a hen please strut your stuff….

As the gobbler resumed stiff legging closer it was very apparent he was not going to strut.  My fingers found the shotgun’s grip, fumbled the safety off as the barrel aligned with his beak.  Pink mist filled the air with the headless turkey flopping on his back, he felt no pain.

Second Turkey using Grass Ghillie Suit.

Second Turkey using Grass Ghillie Suit.

History of Ghillie Suits

The word ghillie is an old Scottish term for a special kind of game warden. Ghillies were tasked with protecting the game on their Lord’s lands from poachers. From time to time, the ghillies would stalk the game by hiding in the grass and lying perfectly still. They would wait for unsuspecting deer to amble by and then leap out and grab it with their bare hands. Ghillies would then haul their prize back to the keep so the Lord could shoot it in the castle courtyard in a “mock hunt.”

 

Grass setups work to get tough gobblers in close.

Grass Ghillie Suit setups work to get tough gobblers in close.

 

Filed Under: Stories, Think Pieces / Opinion, turkey hunting tips Tagged With: 2014 spring turkey, wild turkey story, Wisconsin Turkey Hunting

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