Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

Wisconsin 2017 Fall Turkey Drawing Complete; Estimate of leftover permits Updated with final stats

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Update: 5:00 PM 8/18/17 the official leftover fall turkey permit numbers are posted. Scroll down the page for table and link to WDNR page.

The 2017 fall turkey hunting drawing has been completed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.   Notification cards will be mailed very soon.  In the meantime, hunters can check their Go Wild account for their application status; look under “current licenses.”

Leftover fall turkey hunting tags will go on sale Saturday, August 26 at 10a.  Turkey hunters may purchase one permit per day until all permits are sold out.

Estimated Leftover Permits for Fall 2017 turkey hunt:

Zone 1 – 15,000+

Zone 2 – 5000+

Zone 3 – 18000+

Zone 4 – 8000-

Zone 5 –  150

No permits are leftover in zones 6 or 7.

When the leftover permit statistics are verified the exact number will be posted on the;

2017 Fall Turkey Hunting Leftover permit availability page. 

Update the final leftover turkey permit numbers are posted. Here is a copy of the WDNR table.  Click the link above to visit the WDNR page.

Zone Remaining Permits
Zone 1 15,486
Zone 2 5,073
Zone 3 18,531
Zone 4 7,936
Zone 5 180
Zone 6 0
Zone 7 0

Permits are $5.00 for 10 and 11-year-olds, $10.00 for residents, and $15.00 for nonresidents.

Please note that at the time you purchase your permit you will be required to purchase a fall turkey license. If you did not buy a spring turkey license, you would also need to buy a Wild Turkey Stamp.

2017 Wisconsin wild turkey fall season dates;

Zones 1-5  – Opens, September 16, 2017, Close December 31, 2017

Zone 6 and 7 – Opens, September 16, 2017, Close November 17, 2017

Wild Turkey Mating In the Middle of Road!? Lookout a Car is Coming! Video Proof

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This show went on for 29 minutes, the Hen telling Tom where to go! While her poults sit tight, she’s telling him he’s supposed to be a sentinel on the lookout, not trying to court her, you big dummy! The poults like to feed in the ditches, while Tom thinks the road is his strutting ground.
Turn up the speakers, what do you think she’s saying? In the next video, count how many poults are left.


It’s July 7, 2017, the turkey books say mating is done by now. Consider, this feathered lady already has thirteen kids.

There were 13 from this one hen, 2 days ago. Don’t know how they manage, between the cars, the weather and all the predators. There are a few stragglers in the bunch, so keep watching.

Note by charlie: Make sure to click the AWTHDA link above to check out more information on wild turkeys and while you’re there consider joining.

What did the Hen say to Her Poults Before Crossing the Road

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Updated July 5, 2017

Courtesy of American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association

Notice how smart birds are, that they know enough to get off the road when a car is coming? As if they tell the young ones: “Be careful crossing the road, your great, great, great Aunt Matilda was killed by a car and don’t you forget it!”

How many are left?

What’s the odds of one hen’s 13 poults surviving until 2 weeks old? We
got a good count when they crossed the road this morning.

14 turkeys survived the fireworks, a 1/4 mile from their roost last night. Watch a 25 second video in Vivid Color from this morning

Wisconsin Wolves Eat Black Bear

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The wolves in Wisconsin must be elevated to game animal status in order to prevent them from being viewed as just pests.

The wolves in Wisconsin must be elevated to game animal status in order to prevent them from being viewed as just pests.

The following is a Wisconsin bear hunting story written my friend at Willowridge Calls.  This is the first time I’ve heard of wolves eating a large adult black bear.  Usually wolves stay well away from bears. There are many reports from hunters regarding their encounters with  aggressive wolves and coyotes during the 2015 hunting seasons.  Not all want to share their stories because some of the anti wolf hunting/trapping people will harass them and in some cases threaten violence.

I spent most of my fall up north at the cabin Bear hunting. I did all my own baiting and placing stands. I had two good baits that were being hit twice a day by big bears, and lots of sows with cubs. They were hitting the baits at noon and 7pm. I hunted with my crossbow this year. I finally got a big bore that came in at 5pm and he gave me a good clean shot. I drove an arrow in him just behind his front leg and off he went towards the marsh. I gave him 30 minutes, then got down and went to the truck to get my shotgun/slugs for trailing, I had my sidearm on me just in case a sow got to close in the tree. I picked up the blood trail and followed it about 100 yds. and heard growling ahead of me. I hesitated a bit just to be safe, the brush was so thick you could only see about 60 yds. at best. As I waited 5 wolves stepped out of the brush and stood facing me then 3 more showed up. Two went to my left and one to my right. The two on my left kept getting closer when they got to about 30 yds. I fired a few rounds at them with my 357. They backed off about 25 yds. then started coming towards me again, the other wolves just stood watching. I backed off and out. Two  wolves I could handle, but 8 would of been trouble. The lone wolf to my right followed me all the way back to the truck, and watched me leave. I went back in the next morning to see how bad they ate my bear; but they were still there feeding on it.  I never did get to lay a hand on my bear. That was the last bear that gave me a shot so I ate tag soup on the bear.

That’s the problem up there in that area of northern WI. The wolf packs are getting so big that they are starving themselves because there is so  little for them to feed on anymore. I had that bait set out the 4th of July and had cameras on it, got quite a few wolf pics on the bait. The time I spent sitting on that bait I saw a total of 27 different wolves around that bait, I’d see 3-5 usually, but 3 days before I shot that bear there was a Wolved Trail Campack of 11 that came through. Usually they would send in one wolf to the bait to see what scent they could pick up, if there was a scent of a sow with cubs they would follow it off through the woods. The people up there are screaming about the wolves. The other bear hunters I talked with that ran bear dogs, said they couldn’t run a bait more that once a week and not more that 3 times a season, because the wolves would lay in wait for them to turn the dogs loose and attack their dogs on trail. Even some of the home owners won’t let their little kids wait for the school bus at the end of their driveways anymore because the wolves would come on to their front yards and watch the kids run to the bus. One of the TV bow hunting shows had shot a big buck and the wolves got that before they found it. They warn all the hikers and skiers that use the trails up there to make sure you’re armed before entering the woods. Even when I let my dogs out to go I followed them out with my sidearm because  wolves wait in my driveway some days, it doesn’t take them long to learn what times you let your pets out.

I could have shot both those wolves that came at me, but I didn’t want to have an issue with the feds, as long as they backed off and didn’t come at me as fast as they did the first time, if they would have I’d have had to drop them both. That’s why I backed off, being alone with no one around for back-up with 8 wolves is too risky. With having 3 attacks reported this year, and a lot of others that had wolves circling bow hunters in their stands, it’s gonna get worst before it gets better. I had posted my story on Facebook on the Wisconsin Wolf Hunters page  there was a lot of reports of the same problem with other hunter in northern WI.

By Willowridge

Perhaps 2016 will be your lucky year.

Perhaps 2016 will be your lucky year.

 

Ruffed grouse numbers entering downside of population cycle

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Updated at: Grouse 2016 Wisconsin Outlook; Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey

WDNR Press Release

Weekly News article published: June 12, 2012, by the Central Office
MADISON – Ruffed grouse populations in Wisconsin appear to be entering a downswing, according to a recently completed roadside ruffed grouse survey.

Ruffed grouse populations are known to boom and bust over a nine- to 11-year cycle, according to Brian Dhuey, wildlife surveys coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. The index that Wisconsin uses to track ruffed grouse decreased 25 percent between 2011 and 2012.

“While this is a bit of bad news for grouse hunters, it should not be too big of a surprise,” Dhuey said.  “We were overdue for the expected downturn.”

The Wisconsin roadside survey to monitor the number of breeding grouse was conducted by staff from the DNR and U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees, and numerous grouse enthusiasts and volunteers since 1964.  Surveyors begin 30 minutes before sun rise and drive along established routes, making ten stops at assigned points and listening for four minutes for the distinctive “thump, thump, thump” drumming sounds made by male grouse.  Results from this survey have helped DNR biologists monitor the cyclic population dynamics of ruffed grouse in the state.

“Spring arrived early in Wisconsin in 2012, and conditions for the survey were rated ‘excellent’ by 60 percent of the routes, this was about the same as last year’s 62 percent and above the long-term average,” Dhuey said.

The number of drums heard per stop was down 25 percent in 2012 from the previous year.  Both of the primary regions for grouse in the state, the central and northern forest areas, showed declines of 21 and 26 percent respectively.  The only area to show an increase was the southeast, where grouse exist in only isolated areas of suitable young forest habitat and are not common.

The number of routes that showed a decline in the number of drums heard outpaced those that showed an increase by better than 2:1 margin.  Results from the survey matched declines seen on two research areas, with the Sandhill Wildlife Area showing a decrease of 11 percent and the Stone Lake Experimental Area showing a decrease of 18 percent.  Complete survey results are found on the DNR website (search Wildlife Reports).

“This drop in breeding grouse was not unexpected, as grouse populations tend to be at their peak in years ending in a 9 or 0 in Wisconsin.  Last year we had an increase in grouse and were probably at the cyclic peak, a decline was inevitable,” Dhuey said.

“Early weather conditions are excellent for nesting and brood rearing, if we can stay normal or above for temperatures and have a bit of dry weather, we should have a pretty good brood year.  I would expect that hunters will see a decline in the number of birds they see afield this fall, but areas of good cover should still hold birds.  In years with lower grouse numbers, hunters who find success are those willing to explore new coverts, as grouse will tend to occupy only the best habitat available and may not be found in the same areas where hunters found them in recent years,” he said.

For more information search for ruffed grouse hunting on the DNR website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:  Brian Dhuey – 608-221-6342) or Scott Walter – 608-267-7861