Wisconsin Bowhunting Deer Opener!

LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015

Goal #1 – Get an Earn-A-Buck Sticker! 

Man do I love this time of the year. Its the first trip up North with the bow ready and license in hand. I know I am only a day away from being back on stand. This year was going to be different as I pledged to film my Wisconsin hunting buddy Josh Fletcher first. We decided to meet the night before and go over the final filming details so we would be on cue for the opener. When I am not available Josh will be filmed by his buddy Chad. We’re really hoping to get some good bowhunting video footage this fall and bring it to you as it happens here on Bowhunting.com and HuntingNet.  So make sure you keep checking out our video section as we post new bowhunting gear reviews from the field, as well as our exciting, and not-so-exciting, bowhunts this fall.

Here you can see Chad had his flash cards all prepared, so I know he wont be making any mistakes when he is behind the camera.

 

After a quick meal we were on the road with our binoculars looking bucks, although we did not see any we were pumped as we less than 12 hours away from being on stand.

 

Opening morning finally came and it was time to get out into the woods.  Here is Josh spraying down with Primos Silver XP – his favorite scent free spray. We will be adding the full line of Primos Silver XP Products to the Bowhunting.com shopping cart very shortly, so keep checking back if you’re interested in trying any of them out.

I promised Josh I wouldn’t be too hard on him, but who gets lost on the way to their treestand on opening day??? Well we did, in the rain no less! Here is a photo that I captured of Josh praying that his GPS is going work. It did after I loaned him batteries out of the wireless mic on our camera! Josh and I are going to have to do better next time.

Here’s a photo of me trying out the new camera arm from Muddy Outdoors.  So far this arm has worked out great for me and I’m looking forward to getting some more use out of it for a full review in a few weeks. Yes, it figures it has to rain on the opener. I used an old Gore-Tex coat to keep the camera gear dry but I was soaked.  After not seeing any deer and being completed soaked from the rain we decided to get out and regroup for the afternoon hunt.

Now it was my time too get in front of the camera! Josh and I had a plan ready to go but when the wind did not cooperate we had to deviate from that plan. We found a new spot, hung our Lone Wolf stands, cleared a few lanes with my Hooyman Extendible Tree Saw and settled in for the evening hunt.  Being able to stay mobile and find a good spot to hunt based on the weather and wind is one of the most important factors in the way that we hunt.  You can never have too many stand options, and when they don’t work out – improvise!

First thing that evening a nice doe came in and noticed a branch that I cut off and left on the trail. She immediately got nervous and started to sneak around our location. She eventually presented me a shot and I blew it!!!! You will have to watch the video to see the actual action. Click on the link below. Then a second doe comes in, and this time I made a great hit. Josh got everything on film and we were excited to be that lucky on the opener.

Click here to watch the video of my Opening day doe harvest in Wisconsin.

1st Blood trail of the year!

60 yards later, we found the end of the blood trail and a nice doe. Just as we found her the rain started coming down hard just like last year so we packed up our gear and got her out of the woods ASAP!

I’m looking forward to getting back out in Wisconsin in pursuit of a buck pretty soon.  Our season in Illinois doesn’t open for a few weeks yet, but you can bet I’ll be out for the IL opener as well!  Good luck to everyone who is out hunting now!

Now all we had to do is drag her out! I must say that Josh’s hunter saftey system worked like a charm for dragging!