Bow hunting Deer Success in Wisconsin

LAST UPDATED: August 28th, 2024

Good old Wisconsin has been very good to me over the years. I guess I really need to thank my Dad for finding this property years ago and then being nice enough to sell it to me. I will be hunting this property until the day I die, and then I hope my little man hunts it. OK enough of that. Wow, did I have some great hunts this weekend!

My weekend hunting started early on Friday night.  I saw 4 doe all within shooting distance which made me feel like my stand choice was good and will produce one day, but I was looking for a buck that night. All deer movement took place within the last 15 minutes of light given the above average temperatures.

Saturday morning I awoke to a Southeast wind which made it perfect for me to slip into one of my known buck bedrooms. Getting in undetected and without working up too much of a sweat is always a challenge, but once I got in I knew it was going to be a good hunt. Unfortunately my the strap for my camera arm would not get small enough to fit on the tree I was in, so I was not able to film the experience! That was a bummer, but what can you do?  Besides buying a different strap of course…..

About a 1/2 hour after I got settled into my stand it was starting to get light and I could hear bucks fighting. I could not believe it, but it felt like the rut as I had two bucks fighting and a spiker was chasing a doe all over the place. That’s when I looked over my shoulder and saw this nice 3 1/2 year old heading in my direction.

I did not have to think very hard if I was going to shoot or not. This was a dandy buck for our neck of the woods and would be my largest bow buck for this property. The buck was headed slightly away from me so I gave him a few small grunts and that is all it took for him to come check out who was in his bedroom.

The buck came in perfect – about 28 yards broadside and had no clue I was even there.  I grabbed my rangefinder and checked it twice.  Then I took a deep breath, drew my bow, picked a spot and I let the arrow fly.

The carbon arrow tipped with an NAP Nitron broadhead hit it’s mark perfectly and the buck only went about 60 yards before falling over. I was very excited to have that nice of buck down on the ground this early in the season!

I knew it was a good sign and was going to be a nice blood trail when I found my arrow.

As bowhunters you just can’t explain the feeling you have when you finally lay eyes on your harvest. As I always say to most beginning bowhunters, the real hunt begins once the arrow is released.

There is no better feeling that finding your trophy laying just where you thought it would be!

Its a dirty job but someone one has to do it. I must own at least 20 pairs of gutting gloves but I always seem to forget them. Here a garbage bag had to do!

Well, for now its time to get the gear cleaned up and get ready for the up and coming rut! I have two IL buck tags and the plan is to put them to good use. But for now my 1st goal is going to be finding a smaller strap so I can get my video recorder to work next time.

Thanks to my Dad for all the help and getting me into hunting – I love it!