11-27-2011 Sun

11-27-2011 Sun
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Weather: N21, overcast, 35˚ (1200)
Location: Sparta and Ettrick, WI
Bagged: three does
Partners: Tom W., Johnnie Kind, and the Brook’s family and their friends

Comments

It was the last day of deer season and I was hunting with a group on some private land south of Sparta, WI and private land near Ettrick. Since it was the last day of the season Tom wanted a doe. He had requests for deer and he wanted to fill the order.
The first two farms we hunted were owned by the father and uncle of one of Tom’s co-workers. We had a total of ten hunters in the group and I knew no one except Tom, and all the other hunters were much younger than Tom and I. We were under strict orders to shoot only large buck or coyotes, and honestly I would have rather shot a coyote than a large buck. I would have felt quite bad if I would have shot a large buck on someone’s land that I did not know and also with a bunch of strangers. I did see a total of nine deer (the most I had seen in total for the season). Out of the nine deer one was a fourteen inch two and a half year old buck that came within about twenty yards of me. Of course since I was not in the market for such a deer it did give my ample opportunities to shoot it. I was not very comfortable hunting these farms with a total group of strangers. The group as a whole bagged two does on the first farm. I still have not figured that one out; we were told at the beginning that no does were to be shot.
The next farm we hunted was Congressman Ron Kind’s land. We got there rather late and Ron was already out with his youngest son. Ron’s oldest son Johnnie was there, so Tom formulated a plan for Johnnie and me to sit and Tom would make a small push to us. The only wrinkle in the plan was that Tom wanted a deer and Ron and the boys had just decided not to shoot anymore does. Tom with his persuasive powers did talk Johnnie into shooting a doe if the opportunity presented itself.
I had not even gotten to my stand when I heard Johnnie shoot. About five minutes later I had him at the base of my tree saying he had shot a doe but it ran off and he did not know what to do. I sent him back to his stand and told him to wait for Tom to finish the drive then Tom and I would be over. After the drive we picked up on the blood trail and found the deer about one hundred yards from where he had shot it.
Tom now had his deer, but he and Johnnie had to come up with a story to appease Ron on account they had shot a doe. I stood the last half hour of the season between the public and private land and saw one fawn.

Observations:

I had a fairly good deer season this year, even though it was filled with bad luck the first day. After not getting that big buck on the first day I was pretty much in the bummed mood the rest of the season. The deer population seems to be much higher down here around home, however it could just appear that way on account everybody is baiting deer up north and that is possibly why I did not see that many deer up there.