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Post by Sandbur on Mar 9, 2017 21:03:18 GMT -6
At one time, 246 had decent hunting compared to 172.
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Coda1
Full Member
Posts: 242
Likes: 303
Location: Hunting north of Staples, MN
Zone: 3B
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Post by Coda1 on Mar 9, 2017 21:13:55 GMT -6
Yep, that is a big part of the problem. The DNR just bought the land on two sides of us last year so I don't see it getting any better.
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Post by smsmith on Mar 9, 2017 21:16:57 GMT -6
Sorry to hear it
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Post by Satchmo on Mar 9, 2017 21:38:01 GMT -6
I am convinced that the key to decent hunting in MN is isolation and selective harvest. I am in zone 246 as well, and our deer numbers have slowly come back to decent numbers over the last 5 years. I really didn't realize how far they had come back until a logging project nearby. You could drive a 3.5 mile winter road thru 8 cuttings and see over 100 deer on PUBLIC land that has very LIMITED access to most of the general public.
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Post by biglakebass on Mar 9, 2017 22:25:52 GMT -6
I think Stu has it right, we are just to used to poor hunting and do not expect better. I disagree. I am used to good hunting when I was much younger, and when we apparently had less deer according to the DNR stats. I am not agreeable to poor hunting. Nor will I ever be agreeable to it.
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Post by Sandbur on Mar 10, 2017 7:11:04 GMT -6
I am convinced that the key to decent hunting in MN is isolation and selective harvest. I am in zone 246 as well, and our deer numbers have slowly come back to decent numbers over the last 5 years. I really didn't realize how far they had come back until a logging project nearby. You could drive a 3.5 mile winter road thru 8 cuttings and see over 100 deer on PUBLIC land that has very LIMITED access to most of the general public. I am glad to hear numbers are up. Winter logging can pull deer in from a very large area.
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Post by Satchmo on Mar 10, 2017 12:13:11 GMT -6
I am convinced that the key to decent hunting in MN is isolation and selective harvest. I am in zone 246 as well, and our deer numbers have slowly come back to decent numbers over the last 5 years. I really didn't realize how far they had come back until a logging project nearby. You could drive a 3.5 mile winter road thru 8 cuttings and see over 100 deer on PUBLIC land that has very LIMITED access to most of the general public. I am glad to hear numbers are up. Winter logging can pull deer in from a very large area. Your right Art. I'm sure they came from far and wide. It's a huge area of swamp and islands.
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Post by MN Slick on Mar 10, 2017 13:18:08 GMT -6
I’m sure you MN guys get sick of hearing about other states but I’ll share anyway. A friend closed on 115 acres in North MO last Thursday. We put 5 cams over corn on his farm on Feb 2 to check inventory. After that 30 day soak he had about 20 different bucks on cam with 6 or 7 between 120 and 135. No giants but he’s very pleased so far.
Life is too short to hunt in Minnesota!
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Post by kl9 on Mar 10, 2017 13:37:14 GMT -6
What county?
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Post by MN Slick on Mar 10, 2017 15:01:48 GMT -6
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Post by westbranch on Mar 10, 2017 15:24:42 GMT -6
For 2016 I had 6 different 1.5 year old bucks within bow range, and saw another 3-4, 1.5 year olds and 3, 2.5+ that were outside of bow range. Total days in the field was 7. Only 3 of those days were close to the whole day. My brother hunted 3 hours opening weekend and passed up 4, 1.5 year old bucks, pretty sure they were some of the same ones I saw sitting close to the same spot two days before. Some friends that hunt with us saw two different 3.5 (or older) bucks the first day they hunted. One got his, while the other was not ready and missed a good chance.
2016 was comparable to 2012-2013 for us when it came to deer sightings, 2014-2015 was pretty bad. My wife's uncle hunted with us for a few years and in 2012 he passed up 3, 3.5+ bucks in about 3 days of hunting on top of seeing quite a few other deer. I always put in the most days but the guys that show up for 2 days are the ones that get the chances at the older bucks. Even if I sat in the stand the day before, still haven't figured that out.
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Post by westbranch on Mar 10, 2017 16:06:40 GMT -6
Just talked to my dad, he said there have been 30-35 deer on the fields close to the farm that you can see from the road most evenings. The area is about 1.5 miles wide but you can't see very far because the hills roll enough that there are hidden areas. A quick google earth measurement of the visible area shows about 60 acres. Using the NoFo method of DPSM we would be over 200 prefawn... reality is probably close to 20 once they spread out this spring, but things are looking good for this year. And I won't be around to hunt.
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Post by chummer16 on Mar 10, 2017 23:35:05 GMT -6
Any buck any weapon I would guess 2-3 a year. Our season is 10-1 till 12-20ish
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Post by kl9 on Mar 10, 2017 23:57:10 GMT -6
Seems to me MN is spotty. Area with food deer #s, areas with poor #s.
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Post by Sandbur on Mar 12, 2017 3:26:46 GMT -6
Seems to me MN is spotty. Area with food deer #s, areas with poor #s. Herd balance is also very spotty. I have neighbors that are two miles away and they can see many more deer than me. My buddy shot a deer with the mzzle and there were over 60 deer on the field with only one or two small bucks. I see 14 deer in 7-9 days of hunting and see about even numbers of adult bucks and adult does. Out habitat is also vastly different.
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