Welcome to November, by far the greatest month of the year in the eyes of any avid bow hunter. Nothing seems to beat those crisp still mornings, then when the woods erupts with the sound of bucks grunting, leaves crunching and arrows slinging! Here’s a quick update as to what the BMGOutdoors Team has seen the last week.
Cactus in August
South Central Wisconsin:
Brandon Hirsch and Greg Haak
For the guys down south things have started to pick up in the last week; Greg and Brandon have been seeing some young bucks out cruising and checking does. Just last night (October 31st) Greg had a great encounter with a small 8 pointer. Trying to take advantage of the bucks aggressive tendencies during this pre rut phase Greg decided to put up a buck decoy and sit in a homemade ground blind. With little action besides 2 fawns, Greg decided to bust out the horns; within 5 minutes of setting them down he heard the buck coming down the tree line. The buck circled the decoy bowlegged, puffing up to an aggressive stance a mere 5 yards from Greg’s natural ground blind. It was great encounter but hopefully he makes a similar appearance two years down the road.
Pat Raab
Pat has been hunting hard having passed numerous 130 class deer in hopes of an opportunity at one of the bigger deer he knows are out there. Sunday night one of those bigger deer by the name of Cactus used one of his extra lives to elude Pat. As it was getting dark Pat decided to call it a night. He often leaves his stand earlier than the typical bow hunter to avoid detection by one of the numerous deer that roam his property. He was lowering his bow to the ground when he heard leaves crunching nearby. He looked up to see cactus, a 165+ class deer walking broadside at 30 yards. He quickly got his bow up, loaded an arrow and drew back. As he was settling his pin at the buck that was now 20 yards away broadside, his arrow fell off the rest and Cactus waked away unscathed. An unfortunate sequence of events, but knowing Pat he’ll close the deal on this buck or another giant before the seasons end.
Eastern Wisconsin:
Jason Lisowe
Jason has been getting out whenever his schedule allows. His best property has been slow since opening weekend most likely because he has been sharing the woods with another hunter. Deer movement ceased however things should pick up with the rut. He also got access to another property. After having the trail camera out for 5 days he was pleased to have gotten 60 pictures with 35 of them of bucks. He has added a couple new shooters on his list one of which may be the virgin buck. Just this morning (November 1) he passed a 2.5 year old 8 pointer that came within 25 yards of his setup.
Mark Mitchell
Mark is finally starting to see some deer. Sunday I braved the rainstorm and sat at my fiancé’s farm for my first legit evening hunt of the year. I was in the stand no more than an hour when a small six pointer came out of the cattails. He circled around my set-up, made a pair of rubs and scrapes in the 30 minutes I was able to see him. I was hoping the big buck that has been seen with this younger guy would make an appearance, but he never showed. I’ll be heading back to this spot for my first of three vacation days this Thursday for an all day sit. With a cold front moving through I have a feeling things will be rocking!
Best of luck to everyone the next few weeks! Be safe and remember to celebrate NO SHAVE NOVEMBER with us since it’s been scientifically proven you kill more deer with facial hair!
Brandon Hirsch and Greg Haak
For the guys down south things have started to pick up in the last week; Greg and Brandon have been seeing some young bucks out cruising and checking does. Just last night (October 31st) Greg had a great encounter with a small 8 pointer. Trying to take advantage of the bucks aggressive tendencies during this pre rut phase Greg decided to put up a buck decoy and sit in a homemade ground blind. With little action besides 2 fawns, Greg decided to bust out the horns; within 5 minutes of setting them down he heard the buck coming down the tree line. The buck circled the decoy bowlegged, puffing up to an aggressive stance a mere 5 yards from Greg’s natural ground blind. It was great encounter but hopefully he makes a similar appearance two years down the road.
Pat Raab
Pat has been hunting hard having passed numerous 130 class deer in hopes of an opportunity at one of the bigger deer he knows are out there. Sunday night one of those bigger deer by the name of Cactus used one of his extra lives to elude Pat. As it was getting dark Pat decided to call it a night. He often leaves his stand earlier than the typical bow hunter to avoid detection by one of the numerous deer that roam his property. He was lowering his bow to the ground when he heard leaves crunching nearby. He looked up to see cactus, a 165+ class deer walking broadside at 30 yards. He quickly got his bow up, loaded an arrow and drew back. As he was settling his pin at the buck that was now 20 yards away broadside, his arrow fell off the rest and Cactus waked away unscathed. An unfortunate sequence of events, but knowing Pat he’ll close the deal on this buck or another giant before the seasons end.
Eastern Wisconsin:
Jason Lisowe
Jason has been getting out whenever his schedule allows. His best property has been slow since opening weekend most likely because he has been sharing the woods with another hunter. Deer movement ceased however things should pick up with the rut. He also got access to another property. After having the trail camera out for 5 days he was pleased to have gotten 60 pictures with 35 of them of bucks. He has added a couple new shooters on his list one of which may be the virgin buck. Just this morning (November 1) he passed a 2.5 year old 8 pointer that came within 25 yards of his setup.
Mark Mitchell
Mark is finally starting to see some deer. Sunday I braved the rainstorm and sat at my fiancé’s farm for my first legit evening hunt of the year. I was in the stand no more than an hour when a small six pointer came out of the cattails. He circled around my set-up, made a pair of rubs and scrapes in the 30 minutes I was able to see him. I was hoping the big buck that has been seen with this younger guy would make an appearance, but he never showed. I’ll be heading back to this spot for my first of three vacation days this Thursday for an all day sit. With a cold front moving through I have a feeling things will be rocking!
Best of luck to everyone the next few weeks! Be safe and remember to celebrate NO SHAVE NOVEMBER with us since it’s been scientifically proven you kill more deer with facial hair!
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