As of posting time we’ve received reports of deer moving, but none of our 114 hunters dropped a buck in the past week. If any of you have a ritual you perform or other superstitious action to break a hex I’m all ears. More about this October drought below.
Last Week
*crickets*
Standings Update
- Tom Williquette – Score TBD
Tom still stands alone atop the leaderboard despite the fact that his buck hasn’t been measured. Perhaps Tom is the one who put the hex on the other 113 hunters. If so, well played, Tom. I like your style.
Poll Question
Now that we’ve gone weeks without dropping any bucks, I’m curious how many people in the pool are actively hunting right now. Maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing and guys are just staying out of their stands because they know activity is about to pick up and they don’t want to go to their hot spots and scare off deer. This week’s question is simple: Have you been hunting recently?
The Week Ahead
November is around the corner and the weather is cooling off. I think things are finally starting to come together for our hunters. For what it’s worth, everything that I pay attention to for deer hunting information says that action is about to pick up. Deer Cast is currently claiming that Thursday is supposed to be the best hunting day of the year so far. I would take a screen shot, but I don’t feel great about giving 100+ people free access to something that’s behind their paywall taking money out of the pockets of the good people at Drury Outdoors. Instead I’ll just say that their magic formula points to Thursday as a big day for deer hunting in these parts.
This Friday’s Raffle
This week’s raffle prize is an assortment of goodies courtesy of Kelly Carr from SlipNot. The assortment includes a soft cooler, mini mag-lites, tape measures, and a few other fun items that we’ll reveal later this week. Check the website Friday for the announcement of the winner.
Links
This week I have a few links, but I want to open by talking about podcasts. I wonder how many of you reading this are podcast listeners. I spend nearly all of my car time listening to podcasts covering various topics, but this time of year I’m glued to hunting talk. Our own Casey Liegeois has been involved in some very informative and entertaining bow hunting podcasting himself. I’m going to start there:
Casey has co-hosted the Release Hunting Podcast for several years. Like I said above, it’s always informative and entertaining. I’m certainly biased because I like Casey, but I also love the fact that it’s local. So many other podcasts are talking about hunting in other areas of the country, but I know Casey and his guys are right here in Northeast Wisconsin. However, I have not been able to find any new episodes in 2021. Maybe Casey can fill us in on the status.
The gold standard for hunting podcasts seems to be the Wired to Hunt podcast. Host Mark Kenyon is a terrific storyteller and clearly a knowledgeable hunter, but manages to keep it simple and easy to follow so a dummy like me can learn a few things. Also, he has a co-host (I can’t remember his name and I’m too lazy to look it up) who sounds very much like TG Director of Central Wisconsin Accounts Scott Bentley. Every time I hear him I’m like, ”Is that Scott???”
A new hunting podcast that’s only three episodes in, but comes from a trustworthy source is the After Hours Podcast from the crew at Midwest Whitetail. I love Midwest Whitetail’s content, especially this time of year, and I enjoy the personalities on their team. The After Hours Podcast so far has just been quick hitting stories about their hunts. Perfect for a short commute.
If you have suggestions for good hunting podcasts, please send them my way and I’ll post them up here in the future.
Speaking of Midwest Whitetail, they posted a very entertaining video this past week on the very topic I wrote about here a week ago: Why isn’t anyone getting deer? Apparently it’s not just the TG Buck Pool that’s in a hunting drought. It also explains why I thought my cellular trail cam might be broken because I’m getting no pictures. I guess I’m not alone. Check out this video.
Lastly, Jeff Blohowiak forwarded an e-mail to me from the DNR with the subject “Know Your Target: Don’t Accidentally Shoot Elk & Moose This Hunting Season.” I quickly dragged that e-mail into my No Shit folder. This e-mail went to great lengths to describe the difference between deer, elk, and moose. Here’s a sample:
I’m all for safety and correct animal identification. I would never mock that. I’ll also be the first to admit I’m far from perfect when trying to ID ducks as they wing by my decoy spread, especially in the early morning hours when the sun is still below the tree line and ducks are everywhere. However, I’ll be the ass hole and declare that if you gun down an elk or moose because you thought it was a deer, you need to find a new hobby. I can’t believe the DNR needs to send this out. I look forward to my “Don’t Shoot a Horse” e-mail this week.
Fun Stuff
Late-October has arrived and I’m guessing there’s going to be a lot of buck fever going around TG for the next few weeks. Good luck out there. If you have tips, ideas, comments, or general thoughts on any of this, please let me know.
Outside TG 
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