Tuesday Update: 11/16/21

Another group of hunters added to the buck board in the past seven days. Let’s recap:

Last Week

Greg Blazer, Andy Boylan, Justin Beck, and Jay Richer all added their names to the list of successful hunters since last week’s update. That brings our buck pool total up to 12. However, Shawn and Mitch are the only two that have been officially scored so far, so they remain the official top two. Everyone else is TBD. I anticipate this number will increase more in the coming week with firearm season opening only four days from now. The list will likely look drastically different, but let’s take one last look before the firearm season starts:

Standings Update

1. Shawn Thomas – 143 4/8″
2. Mitch Dequaine – 118 1/8″
3. Tom Williquette – Score TBD
4. Jason LaBine – Score TBD
5. Justin Johnson – Score TBD
6. Matt Schmidt – Score TBD
7. Toby Goetz – Score TBD
8. Josh Andrews – Score TBD
9. Greg Blazer – Score TBD
10. Andy Boylan – Score TBD
11. Justin Beck – Score TBD
12. Jay Richer – Score TBD

* I should mention that the 3-12 scores are in no particular order. The site makes me put numbers next to them, but they are in no way ranked

Poll Question

The Week Ahead

I used to obsess about the weather for opening day. I subscribed to a specific weather app for a while just because it had an extended 25-day forecast. After a few days I realized it’s all bullshit. I’ve been sitting in the same stand in the same spot for every opening day since 1998. The weather hasn’t influenced my strategy once. My strategy is sit and wait. In the same spot. Every year. Now my only concern is whether or not I’m going to freeze my ass off. Looks like this year I won’t.

Deer Cast shows the gun opener to be “OK” but apparently the best day to be out hunting is Monday if you can swing it. I like that, and here’s why: My son is hunting this year and getting him a deer is priority #1. By Monday morning I’ll be the only one in my camp still willing to get up before dawn to hunt Monday morning. That’s when I plan to get out there alone and get my buck.

This Friday’s Raffle

This week’s raffle is a gun case, hat, and mug from Jody Christman of United Rentals. Look for the announcement Friday. I will post it Friday. Not Monday or Tuesday. You have my word.

Links

If you’re at all like me, you like to read the regulations before you head out for your first hunt of the season. That might sound like the nerdiest shit of all-time, but as you probably already know, the DNR is always tweaking some rules or regulations. Checking out the regs is a great way to make sure they’re fresh in your head before you head out. A few years ago they added a “what’s new” section to make it easy to find out what’s changed since last year if you’re already familiar with the regulations. They also give you the opening and closing times. The deer hunting regulations aren’t terribly complicated, but I’m going to quote my dad again. He always used to say, “You have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to understand the duck hunting bag limits.” Are Philadelphia know for their knowledge of hunting laws? I never quite got that one. Anyway, I’m sure you already know all of this. In case you’re interested, though, here’s a link to the Wisconsin Fall 2021-Spring 2022 Hunting Regulations in case you need it.

I’m also going to recommend installing the Hunt Wild WI app on your phone if you haven’t already. It really comes in handy when you need to look up shooting hours or have a question about hunting regs while you’re in the field.

Just because I like the topic, I’m going to keep the Hunt For the Hungry links here again for another week. For information on Hunt for the Hungry, click here. For a list of participating processors in Wisconsin, click here.

Fun Stuff

I count down to this weekend all year. I’m guessing many of you do, too. Best of luck to all of you. Stay safe and shoot straight. If you have tips, ideas, comments, or general thoughts on any of this, please let me know.