The Week 9 raffle prize is a gun case, hat, and mug courtesy of Jody Christman at United Rentals. Thank you to Jody for the nice donation!
Congrats to this week’s winner, ISAAC BLOHOWIAK. Isaac is a plumbing pre-apprentice currently working at Marinette Schools. Congrats to Isaac, and thanks again to Jody at United Rentals for the great prize.
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
* 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.
Congrats to Jay Richer on taking down our first UP firearm season buck. Jay is a plumber working on our UP projects and accounts. I love what Jay had to say about this deer:
“I know this one won’t be in the running. I’ve gotten bigger bucks but this one will always be my favorite. My dad passed away in July & I shot it with his rifle!! Thanks Dad.”
Thanks for sharing the story, Jay. Whenever I used one of my dad’s guns he’d say, “Don’t teach it any bad habits.” You definitely did your dad proud with this one. Congratulations!
Along with easily the most adorable tracking party ever assembled, young Addisyn Johnson got this buck on Friday afternoon. Addisyn is the daughter of De Pere Service Tech Justin Johnson. I’ll let the proud papa tell the story:
“We’ve had this buck coming in more days than not during daylight. I decided to take her out of school early Friday which got us into the woods at 2pm. By 3pm, the job was done. It was a crazy exciting hunt watching her keep her cool to make a great shot.”
Congrats to Addisyn for being the baddest little kid on the planet. When I was her age I was shooting chickadees with a BB gun. Respect.
Justin Beck is on the board with an impressive buck. I’ll let Justin tell the story in his own words…
“Recovered a buck I shot Tuesday night yesterday morning. 8 point. Nice deer. 28 yard shot. Not placed where it should have been. Went about 180 yards. Didn’t have great blood so I backed out to ensure he was expired. Been awhile since I took one.”
Maybe it’s been a while for Justin, but that’s a hell of a way to end the drought. Justin is our Director of Service – Central Wisconsin Accounts. His buck has not been scored yet and will enter the pool with a score of TBD. Congrats, Justin!
Dan Ebert and Andy Boylan recently took a hunting trip to South Dakota with former TG employee and current Local 400 Business Agent Dustin Delsman and from what I see here they had a hell of a trip.
Andy Boylan dropped a buck and he will be entered into the TG Buck Pool. The score of the buck is TBD. Among others, Dan got himself a nice mule, and it looks like the guys got in some successful pheasant hunting as well. Congrats to Andy, Dan, and Dustin on what looks like a dream week of hunting in South Dakota!
Congrats to Greg Blazer for taking this guy down last weekend. Greg was swimming in the Oconto River when he came across this guy… OK, I made that up. Seriously, no offense to anyone else, but this is easily my favorite picture so far. I’ll let Greg tell the actual story here in his own words:
“Sunday morning about 7:45 he came down the trail that a group of doe had used about a half hour earlier. He was in my lap and moving fast. Before I could get a shot he started crossing the river. I stopped him about half way across and he was quartering away at 25 yards. The shot was good and he went about 125 yards. What a beautiful morning. He has 11 points guessing he weighs about 130. I was on my moms property near Maribel.”
This buck has yet to be scored, so we’ll add Greg to the long list of TBDs. Jeff will get over to score this buck as soon as Greg regains feeling in his legs. Congrats on the great buck, Greg!
Congrats to Jake Harrison for taking down this impressive mule deer a few weeks ago in Wyoming. Jake is a Sheet Metal Foreman working out of Northeast Wisconsin. I have been given no other facts to pass along. Regardless, congrats on the successful hunt, Jake! Enjoy another picture:
The Week 8 raffle prize is a hat, shirt, and $50 Cabela’s gift card courtesy of Dan Feck at Packer Fastener. Thank you to Dan for the nice donation!
Congrats to this week’s winners, GREG WIERZBA and ADAM STANKEVICH. Greg is an Account Manager and Adam is a Virtual Designer, both work out of our De Pere Office. Congrats to Greg and Adam, and thanks again to Camden and Dan at Packer Fastener for the great prize.
The action has picked up. Many hunters got their buck on the board this week. Let’s recap:
Last Week
A lot of guys arrowed bucks last week, but we have a new leader so we’ll start there. Shawn Thomas continued his run of TG Buck Pool success on Thursday afternoon when he dropped a buck that came within 3/8″ of matching his trophy winning 2020 buck. Shawn ended Mitch Dequaine‘s run at the top, but Mitch still sits solidly in second place. Shawn’s buck now sits in fifth place on our pool’s All-Time List and joins his 2020 and 2017 bucks in the top five.
There isn’t another hunter that’s had his buck scored yet, but a few more were added to the list this week. Josh Andrews, Toby Goetz, and Matt Schmidt all took down bucks and added their names to the growing list of unsecured bucks. Here’s where we stand heading into mid-November:
Standings Update
Poll Question
As the gun season hunters prepare for their turn, here’s a simple question:
The Week Ahead
Temps this week will begin to look like November as we start hitting lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s. The closer gun season gets, the more I start keeping my fingers crossed for snow in the forecast, but so far no luck. That extra visibility and tracking makes life easier. The forecast you’re seeing here is for Green Bay. If I move further north to the Tomahawk area it looks like there is a possibility for some snow this weekend. Maybe at least some of us will get that nice white backdrop.
According to Deer Cast the best hunting times this week in our area are Saturday morning and Monday morning. More on that in a second…
This Friday’s Raffle
I did not get in touch with Jeff today to figure out what Friday’s raffle prize will be. My bad. Check back Friday…
Links
A few reasons why I’m skeptical of anyone who says one specific day is going to be a good or a bad day in any given area. #1: According to Deer Cast last weekend was supposed to be a “poor” weekend for deer hunting. Yet we had several guys shoot bucks. #2: According to Deer Cast Wednesday, November 10 is simply “OK” for hunting. However, according to the Field & Stream Whitetail 365 e-mail I’m subscribed to November 10 is the best day to hunt this year. In other words, if you’re reading this on Wednesday I hope you’re doing it from your tree stand. I understand the difference between what Deer Cast and Whitetail 365 are doing, but I find all of this information to be anecdotal. Trust what you see in the field and on your trail cams with your own eyes. I take everything else as entertainment.
Jeff recommended a great topic for today’s post: Hunt for the Hungry. If you’re not familiar with Hunt for the Hungry, it allows you to donate your deer to a local food pantry so they can process the venison and give it to someone in need. I know we all shoot deer to fill the freezer, and that’s great. I know my freezer is empty and I’m hoping to stock it up again later this month. But, some of us obviously end up with more meat than we need. Maybe you’re taking part in a doe-only hunt to even out numbers on your property or your camp just shot more deer than anyone will eat. Hunt for the Hungry is a responsible way to make sure that deer not only doesn’t go to waste, but goes to people in need of food. Shawn Thomas spoke to the Pulaski Food Pantry and he was told that they’re always in need of more deer.
For more information on Hunt for the Hungry, click here. For a list of participating processors in Wisconsin, click here.
Fun Stuff
The prime rut hunting days will soon be behind us. If you’re a bowhunter get out there now before the rest of us neanderthal rifle hunters get out there in 11 days and make a mess of things. Good luck and stay safe! If you have tips, ideas, comments, or general thoughts on any of this, please let me know.
Congrats to Nate Coe, son of Project Manager Nick Coe, on his first buck, taken during his first ever solo sit. You try to warn these kids that it’s not going to be easy and that hunting requires patience and discipline and then they go out there and take down a buck during their first sit and make you look like an idiot. Well done, Nate.
Congrats to Josh Andrews for getting his archery buck on Thursday afternoon. Josh got this 6-point buck in Marinette County. Here’s a quote directly from Josh’s e-mail to Jeff telling him about the buck:
“When he came around for the third time afternoon I decided it was time and wasn’t waiting anymore. Heard crashing around in the brush behind me and got situated. When a fork came flying by thought it was one of the bigger bucks running him off. But this guy stopped dead in my shooting lane at 25 yards. Took it as a sign, haha.”
I love that story. I’ve had a few of those myself when the same deer keeps coming around and you’re finally like, “This is a sign.” Congrats again, Josh! Here are a few more pics:
