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Congrats to John Buresh and Justin Johnson on what sounds like an amazing hunting trip to Montana last week. Justin took down the whitetail you see above. that will be added to the buck pool pushing our total up to four. He has yet to have it scored so it will be added to the TBD group. Justin also added an elk to an already successful hunt.

John mentioned doing some fishing as well. I haven’t seen any pictures, but he did take down this nice muley. I love the TG Buck Club hat!

If you get a chance, ask them about the work they had to do getting that elk back to camp. I got tired just thinking about it.

Justin Johnson is a Service Technician working out of our De Pere office. John Buresh is a Project Manager also out of De Pere. They also happen to be brothers-in-law. Congrats to both of them on an unforgettable hunt. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to leave Montana after a week like that. Thanks for sharing the pics, guys.

Congrats to Jason LaBine for getting his buck with a crossbow on Friday afternoon. We did not get a lot of other detail, but congrats again to Jason for putting our third buck on the board this season. Jason is an Account Manager out of our De Pere Office.

Things are starting to pick up. We’re getting reports of increased deer movement not just in Northeast Wisconsin, but all over the midwest. We should start seeing increased activity in the buck pool anytime. Speaking of…

Last Week

Mitch Dequaine ended the weeks-long drought and dropped a buck on Saturday that immediately put him into the lead despite the fact that his buck has yet to be measured. Based on the eye test I feel safe moving his buck to the top of the list thus far this season even with measurements pending.

Standings Update

1. Mitch Dequaine – Score TBD
2. Tom Williquette – Score TBD

Poll Question

Since most of the links section below deals with trail cams I’m going to use that theme for today’s poll question as well:

The Week Ahead

This looks to be another unseasonably warm week and Drury Outdoors’ Deer Cast is predicting that the next few days will be anywhere from OK to poor to bad. Not sure what the difference is between bad and poor since neither sounds particularly appealing, but according to their scale bad is worse than poor. Either way, it’s supposed to start getting down to freezing overnight again on Saturday night, and not surprisingly, the best hunting days for this area are projected to be Sunday and Monday. If you can sneak in a trip to the woods while the kids are trick or treating on Sunday that sounds like the way to go.

This Friday’s Raffle

This week’s raffle prize will be Bass Pro Shop gift cards courtesy of Bill and Sara at Seiltz Trucking. Stay tuned to the site on Friday for announcement of the winner.

Links

I received an e-mail from Field & Stream with their list of 50 Expert Tips for Hunting the Whitetail Rut. I rolled my eyes because I’ve heard it all a hundred times before, and then opened the link anyway because I’m a sucker for lists and deer hunting. As it turns out within the first 15-20 tips there were several I had never heard before. An informative and enjoyable read.

This week I want to talk trail cams for a minute. I’ve been hanging trail cams on my uncle’s hunting land for at least ten years now. The problem is, his land is over four hours from here. If I wanted to swap out SD cards I had to dedicate nine hours of driving. It was always a good excuse to get over to the land and check stands, cut some shooting lanes, and do some general wandering, but damn that’s a lot of driving.

A couple years ago modems became affordable for normal people like me and I purchased one with a compatible trail cam. When it works it’s amazing. All of the information without the driving and leaving my scent all over the woods. Inevitably something ends up snapping my USB cable or the batteries run out on the camera or modem. I bought a solar panel and a splitter to run power to both devices. Those continue to get ripped. Bears and critters are always messing something up. It’s not ideal.

This past year Moultrie released their Delta camera and it’s been a game changer. A good camera with modem built in at an affordable price. Only $100, or if you wait for the right sale you can get it cheaper. I got mine for $80. Easy setup with the Moultrie Mobile app. It’s been a game changer. Last weekend my friend and I walked the woods, found some active scrapes, and set up three cameras near them on our hunting property. We’ve spent every day since texting back and forth about the pictures that are constantly coming in. Within two days this guy showed up in the app and got us talking:

I’m not here advertising for Moultrie. It’s just the brand that I’m used to. A while back Shawn Thomas showed me what he’s doing with Cuddeback’s Cuddelink cameras and I was blown away. If you haven’t gotten in on cellular trail cams yet because of the cost or because you’re tech averse, now might be the time to to look into them. If you’d like to discuss, reach out. I’m always a fan of a good trail cam conversation.

Fun Stuff

We’re another week closer to November. Tom and Mitch got their bucks. Hopefully some of you join them this week. Good luck out there. If you have tips, ideas, comments, or general thoughts on any of this, please let me know.

Congrats to Kasi Stankevich – wife of De Pere Virtual Designer Adam Stankevich – on her first archery buck. Kasi dropped this guy on his way to a food plot on Saturday evening during only her third ever sit with a bow. She also reported lots of deer movement, especially during the early hours of the day. If you’re a bow hunter, it sounds like things are picking up. Great shot, Kasi!

This weekend Mitch Dequaine ended our drought in a big way. Mitch dropped this guy in Kewaunee County on Saturday afternoon. He was chasing a doe and Mitch stopped him with a grunt call before arrowing him from 20 yards. This deer hasn’t been scored yet, but I’m going use the eye test to assume that Mitch has moved into first place in the pool. Mitch is a Local 400 plumbing foreman currently working at the Aurora Sheboygan jobsite. Congrats on the great buck, Mitch!

The Week 5 raffle prize of the season is two goodie bags courtesy of Kelly Carr from SlipNot. Click the link to visit the SlipNot website and check out their products. Thank you to Kelly for the nice donation!

Congrats to this week’s winners, GREG SIKORSKI and STEVE SONDELSKI. Greg and Steve will each be receiving a goodie bag from SlipNot. Greg is a Project Manager working out of our De Pere Office. Steve is the sheet metal shop foreman at our Tomahawk Shop.

One last thing before we sign off. Tweet/Garot has given everyone in this year’s buck pool a blaze orange Tweet/Garot hat. If you’re in the De Pere Office or in the area you can stop by Jeff Blohowiak on 3rd floor to pick one up. Jeff will be making arrangements to get the hats out to everyone in the near future. Thanks to Chris Howald and Shelly Murphy for making this happen.

Good luck out there this weekend, hunters. Stay safe and shoot straight.

We haven’t had much luck in Wisconsin recently, but TJ Agamaite and his family are celebrating a successful Colorado elk hunt. Congrats to TJ on dropping this 5×5. When he’s not taking down big game TJ is a Local 400 journeyman plumber currently working on multiple projects for Green Bay Accounts.

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

1. 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.

The Week 4 raffle prize of the season is a Hunt Comfort mesh lite premium folding swivel chair courtesy of Chris Vander Logt from Quality Insulators. Click the link to visit the Quality Insulators website and check out their products. Thank you to Chris for the nice donation!

Congrats to JUSTIN BECK on winning the swivel chair. Justin is our Director of Service – Central Wisconsin Accounts and he works out of Wisconsin Rapids. Side note: I’ve seen some of the bucks that Justin has harvested in the past and we should all be afraid. It’s only a matter of time before he sees his name on the TG Buck Pool Trophy. Or, maybe having a comfortable chair now will help him get some naps in and he’ll leave the trophy bucks for us.

That’s all for this week. The weather is a bit cooler now and hopefully the deer will be moving after a quiet few weeks. Good luck to everyone getting out there this weekend. Hopefully we’ll have some new happy hunters with deer pics on Monday. Good luck!

Starting today we’re going to post an update on the site every Tuesday throughout the season creatively titled The Tuesday Update. It’ll be a recap of the previous week’s hunting action, a look at the current standings, a preview of the week ahead, a weekly poll to get to know our participants better, and hopefully some other fun links that you might find useful. Let’s get it started:

Last Week

For the second consecutive week there hasn’t been a buck taken by anyone in the pool. I’d love to know if this is due to lack of deer movement or lack of hunting time logged by our participants. Is the October lull real? Are we waiting for a cold front to break up this unseasonably warm weather? Are we spending our outdoor time doing other things? Could I ask more questions?

Miles Cornell’s son, Braxton, did take down a buck during the youth hunt, so at least somebody can say they’re having success. We’re being shown up by a child, everyone. It’s a sad state of affairs in the TG Buck Pool right now.

Standings Update

1. Tom Williquette – Score TBD

As of today Tom Williquette’s September buck is the only one on the leaderboard. It has not been scored yet.

Poll Question

Because of the slow activity right now I feel like it’s fair to ask: Is this pool full of gun hunters counting the days until November 20 (it’s 39 days in case you were wondering)? I doubt it. Let’s see how our participants are planning to get their trophy buck this season:

The Week Ahead

The weather is finally starting to cool off with overnight lows dropping into the 30s in some northern areas later this week and daytime starting to feel more like fall in Wisconsin. According to DeerCast Monday is the best day to hunt in the upcoming week in this area. It’s really not looking like action is going to pick up until the 20th if you believe this stuff. I’m not sure what combination of historical data, moon phase, weather forecasting, deer patterning, and general sorcery are used to predict hunting success in these apps, but according to what I’m seeing, this is projected to be a slow week for deer hunters.

This Friday’s Raffle

This week’s raffle prize is a hunting stand chair courtesy of Chris Vanderlogt from Quality Insulators. Check the website Friday for the announcement of the winner.

Links

I’m always curious where people are getting their hunting information. Here are just a few of my favorites. If you have any you’d like to share please send me an e-mail and I’ll get it in next week’s post:

I kind of miss the good old days of sitting around a table with my father-in-law and his buddies as they planned their hunt over several whiskeys and a crudely drawn map, but On X Hunt is a nice app for mapping stand locations and checking weather.

I’m not quite invested enough in deer hunting to find most of this information useful, but DeerCast is loaded with research and info to help with your hunt. Ultimately I end up sitting in the same stand with the same strategy every year regardless of what it says, but I still geek out over the amount of information available. Those of you who are better hunters than I am can probably put all of this info to better use.

All that tech stuff is fun, but when I’m in the woods I prefer to avoid it if I can. I find that a good old pencil and notepad for observations is the best way to go…never mind that most of my observations are unreadable chicken scratches, and those that I can read make little sense.

Fun Stuff

This meme comes from Kip Zilisch.

Let’s get some more bucks on the board! Again, if you have tips, ideas, comments, or general thoughts on any of this or, even better, would like to contribute to it, please let me know. Good luck in the coming week.

Congratulations to Miles Cornell and his son, Braxton, on his first ever buck during youth hunt last weekend! Miles is a Service Technician out of our De Pere office. I’ll let the proud dad’s Facebook post tell the story:

Way to go, Braxton!