South Central WI

 This past week I have hunted morning and night and had some great encounters but have not closed the deal yet. One of the bucks I had an encounter with this week had a drop tine and looks to be a booner. I don’t have any history with deer but I hope he is staying.

The past couple of days I have seen several bucks locked down with does. So if you’re not seeing anything that could be the reason but, hang it there they will move again. Good luck and hunt safe!

-John Bulgrin

Central WI

Well it is November 5th and the woods are beginning to come alive.  Neal shot a great buck last weekend so now he is stuck behind the camera.  This past week we have put in a ton of hours on stand.  The week started of slow with a lot of bucks not real interested in the does it seemed.  Now towards the end of the week we have seen a lot of bucks bird dogging does.  A few doe are coming into estrous and the scrapes are being hit on a regular basis by us during the day. 

The best activity I have seen this week was between 11:00 and 12:30.   The bucks I have encountered at this time have been extremely callable as they were actively searching out a ready doe.  The next best times were like anytime of the year-early morning and late afternoon.  A common trend I have noticed this past week is that the afternoons were tough to call at times.  The bucks seen were on the does and it didn't matter what I did.  The buck was going to go wherever the doe brought him.  This next week I am going to be hunting deep in the marsh from morning to about 2pm.   I will then set up in the afternoon just off the edges of food where the does will be congregating.   I hope everyone is seeing deer.  This coming week should be the best of them all.  Good Luck!

-Cole Sandstrom and Neal Kroll

Southeast WI

Well it was an exciting week in the stand.  We saw several mature deer but had no shots.  They either stayed out of range or didn't present a clear shot, until today (Nov.4th).  I had a nice ten pointer with a doe near my stand and Ben and I managed to get him on the ground.  It was a very exciting hunt that was almost perfectly captured on film.  Unfortunately at the last second the buck made a move off camera, but the arrow was on its way.  It was bitter sweet, nailing that buck at ten yards but not capturing it on film.  We have really been trying hard to get a great hunt on film but it hasn't come easy this season.  We'll bring you a good kill shot yet, until then get out there.  The bucks are on the move, so be encouraged to log in some long hours.  The biggest bucks we have seen have been moving mid-day.  Good luck!

-The Schlueter's

Northeast WI

One down one to go! Thankfully things are starting out with a home run here in Wisconsin! Last week we started off with consistent pictures of a nice 8 pointer coming through during daylight. We hunted hard every evening this week and everything came together Thursday night! Even though its early rut and bucks are starting to move around quite a bit, it just goes to show that these deer are still vulnerable to being patterned. Patterning this deer came down to weather, wind direction, and the time. Everything was perfect Thursday night and it all seemed to go in our favor!

This week is Brandon’s turn! Since we have my buck down, all the tables turn and it’s time to go back to work for his deer. All trail cameras have been moved to his properties and our evening scouting this weekend has turned out pretty good. Now its round two.  We will be focusing on hunting highly populated doe areas and start our morning hunting. Deer are starting to move again everywhere. Good luck to all!!

-Trey Arentz & Brandon Eckardt

Northwest WI

This is it! For the next 15 days I will be off work and in my "branch" office. It has been interesting driving to work this week. I have been seeing a lot of deer in the headlights and even in the first hours of daylight. I have not seen many hunters in the field this week but last weekend it seemed as though there was a hunter in every tree. A lot of trucks parked on side roads and hunters nearby.

I had very little luck on stand seeing only one small fork horned yearling. As he approached the wolves began howling not far away and he locked up for ten minutes. I was able to get a lot of footage but no sound of the wolves. After a bit I heard another buck growling off to the east, it seemed like he was after a doe or something. I never saw him though.

 Cameras are showing great movement throughout the day and I am anxious to get out there in the morning even though I will have to wait for a wind switch later in the day for my number one stand. Registration stations are not seeing a lot of deer coming in but I think that is changing soon.  By the sound of the buzz on the 'net statewide things are picking up and reports of bucks chasing and acting vulnerable in daylight are increasing.

The forecast is for temps in the twenties at night and mild during the day with wind mild some and high some days. Good calling and good scent trail conditions.

-Paul Ostrum

Soutwest WI

We have been hunting most every day since October 22nd.  We have also been hunting in Both Iowa and Wisconsin during this time-frame.  We have had regular seeing mostly does and immature bucks.  We have also had a handful of sits where we did not see any deer.  Two encounters stand out in memory.  The first being an Encounter I had with the double throat patch buck in Iowa on the morning of October 29th.  I rattled the buck in during the mid-morning.  He immediately traveled down-wind of our location.  Bob Bird was filming me and he was able to capture some great footage of the buck.  The buck offered a shot at one point and although he is a nice buck he seemed immature so I passed him.  The second encounter that stands out in memory took place when Justin was hunting on November 4th.  It was a cool clear morning that started slow and ended with a flurry of activity and a big buck that got away.  Justin named the Buck BBM and he is a true giant.   Hopefully you will be able to view these encounters on an upcoming episode of Midwest Whitetail-Wisconsin.  Again we were able to get some great footage, but we just couldn’t close the deal. 

During this time frame we have learned that it pays to stay on stand through the 11:00 a.m.  hour at least.  Most of the best sightings have come back inside the timber during the mid to late morning hours.  The evening movement has been late coming with 30 minutes or less before the end of filming light.  People have been having great encounters and are taking some nice bucks in both states.  Its definitely the time to log as many hours in the stand as possible.  We would suggest a stand back in the timber in the mornings and closer to food in the afternoons, hopefully near a bedding ridge or between the bedding and food.  I will continue to check the cameras regularly and I am getting pictures of some great mature bucks.  It is just a matter of time before an opportunity will arise.

Best of Luck to all and Hunt Safe!

-Rick Sime