UPHunter08

I've hunted the western UP since the late 80's, and experienced much of what is being described in WI. I now live in WI and bow hunt here, while returning to the UP for gun season. Throughout the late 80's and early-mid 90's the MI DNR promoted doe hunting in the UP, including the issuing of block permits to farmers for 'crop damage' (only crops in our area were hay!). Not surprisingly, through these practices along with less food (less farming and logging) and more wolves, our deer herd was eventually decimated. It got to the point where you were excited if you saw a handful of does during a weeklong hunt, let alone saw a decent buck. I nearly quit hunting, especially after moving out-of-state. The only reason I returned is because my family has land and it's as much an excuse for a family reunion as it was for the so-called hunting (saw few deer for a few years there). Around 2000 the DNR finally did away with the doe permits. You can no longer shoot any does in our area during gun season. Surprise, surprise, we're starting to see more and more deer now. I saw more deer this season than I've seen in 10 years.

Contrast this with my experience in WI...and that of others on this board. I saw more deer in one day while hunting in the UP than I've seen all fall bow hunting in WI. I'm getting the feeling that hunting in WI is going to be more like what we've had to deal with in the western UP for the past 10-15 years. I put the blame on meat hunters (those killing more than 2 deer per season) as well as the DNR (for allowing this to occur). Plenty of blame to go around.

On the plus side, trophies will be that much harder to come by, and hunters will have to earn them now, much as we've had to do in the UP. Simply showing up on opening morning will no longer guarantee one of getting a nice 8-pt or larger as I've seen many come to expect here in WI. The rewarding feeling you get is that much better when you have to really work to get your buck, but I do agree with the posters here that simply seeing deer and enjoying the hunt is also a reward on its own. I disagree with Handles that we should simply be happy to sit in the woods, whether or not we see deer. That's just plain discouraging if you can't see at least a few deer each day on the stand.