daughenbaugh hunter

Im from illinois and i goto Maine every few years to hunt, My family like my brother in law and myself bought alot of land it is ver cheap up their. But the hunting is not like illinois. it is very hard and it is challenging especially for the bow hunter, In aroostook county where are land is, is a only a buck kill no does.
So being raised in Illinois and hunting here all my life i found maine to be beautiful, and very relaxing, but the northern part of maine is Thick with woods, it is known for Moose and bear. ive seen more moose than deer when i was there. but it is all about the lottery with the Moose.
Now my brother in law is from there he is 44 and told me when he was younger there were many deer, and not too many moose. so he told me that the moose chase the deer out. "Im not sure about that". But to bear hunt it is the place to go. I think here in northern illinois my family own many farms and deer are plenty so maybe im just spoiled.
but our land was near Linneus Maine. and near Smyrna maine.It also maybe the people their do what they call heater hunt they drive around all day on 4 wheelers till they find the deer, see im a tree stand hunter, they dont do that their
Or i just never seen oneno where in the woods, also if you do go. where your waders very swampy in areas. william daughenbaugh Pecatonica illinois

Phil from Maine

You are almost in Nortern Maine but, you still have 2 hours north of you yet.

This is true for most all of Maine unless you are hunting the southern and coastal areas. I see more moose as well. For as far as moose chasing deer around it maybe happening somewhat during the rut. When those big buck antlers are hitting on the bushes a moose may think it is another bull moose and come around.

I think you are somewhat confused as fourwheelers must be on a marked trail. If caught off a marked trail and you are not the landowner or have the landowner's permission you will get a $500 dollar fine. Also stand a chance of losing your right to hunt and fish in the state of Maine from 1 to 5 years. There is alot that use tree stands others just walk and stalk. I myself preffer to walk and stalk, and also have shot 4 deer so far with my bow. So even though we have less deer in most parts of the state you need to check your hunting area out a little better. The deer are here and the hunting is very challenging.

daughenbaugh hunter

thanks for your response my friend yes you are right. But at the same time like my brother in law was raised their and my brother owns land in masardis up near caribou, see i think what it was in northern maine so many outsiders owned land that everyone hunts antwhere they want most owners are not around. we hunted from mudlake to drews hill. and all in between. i asked my brother in la about this he said this is the way it is up here?
He also use to tell me stories about people cutting trees off of outsiders land, during the summer. when they are back in another state. I love Maine but the deer hunting is very hard and all these places ive gone i have never seen a tree stand, my brother in law was born in houlton maine, but see the problem with me was like i stated being from illinois we have deer that walk up to you and shake your hand practically.
so i guess im spoiled i find maine a real challenge. Also i was told due to the bad managment from buck to doe ratio in aroostook county. the rut is very weak? so rattling and grunting really dont work. because i asked at a hunters breakfast and everyone basically said i was wasting time, they said walk around and drive, so maybe they are wrong but i know i have not had no luck there as of yet. But i enjoy to go anyway. i like to see the moose and 4 wheel, and keep the land for bear hunting. thank you william daughenbaugh pecatonica illinois

Phil from Maine

You are welcome William,

What had happened and probaly still does to a lesser extent when wood cutters were cutting other's land is true. Thos were not your average wood cutters but, mostly thuggs. They had no respect for nothing. Yes, we are seeing out of staters buying large chunks of land all over the state. They are posting it almost everywhere. Where i hunt up here is paper company land that is open to all. They are very large areas that cover miles and miles of land. I preffer to hunt in the hardwoods mostly as deer will use them most of the year, whether to eat mushrooms, saplings or nuts. They are best hunting after or during a lite rain and you walk more quiter.

For as far as bad management that is mostly woodcutters cutting the hemlock and cedar swamps more. At one time they never used to cut them at all. Now the demand is up so whenever possible they go in and cut them. Also there is alot of predators up here, from bears, coyotes, bobcats, Canadian Lyxns, as well as a few mountain lion sighting scattered around. Mostly it is bears and coyotes that take the vastnumbers of deer.

For as far as calling and rattling some will still come though they are very cautious about coming in. You need to have some real good cover scent. I know alot of folks say they do not come in but, they will just not as good as other areas.

Moose, in fact we do see more of them than deer. Last night just before dark while going to a friends house for a barbaque we saw a cow moose and a newborn calf together. We also got to see 1 deer standing along side of the road. Alot of deer are hit by trucks and cars while running across the road. With our low deer numbers anytime one gets hit it hurts the future of them. Though last fall was a good year with a lot of young bucks getting shot. The mild winter we had before help give them a good boost. Last winter in my part of the state was quite mild in terms of snowfall so we are hoping for another good year as well. Good Luck to you.

daughenbaugh hunter

hello again, thank you for explaining. if the land was not so cheap i would feel worse than i do, compared to the hunting in that area. my brother lives their now he resides in houlton and works for a mill in masardis. so i will try again this year, but i like it due to in maine hunt is short compared to illinois we have almost 4 mos of hunting deer in illinois.
So when i get to maine i have time too come home and get a month or 2 in. if you ever are near here north west illinois or want to try hunting here contact me we can get together. also my aunts own farms in western wisconsin near gays mills and viroqua, thank you bye william daughenbaugh Pecatonica illinois

jf5

You are spoiled hunting Illinois. Butthere is nothingwrong with that. I am jelous as we really have to work hard for our deer here in New England.

Lots of great posts by the maine guys. I see similar issues in Northern VT. Many of the winter yards where logged off and that spells serious trouble for the deer up there in the "snow belt". Its critical. Without those yards the deer are much more susetable to stress, starvation and preditors. it makes for verylow density .

As for the moose. I don't buy that they really run deer off per say. But they do eat allot of crucial winter browse and they can access itwell after it gets to high for the deer. Sothat may force deer to find areas that have avaialbe food for them.

daughenbaugh hunter

jf5, Thanks for your response, you know i remember when i was in maine year before last i spent 3 months there getting my trailer ready for winter. i would never see deer persay in the days at all. but i remember me and my brother would ride around at night and see alot of does no bucks at all, maybe about 20 to 30 a night, But we would try to hunt those areas the next few days set up stands and hunt hard, and no sign of them. people say deer in maine do not stay in a zone like they do in illinois deer usually saty here within a mile radius their whole life
My brother in law tried to tell me the radius is far wider for deer in maine"im not sure about that" but who knows, My ? is where in the heck do they go? some one told me bottom land swamp area, but i see only moose droppings and scraps and prints of moose.
I think due to the only buck kill in maine" aroostook county", they have ruined the rut, i have never seen a buck but once in 1999 while i was driving late at night it was big but moved quick. are the bucks mostly nocturnal their?
yes in illinois they are nocturnal too
but you can rattle and grunt and so on they will come mostly young ones, gullible but it happens. maine i grunt i see BLACK FLIES, now i have read a few books by hunters in maine and they are very successful, yes i do know predators in maine are also a cause but we have alot of coyotes here. every night i here them.
Also i have a friend, i hunt with. he told me the northern maine winters are much milder now than they use to be 20 yrs ago. now im 33 yrs old and i will hunt thier until i get the big one, then ill probably lose all this interest in it. due to the hardship of it all i find it to be testing my hunting skills with a bow.
Also im tired of losing expensive boots in the muck hole, last year up to my waste had to get back on the 4 wheeler with one boot on, thanks for listening take care a hunt hard william daughenbaugh pecatonica illinois

Phil from Maine

As for the moose. I don't buy that they really run deer off per say.

I am not saying it is a every day type of thing but, when the rut occurs moose do some things out of normal reation. I can remember one such case when walking with my bow down an olr road. The branches were hitting on my bow limbs and a big bull came out at me grunting. Yes in fact he stared me down for at least 5 minutes before wandering off. So I have little to doubt that a bucks antlers can bring out a moose when hitting on saplings. On the flip side though when deer are being chased by coyotes they tend to run into those moose areas. I am not sure why but I would assume to loose the coyotes. ( anyones guess though )

The does and young bucks normally stay in a smaller radius here as well. But due to a lack of deer and the amount of cuttings they sometimes travel into a 3 mile radius. During bow season the bucks are normally on the ridges I have found. Unlike rifle season when they get back into those swamps we have. However if the swamps have a ridge running through it it would be a great place to sit near. Those big bucks will travel a great distance during the rut though and a lot of times they do. They do not stay well in the radius the does and younger bucks do.

are the bucks mostly nocturnal their?

That depends on alot of different factors like weather and if they are in rut or not. Most deer will move around in the woods from 10:00 am to about 1:00 pm or early in the morning and just before daylight. If under heavey pressure they will stick to nights only. Also thank you for the invite though I am not sure if I would be over that way. I am located about 2 hours south of Houlton on route 1. I have found it nice hunting here and have found the Hainesville area to be excellent which is just a short ways south of Houlton on the military road. Good Luck to you.

jf5

Oh I can beleive this Phil and don't disagree. I was talking more in general I guess. But those bulls get crazy during the rut, anything is possible.

It takes allot of deer feed to feed a moose. Once that food gone,I think that forces the deer to go elsewhere.Just my opinion.

daughenbaugh hunter

hello phil i have hunted the haynes ville area . i have been down too danforth and near million dollar view, lincoln is a good area too on the old rt 2 i have my land off of rt 2 and hodgdon rd area, i believe the books i have read were from hunters from the danforth area, they had a french name.
my brother in laws cousin shot a moose last year in haynesville. also one more ? in illinois the deer hit the fields alot, but maine i never see it. now maybe im sure they dont eat potatoes but what about the broccoli north like near mars hill do they eat that?
thank you william