DIY in WI, MI or MO

[jlmatthew]

One of my goals is to hunt one (or more) of these three states for whitetail on a DIY type hunt. Whats is it like on the public lands in any of the three states I listed? Can you camp on public lands back there? How big of a concern is weather in WI & MI during rifle season? I'd like to add that coming from Colorado I know what its like to hunt in the "Pumpkin Patch" LOL!

I'm still a year or two from making it happen, but I gotta start planning sometime right

Maybe we'll get lucky and Big Fin will start filming some hunts in the mid-West for us western boys to learn how to expand our opportunities

Appreciate any info you guys from these states could throw out

 

[recon6036]

Hello. I'm glad to hear your thinking about hunting the great state of Michigan. I'll start off by saying I'm a lifetime resident of Michigan and I'm just an average guy who enjoys hunting and fishing...I'm not claiming to be an expert of any sorts. I don't know how familiar you are with Michigan so I'll state some facts that you might already be aware of. First Michigan is divided into an Upper Peninsula (which is where I reside) and a lower peninsula with the Mackinaw Bridge being the divide. Both the lower and upper have a large population of Whitetail deer. A lot of the trophy bucks have come from the southern half of the lower peninsula, but most of the land is private with a few hard hunted state game public areas. The Northern half of the lower peninsula has some public land but I'm not real familiar with the hunting there. All this being said, I would have to say if your serious about hunting Michigan, the Upper Peninsula is the BEST choice as far as big deer and public land access. The U.P. has tons of public access and it would not be hard to do some research and find an area to hunt. The Northern counties of the U.P. have fewer deer but they grow big. The area there is vastly wooded where a guy could probably venture off the road and not see another person. The winters can be severe and there can be significant snowfall during rifle season. The southern counties have a great population of deer and some trophies are taken every year. The southern counties also can and do get snow during rifle season and there area more hunters to contend with...but you can get away from them if your willing to get off the beaten path. As for some areas to research...try looking up; Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Park, Ottawa National Forest & Hiawatha National Forest. You can camp on any federal land with a "no trace" policy. I know this was long-winded but I think you could have a great time hunting Michigan with a little research.

 

[JohnCushman]

I thought Ted Nugent bought all the land in Michigan

 

[174in]

Lots of land here by me on the wisconsin riverway to hunt.You can camp on sand bars but that is about it that I know of.You may get back in some spots and not see a soul or people might come in and make a drive through your hunt area.Kinda hit or miss and the deer numbers are down a bit because of 10yrs of earn a buck but it has saved some bucks and made them into quality animals.I think the non res tag is around $160.00 and is good for the whole state.

 

[174in]

Sometimes we have snow during our opener around the 3rd week of november but most of the time not.Temps will be in the teens or 20's in the mornings by that time and 40-70 during the day just depends on the year.

 

[recon6036]

Nugent is a 'Troll"....lives below the Mackinaw Bridge!

I thought Ted Nugent bought all the land in Michigan

 

[stillkickin]

Nugent is a 'Troll"....lives below the Mackinaw Bridge!

I think Ted moved to Texas, but still has property in Lower Michigan. Recon is correct on his appraisal of the hunting opportunity in the U.P. i would consider hunting the second week of rifle season, or muzzle season and you will have little competition.

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

What kind of quality are you looking for ?? If your looking for a shot a record book buck - I'd recommend and archery hunt during the first part of November - not to imply it couldn't happen during gun season, but I think it would be tough to find quality public land without any "pumpkin" pressure - JMHO

 

[bennett454]

Missouri has the Mark Twain National Forest which includes a couple wilderness areas so you should be able to get away from the crowds, I also believe they have a rifle season during the Rut. Might be worth checking into more

 

[jlmatthew]

What kind of quality are you looking for ??

One like Schmalts got would be nice!

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

If you decide on an archery hunt in cheeseland - feel free to look me up.

 

[schmalts]

Best advice I can give is ignore the first half of the archery season in any of those states and put up with the cold temps (you hope). If you only have a week to hunt, pick from the last week of Oct to the second week of November. The first week of November being the best if the weather is cold. Last week of October is great too, but once again, colder weather is the key. If you hunt the first 2 weeks of November, sit ALL DAY!! much of the best action happens from 9AM-1PM during the rut. If the daytime temps are breaking into the high 50's or higher the action slows down. Avoid the full moon time as well when making a choice if possible, the full moon makes them more nocturnal.
Hunt scrapes in October and then move to looking for where the does are during the peak of the rut as scrapes will get abandoned by the bigger bucks. Public land during the archery season is really low key and I even hit the public lands a lot if I find a hot area. Those same spots may be a pumpkin patch during the gun season in WI though... I avoid it

 

[schmalts]

I'd like to add that coming from Colorado I know what its like to hunt in the "Pumpkin Patch" LOL!

I would have to say... no you don't Wisconsin gun deer is nothing like you will have ever seen in Colorado... trust me. You may see some orange in CO, but only because you can see farther. It is crazy how many gun shots you hear in the first couple hours of the WI opening day. Most land owners in WI that own a 40 acre parcel will have at least 4 guys on it. this is probably a good average of a good portion of private land. Many of the public land is the same or even worst.

 

[jlmatthew]

Thanks for all the replies and PM's, you guys are great!