Minnesota 2019 Season

[MN_Bowhunter4]

MN DNR posted the updated regs today and there are some interesting changes for this season! Most notably the ability to track wounded deer with dogs. I don't personally have a dog that tracks, but I think this is a good change as it will hopefully help more hunters recover deer this season.

With the regs I've finalized my drawn hunt applications for the season. I was bummed to find out that one hunt I have points for is not being held this year due to deer densities being where they want them. Definitely a good thing, but bummed to not have an opportunity to hunt that park. I also applied to my final one today that I figure I have about 25% chance of drawing as it's completely random. Mid-August should start to reveal if I've been successful in any of these special hunt draws.

 

[Crossbowguy]

Good Luck on your draw!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Decided to take an afternoon off work and do a bit of scouting. I’ve been to this piece before, but there was some significant road construction next to it a while back and it’s been a few seasons.

The area I had in mind is the furthest from the parking lot and somewhere I’ve only been in the winter. After I sprayed for mosquitoes I grabbed my pack and headed in. I wasn’t sure exactly how far it was, but knew it was a ways. Fortunately, I can just follow the River most of the way and walk on hard sand that’s been deposited by flooding.

Once I reached the general area and started to have a look around I was pleased to find deer tracks everywhere, and no boot tracks or light tacks. It might end up being a misnomer since this is wet soil that holds tracks forever, but I was happy with it. I ended up marking a clump of trees near a pinch point and a known bedding area I’d found in previous winters.

I started a new track on my GPS and started making my way back to the lot. It ended up taking me about 30 min to get back and I was about 3/4 of a mile in. Assuming a dry opener, this is where I’ll be next month!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Good Luck this season...

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

In anticipation of the MBRB drawing this I took the proficiency test and passed. I was hoping for sharpshooter to have all the hunts as options, but pulled my third shot a bit and ended up standard.


Fortunately the hunt I’m eyeing for both first and second choice are undersubscribed now, so hoping that doesn’t change. This is the first drawing of the season and I’m stoked for the results!

 

[Crossbowguy]

That will work!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

MBRB drew last night and I awoke to positive news! This will be my second time hunting this particular park and I'm very excited for the opportunity. Next steps are to attend the orientation meeting in mid-September, which is where zones are chosen and hunt sites start to get dialed in.

Applications have closed for my other drawn hunt and winners are notified next week. I've sent in each year and never been selected (random process) so really hoping this will be the year. Hunting season is less than 1 month away and my excitement continues to build.

South Forty Archers has another 3D shoot this weekend that I plan to attend tomorrow with my compound. I've shot every event they've held this summer and found it to be fantastic practice in addition to a great course. The weather looks great for tomorrow so it'll be a good day for shooting. I'll be looking to better my previous best of 8.84 pts/target this time around.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Shot 3D this morning and it was one of the tougher courses they’d set up this summer. Tough, but very fun and a great day to be out there.

I ended up shooting 297 on 34 targets, for 8.73 average. There were a few targets that I was quite frustrated with but overall, I’m happy with the result!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

When you receive an email from the DNR that starts with “Congratulations”, good news follows!

I received notification that I was drawn for a special archery hunt on a WMA today. This is the 5th year I’ve put in with no success, and apparently this is my year. They will be sending out orientation packets on Monday, and after reviewing and responding the permit and maps will be in the mail. I believe this hunt is structured so that the property is open to the hunters for the duration of the season so it will be fun to explore a new place. Awesome way to end a week!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

I received and reviewed the orientation email from the DNR this afternoon so hopefully my permit and other documents that allow legal access will be in the mail soon. We can't scout until those and a license are in-hand, so it's all e-scouting for the moment. There will be 59 other hunters who drew the permit so I'm hoping to have a few locations to look at once I get out there. It's a solid mix of ag and woodlots, and my tentative thoughts are to hit it hard in the early season to see what I can turn up. Just a little under 3 weeks left until the season gets underway!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Finally received my permit packet yesterday and was off to scout the WMA today. I found some promising spots and, in fact, I’m a little torn which property to hit next week for the opener!

I walked back about a mile to a little finger draw that drops down from CRP. When I got back there I was looking around and another hunter came walking through. We chatted for a bit and he went on his way. They have 60 hunters on this piece so I’m not sure how crowded it’ll actually be, but hoping the distance and hills cut down on the number that make it back there. This area looked awesome and I ended up taking a mark on my gps and backing out.

As I was walking back to the car I was thinking about how many hunters have permits and wondering how many would try to walk in deep. I passed a small bean field not far from the parking lot on the way in and thought it looked interesting. Thinking it might be an area that a lot of people pass because it’s “too close”, I decided to scout it a bit before leaving. However, my plans were foiled when as I was approaching there was a doe and fawn in the field. I took a mental note, walked on by with those two watching my every move and headed for home.

Can’t wait for next Saturday to arrive!

 

[Pucky Freak]

Love the thread. I used to bowhunt semi rural ag near Shakopee, and also accompany disabled hunt at Carlos Avery.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Love the thread. I used to bowhunt semi rural ag near Shakopee, and also accompany disabled hunt at Carlos Avery.

Nice. One of my regular spots is in Shakopee.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Orientation for the MBRB hunt was last night and as this is my second year hunting with the organization I had a good idea what to expect. The park is split into three zones and are chosen by hunters in the order we were drawn. I was fortunate to be picking 5th, and therefore had my pick of the three. Having hunted zone 1 last year, I chose that again with hopes that my previous knowledge would work to my benefit. Interestingly, I was the only hunter to choose to hunt this zone. Everyone else filled up zone 2, then 3, and finally those left were added to 1. I think the paved bike path right through the middle of the zone deters people, but from my experience last year the deer do not care in the least!

After zones were chosen we broke into our three groups and got a chance to chat with our fellow hunters. One thing I really enjoy about this hunt is the camaraderie, something I generally don't get when hunting alone throughout the season. Zone 1 seems like an awesome group of people and I'm excited to work as a team on this hunt.

Now that orientation is out of the way, scouting is open. We have until 9/21 to select our stand location and send the GPS coordinates to the hunt coordinator. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm targeting, but hope to get some walks through the areas in the coming days.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Well folks, we've officially made it to Opening Day eve. I spent last night organizing my pack and washing my cloths. I've got licenses in my wallet and am less than 24 hours from the first hunt of the year. It's been another incredibly wet week, but temps are down and that's a good thing. They're calling for a low of 50 tonight, and patchy fog with a light southern wind tomorrow morning. I've had two spots picked out that I'm excited about and I believe I'll be hitting them both this weekend. My plan is to sit the limited entry WMA tomorrow morning, then try the other WMA on Sunday. Both spots are deep, so I'm hoping to be alone and undisturbed.

First light is at 6:20 am tomorrow and I'm shooting for a 4 am alarm, on the road by 4:20. This plus the 20 min drive, 20 min walk, and 20 min getting set up should have me settled by 5:20 am. I'll be taking some time tonight to recheck all my gear and loose a few more arrows, then there's nothing left to do but wait. If all goes well the next post from me will include some from the stand pics from my first sit of the year!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Go get em'! Best of luck tomorrow.Give Them Hell!!!

 

[Crossbowguy]

Good luck tomorrow

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Opening day started earlier than I had planned when I failed to make it to my 4 am alarm. I was up, dressed, dogs fed and out the door by 4:15 am which gave me plenty of time to hike in and set up. With 1 hour to go until first light, I was settled in and ready for the season to begin. My chosen spot was a wooded draw that jutted out into some surrounding CRP. I had scouted this area prior to the season and knew the black cherry tree would give me a good vantage point. This was my first hunt from the saddle and I was impressed with the maneuverability of things. I had no problem stepping around the tree for various shot angles.



A major trail runs through the tip of this little draw and I was set up with that to my left. Any deer walking the trail would pass by at 20 yards and allow for a shot with very little movement. It was an awesome morning and always great to be back in the woods after a long offseason. I hunted until about 10 am without seeing anything and had to climb down and head home. I had a list of things to do on Saturday and needed to make sure they were done before hunting again in the evening. As I was walking out I came upon another hunter on the trail. He was contemplating his next move, but wasn't sure where I was and didn't want to blow me out. He was the only other car in the lot that morning, so after chatting with him for a bit I decided to speed-scout a spot between a bean field and a creek for the evening hunt. After checking things out I headed for home.



My hope for the evening was to catch the deer on their summer feeding pattern by hunting this soybean field edge. This is the field that I intended to scout but passed as there were already deer in there at 5:30 pm that particular day. Knowing this, I was set up by 4 pm with high hopes. Around 5:30 pm I picked up movement straight out in the treeline well beyond the field. A lone doe popped out and was slowly meandering her way in my direction. I was just getting that "cool, this might work out" feeling when she veered west (left) and out of sight. It's real thick over there and I was hoping she'd enter the field right next to me, but no dice.



About an hour later I caught more movement to my center-right, and two does popped out into the field about 60 yards away. They made a beeline to my side and were feeding along, slowly working toward me. The lead doe was suspicious of something in the woods off to my right, and soon enough two squirrels started after each other which caused the deer to blow out of the area. Fortunately they didn't go far, but they continued to blow as they hovered near the other end of the field. Eventually things settled down and they started heading my way again. The lead doe was moving with purpose toward my corner and I was positioning myself for a shot. I had no sooner wrapped my hand around my grip, watching her walk broadside at 20 yards when another squirrel fight erupted. Both deer blew out again and this time disappeared for good.

Last light came at 7:50 pm with no additional deer sightings, and I climbed down for the night. All in I had spent about 6 hours on stand and had 3 deer sightings, and 2 close encounters to show for it. I could not be more excited to get into a tree and enjoyed the heck out of being in the woods.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Sounds like a great start.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Always fun to see animals on day one of archery season