But better late than never!

I receive quite a bit of email about Deer hunting on public land. Having just came back from a Controlled Hunt on Public Land myself, here are some tips for [...]]]> I guess this should have been written ealier in the year seeing how many States deer hunting season’s are already under way.

But better late than never!

I receive quite a bit of email about Deer hunting on public land. Having just came back from a Controlled Hunt on Public Land myself, here are some tips for you that are heading out to hunt Public Land Deer.

1. Get a map. Preferably a topo map and an aireal photo of the area where you’ll be hunting. You can find good topo maps on the Internet at several areas or contact the USGS for an index. A good map will show you many things. Some of the things you’ll be wanting to look for are: where are other hunters parking, areas that will funnel deer into a tight area such as saddles in ridges, potential feeding and beddeing areas, waterways, old roads, etc.
2. Do your scouting. This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised at how many just pick a place and go hunting without ever setting foot on the place. Prepare for success by using some boot leather to get the feel of the land and to try and pattern both the Deer and Deer Hunters!
3. Pattern the Hunters. Since you’ll likely have company from other Hunters when visiting Public Hunting area, get to know where they park and the areas that they’ll likely be hunting. Use this information to determine Where Not To Hunt! You can also use this information to determine likely areas where these Hunters will push the Deer as they’re coming and going to their stands.
4. Hunt the Midday. It doesn’t take long for Deer to pattern the Hunters. They know that most Hunters will be out of their stands by 9 a.m. (many much sooner) and walking around before heading back to their vehicles for coffee, lunch and a nap. Plan on hunting during the midday hours. I can’t tell you how many Bucks I’ve seen from 11 to 3 on Public Hunting land. If you’ve done your homework and are set up away from the other Hunters, you may be pleasantly surprised at a visit from a Buck during the midday when other Hunters are back at their trucks taking a Siesta.
5. Call the Manager. Part of your pre-hunt scouting should be a call to the Manager of the Public land where you’ll be hunting. They can provide valuable information on Hunter access and likely spots to find a Buck during the Hunting Season. They can also let you in on how the Deer herd is doing and clue you into what the Deer are feeding on.
6. Plan on getting your Deer out. Many Deer Hunters never plan on how to get their Deer out once they have it down. They never think about it until they are faced with the daunting task of dragging a Buck out of the woods. It would be smart to invest in one of the Big Game Carts
   advertised in the Outdoor catalogs.
7. Think outside the box. As I said earlier, Deer pattern Hunters much better than Hunters pattern Deer. If most hunters are Hunting fields or easy to reach areas, do something different. Find thickets or other areas where Hunters will not hunt. Swamps and overgrown clear cuts are two of my favorite areas to hunt on Public land. I love to hear Hunters say “That area is too nasty to hunt, you can’t see very far in there”. That’s the kind of place I want to be. The group of guys I grew up hunting with were the first to hunt the flooded timber for Deer. No one else would put on wader and go in after the Deer. Now, many people will but few are successful because the lack the patience and experience to still hunt the flooded timber properly. Do and go where other Hunters will not!

Most public hunting is not easy. But with a little planning and thinking outside the box, your hunt can be successful. Just remember, these Deer are hunted hard so plan on outsmarting them. You can reason, Deer can’t!

Go to Source

Alex Spencer may get the chance to shoot at a whitetail buck sometime during Minnesota’s firearms deer season, which opens Saturday. Alex is 10 years old.

Under a change made by the Minnesota Legislature this past spring, hunters ages 10 and 11 are permitted to hunt big game this [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Nov. 2, 2008

Alex Spencer may get the chance to shoot at a whitetail buck sometime during Minnesota’s firearms deer season, which opens Saturday. Alex is 10 years old.

Under a change made by the Minnesota Legislature this past spring, hunters ages 10 and 11 are permitted to hunt big game this fall before taking firearms safety classes, although they must be under direct supervision and within immediate reach of a parent or guardian.

Alex, who lives in Rice Lake Township, already has hunted deer once. During this fall’s early antlerless firearms season Oct. 11 and 12 in areas north of Duluth, he sat beside his dad, Darrell Spencer, in a double tree-stand or in a ground blind. Alex had a chance to shoot at a doe but passed it up because he didn’t have a clear enough shot, Darrell said.

Darrell believes Alex, a fifth-grader, is ready for deer hunting.

“I don’t think age means a lot,” Darrell said. “My son has been shooting a gun since he was 4 or 5 years old. I teach gun safety, and there are a lot of 12-year-olds who aren’t ready. It depends on the kid and how they’re raised.”

Alex was raised to handle and respect firearms, his dad said.

“When he was 6 or 7, we’d go grouse hunting,” Darrell said. “I’d carry a .410 break-action [shotgun] in the back of my vest. If I saw a bird on the trail, I’d let him load the gun and shoot it [the bird] on the trail.

“The next year, I’d let him carry the gun empty and load it if we saw a bird on the trail. At age 8, I let him carry a loaded gun on an open trail, not in the woods. When he was 9, I let him carry a loaded gun. I didn’t care about hunting. I was just watching him.”

In addition, Alex has shot trap with a 20-gauge shotgun since he was 7, his dad said. Alex has accompanied his dad on pheasant hunting trips to South Dakota, without shooting, the past four years. This year, under a new South Dakota law similar to Minnesota’s, Alex will carry a gun.

“This year, I took him sharptail hunting with another friend,” Darrell said. “It was like having another adult along.”

Whether or not Alex gets to hunt during the upcoming firearms season depends on what his dad does while bowhunting between now and then. If Darrell doesn’t shoot a buck with his bow, he plans to let Alex shoot one with a rifle.

Darrell has both a bow and firearms deer license but may take only one buck per year. And under state regulations, any buck taken by a 10- or 11-year-old must be tagged by the parent or guardian hunting with the youth.

Alex’s chances are looking good. His dad, bowhunting on Oct. 25, passed up a mature 10-point buck.

Like Spencer, Duluth’s Phil Mannon is looking forward to hunting with his young son soon. Mannon’s 9-year-old son, Caleb, has accompanied him on many hunts without shooting and has been target-shooting with a bow since he was 8. Mannon hopes his son will want to hunt deer next fall, either with a bow or with shotgun and slug.

Mannon likes the regulation change allowing younger hunters to take big game.

“I think it’s a great deal,” Mannon said. “We have to keep the youth interested in the outdoors. This just gives us a reason to get them out sooner, before we lose them to video games.”

Some people have concerns about hunters hunting big game at age 10 or 11, although hunters that age and younger have been able to hunt small game in Minnesota without taking firearms safety classes for years.

“Some kids are more advanced than others,” said Scott VanValkenburg of Fisherman’s Corner in Duluth. “To me, jeez, they really need to go through gun safety. It makes me a little nervous. Gun safety is a great program. It really drills it through the kids’ heads what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Dr. Steve Bauer, M.D., is a child and adolescent psychologist at the Human Development Center in Duluth. He, too, said that the maturity level of 10- and 11-year-olds varies widely.

“Sure, there are some 10- and 11-year-olds who, with good supervision, are going to be decent,” Bauer said. “But it calls on them, if they haven’t had a lot of experience, to learn things pretty rapidly. Gun safety gives you the needed tools to give you that background.”

The new law requires that the young hunter be “under direct supervision of a parent or guardian where the parent or guardian is within immediate reach, and licensed to take the big game,” according to Minnesota hunting regulations.

Darrell Spencer is more concerned about 12-year-olds who are permitted to hunt deer alone without parental supervision or a parent within reach, although they must be “accompanied” by a parent or guardian.

“What scares me is some of these 12-year-olds getting stuck in a deer stand by themselves,” he said. “If they can be mentored for two or three years before hunting on their own, I think that’s great.”

Minnesota’s moose hunters took 111 bull moose in this fall’s Northeastern Minnesota moose season, which ran Oct. 4 to 19.

Tags were issued to 237 parties hunting in 30 zones. Hunting success was 47 percent. Last year, moose hunters took 115 moose for [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Nov. 2, 2008

About half of Minnesota moose hunters successful

Minnesota’s moose hunters took 111 bull moose in this fall’s Northeastern Minnesota moose season, which ran Oct. 4 to 19.

Tags were issued to 237 parties hunting in 30 zones. Hunting success was 47 percent. Last year, moose hunters took 115 moose for a 50 percent success rate. For the second year, the hunt was for bulls only.

Several thousand parties apply for Minnesota moose licenses each year. Since 1991, the hunt has been a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. This year, 2,706 parties applied for moose hunting permits. Minnesota’s moose population is estimated at 7,600.

Corn coming out slowly

Wet weather slowed Minnesota’s corn harvest from Oct. 21 to 27, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Minnesota crop report. That’s important to the state’s pheasant hunters, for whom hunting improves as more corn is harvested and pheasants move into grasslands.

As of Monday, 30 percent of the state’s corn had been harvested, about half as much as last year and half as much as the recent five-year average. Weather has been good this past week, and farmers have been able to make more progress in the fields.

Another USDA crop report will be released on Monday.

Bowhunters do well at Ripley

Archers took a record 325 deer during the first of two two-day bow hunts held Oct. 19-20 at Camp Ripley Military Reservation near Little Falls, Minn.

That was a 41 percent increase from last year and is 160 percent above the long-term average harvest, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release. Hunter success was about 15 percent (7 percent higher than the long-term average of 8 percent).

Be careful in tree stands

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources urges hunters to follow safety procedures when using tree stands. Five tree-stand accidents occurred during the early antlerless season Oct. 11-12.

Here are some safety tips:

* Follow the three-point rule: Always have three points of contact to the steps or ladder before moving (two arms and one leg or one arm and two legs).

* Be cautious when rain, frost, ice or snow cause steps to become slippery.

* Never carry equipment with you while you are climbing. Use haul lines to raise or lower gear. Make sure guns are unloaded and broadheads covered before moving them.

* Always wear a safety harness when you are in a tree stand, as well as when climbing into or out of a tree stand.

* A safety strap should be attached to the tree to prevent you from falling more than a foot.

* Always inspect the safety harness for signs of wear or damage before each use.

* Check permanent tree stands every year before hunting from them, and replace any worn or weak lumber.

* Inspect portable stands for loose nuts and bolts before each use.

Minnesota conservation officers are literally coming under fire this hunting season.

A recent DNR report says three game wardens have been nearly hit by accidental gun discharges.

One of those incidents happened near Grand Marais when a moose hunter accidentally fired his rifle just before an officer started checking licenses.

Russ Isola is [...]]]> From the NorthlandNewsCenter.com
published Oct. 14, 2008

Minnesota conservation officers are literally coming under fire this hunting season.

A recent DNR report says three game wardens have been nearly hit by accidental gun discharges.

One of those incidents happened near Grand Marais when a moose hunter accidentally fired his rifle just before an officer started checking licenses.

Russ Isola is a Minnesota DNR trained gun safety instructor.

He thinks all hunters should take a safety course that would reduce the dangers conservation officers and other hunters face in the field from improper gun handling.

“The hunter education program definitely corrects that!” says Isola.
He states it’s not young kids that are unsafe.

“The older hunters are the ones you actually have problems with because they haven’t had a hunter education class.” according to Isola.
That’s because Minnesotans born after 1979 have to graduate from the class to get a hunting license.

In the class, students get the scoop on proper gun handling. Russ demonstrates on an old Higgins 12 guage.

“If you take a look, you can see the firearm is empty and it’s pointed in a safe direction.”

Most hunter education classes in Minnesota have already wrapped up for 2008 but there is a self study option.

“If you are 18 or over you can go online and do a course if you are 18 or older.”

Isola, who’s been a safe hunter all his life, says firearms safety is a life or death matter.

“That’s why you definitely want to be safe because hurting somebody will definitely put a crimp in your day.”

Dave Anderson, the Northland’s News Center.

Procedures for Independent Study On-Line Course:
Step 1: Complete the activity “Using your Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations handbook” . Print out and show to the volunteer instructor at the field/exam session.
Step 2: Complete the Hunting dilemmas worksheet. Print out the questions, write your answers on a separate sheet of paper, and show to the volunteer instructor at the field/exam session.
Step 3: Complete the on-line course located at IHEA online . Print out your results to show the volunteer instructor.
Step 4: Assemble and bring to the field/exam session a basic survival kit as suggested in the IHEA on-line curriculum.
Step 5: Attend and successfully complete the field/exam session. Contact a DNR Certified Firearm Safety volunteer instructor to review your independent study coursework and to schedule an exam session and field day with the instructor, either in conjunction with a currently scheduled class or coordinated individually.

You will be provided with a temporary certificate upon successful completion of the above steps. A certificate will be sent to you from the Safety Training office. Certification endorsements will also appear on your Minnesota resident driver’s license or identification card when you obtain or renew it.
Cost: The fee is the same as the traditional Firearm Safety course of $7.50 – $15.00 collected by the instructor. Checks can be made payable to the Department of Natural Resources. The fee amount is subject to change at any time without prior notice.

Minnesota bear harvest down

Minnesota black bear hunters have shot only about half as many bears as at the same time last year, said Dave Garshelis, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As of Sept. 11, hunters had killed 1,267 bears this fall, compared with [...]]]> From the Duluth News Tribune
published Sept. 14, 2008

Minnesota bear harvest down

Minnesota black bear hunters have shot only about half as many bears as at the same time last year, said Dave Garshelis, bear project leader for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As of Sept. 11, hunters had killed 1,267 bears this fall, compared with 2,452 at the same time last year, Garshelis said.

Minnesota’s bear season opened Sept. 1 and continues through Oct. 14. Garshelis suspects the abundance of natural foods in the woods has kept bears from visiting hunters’ baits as often as in some years.

“There’s a lot of natural food, and a lot of it was delayed all summer,” Garshelis said. “Stuff that shouldn’t be around is around now — berries like cherries.”

He also said the bear population may not be as large as it was a few years ago. The last population survey was done in 2002 and turned up an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 bears. A new survey, using tetracycline baits that leave a trace in bears’ teeth, is under way this fall and next fall, Garshelis said.

Fishing pier ready at McQuade

With the addition of an accessible fishing pier, McQuade Small Craft Harbor now offers opportunities for everyone to fish Lake Superior, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release.

The harbor facility, nine miles north of the Duluth Harbor entry, is fully accessible including parking, paved walkways, a pedestrian tunnel, docks, benches, drinking water and restrooms. The fishing pier has protective railings and is built out from the breakwater to provide for lake fishing.

Grouse brood count up in Wisconsin

The average number of grouse broods seen and the average size of the brood both increased 12 percent from 2007 levels in northern and central Wisconsin this summer, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources news release. The primary range for ruffed grouse, the central and northern forest portions of the state, were mostly spared from the heavy rain events of June, according to the news release.

DNR field personnel averaged 1.03 broods seen during the 2008 survey period, compared with 0.92 in 2007. Brood size was up as well with broods averaging 4.7 young per brood, 4.2 in 2007.

Firearms safety instructors wanted

If you’ve ever thought of becoming a firearms safety instructor, here’s your chance. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold a Certified Volunteer Firearms Safety Instructor Training Class from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Hermantown Police Department, 5111 Maple Grove Road. Preregistration is required. The class is free. Participants must be at least 18 and pass a background check. To register, contact Lt. Shelly Patten at shelly.patten@dnr.state.mn.us or (218) 244-8051.

Demand for firearms safety instructors is high, said Patten, a DNR conservation officer and regional training officer.

“In Minnesota, we have more youth than the national average who are hunting,” Patten said. “Nationwide, it’s about 11 percent. In Minnesota, it’s around 20 percent, and gets up to 25 percent in the Northland.”

Surplus turkey permits available Monday

Minnesota turkey hunters who were unsuccessful in this year’s lottery for the fall hunting season may apply for 2,243 surplus permits starting at noon Monday, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources news release.

The DNR makes surplus permits available at all Electronic Licensing System (ELS) outlets and online at www.dnr.state.mn.us.

The Web site also contains information on surplus licenses availability and the status of lottery applications. The fall turkey hunt consists of two five-day seasons: Oct. 15-19 and Oct. 22-26.

Hunters who did not enter the lottery will be able to purchase any remaining surplus licenses beginning noon Monday, Sept. 22.

Mike and Linda Neault, through the Carlton County Chapter of Minnesota Deer Hunters, are again hosting a free firearm safety course for women.

The class runs from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 22, 23, 25 and 26 (no class Sept. 24) at Sandy Lake Baptist Church in Barnum with a field trial [...]]]> From the Pine Journal
published Aug. 21, 2008

Mike and Linda Neault, through the Carlton County Chapter of Minnesota Deer Hunters, are again hosting a free firearm safety course for women.

The class runs from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 22, 23, 25 and 26 (no class Sept. 24) at Sandy Lake Baptist Church in Barnum with a field trial day on Sept. 27. Those interested must register by calling Mike or Linda at 218-389-0055.

Registration is limited to 24 people.