Thanks for the note. Interesting deal on your scrape. I suspect these spots come and go over the years as woods age and mature over time. Then new clear cuts pop up. Woods always changing. Merry Christmas
Ty for the videos. Looks like similar terrain to where I hunt in Kalkaska Co. Michigan. You seem to have a few more deer and mature bucks that are rare for me..
I really like seeing content from other "big woods" guys. I still listen to the podcasts and videos for a lot of the other guys but almost every single one is hunting around AG and they don't deal with wolves which changes deer behavior and they just have way higher deer density which makes reading sign totally different. I'm in Carlton county and have next week off so besides so in between trapping I'm going to do some deer scouting and other deer chores. Used to do this at the spring thaw but I'll take advantage of the low snow. Maybe I'll get some grouse too. Thumbs up
Hey thanks for the note. Yeah wolf country definitely changes things. One thing that has really surprised me is how nocturnal deer are in the area. There is almost no hunting pressure so you can’t blame that. It has to be a result of the wolves. That’s my best guess anyways. Low snow right now so the woods are perfect for deer camp chores. Good luck trapping
Finding pinch points, funnels, and subtle landscape changes that attract and concentrate the deer a bit in the big woods of northern MN is the key to any consistency of success. Our camp managed to get a few deer this year but saw more wolves than deer. Large pack in the area all week long. Six sitings of 1-10 wolves seen off stands. Wolves stuck around all week even after seeing us in stands several times. We have had low deer density for the last ten years or so in Area 169. I know wolves are controversial. I personally like hunting an area with a stable wolf population, but when you have a deer herd on the northern edge of its range and really susceptible and stressed by hard winters combined with a large predator wolf population, the recipe is right for low deer numbers. Yes, the severity of the winter is the main driver, but deep snows and bitter cold makes wolves a lot more efficient in taking deer. More deer would be able to survive hard winters with a more moderate wolf population. A stable wolf pop may even make for a healthier deer herd especially with cwd expanding. All that said, IMO, until we are allowed to control the wolves a bit, northern MN is going to have very lean hunting periods unless we get a long string of very mild winters.
Yep I think your assessment is spot on. We feel the same way. We love having wolves around just because they really are cool and majestic animals. Could just use a few less is all. And we talk about that too regarding cwd- if it ever really spreads north, maybe wolves will be our saving grace by trimming the sick and weak deer to minimize the spread? Who knows. Thanks for sharing!
Great video, appreciate it. Without getting too specific (not wanting to burn your spot), whats the rough age of those clear cuts that all intersect in the spot? I've been trying to wrap my head around how deer relate to cuts in the arrowhead; this year in my limitied scouting/checking I found that the 1-3 year old cuts didn't have anything, but the one 10+ year old cut I scouted had way more sign and multiple bucks. I've read/heard multiple times about how new clear cuts can be great for deer due to all the food created, but seems like there aren't many tree tops left around when they do a big clear cut (atleast in the region I hunt), and I don't see hardly any browse pressure on that first successional growth/regen.
I’ve seen the same as you- when the cuts are brand new or 0-3 years old, they can be ice old. On rare occasion, I have seen brand new cuts with heavy deer sign (usually later season when deer are eating the buds on the slashed tops). Most of our best clear cuts are in that 3-15 year old range. The three cuts in this particular spot range from 7 yrs old, 15, and 20 yrs. There is a finger of cedar swamp that follows one of the sides. Just a cool spot where a lot of diversity comes together.
Very nice! Great job! Being a trapper I would love to trap a wolf!! We don't have them out east yet! Thanks for all the pictures! I hate to say it, but when they show up out east, they may get lead poisoning! Its open season on coyotes here!
Thanks! Yeah they really are beautiful animals. We just need a few less I think but I certainly like having them around. I couldn’t believe the bear w triplets. Thanks for sharing
Great Analysis, Thanks for sharing. Speaking of wolves, I tried to click on your video from a week ago, but I was unable to view. Did it get pulled from RUclips or did I miss something?
Big woods is tough to be consistent at taking good bucks? I also had hunts ruined by wolves in northern Wis. they also have the deer on edge n tougher to hunt. But your correct some of our stands just die, keep looking for fresh sign?
Off topic, does anyone know if government dogs can get limes disease. I know where I hunt, where dog's hangout, deer ticks are really bad (dogs spreading them). If so, I hope mother nature wins this fight by use of deer ticks (limes disease)
I was curious how your deer numbers are. I learned to hunt in area 126 but it's not even worth paying for a nonresident tag to hunt there anymore, deer numbers have dropped so much.
Yeah it’s unfortunate what’s happening in NE Minnesota right now. Between the hard winters and thriving wolf population, it’s just decimating the deer herd.
iF THOSE ARE NATURAL OPENINGS ARE natural THEN WHATS UP WITH THE CHAIN SAW????? jUST ASKING AS i THOUGHT CLEARING AN AREA BY CUTTING FOR HUNTING IS ILLEGAL
Just wondering as at least in MI, cutting shooting lanes on public land is a NO-NO where here were just talking about optics on what the purpose of the chainsaw was for here and thanks for the clarification.@@northernforestwhitetail
F_u when someone says they are going to public land carrying a chain saw I was just questioning that and NOTHING MORE YOU DIP STICK@@dbconstruction8904
Thanks for the video Matt. I had a scrape area that was hot for 5 years. Last two or so, not so good. Strange.
Thanks for the note. Interesting deal on your scrape. I suspect these spots come and go over the years as woods age and mature over time. Then new clear cuts pop up. Woods always changing. Merry Christmas
Ty for the videos. Looks like similar terrain to where I hunt in Kalkaska Co. Michigan. You seem to have a few more deer and mature bucks that are rare for me..
That's some good trail cam footage. What brand of cell cams do you use? Would you recommend them or go with something different?
Yeah I thought so too. That video is from my older browning cam (can’t remember which one). I use the tactacam gen2 cams now and really like them
I really like seeing content from other "big woods" guys. I still listen to the podcasts and videos for a lot of the other guys but almost every single one is hunting around AG and they don't deal with wolves which changes deer behavior and they just have way higher deer density which makes reading sign totally different. I'm in Carlton county and have next week off so besides so in between trapping I'm going to do some deer scouting and other deer chores. Used to do this at the spring thaw but I'll take advantage of the low snow. Maybe I'll get some grouse too. Thumbs up
Hey thanks for the note. Yeah wolf country definitely changes things. One thing that has really surprised me is how nocturnal deer are in the area. There is almost no hunting pressure so you can’t blame that. It has to be a result of the wolves. That’s my best guess anyways. Low snow right now so the woods are perfect for deer camp chores. Good luck trapping
Nice video ya I here you when say getting stuck on one area it happens with me also. Good info thanks for sharing it
You bet thanks for watching!
Finding pinch points, funnels, and subtle landscape changes that attract and concentrate the deer a bit in the big woods of northern MN is the key to any consistency of success.
Our camp managed to get a few deer this year but saw more wolves than deer. Large pack in the area all week long. Six sitings of 1-10 wolves seen off stands. Wolves stuck around all week even after seeing us in stands several times.
We have had low deer density for the last ten years or so in Area 169. I know wolves are controversial. I personally like hunting an area with a stable wolf population, but when you have a deer herd on the northern edge of its range and really susceptible and stressed by hard winters combined with a large predator wolf population, the recipe is right for low deer numbers. Yes, the severity of the winter is the main driver, but deep snows and bitter cold makes wolves a lot more efficient in taking deer. More deer would be able to survive hard winters with a more moderate wolf population. A stable wolf pop may even make for a healthier deer herd especially with cwd expanding. All that said, IMO, until we are allowed to control the wolves a bit, northern MN is going to have very lean hunting periods unless we get a long string of very mild winters.
Yep I think your assessment is spot on. We feel the same way. We love having wolves around just because they really are cool and majestic animals. Could just use a few less is all. And we talk about that too regarding cwd- if it ever really spreads north, maybe wolves will be our saving grace by trimming the sick and weak deer to minimize the spread? Who knows. Thanks for sharing!
You said arrowhead part of Minnesota I hunted the Nemadji forest for 14 years it’s big woods. Besides having the dirt bike trails everywhere on it.
@@Hopeknives13 awesome 👍
Good stuff .. Man one of those Bucks was real chunky !
I know that had to be the heaviest deer I’ve ever gotten on cam. Thing had a body like a cow. Thanks for sharing-
Great video, appreciate it. Without getting too specific (not wanting to burn your spot), whats the rough age of those clear cuts that all intersect in the spot? I've been trying to wrap my head around how deer relate to cuts in the arrowhead; this year in my limitied scouting/checking I found that the 1-3 year old cuts didn't have anything, but the one 10+ year old cut I scouted had way more sign and multiple bucks. I've read/heard multiple times about how new clear cuts can be great for deer due to all the food created, but seems like there aren't many tree tops left around when they do a big clear cut (atleast in the region I hunt), and I don't see hardly any browse pressure on that first successional growth/regen.
I’ve seen the same as you- when the cuts are brand new or 0-3 years old, they can be ice old. On rare occasion, I have seen brand new cuts with heavy deer sign (usually later season when deer are eating the buds on the slashed tops). Most of our best clear cuts are in that 3-15 year old range. The three cuts in this particular spot range from 7 yrs old, 15, and 20 yrs. There is a finger of cedar swamp that follows one of the sides. Just a cool spot where a lot of diversity comes together.
Very nice! Great job! Being a trapper I would love to trap a wolf!! We don't have them out east yet! Thanks for all the pictures! I hate to say it, but when they show up out east, they may get lead poisoning! Its open season on coyotes here!
Thanks! Yeah they really are beautiful animals. We just need a few less I think but I certainly like having them around. I couldn’t believe the bear w triplets. Thanks for sharing
Great Analysis, Thanks for sharing. Speaking of wolves, I tried to click on your video from a week ago, but I was unable to view. Did it get pulled from RUclips or did I miss something?
Thanks- yeah no longer available. Was getting too controversial. Was threatening to get my channel in hot water.
Big woods is tough to be consistent at taking good bucks? I also had hunts ruined by wolves in northern Wis. they also have the deer on edge n tougher to hunt. But your correct some of our stands just die, keep looking for fresh sign?
Yep that’s the key with us. Tracks and droppings don’t lie. If you can find that sign, you know there are deer around
Looks like you need to bring a shovel in with you also!!!!
Roger that!
Off topic, does anyone know if government dogs can get limes disease. I know where I hunt, where dog's hangout, deer ticks are really bad (dogs spreading them). If so, I hope mother nature wins this fight by use of deer ticks (limes disease)
Not sure on that. I do know wolves get Mange though.
I was curious how your deer numbers are. I learned to hunt in area 126 but it's not even worth paying for a nonresident tag to hunt there anymore, deer numbers have dropped so much.
Yeah it’s unfortunate what’s happening in NE Minnesota right now. Between the hard winters and thriving wolf population, it’s just decimating the deer herd.
iF THOSE ARE NATURAL OPENINGS ARE natural THEN WHATS UP WITH THE CHAIN SAW????? jUST ASKING AS i THOUGHT CLEARING AN AREA BY CUTTING FOR HUNTING IS ILLEGAL
Chainsaw is for our private property trail by cabin.
Just wondering as at least in MI, cutting shooting lanes on public land is a NO-NO where here were just talking about optics on what the purpose of the chainsaw was for here and thanks for the clarification.@@northernforestwhitetail
Calm down dude
F_u when someone says they are going to public land carrying a chain saw I was just questioning that and NOTHING MORE YOU DIP STICK@@dbconstruction8904