Filming hunts all year long would be a real treat.  But we don’t have the budget to travel to the southern hemisphere during the summer and deer hunting in 90 degree weather just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.  Besides, the Wisconsin DNR would definitely frown on that kind of thing.  But that doesn’t mean my camera gets a break.  I recently produced a DVD with Tom Dokken of Northfield, Minnesota.  Tom is a professional dog trainer with a worldwide reputation as one of the best in the business.

When it comes to working dogs, bird hunting is king and Tom is a leader in the sport.  However, he also has a passion for whitetails.  He has combined that passion with his dog training expertise to create a system for training dogs to find antler sheds.  This training DVD covers everything you need to get started.  One of the great things about training for shed hunting is you can begin training right in your backyard.  You won’t need live birds or a gun for shooting blanks.  There really isn’t much equipment needed at all.  If you already have a bird dog at home, cross training isn’t a problem.  Shed hunting isn’t going to mess up your bird dog.  This is just another opportunity to get into the field with your dog.  Hunting breeds are popular but any dog can be trained to find sheds.

Here’s a short clip from the DVD.  This is a simulated shed hunt with Tom and Rookie, his ace shed hunting dog.  This scenario is similar to what a trainer would set up for a dog who is getting ready for his first real shed hunting experience.  The idea is to build confidence in the dog by guaranteeing early success.



The DVD is hot off the presses!  I just delivered it to Dokken’s Dog Supply early this week.  But you can get your copy right now for $19.99 + s&h.  Give them a call at 507-744-2616.  If you want to win a free copy, simply use the comment box below and write “I want to win”.  I’ll randomly draw one winner this Friday afternoon.  Good luck!

A few days ago I wrote a post about the Facebook group "Save Wisconsin Hunting" and the political firestorm surrounding it.  At the end I noted that we didn't know where the group was located but judging by the hunting photos used, it probably wasn't Wisconsin.  None of the hunters were wearing backtags.  Sure enough, today I find out the website The Daily Kos is behind it.  I would like to ask you, the deer hunter, do you think a website based out of Berkeley, California really cares about deer hunting in Wisconsin?

I would say the Daily Kos is left leaning, but that would be a huge understatement.  Their sole mission with this issue is to use it to garner votes from hunters against Governor Scott Walker.  It's yet another case of an organization trying to pit hunter against hunter to advance a cause that either hurts hunters or has nothing to do with hunting.

If you disagree with Governor Walker's politics on issues like collective bargaining, vote for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.  I'm not saying Governor Walker is "the" choice for governor.  I'm saying deer hunting should have nothing to do with who you vote for on June 5.  This "controversy" is a hoax.

There are a few new groups that have put their hat in the ring when it comes to fueling the Wisconsin recall efforts.  They have grasped on to an “issue” that is rarely used by them.  Wisconsin has a rich tradition of deer hunting and the over 600,000 Wisconsinites who hunt deer are a passionate crowd.  Polling data is showing Governor Scott Walker has a six to eight point lead over his challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.  That is certainly not insurmountable, but it doesn’t look good for those looking to oust the Governor.  What they need is to swing a few of Walker’s votes their way.

For the full background of this story, read Making Sense of The Dr. Kroll Controversy.  The short story is the Governor pledged to hire an outside consultant to look at Wisconsin’s deer management strategy in 2010.  Dr. James Kroll got the job.  Some people were critical of the hire but in my opinion it was generally lauded.  Kroll has over three decades of deer management experience.  He is quite possibly the most well known deer biologist in the country, certainly in the Top 3.  However, he does have ties to high fence operations(he owns a small operation and does consulting work for others) and that is the major hang up for most who disapprove.   But Kroll also does a lot of consulting work for organizations who hunt in much the same way Wisconsinites do.

This entire issue was almost exclusively a deer hunter issue until the past few weeks.  As the June 5 recall election drew near, these groups started getting desperate.  So they’ve brought forth a series of lies in attempt to garner support from deer hunters.  Sure, there are plenty of deer hunters who may be voting for Mayor Barrett anyway.  But it’s fair to say most of the deer hunting set are going to vote for Governor Walker.  The intent of these scare tactics is to get some of those people to swing over.

They have made claims about Wisconsin selling off hunting land and deer hunts that cost over $2,000.  The fact is neither Governor Walker, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp, or Dr. James Kroll have the ability to sell public hunting land.  The funny thing is, it’s obvious these groups don’t know much about Wisconsin deer hunting.  Look at these photos.  They are screen shots from a face book page and a website.  Notice something missing with these hunters?




All of the hunters in these photos would have expensive Wisconsin deer hunts.  Not because Scott Walker made them pay $2,000 to hunt deer.  Because they would be in violation.  None of them have backtags.  These hunters obviously aren’t from Wisconsin.  Because of the way the groups are structured and their late entry into the game, we don’t know who these groups are.  But it will be interesting to find out.  It probably won’t be  a surprise.

On another note, Wisconsin is about to make the biggest public hunting land purchase in state history.  Pretty cool huh?

The last time I was at the hunting cabin back in February, I set out a trail camera. It was the first serious attempt at getting an idea of what wildlife passed through our woods. I knew I would get some deer photos. The camera was placed on a prominent trail. Due to chronic wasting disease, using bait or mineral blocks is against the law in our area. I was forced to use woodsmanship to select a good camera site. I know deer bed in the area and there are several trails in and out. I was confident I would get some photos.

 A few weeks passed and my dad headed out to the woods to retrieve the camera. After searching for an hour or so, he couldn't find it. A few weeks later, he tried again, this time with a friend. Still no camera. I was back in camp in late April, two months after placing the camera. I figured I would walk right out there and find the camera. I was wrong. After an hour of searching, the idea that someone stole the camera was feeling more and more like a reality. Three more guys were due in camp the next day and I decided to stay positive until we could form a four man search party.

 As a weekend of turkey hunting(which I'll document in a later post) came to a close, the four of us lined up and started walking in to the section of forest the camera was in. The walk didn't have much suspense. After walking less than 100 yards my buddy yelled, "found it!" I popped open the camera and pushed the tell tale button. The meter read 1467. I had the camera set for a three shot burst so that meant it was triggered almost 500 times. I couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to see the pictures and they didn't disappoint. The highlight of the photos was a nearly 80 shot sequence lasting about an hour and 45 minutes. A buck bedded down right in front of the camera. I put together a time lapse video of all the photos that lasts just over a minute. Pretty interesting stuff.



A few days later, another buck sprinted past the camera. There were also numerous photos of does looking around and bedding in front of the camera. I use a Primos Truth Cam Blackout. There is no sound or flash. But many of the deer were looking right at the camera. It was set on a tree that is directly on a trail and I'm sure this peculiar looking box captured their attention.
Deer were not the only visitors to the camera site. Plenty of turkeys also stopped by to say hello. In early March, the birds were still in their winter flocks. In late March, I got several pictures of lone gobblers making their way through the woods. This was nowhere near a field. Yet, gobblers passed by in full strut on numerous occasions.
There are deer and turkeys in a few of the photos. This one is a favorite. Here's a jake showing a yearling whitetail who is boss. I believe he is swearing at him in Turkish.
It wasn't just deer and turkeys looking for a meal in this spot. There are countless raccoon photos and one sequence with a coyote walking down the trail.
I have never hunted this spot but losing the trail camera for a few months gave me a great snapshot of all the activity in the area. This spot definitely will have a treestand hanging there this fall!

by Chris Larsen

After a two month hiatus, I made it back to the cabin this weekend. I loaded up the car with a few Edge by Expedite predator decoys, some guns, and my daughter. She’s just a few weeks shy of her first birthday and has already become a hunting camp veteran. Thankfully, Grandma is more than happy to get some time with Emma and graciously tends to the little one while I’m off gallivanting in the woods.

The plan called for some product testing for Edge by Expedite, venison sausage making, shed hunting, turkey scouting, looking for new deer stand sites, and pulling down a few stands that were left up from last season. But perhaps the best part of the trip was something that wasn’t planned at all. My dad has been cleaning up some of his buildings over the past few months. He made a few discoveries that I found incredibly interesting and I think Foremosthunting.com readers will too.

It turns out I’m not the first in the family with a passion for filming hunts. My grandfather hauled a film movie camera to Wyoming for several years. We pulled out a reel from 1968 and were shocked to find the film to be in incredible condition. What we were watching was nearly 45 years old. My dad turns 60 in less than a month and there he was… 16 year old him… shooting a mule deer in Wyoming. I don’t remember my grandpa with anything but grey hair. It was cool to see him as a strapping 40 year old man. He pulled deer up and down the Rocky Mountain foothills with ease. As the reel begins to grow small, the men of the camp start stacking deer on the roof of the camper shell. A half dozen mulies and a pronghorn were tied down. This was the norm in these days. No one worried about someone being offended.

Before heading back home, the crew paraded through Douglas, Wyoming with game on the roof and their camper in tow. I have to give Grandpa some credit for shooting these scenes. It took a visionary since there were no 24 hour outdoor cable networks to study 45 years ago. They stopped to do some fishing too. The cast-and-blast was complete with a bucket full of rainbows. My dad said these never made it back to Illinois. The fellas fried them up right along the shore. McDonalds was a long way from becoming an empire at that time. A heart-attack-in-a-sack wasn’t available. See that strapping fellow in the picture? That’s my dad at 16. If you look closely you can see the film projector we used. I will be sharing the movies with you in the next few months. It’s an incredible look back at a different era of hunting history.

This past deer season ended with just two deer on the pole all season, both killed by me. I took a young buck during archery season and a doe during the gun season. My dad and my friend Jason decided against shooting a deer this year. They still had venison in the freezer from the previous season and decided it would be a big buck or nothing this year. My supply was exhausted but I didn’t need that excuse. The way I see it, deer season is for getting a deer. If I find myself with surplus venison, I’ll go into hyper venison eating mode! Last year we made 125 pounds of sausage. This year, just 45 pounds. Not bad considering we cut three roasts out of the buck’s hind quarters.

Our deer season ended abruptly and there were a few stands left trees. The stand in the photo was dubbed “The Rut Buster”. I spotted five bucks from that stand this year, but just one came close enough to put an arrow through. After pulling it down, we found a perfect tree closer to where the elusive bucks walked past. If they follow the same path next season, we’ll be putting meat in the freezer and a mount on the wall! The two hangers were in really good shape but my ladder stand had sunk deep into the mud. The ladder pulled away from the seat section making it a little exciting to take down.

Of course, the main even of the weekend was coyote hunting. Edge by Expedite is headquartered just up the road from my house and I’ve made a few contacts there. They have a new management team and were more than happy to allow me to test some of their new products. Look for reviews on our coyote hunting site soon. My dad & I hunted two different sets on Saturday without seeing a coyote. Jason arrived Saturday afternoon. We presided over three more sets before calling it a day. Again, no coyotes. We scoured the area for sheds as well. No dice there either.

Sunday morning I spotted something on the horizon that I thought could be a coyote. I soon realized it was a gobbler in full strut. Moments later, his entourage appeared. Thirty turkeys passed through the field. A spectacle for sure. I dozed off for a quick power nap and was awakened by Jason in short order. A dozen deer burst from the woods into the field. Three bucks were in the group, all with their antlers intact. Nutrition is a big factor in the timing of sheds dropping. The farmer who tends our property lost a lot of corn this year. A wind storm knocked the stalks down in late summer and they were still crooked when the harvester went through. A warm winter and plenty of corn left in the fields squashed our shed hunting efforts this weekend.

Our next coyote setup was deep in the woods right between two areas I’ve seen coyotes before. Nothing showed up but we did see a Pope & Young class buck retreating from the ridge. Again, both antlers were secured to his head. It was fun to see four bucks we’ll be hunting next year survived the season and most of the winter. We did spot a yearling and a doe carcass in the woods. The northern edge of the property skirts a major highway. Unfortunately, finding a dead deer or two in the woods is a yearly occurrence.

We ended up with eleven total coyote sets for the weekend. We hunted field edges and deep woods sets with the same lack of success. I guess 45-to50 degree weather in mid-February isn’t conducive to successful coyote hunting. Or maybe they just know why we’re in the woods. During archery season I had several nice bucks well inside gun range. During gun deer season two coyotes were in the scope but I passed on both. Deer season has been closed for a month and big bucks are running all over. I was confident we could get a kill on video for the guys from Edge. We’ll keep going for it. Maybe those coyotes I passed on fell to the neighbors. Hopefully, the turkeys can make it through nesting without being harassed by yotes. With a year round season, we’ll be at it again soon. Either way, the weekend was a blast. It was nice to be back in the woods again.

The following is a commentary by foremosthunting.com's Chris Larsen. It does not necessarily reflect the views of foremosthunting.com.

The big news for Midwest hunters last week was the delisting of the Great Lakes gray wolf population. The move puts management of gray wolves back in the hands of state wildlife managers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This authority has been something state agencies have been asking years for. Currently, state agencies have no authority to use lethal means to deal with problem wolves. By the end of January, they most likely will.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been down this road. This is the third time since the millennium the Great Lakes gray wolf has been delisted from the Endangered Species list. Each of the previous two times it was relisted. This is, for lack of a better term, a bunch of hooey. There are more than 4,000 wolves residing in these three states. That is three times the wolf population of the Northern Rockies. In my home state of Wisconsin, the original management plan called for about 350-400 wolves in the state. Biologists believed the maximum carrying capacity of the state’s habitat and resources would be around 500 wolves. The current Wisconsin population is estimated at over 750 wolves.

There is no good science for continuing to protect the gray wolf as an endangered species. This doesn’t protect common sense from dolts with lawyers and judges who are duped by them. The Humane Society of the United States is one of the key opponents to wolf delisting and they have deep pockets and good lawyers. The big question is, assuming the gray wolf remains delisted, what is next?


The first step should be allowing state agencies to use deadly force on wolves depredating on livestock or nuisance wolves that roam near homes. Most wolves want nothing to do with people and there are plenty of deer for them to eat in the woods. Right now, state agencies can’t use lethal tactics. That leaves them with strategies meant to scare wolves away from farms and homes. Fladry is a common tactic. The instrument in the photo is a siren that goes off every 30 seconds or so. Would you like to live next to that? After a while wolves acclimate themselves to these things and eventually ignore them. If we start shooting problem wolves, fellow pack members will either move away from farms and homes or end up falling to the gun or trap as well.

While many people like the idea of being able to hunt wolves, if we’re going to be true stewards of the land and resources, I would like to see the results of nuisance hunts first. For example, lets say there are nearly 800 wolves in Wisconsin and the initial management goal is 600 wolves. If we sell 200 wolf tags and they are randomly killed throughout the state, did we really manage the population responsibly? Wouldn’t we rather kill problem wolves and leave those who are doing what wolves naturally do to continue doing it?

On the other hand there are those who say every wolf is a problem wolf. Many salivate at the prospect of being able to hunt a wolf. Perhaps we could create a system with 150 nuisance wolf kills and 50 hunter tags per season. If we did a drawing for these tags the difference between having 200 tags in the drawing and 50 in the drawing is pretty minimal. The odds would be thin either way. Charge $5 to be in the drawing. That would raise a lot of money to help pay for wolf damage. Perhaps take one of those tags and auction it off. The state of Iowa does this with one buck tag every year and makes between $5,000 and $10,000 on the tag. And that’s a tag that you can get every three or four years no matter what. The state could probably make $10K by auctioning one wolf tag per year. I think this would be a good compromise that would show good, responsible stewardship while keeping agriculture and hunting interests happy.

As long as the courts don’t stop it, state agencies will begin managing wolves by the end of January. We’ll get a good idea of what the future of wolf management will look like at that point.

After years of chasing waterfowl and whitetails with firearms, this season I decided to get into archery hunting. Instead of just killing a deer with the bow, I decided to make my hunts even more challenging by filming them. My good friend, Jason Oswald, has been generous enough to offer his time and efforts to film my hunts. On the way, he has also become addicted to bow hunting lifestyle. This was our first season of hunting from elevated stands and it has been exciting. Seeing deer from above while they have no idea you are there is a thrill. I arrowed my first deer a few weeks ago. One of the cool things about getting into archery hunting is the welcome I have received from fellow hunters. Dozens of emails flooded my inbox after releasing the video of my hunt. The following message is from my friend, Matt Appel. After a hearty congrats, he shared the story of his most recent hunt. Matt is a new daddy this year. Check out the photo at the end of the story.

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I curbed my addiction this year by taking a buck I normally would of passed up, but it was on public land, the first time into the area, and it was a fun hunt. I got in my stand, watched a storm front move in, put up my umbrella, sat there and thought “well I'm not going to see anything this morning.” Luckily, the front passed with out a drop of rain. Then I heard some leaves kicking up and looked up to see the buck walking right from where I had walked in 45 minutes before. I looked behind him as he got to 30 yards for a bigger buck, drew, looked behind him again, then settled on him as he passed broadside at 18 yards and figured I would spend some more time with the family this year, then released.

The arrow hit hard and disappeared while the buck bolted out of the woods and into a prairie grass field. As I was getting down from my stand I had a black lab come running in from where the deer went. I looked up to see a pheasant hunter walk by the little wood lot I was in. I hollered over to see if he had seen a deer in the direction he came from. He said “yeah, he's laying right over there!” He walked me over and showed me the deer. He said he tried to stay away from the woods he thought I was in. I told him not to worry, “I was bird hunting out here 2 days ago!” He congratulated me and continued on his way.

While getting my tag out for the buck, I looked up through the prairie grass, and here came another buck walking up on me. He looked me up and down, and just turned and walked in the same direction the pheasant hunter had walked 15 minutes before. I walked my stuff back to my truck, as the pheasant hunter finished up his hunt and managed a nice ring neck. I stripped off my long johns and headed back to the deer. After a 30 minute drag, I had him loaded up and was home 10 minutes later for a nice little breakfast. After 3 years of losing two wallhangers to misplaced shots, and not drawing on one last year, it was very gratifying to tag a 125 lb buck. - Matt Appel, Wisconsin Deer Hunter