A Cold But Successful Opening Day To The Wisconsin Deer Season

By: Dave Zeug

Some hard-core deer hunters have referred to the traditional deer gun season in the northern tier of states as holy week as they filter into deer camp in the days before the opener. Although my son Kyle and I enjoy deer season as a way to share a father-son bond and, hopefully anyway, secure a winter’s supply of free range, healthy protein, we hunt out of our home and enjoy the creature comforts it provides. This year was no different.

The weatherman said it was going to be cold in the morning, 12 degrees with a 15 - 20 MPH wind. This meant a wind chill hovering around -10. Perched in our ladder stands later, it was clear to us it wasn’t nearly that warm. The weatherman must be a deer hunter. We all know they exaggerate.

Every year brings different conditions to the traditional deer hunt.

I assumed three pairs of long johns under wool pants would be enough to keep the cold at bay. With all those layers, my vanity was the only thing that allowed me to fasten the pants’ top button. I didn’t want to look any better fed then I already was, although as the day wore on, natural insulation would come in handy. 

We left early, giving us time to slowly walk to our ladder stands, so we wouldn’t overheat. I don’t know what we were thinking. Unless you were one of the lucky few in one of those heated, permanent stands with a well-oiled swivel chair and sliding windows, overheating wasn’t going to be a problem this year. 

I dropped Kyle off at a proven stand halfway down a steep hillside where the terrain began to flatten out. Several animal trails around the base were proof deer took advantage of the more level ground. And over the years, we’ve taken advantage of the deer using the trails.

Some years the bucks are big

I moved on, further into this big block of woods to another area with good visibility of the opening day’s deer movement. Settling into a ladder stand, it was obvious the cold wouldn’t allow us to stay seated the entire day, but fueled with opening day optimism, we planned to do our best.

I heard an occasional shot but not like years past when opening morning was punctuated by regular gunfire. An hour and a half passed with no activity, then I heard a shot from Kyle’s direction. I waited a few minutes, and then tried to send him a text to see if the shot I heard was his. It didn’t take long to realize numb fingers exposed to the elements weren’t going to do the job. I called him instead, and he confirmed he had a buck down. 

Some years wolves impact the hunt

Chilled to the bone, I made my way down the ladder and over to where he stood. A fat yearling buck, dropped with a perfect double lung shot from his 7MM-08 lay a Kyle’s feet. He said he had steady action for a couple hours, and saw several deer, including a bigger buck he couldn’t get a good shot at. I left him to dress the deer and trekked the quarter-mile back to my ladder stand, all the while wondering where those deer he’d seen had gone. 

I stuck it out another couple of hours, and then went back to see Kyle. He was cold now too, so I suggested he hike back to the truck to get our deer cart and warm up, while I guarded the trails he’d been watching. The shooting, which had never been steady, dropped to nearly nothing by mid-day. I dug out a sandwich from my pack, but was puzzled by the crunching noise it made as I tried to eat it, then I remembered the slices of pickles on it. They were frozen solid. Pulling one from my mouth, it looked like a piece of green plastic from a cheap kid’s toy.  Using the mental ruler we all have, I tried to remember if I’d ever experienced an opening day as cold as this one. The answer was simple. No, I hadn’t.

Some years it’s shirt sleeve weather

Eventually Kyle came back with the cart, and I headed to the truck to thaw out that sandwich on the truck’s dash. I’d stashed a bottle of water there too, wrapped in some spare clothes, because with the bitter temperature, I knew it was pointless to pack it in. I took a long pull on it and was shocked to feel the broken glass-like pieces of ice slide down my throat. Fortunately, the sensation disappeared when the ice crystals melted.

An uneventful, deer-less early afternoon slowly merged into the closing hours. I was back on Kyle’s stand, hoping for some late-day movement like he’d seen earlier. Kyle curled up in front of an old stump not far away.

I dug out my phone and began monitoring other folks’ opening day experiences. I know, this isn’t a good idea on a deer stand, but I also learned blistering cold saps the power from your phone’s battery fast. I put the piece of now useless technology back in my pocket and watched the setting sun spread a soft, buttery light over the hillside.

Sometimes there’s a long drag out of “big woods” we hunt.

And then there was a deer. The first I’d seen all day. The doe paused for a second between some trees and gave me a chance, but by the time I got my mitten off and gun up, she was gone. Then I saw another deer following her trail; only this one had his nose to the ground and antlers. When it hit the same opening she’d been in seconds ago, I pulled the trigger. 

I watched the buck bound away in Kyle’s direction. The buck appeared to be hit, but I wasn’t sure. Kyle said a buck ran behind him, but he wasn’t sure it was the one I’d shot at. With a one-buck per hunter limit, we sure didn’t need three bucks on the ground. Looking where the deer ran, we saw a smattering of blood and seventy-five yards further we found him.

But it’s always a great bonding experience

Having to move two bucks from the woods, we got home late, tired, and hungry, but we were satisfied with our hunt. Drained by the cold temperatures and exertion, now the challenge was to stay awake long enough for supper. It’s not polite to blow bubbles in your venison stew at the dinner table.

We planned right, hunted hard all day, and it paid off. We knew all too well that doesn’t always happen. We also knew regardless of the temperature or of the level of success, there’s no such thing as a bad day in the deer woods.

Have you had a great out experience? Join Global Outdoors and write a review to tell everyone about it! We’re building the home for trusted reviews of outdoor experiences, outfitters, and guides.