Backcountry Whitetail Hunting in the Midwest

[Tim B.]

Don't overlook the public islands on the Mississippi River. There are some tremendous deer and turkeys in there, and not many people who are willing or able to walk more than 1/2 mile.

At the moment they have all fled the islands for higher ground, pretty wet out there right now

 

[Newtosavage]

At the moment they have all fled the islands for higher ground, pretty wet out there right now

No joke!

But, they will be back. Those critters were raised on that high/low cycle.

 

[Wmmichael20]

Hey thanks for the offer!

It’s hard for me to get up there for hunting but I’ll keep that in mind!

I hunted UP for first time last year in Marquette county about 30 minutes SW of Ishpeming, near Greenwood reservoir. Beautiful area. My wife’s cousin bought some land up there. Deer hunting was so-so but if I go back up there it will be to hunt grouse and hare and also possibly pull a bear tag. The public land we hunted was awesome!


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Have either of you done the north Manitou island hunt?..my brother in-law and I did it this year and there was a few huge deer taken ( body weight of around 225 dressed out). I was also wondering about the porkupine mountain area for a hunt as well...much experience there anyone?

 

[d_rek]

Have either of you done the north Manitou island hunt?..my brother in-law and I did it this year and there was a few huge deer taken ( body weight of around 225 dressed out). I was also wondering about the porkupine mountain area for a hunt as well...much experience there anyone?

Doesn't surprise me about Manitou island it's basically a nature preserve. I camped there a few times but never hunted there.

Never been farther west in the Yoop than Marquette. My cousin has some hunting property near the Greenwood Reservoir. It looks like the porcupine range is in the snow belt so the deer herd has really taken a hammering from brutal winters over the last decade. You'd be better off going for multiple game species - grouse, snowshoe hare, bear, deer, beaver, trout - if you are targeting that area than just deer IMO. Still really pretty country and if you can target a variety of game I think you would have much better luck and enjoyment than just targeting deer up there.

 

[Wmmichael20]

Yeah with it being a part of the national parks service the deer get to grow for sure,I had heard that the deer move out of the porcupine mts early in the fall before the snow hits hard, we went up and visited the area last summer and it peaked my interest for sure especially since they rent cabins a few miles off the rd, a mix bag hunt mite be a good time.

 

[Novice4now]

Definitely possible. I’ll be doing much more of that this year. I’m in central Arkansas and went into the Buffalo River area this last year. I plan to hit the Leatherwood wilderness this year. It’s pretty easy to get away from people in the hills. It’s tough work but worth it if only for the experience. This was an over nighter canoe trip this winter. And a nice AR public land mountain deer

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I live about 2 hours south west of buffalo river area (fort smith, AR) I’ve done some whitetail hunting with a rifle when I was a kid but not much since. I’ve recently become obsessed with shooting my bow and im actively planning a multi day backpack Bow hunt in that area for next season. Have been researching like crazy and talking to everyone that I know but it’s hard to find people in the area that have any interest in hunting deep into public land, backpacking, or physically challenging hunting. I would love to chat about your experiences hunting that area! Or bow hunting in general. Just looking for any ideas or info that can help me be successful.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Unfortunately in Illinois, you hike a mile and your standing on the next road. I guess it can be done in southern Illinois on the NF.
Sometimes use a kayak to get easier access or keep the wind right.
Wish we had more backcountry.

 

[trdonahue7]

Everyone has their priorities. Right now, with an infant that doesn’t sleep well and a wife that works a lot, making it out for ~10 days out west is just not feasible. The wife would probably let me go, but I’d feel guilty and don’t want to make the trip with that weighing on me.

I still need to quench this thirst for some backcountry hunting though. Being in Missouri, there are a few large tracts of publicly accessible lands that can get you a mile or two from any road. Some of these are accessible by hiking and others can be reached only by boat or canoe/kayak and are landlocked by private land otherwise. Does anybody take advantage of similar opportunities in their home state for whitetail hunting as kind of a poor man’s backcountry hunt?

It’s hard finding like minded people around here. Most want to sleep in a fancy “deer camp”, which definitely can be a blast, but it’s not necessarily my style.

I too live in Missouri and noticed door knocking has worked well for me, or asking people I know for granted access. With that being said, we do have great opportunity at public land. Rifle season is spotty and stacked with cars but during archery season it seems like the woods are ours in the public side! The deer on my picture was harvested on an 11 acre private ground close to a public area. The year before I shot another 160'' too. with a bow, there is little we can't do in Missouri.

 

[bjfoxhoven]

In SD we have a lot of potential to do these kinds of hunts. What’s nice is you can do it on a smaller level and thus slightly safer level if you haven’t grown up hunting the Mountains or hunting deep into public land. We hike in several miles each of the last couple years and hunt around a little base camp. This is super fun but very beneficial too. You can sleep longer and be to the harder to access spots much easier once in there. Just have to make sure you are camping in public ground where it is permitted and follow the rules from that point. Federal group you can hunt. Private ground with walk in access you cannot. I plan to do some Bivy style hunts in the future out in the black hills. Some spots take a lot to get to and I hate hiking in and out in a day, i will waste a lot less energy just staying there for a night.

 

[LIWolverine]

I live about 2 hours south west of buffalo river area (fort smith, AR) I’ve done some whitetail hunting with a rifle when I was a kid but not much since. I’ve recently become obsessed with shooting my bow and im actively planning a multi day backpack Bow hunt in that area for next season. Have been researching like crazy and talking to everyone that I know but it’s hard to find people in the area that have any interest in hunting deep into public land, backpacking, or physically challenging hunting. I would love to chat about your experiences hunting that area! Or bow hunting in general. Just looking for any ideas or info that can help me be successful.

Just now seeing this somehow. Would love to talk more. I never made it back this season because of an injury. Sure hope to get back out there this summer for some scouting some new areas. Wouldn’t mind any company if you wanted to join. Give me a shout sometime. Text is totally fine 832-928-0985


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[Newtosavage]

Unfortunately in Illinois, you hike a mile and your standing on the next road. I guess it can be done in southern Illinois on the NF.
Sometimes use a kayak to get easier access or keep the wind right.
Wish we had more backcountry.

So do I, but you are correct about S. Illinois. If you're willing to work and do your homework, there are some real sleeper areas there that few people know about and even fewer bother with. When I lived there, I was glad that Pike county got all the attention.