Mississippi River Whitetails
The “Big Muddy” is producing big whitetails and there’s plenty of public land to hunt them. By Bernie Barringer, photos by Bernie Barringer and Zach Ferenbaugh Take a look at the areas of the Midwest which consistently produce big whitetail bucks and you’ll find some similarities. Winona and Houston counties in the far southeastern part of Minnesota have produced more Pope & Young bucks per square mile than any other counties in Minnesota. Just across the border into Iowa is Allamakee County which has produced the most P&Y bucks of any county in the famously whitetail-rich Hawkeye State. Just east of there in Wisconsin, you’ll find Buffalo County which has produced far and away more Boone & Crockett and P&Y bucks than any other county in North America. Just across the southern border into Illinois, is Jo Daviess county, a place well known for big bucks. Farther south in Illinois is the area of the state that is known as the “Golden Triangle” of big bucks among serious Trophy deer hunters. It consists of Pike, Adams, Schuyler and Brown counties. Back to the west again are Clark, Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri. Starting to notice a pattern? What you’ve just read is a list of the majority of the top counties in North America which consistently produce record book bucks; and it might surprise you to find that they all have one thing in common: The Mississippi River. This is no coincidence. In fact, it’s one of the best kept secrets in whitetail deer hunting, and to make it even more appealing, there’s an abundance of public hunting land all along the Mighty Mississippi where anyone can hunt whitetails without an outfitter or guide. The best of this is found along the river from St. Paul, Minnesota to St. Louis, Missouri. The river has been forever altered by the lock and dam system which creates floodplain and islands, most of which fall under the jurisdiction of the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Land on either—and sometimes both–sides of the river has been set aside and protected from development. Because this is federally owned land, most anything that isn’t within the boundaries of a wildlife reserve or a park is open to hunting by the public. Few deer hunters—including many locals–fully understand the opportunities available here. Part of the reason it’s overlooked is the difficulty of access. Roads are limited and often muddy after rains. Many excellent hunting areas are accessible only by boat. Overall, it’s a challenging place to hunt, but of course all deer hunters know that the more challenging it is, the better the odds that bucks are growing old back in there out of reach of all but the most dedicated hunters. The Upper Mississippi Fish & Wildlife Refuge borders more than 260 miles of the River from Minnesota and borders most of Iowa and the northern half of Illinois. Dozens of state- and county-owned public hunting areas create even more access points. Generally, the ACOE owns land near the dams while lands between the dams are owned by other agencies. Any of these can hold good deer hunting; and for the most part, it gets less hunting pressure by deer hunters than the properties away from the river. The key to having hunting success is finding the right elevations and the food. Lower islands and floodplains are often characterized by large silver maple trees with little understory due to the frequent flooding. Deer travel through these areas, but find little food or bedding cover. Look for islands and shorelines with higher elevations, and you will find oaks and hickory along with their associated food. Because these higher elevation islands rarely flood, they can be well covered with forbs and the kinds of lush browse that deer look for to utilize both as food and bedding cover. Dozens of tributaries empty into the big river, most of which offer deltas that feature excellent deer habitat. Many of these are a mix between private farmland and wooded plains; ideal deer habitat. Accessing these areas can be difficult, but the use of a boat, canoe or Kayak can put a hunter into some prime areas that few other hunters will ever see. The upper part of the river bordering Minnesota and Wisconsin tends to be characterized by more sandy bottom, with some limestone outcroppings, in fact some of it can be waded, and getting to hunting areas most people don’t go is as simple as crossing a barrier of some sort such as a creek. It’s surprising how many deer live on the islands. Imagine being able to do a DIY public land hunt in the famous Buffalo County, Wisconsin where nearly 80% of the farmland is leased by outfitters. The areas bordering Illinois and Missouri tend to be silt and mud, with large backwater areas that see few if any deer hunting pressure. If you are looking for elbow room (and there’s platy of it) you’ll need a boat to hunt with any significant degree of success away from hunting pressure. In Pike County, Illinois are found some of the most famous and successful whitetail outfitters, and you can hunt right in their back yard for free. Some of the best places to hunt are areas where the fertile croplands surrounding the river meet with the public forested lands. Much of the upper river is characterized by steep bluffs right down to the river’s edge, but where the river widens, crops are often planted for miles along the river, while a narrow strip of publicly owned timber separating the water from the fields creates a travel corridor for cruising bucks. These places can be excellent spots to park yourself in a treestand for long hours during the first two weeks of November. Swimming and wading are normal parts of the daily lives of deer which live here. They routinely cross from island to island,
Blood Trailing Arrowed Bears
Why it’s different than blood trailing deer By Bernie Barringer My 16-year-old daughter Crystal was sitting in a treestand just below me and to my left. I saw a black spot in the bush behind the bait and tried to tap her on the shoulder to warn her, but she was leaning forward, a 20-guage youth model shotgun loaded with slugs across her lap. I couldn’t reach her so I whispered “bear coming!” But when I looked back up, the black spot was gone. Just 15 minutes later, the black spot was back and she saw it too. Another 15 minutes elapsed before a bear was standing at the bait, cautiously looking around. Eventually he turned broadside and Crystal calmly sent a slug though the heart of her first bear. It disappeared, but the noise of its running soon ceased. We got down and walked along the ample blood trail through the thick underbrush to the bear, making comments about the incredible amount of blood we were seeing. When we arrived, we were amazed to see that our pantlegs were soaked in blood from the knees down. A shotgun slug through the heart can really make a mess. If only all blood trails were so easy. But they are not. Certainly, an arrow through the middle of the heart can create the same scenario, I’ve seen it myself. But like most bowhunters, you and I probably aren’t aiming for the heart, we are aiming for the sure thing of a double-lung shot. There are a lot of variables that go into blood trailing bears, but here are some really critical ones: Was there an exit wound and was that exit wound low on the body? Is the arrow still in the bear? Did the bear run away or just walk away? Is the diaphragm punctured? Did you hear a death moan? These are all important clues that will help you as you follow a blood trail to a dead bear. Most bears do not go far compared to deer. Shoot a buck through both lungs and he’ll run full speed until he falls over, usually about 150 yards. Shoot a bear through both lungs and he’ll probably run 30-40 yards before stopping to see what happened to him. He may die right there, or he may just start walking. Walking causes them to use less oxygen so they can live much longer than a bear which just runs until it gets light-headed and falls over. I once shot a 500-pound bear which just walked away and kept walking. We followed a blood trail for more than 400 yards, and by that time I was convinced that I had misjudged where my shot hit the bear. But when we finally recovered the bear, it was exactly as I thought, I had punctured the diaphragm and clipped the back of the nearside lung, the front of the off-side lung and even nicked the heart. But because this bear did not require much oxygen on his 400-yard stroll, he was able to live a lot longer than a bear that would have run hard. I love death moans, not because I like the eerie sound, but because it offers me two important facts that really help in recovery: I know the bear is dead, and I know the direction and approximate distance of the bear. I will still follow the blood trail to the bear in most every case because just walking up to the body of a dead bear in the thick bush is normally a lot harder than it sounds. To digress a moment, someday I guess I should do a column on death moans and try to learn some scientific evidence for what causes them, but for now, I will tell you that I’ve killed 30 bears with a bow and I believe I have heard the death moan 8 or 9 times. At this point I cannot explain why some bears do it and some do not. In addition to the 30 bears I have killed, I have been in on the recovery of about 50 more so I have followed a lot of blood trails. I can tell you this without flinching, if you have a low wound where the arrow exited the bear’s body, your chance of finding an easy to follow blood trail is probably 10 times better than if the arrow is still in the bear with no exit wound. I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: I’ll take two small holes in a bear over one big hole any time. Keep this in mind when you are choosing your shot angles. I can think of two times when I executed a perfect double-lung shot on a bear which I was not able to recover, and both times it was because the arrow hit the off side leg bone or shoulder blade and did not exit. Okay enough on that. Let’s assume you have blood trailed a few deer and compare what to look for in trailing a bear; much of which is quite a bit different than a deer. You’ve hit a bear and you’re on the blood trail; here’s what to look for. A bear that’s shot through both lungs will have blood on both sides of the trail and also blood in the trail which is coming from the nose and mouth. Arrowed bears may not start out on an established bear trail, but any bear that still has his wits about him after about 15 seconds will be on a bear trail most every time. Here’s a really important image to keep in mind: When looking for blood on the sides, keep in mind that a bear’s fur is much like a paintbrush. As he walked through the brush, his body is moving aside the leaves and branches, and his fur is painting the undersides of the leaves as they are being brushed aside. This is an important source