Haven't been out yet this year but will be in the near future but from the sounds of my father in law and some other people there are some big bucks in northern Michigan this year. Not sure how southern michigan is because of EHD but I'll find out soon.

Father in laws buck on the right

Michigan is a fun place for the outdoors. lots of places to go. i like fishing the upper part by baldwin to traverse city. great corn and apples.

I'm in the upper peninsula right now hunting our 60 acres. Very slow and quiet this year. Poaching has thinned the deer out in the area of our camp.

I did come face to face with a wolf last night on the walk back to camp. That raised the hair on the back of my neck.

There were 3 of us, we finished with 9. This little swamp is in SE Michigan. Its probably 1/4 of an acre total in the middle of a bean field/airport.

swamps are also fun to hunt as the ducks like to pile in at dark. thats when i used to hunt the swampy spots.

seeing a wolf or black bear up close is about as good as it gets. there is no danger except it does make you chill a little. both will run from people if you spook them at all.

Ray, I saw a mountain lion a couple weeks ago during the G1 hunt in California. It was amazing. A wolf would be pretty sweet.

The woodies leave here pretty quick once the cold snaps so we only get a few cracks at them. They Pile in to this swamp right at first light because its surrounded by oaks and they sit in there and gorge on Acorns all day we had our limit in about 45 minutes.

Nothing better than ducks as thick as mosquitos in a really tight area.

The Acorns make them taste amazing imo.

ive seen quite a few wolves in the wild. maybe 30 or so different ones. it never gets old.
i was also flying a few times after the introduction to follow the packs around and locate.
it was really cool to see the packs from the air and see how close they were living to ranches and cattle without bothering them.

with the cold weather moving in on one of my ponds i have about a thousand mallards that come in every day the last two weeks. i spook them every morning when i drive out and off they go all at once.

I've seen quite a few wolves and bears. Only one Cougar.

It's quite the hair raising experience to look up and be that close to any of them. The wolves around us have no fear at all. You'll be standing watching a clear cut, turn around and have one 15' from you.

The only time I've ever been concerned with a bear was a couple years ago. I had a meeting in a town that let me drive right past camp. So...I decided to do what any outdoorsman would do, and swing in to check my trail cams. Polo Shirt and Khakis on, I hike through the swamp with only my laptop in its bag. I check slap the card into the reader on the further cam, transfer my photos, change out the batteries, and start moving to the next cam. I'm about halfway there when Mama wooofs at me. I had never been barked at by a bear before, scared the **** right out of me. I climbed a cedar tree only to have a "duh" moment. She had two cubs with her, and the woof scared the crap right out of me.

Needless to say, I wrecked a good set of clothes going up the tree (which did me no good, as bears are excellent climbers).

The Cougar was pretty neat to see as well. The State of Michigan denied that they even existed in our state. My folks claimed to see one a few years prior to the State acknowledging that they were actually here. Called my parents liars, must have been a bobcat, etc. Couple years later they confirmed a Cougar in the area less than a mile from camp.

w,
UP or lower for the cougar? Buddy ran into a bear while hunting in Gladwin last year. Got some pretty good bear pics from a trail cam in the Wolverine area.

UP

Camp is between Manistique and Gulliver off of US-2.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...5573--,00.html

Gulliver's only claim to fame, other than redneck shootouts, and a budding crime problem in general

my posts 74 and 75 have a bear picture that is special.

Spectacular day on the water.

Beautiful!
It is really cold, windy and snowing hard here today!

back in montana from the oregon coast and it is light snow and miserable weather. no fun outside till the real winter stuff settles in.
that bay looks awful nice right now crash.

Nice thread!

I haven't been able to deer hunt near as much as I'd like to this season but it's looking like Wednesday will possibly be my final chance at a hunt this year.

Lately I have become interested in learning to hunt and outdoor life in general. I grew up in the sticks and always rejected country life. After 10 years in cities It is starting to appeal to me.

I have limited experience with firearms and even less with other aspects of outdoor life, my question is where should i start?

I live in north texas btw.

The best way is to have a friend that hunts and is willing to take you with him.

Beyond that I would go on a guided hunt. It all depends on what you want to do.

For me, as I get busier I find the money spent on a guided fishing or hunting trip is well worth it.

Ya i have friends that go but dont want to be a total noob.

I'm willing to bet your friends would be happy to have you along, total noob or not.

Instead of jumping right into a hunt, perhaps ask them to tag along once or twice when they go shooting, that way you can familiarize yourself with guns and maybe even find one you like.

What is the hunting situation like in north Texas? Are there public lands that aren't completely hammered by every idiot within 300 miles? It seems like the kind of place that would be almost all private ranches with guides available.

Really have no idea. Like I said I have no experience at all, but have a desire to learn.

What do you want to hunt? Maybe start with fishing?

First step would probably be a hunters safety class.

Most hunters really enjoy introducing total noobs to hunting.