Hunters pleased with gun deer day one

LUXEMBURG -  

    After a number of down years in the woods, many hunters saw success on day one of the gun deer hunt.  After the early fog burned off, the day was clear and unseasonably warm, as a record number of hunters entered the woods.   As a result, the take was good as well.

   “It's been pretty steady,” said DNR representative Josh Jakl, who was at Jake’s in Luxemburg performing an aging study on the deer.  “We've had a good mix of both bucks and antlerless deer coming in, more bucks though, not quite a two to one ratio, but almost.”

   With the deer rut, or mating season, still ongoing, hunters got a little help.  The deer are more mobile, which means more opportunity for hunters to spot the big ones.

    “It seemed to be more than in most years,” said Cory Cochart from Kewaunee County.  “They seemed to be chasing, but there were a lot of deer moving around me, and I heard a lot of shooting around, where a lot of years it was quiet.”

     Kevin Jeanquart from Casco hunts on his family’s land, and says success stems from the lifestyle.  “For me its 365. I'm everything deer hunting, bow hunting, gun hunting, preparing for it trail cameras, food plots, shooting lanes, moving stands around. Its really a lifestyle.”

      A lifestyle that this year, paid off.