2015 Duluth City Bowhunt

Last year was a slow year for bowhunting for me. I hunted a few sections public land south of Duluth, and only saw a few deer a couple of the times I went out. The only antlers I saw were on a little fork-horn on the last day of the season that didn’t get any closer than 100 yards away.

Apply To Hunt With The Arrowhead Bowhunters Alliance

This year will hopefully be different. I completed all of the requirements for the Arrowhead Bowhunters Alliance, and was able to go to the lottery. If you are looking to enter in the Duluth City Hunt, it is a good idea to get started early in the spring to get all of the requirements completed. Below is a list of requirements that you need to complete in order to be entered into the hunt.

• Complete an approved Bowhunter Education Course.
• Pass a shooting proficiency test.
• Register at www.bowhuntersalliance.org.
• Complete the Bowhunters Alliance Online Application.
• Write a $25.00 check or money order made payable to the City of Duluth.
• Complete Part 2 of the application.
• Send in your application.

If there are more hunters than spots available there will be a lottery. This year there were 383 total applicants (285 were returning hunters and 97 were new). 369 of the hunters have been placed in a DHA.

My Setup

• Bear Done Deal Bow
• Cobra Sight
• QAD Ultra-Rest Hunter Fall-Away Arrow Rest
• Trophy Ridge Quiver
• Trophy Ridge Stabilizer
• Tru-Fire Release
• Trophy Hunter 400 Arrows
• Lumenok Nocks
• Muzzy 100 grain Broadheads

August 14th 2015 - Trail Camera Trip

Things are looking good. I put out my trail camera during the middle of the day and that night captured pictures of a doe.

August 21st 2015 - Trail Camera Trip

The area has a few possible trails though it so I moved my camera to show a different angle.

September 22nd 2015 - First Day in the Stand

I made a trip earlier in the week to get my stand set up and shooting lanes cut. That way I knew I would be ready to go on my first hunt.

I set my alarm for 4 a.m. but my excitement had me up by quarter to. I got out to to my spot and was up in my stand an hour and a half before sunrise. I had just strapped my climber to the tree and heard some rustling behind me. I still had my headlamp on, but quickly shut it off and held still. It was so dark I was unable to see what it was. It sounded like a deer and it walked directly under my stand. That was the only action I got that morning. I left my stand and mid morning so I would be ready for a full evening hunt. Unfortunately, nothing came by in the evening either.

October 4th 2015 - First Deer Sighting

On Saturday, October 3rd I decided to move my stand. Just a week I had moved it around 100 yards away from my original spot earlier in the week as I had seen some fresh deer sign on my way to my stand. There was a new spot I can checked out and was planning on moving my stand there, but after checking my stand I realized a doe had been right where my original stand was placed just a few hours before I got there, as well as the two days prior. So, back to my first location I went.

Just a few minutes before sunrise, I heard crunch crunch… crunch crunch. This was it. I new there were deer coming my way. There are two main trails coming into the opening I was set up in that would funnel them either directly under me or 20 yards away. The deer just kept on walking by and ended up walking up a hill on the back side of my stand. I could see the doe and later a fawn. The only shot I would have had was a 35 yard, facing away shot through a 6 inch window of branches.

Deer 1 - Jason 0

November 3rd 2015 - Not the animal I want to see

I decided to hunt a quick afternoon and got everything ready and headed out to my stand. There was a white car parked next to where I normally do that didn’t look like a hunters car, but I figured that wouldn’t be a problem as I’m headed off the trail. After less than and hour of getting into my stand, I hear movement to my right! Unfortunately, the driver of the car and her dog decided to take a walk off the trail, right next to my stand. Her dog never saw me but about 25 yards away it was barking up a different tree, most likely smelling the buck bomb I had just sprayed a half hour before. Hunt over.

It’s already November! - Good News and Bad News

So it’s finally November and the deer are just starting to get into the rut. This is prime time and I need to get out in the stand as soon as possible.

As I drove out to check my trail camera I was greeted with a three cement barriers with a sign that read “road closed”. There is only one road that passes through the Magney-Snively area and it is now closed on both ends of the land I’m able to hunt…

I’m not done yet, I just need to figure out how to get back into the field.

November Bucks

No Deer

Well I wasn’t able to get it done this year. I moved to a few different spots and had deer of camera, but just wasn’t getting anything to consistently come in.