Late-season whitetail hunting can be as good or better than what you found earlier in the fall. Odocoileus virginianus, known more affectionately as the white-tailed deer, is still alive and well on public forests and lands throughout the state.

Liberal regulations and seasons are providing good winter shooting this year. The statewide muzzleloader season lasts 10 days and provides great blackpowder shooting. A four-day antlerless hunt that is open in most of the state runs Dec. 11-14.

Shooters were understandably nervous on the opener about the deer prospects in parts of the state that were under water last June. The news was good, though, and the whitetail population wasn’t hurt at all.

“Wisconsin was a mess, but it won’t affect the deer,” wildlife biologist Tom Isaac said. “Deer will simply head for higher ground during floods and high water. At the worse case scenario, they’re good swimmers.”

Isaac didn’t look for the decrease in the number of deer that other wildlife populations are suffering.

The highest concentrations of deer are in the east-central and southern regions of the state. Not that there’s a shortage of deer elsewhere. During the DNR’s 2007 estimations of deer densities in Wisconsin, it was found that whitetails sometimes reached numbers as high as 100 deer per square mile.

Here’s a look at hotspots that will be great places to bag a deer this month.

JACKSON MARSH WA
Washington County
Jackson Marsh is Isaac’s late-season pick for his neck of the woods.

“There’s usually not a lot of snow on the ground, but the walking can be tough,” he said. “If the ground isn’t completely frozen, get out the waders or the boots and get into the deeper cover. That’s where the deer will be.”

Deer numbers are high in the area due to the heavy winter cover. Most of the marsh consists of lowland cedar, ash and maple with some areas of thick undergrowth and brush. Ponds and creeks meander through higher ground around the edges of the area. A deer couldn’t ask for more.

Portable deer stands are legal and provide good observation points on thick, marshy ground. Just remember to remove the stand every night.

Caution should be a part of everyone’s field gear. Pheasant and rabbit hunters will be moving through the marsh during the month and care needs to be taken to avoid accidents. Good target acquisition is necessary.

There is good road access into the interior of the area. Isaac recommends looking for out-of-the-way deer that are holding away from the usual hunter locations. Drive down dead-end or cul-de-sac roads in the marsh and start hunting from there.

Jackson Marsh is near Milwaukee and picks up a fair amount of hunting pressure. Parking lots are plowed when the snow isn’t heavy. If the snow is keeping most hunters out, the deer will be closer to the vehicle access points.

The area is open throughout the muzzleloading season, the December antlerless hunt as well as being a shotgun season unit from Dec. 1 through Dec. 10. Jackson Marsh is in the 77m metro unit. If last year’s harvest of 2,739 deer is any indication, the shooting should be good.

The marsh covers 2,312 acres in eastern Washington County north of Highway 60 near the village of Jackson. Access is on County Highway 6 north of the intersection of highways 45 and 60. Watch for the signs showing sections of marsh closed to hunting.

For additional information, contact the DNR at (262) 670-3409.

CHEQUAMEGON-NICOLET NATIONAL FOREST
Retired wildlife biologist Keith McCaffery isn’t quick to give out spots that he knows are harboring big whitetails. Too much pressure can hurt an area, McCaffery said, and he doesn’t want to contribute to that. He is willing to recommend public lands that can handle the pressure and the Chequamegon-Nicolet NF is one of them.

The forest is huge and loaded with deer. It sprawls across the northern region of the state with vast expanses of land and varying levels of access. It’s a safe bet that hunters will find areas suitable to their levels of expertise and hunting styles along with opportunities at a seemingly endless supply of deer.

Birch, aspen, cherry, maple and young hardwoods like hickory and oak produce lush foliage for winter browse. Thick stands of low underbrush and second-growth timber offer protection from nose-diving temperatures and provide food and bedding.

McCaffery is willing to give a thumbs-up to the Medford-area hunt. The resource is a 60-mile-wide swath of primeval forest running all the way up to Bayfield County.

“Where a hunter should go depends on where he or she lives and their expectations,” McCaffery said. “Convenience is one of the top criteria that I use and that means that you should try to hunt within a few miles of home. But if you’re looking for a true wilderness experience, you can always try the 30 miles on either side of U.S. Highway 13 north of Medford.”

For die-hard hunters willing to get off the beaten path and take nature at its finest, the forest’s 44,000 acres of designated wilderness areas are just what the doctor ordered.

The Porcupine Lake Wilderness is the smallest at 4,446 acres. It’s a beautiful area and hosts the North Country National Scenic Trail. Several species of soft and hardwood trees are abundant in the area with stands of white pine thrown in for good measure. The area is rolling and hiking isn’t difficult. The wilderness is four miles southeast of Drummond in Bayfield County.

The Rainbow Lake Wilderness covers 6,583 acres of the same type of excellent cold-weather habitat. Old abandoned railroad grades provide access into the interior. Rainbow is four miles north of Drummond.

The deep-woods cover is thick on the Blackjack Springs Wilderness. The habitat mix includes wetlands, diverse undergrowth, streams and uneven landscape. The deer love it.

The Whisker Lake Wilderness covers 7,500 acres 11 miles west of Florence in Florence County. There is plenty of off-the-road country and white-tailed deer.

The Headwaters Wilderness is the largest of the forest’s wilderness areas at 18,188 acres. Most of the hiking is on flat ground through old-growth hardwoods. It lies 16 miles southeast of Eagle River in Forest County.

Remember that when you’re in one of the wilderness areas, you’re on your own. A compass, map and charged cell phone are essential. It won’t hurt to have some emergency survival equipment in your car or backpack, just in case.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet NF covers a total of 880,000 acres. Birch, aspen, maple, oak and hickory are wintering holes that will take some footwork to find. New forest management plans are closing some sections of the forest to motorized vehicles. Watch for signs or contact the forest office ahead of time for closed areas.

For additional information on the Chequamegon-Nicolet NF, call (715) 762-2461 or (715) 362-1300.