WAUPACA COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Hundreds of thousands of hunters took to the field Saturday, looking for that trophy buck.
For many hunters it was a little damp, but for the most part, the snow stayed away.
Rays of green light guided the routine as the Mullins family and friends prepared for opening day.
At age 19, Sam Mullins tells FOX 11 has been hunting since he was 12.
“Got here an hour before sunlight. So out here at 5:30.”
As daylight reluctantly arrived at a hunting blind near Marion, Mullins was on alert.
“This is deer central. Depending on where you are in Waupaca, but you normally see quite a few deer come out.”
About a hour into the season, an eight point buck appeared at the far edge of the field.
“There’s a deer right over in the, yep, there’s a deer right over here. He’s about two and a half, three, three and a half. That was an eight-pointer. That was a nice deer to see,” he said.
Mullins passed on the deer, but others didn’t. Pat Klingbile bagged an eight-pointer near Tigerton.
“This is probably the smallest one I shot in the last few years, but can’t get the big ones every year.”
Klingbile’s harvest was the first and only animal registered Saturday morning in the big-buck contest at Lakeview Tavern near Marion.
“Usually by now, we got a parking lot full of bucks, and waiting on them to enter our contest. But this morning, it’s a little slow,” said Travis Beyersdorf, Lakeview Tavern Co-Owner.
Just up the road in Marion, Abby Krueger showed off a six-point buck. She bagged it in Waupaca County with the help of her cousin.
“Because it’s my first one. I only got a doe before this, so that was three or four years ago, so it’s exciting.”
Meanwhile, back in the blind, bucks were on the move.
Mullins says it’s common to see a dozen or more deer each day.
“Sometimes you see more does, than bucks. You just kind of want that ratio even. Sometimes you might take that extra doe every year because we’re seeing more does than bucks, but in the end, it’s just nice to be out to see all the deer.” The Mullins hunting party says they saw plenty of deer Saturday, none were harvested.
