# West Branch ???????



## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

Ventured out to the public hunting to tromp around and beat some brush just to get out for a bit today . Havent really hunted out there much except for turkey season . I covered alot of ground and noticed the lack of sign from pretty much every kind of woodland creature except for the squirrels . 

I know it gets pressured for deer and turkey very heavy , but has anyone EVER killed a deer of any size of any of the 4000+ acres of public hunting around the lake ????? I found one trail with the fresh tracks on it in the 6 hours I spent walking around !!!!

I did find one really big doe dead on the side of the road in the campgrounds that was shot in the neck and never recovered , I am assuming she ran over there from across the road from last weekends gun season . She was a little bloated but hadnt been there very long . Hate to see good meat go to waste !!!!


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## samiam (Jan 6, 2011)

A buddy of mine hunts it and does ok. You need to keep in mind that every inch of the park is covered by Amish doing deer drives during deer gun so it may take a while for the deer to come back.


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## Uglystix (Mar 3, 2006)

I kill deer there every year (with a bow). A few big does over the years but no bucks for me. I have seen a few nice bucks tho. You can find areas out there that get little to no hunting pressure up to gun season but after that I don't even bother. Fortunately the population seems to bound back every year. I would have to guess that 75% of the shots you hear on public land are misses.


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## Huntinbull (Apr 10, 2004)

I hunt West Branch often for small game and occasionally for deer with a bow. I move deer around often when small game hunting. I know a couple people who bow hunt it early with some success. I have never taken a deer from west branch but have helped drag a few.


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## sam kegg (Jun 23, 2007)

ive bow hunted a few times out there i have seen some nice size doe but never get a shot. i live 10 mins away from there now so im going to hit it more often


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

Just wondering , thanks for the responses guys . I know portage county yields some good deer every year and was just wondering if west branch state park was part of that . I dont live far from west branch but have some decent private properties I hunt instead of the public . But for an evening or long afternoon hunt , it would be nice to head out there once in a while and hop up in the climber for a few hours instead driving south to my other properties . Seems like early season seems to be the general concensus for kiliing a deer out there . Thanks , guys .


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## Danfc80 (Nov 16, 2011)

I used to go to WB a lot, mainly for muskies, but observed deer in the campground (no hunting zone) but I would try the borders. If you have a dog, I heard the cleanup from pheasant releases is pretty good. I think if you find people doing drives during gun season, just take a stand, because drives produce a lot of big bucks during gun season.


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

I have never seen a lot of game at WB compared to other public hunting areas. I think it gets too much hunting pressure. Used to rabbit hunt there all the time without a dog and would only see 1-2 rabbits per day even when there was snow on the ground. Hardly ever jumped a deer there compared to other areas. Of course, most of my rabbit hunting was after gun season. 

That said, I was out there yesterday in an area close to private property. I was squirrel hunting/exploring for 4 hours out there and did jump a deer in next to a big area of scrub brush and thorn apple trees. It's an area that you can't see 20 yards in front of you. It's the only place I saw fresh deer tracks all day except for a little swamp that I walked through. I think you have to find the out of the way spots that most hunters don't tromp through to find the deer. I didn't know that anyone ever turkey hunted out there. I've only ever seen 1 turkey out there. I also didn't see a singe squirrel out there even though I saw lots of hickory trees and oak trees. Not even many squirrel nests in the trees compared to other areas. I probably won't go back again.


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## Bulldawg (Dec 3, 2007)

I was back in behind the maintenance garage on rock springs rd. , there were tons of squirrels and nest in the area . I did hike way back in there though . Did manage to find one fresh trail WAY in the back that was 10 ft from the private property . 

Two years ago I did rattle in a nice buck in the early october and of course he spooked , but other than that never seen anything worth really pursuing .


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