Camp Ripley Who's Ready?

[DRH1175]

I am going the first hunt and am pumped. 1 week and I will be there! I am going alone but will still have a lot of fun. Just being in the woods with a chance to see Mr. Big will be fun!

[TRM]

Well I will also be going next week and its gonna be great. It will also be my first time but the group I will be going with has been going for years, so this will make it a little easier for me.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THAT GO, LETS KNOCK DOWN SOME BIG ONES.

[Captain B.R.K]

I was ready to go once I got the confirmation letter in the mail! Next weekend I'll be in North Dakota chasing pheasants and the following weekend will be the Ripley hunt.

Second weekend for me and sure hope to see a buck this year. I have seen does the past 2 years, but no big bucks yet. I'm all eyes and ears for you guys that want to speak up

[MNDeerhunter]

I have the camper duct taped up (mice incident), the arrows tuned, and the block and tackle ready. My group of 3 will be be up there next Wednesday afternoon.

[monstermoose78]

Pumped is an unstatement with all the deer movement and rutting actives i seen last week in northern minnesota should be a wonderful chance to get a crack at one of those monsters from ripley. Dont for get your extra tag and bring home a doe along with your buck.

[MNDeerhunter]

Quote:

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Pumped is an unstatement with all the deer movement and rutting actives i seen last week in northern minnesota should be a wonderful chance to get a crack at one of those monsters from ripley. Dont for get your extra tag and bring home a doe along with your buck.

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Good idea Monster...lets not forget to help keep a healthy, manageable herd up there, and do our parts to take a doe if given the opportunity. Remember, anytime you are able to take a healthy deer, no matter buck or doe, within bow range, it's a trophy.

Good luck to all who are taking part in this years Ripley hunt, be safe, and I'll be looking forward to reading all of the stories when we get back.

[walleyedan]

Looks like perfect weather too, can't wait. I'm going solo and will hunt all day Thursday, but back to guiding on Friday. Good luck guys and gals.

Deerdan

[Studer]

Leaving work in 1 hr. to meet the crew already up there. Man am I unproductive today at work. Off to Camp Ripley for Wed. Thurs. Fri. then 20 miles from there for the rest of the weekend. 4 days in the hardwoods hanging from a tree...who could ask for a better extended weekend. I will be sure to post stories when we get back!!!!! PUMPED!!!

[Fishdeer]

Cant wait to hear how the first hunt went , im going on the second hunt. Going to be a little different this year for me. Years past my party was small enough to go under one group but as the nephews get older the party gets larger and i had to apply on my own. Well the rest of my guys didnt get in but as luck has it i was selected to go. So im excited to go , but there is a downfall a big part of the fun is sharing the moment with the rest of the guy's. Instead of of sleeping in a camper ill be in the back of my truck freezing im sure. And then i feel kind of guilty for going its kind of sad. Especially when the tradition of going to ripley was started many years ago by some of the guys being left behind this year. Well im sure ill still have a good time and maybe ill get that trophy of a lifetime.Id love to hear how the first hunt went , cant wait to hear all the details.

[walleyedan]

It was really, really slow for me. I really couldn't believe the lack of deer movement in the areas that I hunted (mainly northwest). I saw 1 turkey, 1 doe, 2 squirells, a couple of mice and some birds. I'm guessing it was a combo of things (not getting into the woods before daylight, the deer are getting a little wiser after all of the hunts this season, swirling winds, those are some of my excuses). I hunted both swamp and high ground. I love the terrain and I guess what I will do is focus on one area in the future, it's too overwhelming. I did see one nice 8 or 10 pointer hanging out the back of a blue pick-up. I didn't stop to see the registration, so I can't tell you what the total scope was. I would guess that the numbers were down, we'll have to see. I have a fishing trip this a.m., might go back this evening (maybe not). Good luck to you.

Walleyedan

[monstermoose78]

If i could have shot those turkeys i could have gotten 5 each day. For deer i see 3 does 5 fawns and 1 buck and he was not even a big one. None of those i saw while hunting driving in and driving out. first day they got 144 deer some one seen some just not in the ridges i was on.

[deadminnowcatcher]

We went 2 for 2. My friend got a 4 point and i got an 8 point. We hunted some of the thickest places. It seams that so many people hunt in the woods where you can see a couple hundred yards and they avoid the thick stuff. Not sure why but that is my observation. we even got some video footage of the bucks. All in all it was a great hunt for us. We talked to alot of people that seen nothing... Try the thick stuff where 10 yards is about all you will get for a shot. also get deeper in the swamps and woods. we seen alot of people sitting on logging rds that people walk on all dayt long. It took us over an hour to get in the middle of the thick stuff we hunted. Did not see alot of dear but we could hear them in there sometimes less than 20 yards away and still could not see them.... But we got dear

[walleyedan]

Congrats. I went back this afternoon and saw a 6 pointer and a doe as I was driving in. The buck stood there right off the road for the longest time. I flagged down a couple of guys and they tried to zap him, didn't work it jumped back into the willows. I still hunted and found a pretty cool, swampy area. It was so thick I could only see about 10 feet in front of me. I jumped a deer and heard it sloshing through the water, didn't get a look. Maybe someone else got to see him/her?? Could of limited out on beavers. It was pretty cool watching them for about an hour. I hitched a ride with a guy back to my truck, he hadn't seen anything all day but yesterday he saw the biggest buck of his life at 15 yards. Didn't get a shot.

Good luck to next weekend hunters. The rut will help, but I do agree stay in the gnarly stuff.

Walleyedan

[MNDeerhunter]

Got mine Thursday morning before 9 am. He was chasing his doe, and I got the drop on him. Went quite a ways, but had him out before 1 pm. Just to put him into perspective I am 300+ lbs, and he was a horse with antlers. He tipped the DNR scale at 170# dressed.

[DRH1175]

This was my first hunt ever up there. I saw a bunch of does on the way in and the way out. no live bucks Nothing on stand. I do agree with the thick stuff. I did a bit of scouting yesterday before leaving to get my self some good spots for years to come. When in the thick stuff I heard a few. And there were several trails heading right that way. I have them marked on my map and saved in my GPS. I also have a few other spot in mind. I was totally impressed with the amount of rubs, and droppings that I saw. Many real big tracks, and droppings to get me pumped for future hunts. As far as deer registered I am not sure of the total, 144 like stated before on Thursday. 244lb was the biggest at that time. I did see a nice 10 pointer that tipped at 238 wow!! Good luck to the second hunt folks. It should be better with the rut kicking in. Think thick stuff! I will note that that 238lber had a neck like I have never seen before. It was so swelled that should be a sign that things are starting.

[TRM]

Our group went 5 deer for 7 people. 2 buy me

It was my first time their, Thurs we didnt get to our spot till 7:45, in stand buy 8:30, I saw 11 does (4 were fawns) and 1 small buck. shot 1 nice doe (2 1/2 yr old) at 2:30. All deer I saw were within 30 yards in very thick stuff. also only seen 4 deer befor noon, and 8 more from 1:30 till 4:00. every one else saw a total of 22 deer 4 were bucks 1 nice 8. Buddy took a small doe, but no chances of a shot at any of the others. Fri we were in the first 50 trucks to enter so we were able to set up in the dark but no movement till 9am nice 8 pt at 25 yards but to thick to take shot. at 11:30 2 nice does came in and only one left so #2 for me and I was done. went and reg. that one and scouted and checked out some new areas, till the guy that was riding with me decided to call it quits. rest of the group seen nothing all morning and relocated on high ridge and saw 7 more deer, and took 2 more does around 3:00. I was very suprised at how many people back at their trucks buy noon and not going back out till 4:00, cant wait till next year (if we get drawn) good luck to all the 2nd weekend hunters

[deadminnowcatcher]

the 8 pt that i got looks like a twin to yours. no pictures of him or i would post one. We do have some nice video footage as my frind video taped the hunt for me cause he got his dear on thursday

[Fishdeer]

OK, Now im pumped, Cant wait ! The 9pnt on my profile is the last one i got at ripley i think in 95. So its been a while for me. He went 196lbs. Cleaning my truck out and making a make shift bed with some sort of heat. Well i guess i could freeze 2 nights it will be worth it. Usually go to the big hills off of normandy and gettisberg. But i think ill go to my lucky spot , that has plenty of the thick stuff.

[DRH1175]

Yes I would head to the thick stuff I wish you luck! I did hear a guy mention he was hunting around Cody and Normandy said Thursday morning he saw a big 8 pointer on top of a ridge. He was set up below so He was out of bow range. But from what I have been hearing The edge or in the gnarly stuff is where most were having luck. I have a couple spots that I think may work of that in future years.

[Buck12]

Got lucky on my 1st trip to Ripley. We spent the 1st morning basically scouting and didn't get set up til noon. Saw one small buck that p.m. On the 2nd day had a fork and a 10 at my stand at 8a.m. I am currently butchering the 194 lb. 10 pointer. My wife and daughter weren't as fortunate. Neither seen a deer from their stands. This was definetly a learning experience. We can't wait for our next hunt there as we have a better feel of what to expect and where to go. My hope is that both of them will be able to score next year, if we get our names drawn. Good luck to those heading there this weekend.

[DRH1175]

buck12 what type of cover did you end up hunting. This was my first go at it. I was unsuccessfull however I learned quite a bit. Found a few spots for next time and marked them so I can find them next time. Did find the heavy cover better? The first morning I didn't get set up untill about 8:30. I found a very heavy trail on a ridgeline that had several fresh droppings on it. As I was driving in to the spot I seen about 10 does out in the field on the way in. I didn't see any deer in the stand although several turkeys passed by.

[Studer]

Well here is how we faired out....I saw a nice Doe on Thurs. A.M. and that was about it. Tons of geese and turkeys. The big Doe I saw stayed just out of range and behind some brush so I didn't have a shot. That evening we moved to a different area and my buddy saw a beautiful 10 pointer but did not get a shot at it. It veered off and walked right by my other buddy and he shot right underneath him!!! I then saw that deer run past at about 80 yards. It can attest...it was a big deer. The next morning we went in the same general area. We only saw a nice 8 that never presented a shot. It seemed that the deer were feeding on a lot of forage and grasses etc. During lunch when we were scouting different areas, we saw a couple little bucks in a field and then saw about 3 does in a different field when I looked to my left and saw about 8 does waiting to get into that same field. All of the droppings that I saw were clumped together so like I said they are feeding on forage and grasses etc. Acorns seem to be real sparse this year. Nonetheless it is always an amazing time at Ripley and you can bet I will apply every year!! Good luck to all next weekend!!!

[Buck12]

DRH

I hunted a funnel area on a ridge between two old cutoffs. The cutoff areas were thick and I was in a more mature forest area. I believe the deer were bumped my way by another hunter in the a.m. Right spot at the right time.