Manitowoc County hunter arrows first buck with crossbow amid deer hunt

Several local gun clubs are hosting sight-in days for hunters to prepare for the upcoming deer season.

Bob Schuh
| Special to Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Curt Biely of the Menchalville area took to the woods in search of a white-tailed deer. He was hunting in Oneida County on property owned by a family friend.

Curt got to his stand around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28, and settled in for the hunt. He was sitting about an hour when a doe appeared. Following her was a nice little buck.

He aimed his PSE Fang crossbow with a 150-pound draw weight at the buck and let the arrow fly.

Curt found the arrow and knew he had a good hit. He went for help, and they took up the trail. The buck went only about 50 yards and piled up.

The buck had a small, six-point basket rack, but Curt was happy as this was his first crossbow-killed buck.

CWD and baiting & feeding bans — what to know

Chronic wasting disease is a risk in many parts of Wisconsin. To mitigate these risks and slow the spread of CWD, state law directs the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to impose baiting and feeding bans within any county with a confirmed CWD-positive wild or captive deer or any county within 10 miles of the location of the positive deer.

As directed by state statute, counties fall under a three-year baiting and feeding ban when a wild or farm-raised deer tests positive for CWD in the county. If the CWD-positive deer is found within 10 miles of a county line, the adjoining county will fall under a two-year ban. If additional CWD cases are found during the lifetime of a baiting and feeding ban, the ban will reset for an additional two to three years. Therefore, the date when a baiting and feeding ban is scheduled to expire within a given county may change as a result of new farm-raised and wild CWD-positive detections.

In counties where baiting and feeding bans are in effect, individuals may still feed birds and small mammals provided feeding devices are within 50 yards of a human dwelling and at a sufficient height or design to prevent access by deer.

Find more about baiting and feeding regulations and a map of counties with active bans on the DNR’s Baiting and Feeding Regulations webpage.

Testing your harvested deer, especially if it was taken from a priority area, helps biologists better understand current disease levels and distribution.

There are several ways to submit your deer for testing. To see a map of CWD sampling locations near you, visit the DNR’s CWD Sampling webpage.

If a hunter receives a CWD-positive test result, a replacement authorization will be issued to their Go Wild account within two to four days. A positive result from an antlered harvest authorization will result in a replacement antlered harvest authorization for the hunter (valid statewide). If the positive result was received for an antlerless harvest registration, an either-sex replacement harvest authorization will be issued for the same DMU and land type.

The replacement authorizations aren’t weapon-specific and are valid for the remainder of the current hunting season and next year’s hunting seasons (starting in September 2026).

The DNR reminds the public there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. However, public health officials recommend against consuming meat from deer that test positive for CWD and to consider testing deer prior to consumption, especially in areas prevalent with CWD.

Viking club’s sight-in days are Nov. 8-9

Viking Bow & Gun Club, 13431 Rusch Road, Valders, is holding gun sight-in days from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Nov. 8-9.

On Nov. 8, they will also hold their Sportsman’s Rummage Sale and Raffle from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public is invited for both events.

Rifle & Pistol Club also holding sight-in

Manitowoc Rifle & Pistol Club will hold its annual deer hunters’ sight-in. This year, the club will offer the service from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Nov. 8, 9, 15 and 16.

Any questions, contact Randy Ammerman, treasurer, at 920-323-1819.

Maribel club winds down sight-ins Nov. 8-9

Nov. 8 and 9 are the last two days of the gun sight-ins at Maribel Sportsman’s Club. The public is invited to take in guns from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. both days.

Range officers will help dial in the scope before the upcoming deer season. Food and refreshments will be available. The club is next to Interstate 43, exit 164, State 147, Maribel.

Valders processor takes donated deer

The DNR’s Deer Donation Program is going on to get ground meat to food pantries. BRW Processing, 512 Washington St. in Valders, takes donated deer. Contact them at 920-901-8486 before dropping off any deer. They will grind the meat and get it to the pantries for you.

Fish & Game meets Nov. 12

The Manitowoc Unit of Fish & Game’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12.

It is noted that the club’s November and December meetings are at the Manitowoc Gun Club.

As always, meetings are open to the public and feature a brief business meeting, speaker and lunch. It is a great way to connect with other sporting men and women before the upcoming hunting season.

The November speaker will be Manitowoc Fire Chief Todd Blaser. He will update the group about activities in the area and fire prevention during recent dry periods.

The Manitowoc Unit works to offer a variety of speakers and topics to inform members and the community on issues important to conservation in Manitowoc County.

That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.

Outdoors columnist Bob Schuh’s “Scoping the Great Outdoors” column appears each Sunday in the Herald Times Reporter. He can be reached at 920-682-3106 or bobschuh@lsol.net.