Camp Ripley not full

Hunts available

I always thought they had way more applications than Permits for those hunts. Have the Permits gone up, or has the interest gone down?

Interest has gone down…. the hunts was always designed to “reduce the herd”… the hunt always seemed to “maintain the herd numbers”… the 2 packs of wolves in there the last 7 or 8 years, has managed to “reduce the herd” more effectively than the DNR hunts did. I have been going for 25 years, I always tpically seen about 30-40 deer in stand… the last few years, it declined to single digits and last year, in a day and half, zero deer seen. Our group of 8 did not apply this year… as it looks like a couple thousand others also have not. They typically allowed 2500 per hunt, this year they dropped it to 2000 (I think to ensure it filled up) and they couldn’t even hit that. If they wanted it reduced, it is reduced and maybe what they wanted, not sure.

I am a little bit curious about the zoo of people there. It looks like you can arrive in the morning the day before, but if you get there by mid morning you will be in line all day long? Then you just hang out the day before and camp overnight? Get in another line of vehicles to head into the hunting area the following morning? Return to your camp at night and repeat for day 2?

You can arrive a day early. You camp on the west side of “the line”… most people put their camper in the camping area, then the truck in line. In the morning, the gate is opened and the line proceeds into the hunting area. After you come out, you put a truck back in line, for the next morning. The earlier you come out on day 1, the farther to the front of the line you will be for day 2. They do have a rule about when the line can start forming, I think it is like 2pm… not sure. It works pretty well, the soldiers patrol the line in the morning to keep trucks from “jumping” in the line from the camping area.. there is always a couple douchebags that try that… It is a large area and as long as people are respectful of each other, there are plenty of trees and area to hunt. Again, the douchebags do show up too…. had a guy setting up 30 yards from me last year, I was already in stand, whistled at him and he said “I was here yesterday”… funny I told him, I didn’t see you all day when I was here…. he took his stand and moved on.