Williams Wilderness Lodge Offering Only (2) Five Day Hunts This Year.

     

Just one of the monster bucks harvested at Williams Wilderness Lodge

   Get the best out of your private hunting experience this year by hunting our 102 acres of mostly wooded trophy whitetail deer and turkey land. Enjoy the convenience of having your lodging and private hunt organized into one package with our three bedroom lodge located only 4 miles away.

     Each year we manage this land specifically for quality whitetail deer and turkey. We plant food plots annually to attract big game. Additionally, we have completed over 70 acres of timber stand improvement to open up the canopy of the forest and grow natural food plots throughout and create quality bedding areas. On top of that, we utilize multiple trail cameras throughout the year to gauge wildlife quality and learn patterns to assist you with your hunt. We also have multiple stands on the property for your convenience, should you not wish to put up your own.

     We offer a quality private hunt in trophy whitetail country on land that you know is managed for big whitetails with extremely limited hunting pressure, and a nice, warm private lodge containing everything your trip needs, minus the food. I will be happy to provide you with the courtesy and customer service that your party deserves. Give me a call to set up your hunt.

2017 Williams Lodge Status Report

     Well it is almost summer here at the Lodge and as we patiently await trail camera pictures of our newly born fawns for 2017 we shall provide everyone with a brief status report.

     Stand movements have been made per our previous post. I am excited about their locations for this year based upon movement patterns last year. The new portable hexagon blind is being moved into the northeast "coffin" corner later today and will hopefully help to finally close the deal on the big buck that has been evading hunters in that area of the property. Trails have been brush hogged a little wider in places for easier movement to stands.

     Trail cameras are showing a changing doe to buck ratio. In past years I have been trying to reduce this ratio and I am cautiously optimistic from what I am seeing this Spring. However, it should be noted that there were clearly a lot of late born bucks that may not have established their own movement zones yet, so we will update this assessment in early Fall, when some of these younger bucks may no longer be in this area.

     There has also been an uptick in predators at the Lodge. A decent sized bobcat is showing up on a regular basis and I am blaming him for a lower turkey population this year. I might even put a bounty on his head for customers this year of $100. Bobcat season runs from November 15-January 31. We are also going to conduct a "coyote cleansing" in the near future to help protect our new fawns.

    Fall food plots will be planted later in July and will be a new mix of soybeans, wheat, radishes, and turnips, called Eagle Broadside, that should have groceries growing at different times to replace what is being eaten. This will hopefully extend the life of the food plots well beyond rifle season.

     That is a brief rundown of what we tasks we have completed and which tasks are still to come. Please give me a call if you have any questions or just want to get more information about a future hunt. I am happy to help in any way I can.

Winter Planning Gives Way To Spring Enacting

     I haven't posted anything lately regarding the planning taking place for another great year here at Williams Wilderness Lodge, so I thought I would do my best to get everyone up to speed. First let me tell you that we had another very mild winter. It's early April and we still have bucks holding their antlers. Additionally, I went on a walkabout in February and spotted a lot of very late season rubs and a few scrapes.

Whitetail grouped up in NE corner April 1st

     The last two weeks have been almost non-stop rain, so we are expecting the understory of the woods to grow up quite rapidly in the near future, just in time for some great Spring turkey hunting. Based upon sign and movement patterns last year, we will be moving a few stands around for the upcoming whitetail season. I have attached the photo of the planned stand placement below. For those who have hunted with us before, this will make perfect sense. If you haven't hunted with us before, don't hesitate to call and inquire. I like to think I am a fairly friendly guy (as long as I've completed my first two cups of coffee) and I'll be happy to help familiarize you with the property and possibly get you locked in for a great whitetail deer hunt this Fall.

Williams Wilderness Lodge Stand Placement 2017 (Tentative)

     The two ladder stand movements will be overlooking two prime staging areas on the property. I am also moving the Millennium hanging stand (cadillac of hanging stands) to a better location along a travel corridor. The most exciting addition for 2017 is the new pentagon box blind that will be installed in the northeast corner. Those that hunted last year know that we had some big bucks roaming in there last year. I have toiled long and hard to turn this blind into a portable luxury home on wheels. With the help of an old boat trailer and just enough woodworking skill to injure myself multiple times, this is the result.

     This beauty will be staged on the top of the ridgeline for Spring Turkey Season and then moved down into the monster buck "coffin corner" for the 2017 Whitetail Season. 

     Now let's discuss food plots for 2017. In past years I have planted Spring foodplots with varied results. I have utilized plotsaver fencing and repellant which works fairly well. It doesn't keep all of the deer out, but it does make a distinct difference from leaving the plot wide open for browsing. Nonetheless, this year I will be waiting until late Summer to plant Fall plots only. I think this will help to make the plots last longer into the season than years past. Additionally, I am trying out a new seed mix this year. I will be planting Eagle Broadside Blend this year. It is a mixture of soybeans, radishes, wheat, and turnips. It is designed for the soybeans to grow up first for forage, followed by the radishes, then the wheat, and finally the turnips. It is supposed to last much longer with different food growing at different times.

     So, as you can see the busy season has begun for us here at Williams Wilderness Lodge. Our goal is to provide the greatest quality hunt we can for you at an incredibly affordable price. Please give me a call today and we can get you setup for a great season.

We Are Now Taking 2016 Reservations

 It has been an amazing couple of years here at Williams Wilderness Lodge and we are already putting our plans in motion for an equally exciting 2016 season. My son Collin and I are already plotting feeder locations for the winter, food plots and mineral sites for the Spring, and possible stand movements for our next trophy whitetail season. With planning in motion for next season, we have opened up reservations for our 2016 hunts. Our new 3 bedroom lodge is operational so your party can enjoy the convenience of having your lodging and private hunt organized into one package. I am not an outfitter inserting you and 5,000 others on over-hunted land, nor am I a hunting nanny that will put up your stand, walk you out to the stand, and dress your deer when you are done, but if you want to hunt on quality private land in Northern Missouri whitetail country and be provided with courtesy and customer service that will be second to none give us a call or email to set up your hunt. Rates for 2016 are listed below and include private hunt and lodging for up to 4 hunters. Call and get your dates set. They will go quickly! (928) 366-4020 or williamswildernesslodge@gmail.com


DEER (RIFLE)
1^st 4 DAYS= BOOKED
LAST 4 DAYS= $1600
ENTIRE SEASON (9 DAYS) $3000

DEER (YOUTH WEEKEND)
EARLY WEEKEND= $600
LATE WEEKEND= $500

DEER (ARCHERY AND ALTERNATIVE) OCT-DEC
DAILY= $300
3 DAYS= $850
5 DAYS= $1300
WEEK= $1700

DEER (ARCHERY) SEP/JAN
DAILY= $250
3 DAYS= $700
5 DAYS= $1100
WEEK= $1400

SPRING TURKEY
DAILY= $250
3 DAY=  $700

Whitetail Deer Season In Full Swing In Northern Missouri

The early archery season is over and we are in the midst of rifle season here at Williams Wilderness Lodge. The rut is well underway and I am at the stage of the season where I am relegated to watch and hope that all of my efforts throughout the Spring and Summer produce results. There is a certain anticipation that takes place while waiting for the results of the season to come in, but there is nothing more satisfactory than when a customer harvests a big one to refresh the confidence that all of the Spring plowing, seeding and weeding, all of the digging and mineral site building, all of the postseason supplemental feeding in the winter, all of the timber stand improvement and intel gathering from trail cameras...all of it is well worth it when it produces results like this:

Doug's big ten point buck at Williams Wilderness Lodge.

COMMISSION APPROVES CHANGES TO 2016-2017 DEER REGULATIONS

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Conservation Commission set season dates and limits for the 2016-2017 fall deer season and gave initial approval to several deer-hunting regulation changes proposed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) at the Commission's Aug. 19 meeting in Jefferson City.Published on: Aug. 20, 2015

Posted by Joe Jerek

Approved changes to fall deer season structure for 2016-2017 include:

• Maintain current timing of the November portion and reduce the length from 11 to 9 days.
• Expand the late youth portion to three days beginning the first Friday after Thanksgiving.
• Reduce the length of the antlerless portion from 12 to 3 days and begin on the first Friday in December.
• Eliminate the urban zones portion.

Proposed regulation changes to fall deer season structure for 2016-2017 include:

• Allow crossbows as a legal method during the archery deer and turkey seasons.
• Allow the use of crossbows during the fall firearms turkey season.
• Reduce the limit of antlered deer from 3 to 2 during the combined archery and firearms deer hunting season, with no more than one antlered deer taken during the firearms deer hunting season.
• Remove the hunting method exemption requirement related to crossbows.

Missouri's rule-making process includes a 30-day public comment period. Comments related to the proposed regulation changes can be submitted online to the Conservation Department from Oct. 2-31 at mdc.mo.gov/node/24141. Full verbiage of the proposed amendments will be posted on the webpage after Sept. 15.

The Commission will make its final decision on these proposed changes at its December meeting. With final approval, the regulation changes would become effective in March 2016 and implemented for the 2016-2017 deer hunting seasons.

The Department is also working to simplify conservation area deer-hunting regulations by limiting methods and use of firearms and archery antlerless permits. To see the list of conservation areas with proposed changes to hunting methods and to provide comments, visit the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov/node/18891 from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30. The webpage will not be available until Sept. 1.

The Department will also continue to gather input from citizens on a variety of deer hunting-related topics, including nonresident permits and prices, through public surveys and its website in early 2016.

When formulating recommendations for these regulation changes, the Conservation Department used deer hunter surveys, landowner surveys, archery-hunter observation surveys, deer population simulations, biological data, harvest summaries, and public input gathered from 22 public open houses held around the state and about 11,800 public comments received at the public meetings and online.

"The goal of the Conservation Department's deer management program is to use science-based wildlife management combined with public input to maintain deer population levels throughout the state that provide quality recreational opportunities while minimizing human-deer conflicts," said MDC Deer Biologist Jason Sumners. "As deer populations in Missouri have changed over the last 75 years, so have our management strategies. In modifying the hunting season structure, our aim is to achieve a deer population that is biologically and socially acceptable while also promoting hunter participation, recruitment, and retention."

Missouri offers some of the best deer hunting in the country, and deer hunting is an important part of many Missourians' lives and family traditions. Deer hunting is also an important economic driver in Missouri and gives a $1 billion annual boost to the state and local economies.

2016-2017 DEER HUNTING SEASON DATES

Archery Season
• Sept. 15-Nov. 11, 2016 and
• Nov. 21, 2016-Jan. 15, 2017

Firearms Season
• Early Youth Portion: Oct. 29-30, 2016
• November Portion: Nov. 12-20, 2016
• Late Youth Portion: Nov. 25-27, 2016
• Antlerless Portion: Dec. 2-4, 2016
• Alternative Methods Portion: Dec. 24, 2016-Jan. 3, 2017