My dads been going to Ripley for years now, and I've gone for the past 4 years. Its a real zoo. First, you will get there and there will be a line of cars literally over a mile long. Don't even plan to be in the front half of that line unless you get there two days early, which some do. You need to be in your car when the line starts to move. You'll be in your car, stop and go, for about an hour or so before you go through the gates. There will be DNR officers that talk to you breifly, explain some of the basic rules(only takes about 30 seconds). Finally, you're off on your own. By this time it will probably be getting light outside. There are some increadible bucks taken every year. In fact, if you go to the camp Ripley military base site you can see a couple of the bucks taken. We have a picture on there from a 162" 9 pointer. It was 25" inside spread with increadible mass. We are in one of few areas where there are not a ton of hunters and are a lot of deer. Last year, our friend that shot the big 9 also shot a huge 5x3. If both side were the same it would have scored upper 150's. My dad has been hunting Ripley for over 20 years now, and it wasn't until the last few years that we've finally found a good place to hunt. I beleive they let 2250 hunters in for the two days. If you do the math, that leaves I believe 21 acres per person. This does not include the huge "Dud" areas, so its actually less than that. The fact of the matter is that most of the woods is caos. I don't want to degrade your hopes, but many people go there expecting to see tons of deer. The reality is that most will see more hunters than deer. The fun part is all those people are also scaring deer around. Get in your stand and sit all day long. Thats the best advice I can give you. If you find a spot, away from all the people, like we have found, you'll have a much better chance of dealing with natural moving deer. Being your hunting the late season, which is the same that we're hunting this year, you might want to look for active scrapes--thats what we do. The bucks here are not smart. They are not "hunted deer" except for 4 days out of the entire year, so they will usually continue their habits, checking scrapes etc.
By the end of the day you'll exit the hunting areas and once agian wait in line to get out. They really stress getting out of the woods on time, but in reality all your doing by getting out of the woods early is setting yourself up for another long line to get out. You'll get to the gates you went in and there will be a big group of people waiting for hunters to register and weigh there bucks. I suggest you go and see what bucks are shot. Its a lot of fun. Hopefully you'll be the one showing off the antlers. It's pretty neat having 200 antler crazed guys trying to see the deer in the truck.
So the process begins agian, waiting in line, so on. I don't know what you're bringing for vehicles, but we bring a motorhome to sleep in and a truck to go in with. Whatever you do, make sure that you are by your truck when the line starts to move. Don't forget your Ripley permit and map, you'll get in the mail and all the other information it tells you to bring with you. Thats about all I can tell you. You'll have a lot of fun. It's an experience you won't forget.
Good luck. I'd like to here your stories when you get back. I guarentee you'll have some.
Good Luck
