So I'm planning to take a few days off in the coming weeks to bow hunt one of the two, but I'm interest on which week would be the best to catch some bucks cruising before I put in to take off. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I have hunted Skyline all of my life and this is an extremely easy question. Skyline has been all but decimated because of way too much doe harvest for how ever many years Frank Allen has been the biologist. Wheeler all day and twice on Sunday!

Which weeks would you recommend based on rut in the past! Every where I have read says last week of Jan. and First week of Feb.

You can’t hunt wheeler on Sunday FYI

Yea I know I still haven't figured out why though thats normally the only day im off!

Because they don't want people to hunt there. They don't want anything to go on there - it's a Preservation mentality instead of a Conservation mentality.

-- Finding the hunting information on the Wheeler NWR site is frustrating. It's under "Permits" in the "Visit" portion the main menu. It's like they don't want anyone hunting on their preservation site.

-- Eighteen thousand acres of the refuge's 35,000 acres are open for hunting, except on Sunday. Nice chunk of land for public hunting and use, along with more for the migrating birds.

-- Except that hunting prohibition includes the VERY LIMITED flintlock season, which is January 6-20 and includes two Sundays. So out of ONLY 15 days in the entire season, and during which you can only use a flintlock with open sights, two of those days are closed to hunting. It's almost like they don't want anyone hunting on their preservation site.

Sunday hunting bans are typically rooted in religious beliefs that have no biological basis. Out of roughly 180+/- days of deer and small game hunting seasons, every Sunday is off limits to hunters - many of whom have to work during the week. The animals have six other months "for rest."

If you don't want to hunt on Sunday for religious beliefs, fine. But it shouldn't imposed on everyone based on archaic, outdated and Puritan rules with no basis in biology.

I'm glad we have the refuge. But its mission statement claims it will "protect, manage, and, where appropriate, restore ..."

I've not seen or heard of any timber management in my lifetime. I've never heard of prescribed burning. Can't recall any kind of restoration such as for wild turkeys. Never heard of any kind of aquatic planting, such as cypress. Blackwell Swamp 20+ years ago was a gorgeous but dying tupelo swamp that had a water control structure that, if I remember right, was and is rusted shut and can't be used. That means the water that once flowed in and out of the swamp in winter and summer just sat there, creating a stew that killed the tupelos and created a giant lake.

Preservation is not Conservation. Doing nothing is not management.

Soooooo what you're saying is Sunday would be a good day to go piddling?

Any areas of Wheeler truly boat access only? Looks like most everything can be accessed by land.

This!!!!! Freakin' reminds me of when I was stationed in californistan.

I've been trying to get a hold of the biologist for 2 weeks. They act like if they don't answer their phones, they don't have to do their jobs. When I was in the USMC it used to absolutely drive me freakin' nuts when people did this. I knew people who would just let their phones ring forever. I once called an office, let it ring, and walked to the office I was calling and just watched the guy act like nothing was happening.

I'm thinking about taking the flintlock up there on Friday, probably stop by and yell at the a**holes in the admin bldg.

MLK weekend through the end of the season will be the best hunting.

I've got some guys I know that hunt skyline and act like its great. They drive up there most weekends and act like they see all sort of deer. Wheeler has been slow for me the last 2 years

I hunt both, have hunted wheeler longer so naturally have had more success. Skyline im learning, but see lots of sign. If I get an afternoon, im going to wheeler.

Hunted skyline earlier this year saw plenty of sign but no sightings

Is Wheeler a place that can feasibly be hunted using a ground blind? I live less than 5 miles from Wheeler, but haven't hunted it since I started back bow hunting. Thought about going, but don't know where to start, and don't want to get in there and muck up someone else's hunt.

Either is good huntin. Wheeler is hard to access and skyline is straight up

And yeah plenny of places to ground blind hunt