Island hunters downed some nice bucks last week - after the wind died down.

LENNY McNEIL of Lake Leelanau displays the
14-point rack from a buck he took on South Fox
Island during a firearms hunt that started Oct. 29.

More than 50 hunters headed to controlled deer hunts on North Manitou and South Fox islands last week, returning with six or so bucks with antlers taken on public land.

The numbers aren't precise because no statistics are kept on South Fox Island, much of which is owned by developer David Johnson.

Lake Leelanau resident Lenny McNeil, who always seems to return to the mainland with a nice deer, took the largest buck of lifetime of hunting. The 14-point had a 20-inch inside spread.

McNeil advised other hunters in a 13-member party that was ferried to South Fox aboard Manitou Island Transit to have patience. The group landed on Oct. 28 — the day before the South Fox firearms season began — then hunted through three days of howling wind and driving rain.

The deer didn't move until Thursday evening. First, Lenny's brother, Bob, downed a 9-point with a 15-inch spread about 5:30 p.m.

Lenny McNeil's buck stepped into an opening about an hour later.

McNeil estimated that about 20 hunters were working the north end of the island, which is owned by the state. One other buck and two does went home with his party; he had heard of one other buck being taken on state land by hunters who had arranged other transportation to the island.

He heard a few shots coming from Johnson's portion of the island.

The ferry to the North Manitou hunt was delayed one day until Oct. 28 by poor weather, according to National Park Service biologist Ken Hyde. The weather may have played into decisions by nine hunters who had registered to cancel their hunt.

The 35 hunters who did spend seven nights on the island returned with five deer, Hyde said, including one 5 1/2-year-old doe and two button bucks.

Also part of the harvest was a 1 1/2-year-old forkhorn that weighed 132 pounds, and a 4 1/2-year-old 6-point that tipped the scale at 178 pounds, Hyde said.

A poor crop of deer food on the island combined with low visibility — most leaves were still up on trees — to hurt hunters' success rate, Hyde believes. Oak trees offered up few acorns and most beech trees were also barren.

"Even the apple trees didn't produce this year. It was hard to hunt any of the places where deer are usually feeding," said Hyde.

Still, he added, most participants were veterans to the North Manitou hunt, and accustomed to seeing few deer in a primitive setting.

"Everything went really smoothly. Everybody was pretty pleased," said Hyde.

No hunters participated in an archery hunt in October, Hyde added.