9 Days – 344,000 Dear Taken By Wisconsin Hunters

Wisconsin’s 9-day gun deer season racked up a total of 343,644 deer. That translates into 218,584 antlerless deer and 125,060 bucks. These totals are far from the record total harvest set in 2000 when an ideal hunting season produced a harvest of around 442,000.

Wisconsin wildlife officials guesstimate that there were around 1.8 million whitetail deer in the state. That’s approximately 100,000 more than a year ago. They also say that they believe a lack of snow, some rainy days and fewer hunters account for the reduction in harvest totals. This year the state sold 641,432 deer hunting licenses for this hunt. That’s down about 3,500 from last year.

Never fear as there still remains deer hunting opportunities. On Monday a muzzleloader season began that runs through December 5. That will be followed by a statewide antlerless deer hunt that will run for four days. The archery hunt continues until January 6.

Congratulations to all the successful hunters and good luck to those still trying.

Tom Remington