Last year, deer harvest numbers during the 9-day gun deer season were up 14% compared to the year before.
That makes the 17% drop this season closer to the 5-year average, but still down about 11%.
The Northern Forest Zone saw the biggest drop statewide with nearly 11,000 fewer deer harvested this year compared to last.
“I could probably come up with a half a dozen factors or variables that influence this,” said Jeff Pritzl, the DNR’s Deer Program Specialist. “That's part of the intrigue of hunting. One of the things we as hunters, myself included, do sitting around the table, or the campfire speculating on what was it, and depending on where you were in the state those reasons might be different.”
Some of the factors in the north likely included last year’s harsh winter, lack of snow on the ground for most this season, and warmer than usual temperatures.
License sales were down less than 1 percent from last year.
While there were large drops in harvest numbers for the gun-deer season, archery registrations are only down 2% from last year and still above the 5-year average.
Pritzl says many deer hunters will participate in both the archery season and 9-day gun deer season.
“This is a long-term trend that we've been seeing really over 30 years of this slow gradual shift towards what I described as more enthusiasm for deer hunting in general that hunters want to participate in deer hunting more than just the nine-day gun season,” said Pritzl. “To that effect, as we talked about last year, over half of our total deer hunting population in Wisconsin now also hunts with archery equipment, whether that be bow or crossbow.”
This year, hunters from all 50 states and 27 countries purchased a Wisconsin hunting license.
Hunting incidents also down
A 30-year-old man in Taylor County was shot in the thigh while hunting.
It happened Friday in Rib Lake. The Wisconsin DNR says a 35-year-old man in his hunting party was shooting at a deer when he shot the victim.
The man was taken to the hospital for treatment.
In total, there were three hunting incidents this 9-day gun deer season and no fatalities.
DNR Conservation Warden Lt. Mike Weber said that was down from last year when the state had 8 incidents, including one death.
In six of the last 10 seasons there have been no fatalities.
“It can be dependent upon the year, but like I said before, I really attribute some of those reduced rates to the work of the hunter education program and those volunteer instructors really focusing on that safe firearm handling training,” said Weber.
While the 9-day gun deer season is over, there are still other hunting seasons throughout December.
Weber encourages hunters to follow and practice firearm safety.
