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Archery Season Set to Open Will Be Buck-Only For Many

Michele Woodford
/
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

As deer hunters know well, the archery season opens Saturday in Wisconsin.

It will be a unique deer hunting season with a set of new regulations in place, and buck-only hunts in most northern counties.

Deer hunters may face some adjustments when they head out into the woods this weekend. 

As DNR Warden Supervisor Dave Walz explains, a variety of changes are taking effect thanks to the deer trustee rule package.  For one, deer management units now tend to follow county lines, instead of highway or river boundaries like they often did before. 

“This’ll come into play more with the antlerless tags. They’ll need to know what management zone or county they’re in now.”

Most Northwoods hunters won’t need to worry much about which unit they’re in, as long as they stay in the Northern Forest Zone.  Buck tags are good anywhere in the state, and nearly all the northern counties are buck only.  Walz says this is to let the deer population recover. 

“The last two harsh winters didn’t help our deer recruitment or fawn production. So we have 19 buck only units, where nobody—with a couple exceptions—will be able to harvest antlerless deer, so there are no antlerless permits there.”

Exceptions include youth, disabled, and military hunters, as well as Chippewa tribal members hunting in the ceded territory.

The archery season runs until January 4th, and crossbow licenses are also available. 

Hunters are still required to register deer in person…with a shift to electronic registration coming next year.

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