That “special’ time of the year that hundred of thousands of Wisconsin residents look forward to all year long is finally here this coming Saturday, November 17th. The annual Wisconsin 9-day deer gun hunt which opens this coming weekend. If the bow season that opened in September is any indication of how the deer season should go, then this should be a very good season. Here are a few facts that help show what the upcoming season looks like to the hunters who are out in the woods and the WDNR is doing research and studies to understand the numbers, habits, and characteristics of the Wisconsin deer herd.
The state has come a long way since the days of the 1950’s and 60’s when most hunters traveled to the Northwood’s of Wisconsin to hunt whitetail deer. Schools even closed during the deer hunting season, so that children and everyone who desired to hunt could go away in their pursuit of whitetail deer. The Wisconsin deer herd has moved south from the thick old growth forest of the northern third of the state to the agricultural areas in the southern half of the state. This migration started in the 1960’s and has continued since then. One has to realize that the deer population is spread out unequally throughout the state with habitat and food supply being the most important factors to deer populations.
The nature of deer hunting has changed greatly in the last 2 or 3 decades with fewer and fewer hunters traveling to the “deer camps” of the old days. Today, few hunters go to a hunting location where they spend the entire deer season. Most hunters, these days, hunt relatively close to home where they may spend a day or two on opening weekend at a friend’s cabin or farm, but then they usually return home every night. Hunter’s rarely spend the entire nine-days of the season hunting, but usually hunt opening weekend and the closing weekend. Besides those days, hunters hunt when they can and when they can afford to take the time off from their work. The deer numbers in south and south-central Wisconsin are good and this makes it possible to have good hunting without traveling very far from one’s residence.
Wisconsin is lucky to have a deer population of about 1.4 million deer, but as I said they are not evenly distributed in the state. Wisconsin is usually one of the top states in number of deer harvested and registers more record bucks than most states in the country. The Wisconsin 2011 deer season was a good one, but again the deer population is scattered and you’ll find areas where hunters are seeing many deer and then other hunters in the same area will only see a few deer. Last year, there were more bucks harvested since 2007 and bow hunter’s harvested the third most deer on record. In 2011, hunters harvested 347,711 deer which was more than both the 2010 and 2009 seasons. Plus, we had a very mild winter throughout the state which should help deer numbers in northern Wisconsin where deer numbers are below average. But, we then had a drought worse than anything that we’ve seen in decades and who knows what affect it will have in the future.
Hunters should have done some scouting before the season starts and if you’re not seeing the deer or deer sign, then maybe should change your hunting area. Habitat, food supply, and the number of people disturbing deer will affect there they are and feel safe. This year’s deer hunting structure is similar to last year with a few changes; there are few if any chances at harvesting antlerless deer in the northern Deer Management Units (DMU), but there are still abundant chances in the southern regions of the state for your deer. The southern farmlands remain either Herd Control Units or CWD units where harvesting antlerless deer is still allowed because this is the way to control deer numbers. Hunters in CWD units can harvest additional bucks (bonus bucks) besides their one gun and/ or archery buck carcass tag if they harvest antlerless deer before they take a bonus buck. Hunters also like the elimination of the Earn-A-Buck regulation that now allows hunters to harvest a buck without first taking an antlerless deer and bow hunters don’t have people hunting the early season which has been eliminated. I’d make sure to pick up a Rules and Regulations booklet and check the new rules. The new DNR website has many new features and has new provisions like the archery season remains open during the gun season, hunters can use their weapon of choice like a firearm, bow and arrow, or cross-bow under their gun deer license. Check the DNR website at dnr.wi.gov for all the information that you may need. The new website is very informative and gives the deer hunter everything they need including land available for hunters under the Managed Forest Law, Forest Crop Law, Voluntary Public Access, or the Wisconsin Damage and Abatement Claims programs which open over seven million acres of hunting land to hunters. One last remainder that I’d like to suggest to hunters is that there are numerous deer donation organizations that distribute venison to the needy throughout the state. If you get more venison then you need, donate to those less fortunate because fresh venison is always big hit at the food pantries! This and so much more can be found on the new DNR website.
Here’s a few more suggestions to hunter, make yourself a check list with the things that you need to do and bring with you out in he field with you. 1) Make sure that you have your rifle or shotgun is sighted in even though you may not have shot it last season. Clean and oil your gun too. 2) Wash your hunting clothes in a no-scent detergent and get some scent-less soap for your self. 3) Hang your washed clothes outside to air out. 4) Sharpen your knife to make cleaning your deer much easier. 5) Make sure that you have the legal amount of blaze orange on the clothes that you’re going to wear. 6) Have a flashlight for going into the woods when it’s dark. 7) If hunting alone, tell someone where you’ll be hunting. 
Bring everything that you need for the day with you like snacks, toilet paper, water, hand warmers, and a cell phone with the ringer turned off. 9) Bring your range finders and optics with you. 10) It’s a good idea to wear a fanny pack or back pack for your gear.
Deer have a great sense of smell, so don’t smoke or chew tobacco when hunting. Don’t have a big breakfast where every living thing can smell what you had eaten that morning. Try to enter your hunting area as quietly as possible and never drive an ATV right up to your hunting location. If you need an ATV to get where you hunt, park it a good ways away from your stand.
The last few tips I’ll give you are; 1) Always have muzzle control. Never point your gun at anything that you don’t want to shoot at. 2) Know your target and what is behind it when shooting. Never shoot at a sound or movement. 3) Wear the legal amount of blaze orange. 4) Always have permission on the land you hunt. Never trespass! 5) Know your shooting range. Make sure that the shot that you’re taking will hit a vital organ insuring a quick kill. 6) Use only approved safety equipment when hunting from an elevated tree stand. This means wear a full body harness.
I’ve given you a lot of good information to help make you 2012 deer hunting season a great one! Be patient, be safe, and have fun in the Wisconsin outdoors.
www.garyengbergoutdoors.com
Buck photo by Mitch Spillane
