December 2, 2021 at 10:35 a.m.
Preliminary numbers show gun deer hunt numbers down across the state
Totals up in Northern Forest Zone
Preliminary numbers show gun deer hunt numbers down across the state
The total number of deer harvested during this year's opening weekend, as reported on its website, was 85,860, down 14% from 2020, when 99,832 deer were harvested on opening weekend.
It also represents over a minus 20% change from the five-year average harvest for the state overall.
From 2016 to 2020, hunters in the state harvested 107,762 deer on average each year. The 38,331 antlerless deer harvested this year during opening weekend represented a 21.1% decrease from the 2020 season opening weekend. In antlered deer, 47,529 animals were harvested, a 7.2% decrease over 2020.
The numbers available at this time did not separate public and private land harvests.
Southern Farmland saw the largest drop in harvests. With 9,176 antlerless and 9,854 antlered deer harvested there, this represented a 14.1% drop over the 2020 opening weekend of the gun deer season.
This year also saw a 23.8% decline in harvest numbers versus the five-year average from 2016 to 2020.
The Northern Forest Zone was the only zone in the state to report an increase in harvest for the opening weekend of gun deer season this year. That increase was moderate, however, at only 9.3%. Antlered harvest was up just over 13% and antlerless harvest up just 2.1%.
While this seems like good news, when looking at the five-year average, this year's opening weekend harvest was down by 17.3%. All counties in the Northern Farmland were down when held against the five-year average, with Langlade County down more than 33%, seeing the biggest drop from that average.
Marinette County saw the biggest increase over last year with their 932 harvested animals representing a 55.1% increase over last year. However, when looking at the five-year average, Marinette County was down by 22%.
Only Langlade and Washburn counties reported a decrease in animals harvested during opening weekend this year over last year at minus 4.9% and minus 2.1%, respectively.
In Vilas County, antlerless numbers were reported as being up 151.5% from 2020, but this number may be a bit deceiving.
It is representative of an increase from 66 to 166. The antlerless quota differences from year to year within the county should also be taken into account. Antlered harvest during opening weekend this year was up only 4.1%, at 406. Overall the county saw a 25.4% increase over last year's opening weekend.
In Oneida County, hunters were able to harvest 798 deer on opening weekend this year, a 5.4% increase over last year, but 21.5% fewer than the five-year average from 2016 to 2020.
The 549 antlered deer harvested represented an 11.6% increase over last year. The 6.0% decrease in antlerless deer harvested meant numbers fell only from 265 to 249 this year.
According to a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as of midnight on Sunday, November 21, license sales for gun, bow, crossbow, sports, and patron reached over 795,000. Of those, 551,809 were reported to be for gun-only authorizations, but this also included patron and sportsman licenses.
Overall, the number of deer licenses as of November 21 were down 1.5%. The DNR reported non-resident deer hunting licenses were up this year, but did not provide further information. Complete license figures will be available in January of 2022.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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