Gun deer season expected to start on a warm note

Wisconsin’s nine-day gun deer season opens this Saturday and warm temperatures have some hunters concerned about how well the hunt will go. As of November 7, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website stated a total of 534 deer had been registered in Oneida County and 392 in Vilas County.

Over twice as many deer were taken with crossbows than vertical bows in each county. Archery harvested deer accounted for 132 deer in Oneida County and 99 in Vilas. For crossbow, those numbers were 354 and 217, respectively.  

In total, for the Northern Forest Zone, deer harvest is down 20% over 2021 for the same period. Oneida County was down 17% and Vilas 12%. 

That trend is likely to continue into the nine-day gun hunt.

The numbers earlier in the season looked much more bleak but rut activity brought about more deer harvests as November came around. However, it should be kept in mind that last year’s numbers at this time were above the five-year running average, meaning this year will likely be closer to that average in the north.

As with most seasons, the outlook will vary depending on where a hunter chooses to hunt. While some areas still have decent deer numbers, according to hunters, other places that traditionally held deer no longer do so. 

The season could bring a mixed bag of results at best.

Statewide, as of the DNR’s last reported numbers, buck registration is up slightly and antlerless registration is down just a bit less, resulting in a net 2% increase over last year in total.

The winter severity index (WSI), on the surface, did not look like a large contributing factor to the deer herd as far as the numbers went, however, when looking at the winter as a whole, biologists in the Northwoods increased that severity number when assisting the County Deer Advisory Councils (CDACs) in setting antlerless quotas for the 2023 deer season. On the landscape, they said, last winter was much tougher than the WSI otherwise indicated.

Other factors, too, have had an influence on harvest numbers. Predators such as wolves, bears, coyotes and bobcats likely played a part in having fewer deer on the landscape, at least in some areas. With anecdotal evidence that there are fewer hunters in the woods in the Northern Forest Zone, all of these things together likely contributed by some measure to decreased harvest.

CWD in the Northwoods

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an always fatal neurological disease affecting cervids such as white-tailed deer, has been found again this year in Oneida County. This time a four-year-old buck on a game farm within the county was found to have the disease. CWD has also been found in the wild deer herd, with the disease being found in the southern part of Oneida County. CWD has also been found in Vilas County in recent years. For that reason, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is urging hunters to have their deer tested for CWD. Testing is free, and there are a number of locations where hunters can have their deer tested. See the sidebar to this story for those locations in the Northwoods.

Testing for CWD will help researchers better understand the prevalence of the disease and where it exists on the landscape. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends hunters not eat meat from an animal found to be positive for the disease. It is important to remember that deer can test positive for the disease 18 months to several years before showing clinical signs, or being outwardly sick.

Feeding and Baiting

Due to the new case of CWD in the Northwoods, a deer feeding and baiting ban was put into place by state statute. State law dictates that a feeding and baiting ban be enacted in any county where a deer has tested positive for the disease in either the captive or wild herd. That ban is to be enacted for a period of three years. In a county within a 10-mile radius of a county where a deer tested positive for CWD, that ban would go into effect for two years. With each subsequent finding of the disease, the time frame for the ban essentially “resets.” That would mean another three years for the ban in Oneida County due to the recent finding.

Feeding of birds and small mammals is still allowed in these counties. However, there are very specific requirements for placement of that feed. 

Deer Donation Program

Since Wisconsin’s deer donation program began in the year 2000, hunters have donated over 3.8 million pounds of ground venison to food pantries throughout the state. This equates to over 94,000 deer processed. All deer donated through the program will be tested for CWD before being sent to food pantries. 

Deer should be field dressed as normal and hunters should contact their local processor before bringing the deer in to ensure the processor has space available to take it in. In Oneida County, cooperating processors are Lake Tomahawk Custom Processing in Lake Tomahawk and TJ’s Butcher Block in Minocqua. In Vilas County, Prime Choice Butcher in Eagle River is a cooperating processor.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].