SPOONER ? After many years of liberal antlerless deer hunting opportunities in northern Wisconsin, wildlife officials say gun hunters who plan on hunting in northern deer management units (DMUs) this fall need to carefully check the status of the area where they hunt. In most cases they will not be able to use the free herd control antlerless permits they receive with their license as they have in recent years.
It will be an ?old fashioned? buck-only gun deer season in many northern units this year, said Mike Zeckmeister, the DNR Northern Region wildlife supervisor. Hunters and last year?s cool winter brought these units within or below goals, Zeckmeister said.
The herd control antlerless tag that comes with each gun and archery deer license is valid only in Herd Control or CWD Earn-A-Buck units.
?While many northern DMUs have been under herd control status in recent years, very few are this year,? Zeckmeister said.
Hunters who want to shoot an antlerless deer in most northern DMUs will need to purchase a unit specific antlerless tag, and there are 13 DMUs (7, 29B, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44 and 50) that do not have any antlerless permits available this fall. Unit specific antlerless permits cost $12 each for residents, $20 each for non-residents. A limited number of permits are available for each unit, and many units have already sold out. Permit availability is listed on the DNR Web site.
Archery antlerless deer carcass tags are not Herd Control tags and are valid in all units statewide, but may only be filled using legal archery gear.
?We realize this is a huge change for deer hunters in the north this year,? Zeckmeister said, ?but out deer program is designed to quickly respond to changes in deer populations, like lower deer numbers northern hunters reported last year.?
In all other units of the north hunters must purchase an antlerless tag from a license vendor and are good only for a deer in that unit. A limited amount of these tags are available.
?Anyone tagging an antlerless deer in the 13 ?Regular? DMUs in the north without antlerless tags available using a bonus or Herd Control unit tag will be in violation of the law and could be fined and have the deer and their equipment confiscated,? said Dave Zebro, law enforcement supervisor for the DNR Northern Region.
?Deer gun hunters across the state must do what they have done in other years and that is to check what unit they plan to hunt in and purchase the proper license and tags accordingly,? he said. He notes many western and eastern counties still have Herd Control units, the southern counties have CWD units and a few units are non-quota.
Also, Zeckmeister added, that because most of the units are ?Regular? units in the North, the early antlerless season in October will not apply to most hunters. However, hunters with an unused antlerless tag can use it in the archery or the November or December gun deer seasons.
?Our overall objective is to provide a fun recreational deer hunt and protect the integrity of the deer herd,? Zeckmeister said, ?our wildlife managers and the hunting public must be alert to changes in the system and respond accordingly.?
