2010 Wisconsin Opening Day Gun Deer Season Report
Contact(s): Laurel Steffes - (608)266-8109 Bob Manwell - (608) 264-8942
MADISON ? Nearly ideal hunting conditions across the state contributed to an active opening morning of the 2010 Wisconsin nine-day regular gun deer season, according to anecdotal reports from registration stations across the state.
Good weather, with no rain and cool, but not cold temperatures, along with corn mostly harvested, leaves off the trees and even a few areas with tracking snow, all contributed to good hunting conditions.
Wildlife managers and conservation wardens reported hearing fewer shots but more single shots rather than repeated shots, indicating that visual conditions were excellent and many hunters were probably taking a deer with a single shot. This contrasts with the 2009 season, when dense fog covered much of the state opening morning, and there was still a lot of corn left in fields to be harvest.
A small amount of snow still covered the ground in far northwestern and north central Wisconsin, which further improved hunting and tracking conditions in that area.
There were many reports of young hunters participating in the mentored hunting program. Dave Matheys, Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist at Viroqua, was working a registration station in Gays Mills and reported on one young 10-year-old hunter who was being mentored by his mother. The young hunter had a doe run out in front of him and had a clear shot at 10 yards and dropped the doe. Then just seconds later, a buck came out in pursuit of the doe. With one deer on the ground, they let the buck take off.
?His mother said the young hunter was ?just shaking like a leaf? after the episode,? Matheys said. The mother, father and son were headed back out to the woods to see if they could now fill a buck tag.
There were numerous reports across the state of bucks still pursuing does, indicating the rut, or white-tailed deer mating season, was also still in progress. Many of the bucks being registered had swollen necks, another indication that the rut was still taking place.
With fewer antlerless permits available in about half of the state, and no antlerless permits available at all in areas of northeastern Wisconsin, many registration stations were reporting many bucks being brought in.
Michelle Carlisle DNR wildlife biologist at Balsam Lake just east of the Minnesota/Wisconsin line near St. Croix where there was still cover of 2 to 4 inches of crust snow left over from last week?s storm, said traffic has been steady all morning at the registration station. One truck came in with eight deer and another with six!
?One young man brought in a gorgeous buck and I asked him if this was his first one,? Carlisle said. ?He said, ?no,? this was his third deer in as many years and the other two were equally nice.
State conservation wardens were investigating four non-fatal shooting incidents by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Two incidents involved deer drives, one in Marathon County and one in Door County. The Door County victim was shot through the thigh. A shooting incident in Wood County reportedly involved a hunter not knowing what was behind his target, one of the cardinal rules of hunting. While one in Marquette County, described as a graze, involved well spaced hunters ? 400 yards apart.
EDITOR'S ADVISORY: More detailed regional reports area available in this news release on the DNR website.
