Hunters register 343,644 deer over nine-day season
Hunting opportunities still available during muzzleloader, antlerless seasons and in CWD zones
MADISON – Hunters registered a preliminary total of 343,644 deer during Wisconsin’s regular nine-day gun deer season. Wildlife officials stress that this is a preliminary figure that will change somewhat. The preliminary call-in total from 2006 nine-day season was 336,211 and in 2005 it was 312,519 deer.
The 2007 harvest showed 125,060 bucks and 218,584 antlerless deer registered. This computes to a 6 percent increase in antlerless deer harvest and a 3.5 percent decline in buck harvest over 2006. Officials also reported a total of 641,432 gun deer licenses were purchased by resident and nonresident hunters.
“All in all, things came together nicely for this year’s hunt,” said Keith Warnke, DNR deer ecologist. “It’s too early to evaluate how the kill will impact individual deer management units, until we have final harvest figures for all seasons, but it looks like deer hunters are enjoying this year’s hunting and filling their freezers.”
Hunting seasons still open
It’s not too late for hunters to get out and enjoy the hunt, according to Warnke. The muzzleloader season which opened Nov. 26 continues through Dec. 5 and there is a statewide antlerless gun deer hunt Dec. 6 - 9. The late archery season also opened on Nov. 26 and runs through Jan 6. Unlimited Earn-a-Buck hunting continues in chronic wasting disease (CWD) management zones through Dec. 9.
Landowners in the CWD zones may continue to hunt through March 31 with a CWD landowner’s permit. With landowner permission, other hunters also may hunt through March 31 on the landowner’s property.
This season’s harvest impacts 2008 season structure
Hunter participation in the Dec 6 -9 antlerless hunt can have an impact on the number of future Earn-a-Buck (EAB) units in 2008 say wildlife officials. A heavy antlerless kill in EAB “watch units” which include all current EAB units plus the following units 1, 1M, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12,13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 30, 36, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54A, 55, 57, 57A, 57C, 58, 59A, 59D, 60B, 72, 73B, 73D, 74B, and 77M. will be one factor in determining the hunting rules in these units in 2008.
“We won’t know the full effect of the seasons until after the unit specific harvest is all tallied for all deer management units,” said Warnke. “However, I strongly encourage hunters to participate in the December antlerless gun hunt.”
Earn-a-Buck Prequalification and Venison Donations
“Not only can hunters add meat to the freezer or donate it to the food pantry program, the December gun hunt is a great opportunity to prequalify for a buck harvest authorization for the 2008 season,” says Warnke, who reminds hunters to hang on to the green buck sticker they’ll get for bringing in an antlerless deer from any earn-a-buck unit. The sticker will also be valid in any 2008 earn-a-buck unit during any deer hunting season. If lost, the stickers will not be replaced.
Hunters registering antlerless deer from units that are not in earn-a-buck this year but are next year will receive a buck sticker in the mail over the summer.
The venison donation program runs through Jan. 6 statewide outside of CWD units. Hunters in CWD units are advised to call ahead to meat processors to learn if they can still accept deer.
Wisconsin hunters work toward safer season
A total of six gun deer hunting incidents including three fatalities made 2007 the second safest nine-day gun hunt on record.
“This was a great effort by hunters, but safety needs to be at the top of all hunters’ minds all the time,” said Tim Lawhern, DNR hunter education administrator. “Any injury, any death is devastating for the hunter and his or her family, and is unacceptable. Our mutual goal is zero gun related incidents. Sadly, every one of these incidents could have been prevented.
“That said, hunting is far safer than many outdoor sports today, and hunters should be proud of their part in making that happen,” Lawhern says.
Half of the firearms accidents this season happened during deer drives with hunters walking through woods or fields to flush out deer. Injuries were attributed to gun handling inconsistent with the basic rules of firearms safety, Lawhern says.
The 10-year average for total numbers of incidents during the regular nine-day season is 16.4 and the state averages two fatalities per year.
Wisconsin gun deer license sales through the end of the nine-day hunt totaled 641,432. “With 6 incidents that means that the incident rate was about 1.06 per 100,000 participants,” Lawhern says. The national average for hunting incident rates is around five per 100,000 participants.
“In Wisconsin alone we have reduced the hunting incident rates by 90 percent over the last 40 years,” Lawhern says. “No other safety education training program in the nation has been that successful. Our corps of volunteers, the largest in North America, have dedicated their time, energy and resources towards the goal of training hunters to be safe, knowledgeable and responsible.”
“We are thankful that our hunters are demonstrating behavior that reflects a safety conscious attitude. We appreciate their attention to the rules of firearm safety and good hunting practices. As we continue the downward trend in deer hunting incidents we remind hunters that no matter how safe they have been we are only as safe as the next hunt.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Warnke (608) 264-6023; Tim Lawhern (608) 266-1317
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/DNRNews_Lookup.asp?id=95#art1Preliminary 2007 Wisconsin nine-day deer registration totals
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/specialedition/2007PrelimDeerReg.html
