How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
11-27-2008, 06:24 PM
#21
Spike
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wind Lake, Wisconsin
Posts: 51
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
We had a very similar expierence to Brocster...5 guys hunting in Wautoma and for the first 2 days we sat in stands and saw very few deer, mainly little bucks. Monday morning one guy still hunted and shot a little six pointer that was just laying in the woods. The snow monday made still hunting optimal, so after hearing of his sucess I took a slow walk back to my stand and shot a nice 8 pointer also just laying there. He looked like a big brown rock until he lifted his head! He was beded down with 2 does in the middle of our property (120 acres) and we hadn't see him before.
And to be proactive, yes I had a orange coat and hat on but took them off after dragging the deer back to the road.
And to be proactive, yes I had a orange coat and hat on but took them off after dragging the deer back to the road.
11-28-2008, 01:59 PM
#22
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 472
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
hunted everyday from opening to today dident see any deer at all not even that many shots maybe 5 shots all opening morning i have hunted this same woods for 8 years now and always see deer opening morning worst year ever dnr realy killed off the wisconsin deer hurd!
12-01-2008, 08:24 AM
#24
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Random Lake, WI (yes it\'s a real town....)
Posts: 163
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
Kim got her first deer opening night and I saw one buck...10pt. maybe low 150's out about 80yards, he was doing Mach 10 so no shots fired.
all in all I saw a lot of deer this year....and waaaaaaaaaay to many turkey.
...maybe the DNR got turkey and white-tail numbers mixed up...
all in all I saw a lot of deer this year....and waaaaaaaaaay to many turkey.
...maybe the DNR got turkey and white-tail numbers mixed up...
12-01-2008, 12:46 PM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Central, WI
Posts: 1,860
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
Yep it was a joke here in Waupaca County in WI. Numbers way down. Missed one doe and that's it for shooting for me.
Saw 5 deer opening day and 1 the following Sunday. Saw a couple more last weekend but the numbers are way down. According to the DNR website, 22 % down from last year for registering deer.
The DNR needs to rethink their EAB and all their management zones because they really messed things up this year.
Saw 5 deer opening day and 1 the following Sunday. Saw a couple more last weekend but the numbers are way down. According to the DNR website, 22 % down from last year for registering deer.
The DNR needs to rethink their EAB and all their management zones because they really messed things up this year.
12-01-2008, 02:38 PM
#26
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: South Central Wisconsin
Posts: 1,007
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
Copied from bowsite:
1961 – Resident big game license increased from $4 to $5; first use of SAK--sex-age-kill population-reconstruction technique for estimating deer numbers; hunters required to transport deer openly while driving to registration station; legislation authorizing unit specific quotas for antlerless harvest established. 1962 – Deer population above 400,000; deer management unit specific population goals established. 1963 – First year of quota party permits in eight management units; assassination of President Kennedy lessens hunting pressure.
1964 – Party permit quota extended to 32 management units.
1967 – Hunter Safety Education Program begins. 1970 – Registered gun kill is 72,844 with 501,799 licenses sold; 13 hunters killed.
1973 – No deer season fatalities.
1978 – Record registered gun kill is 150,845 with 644,594 licenses sold. 1980 – Blaze orange clothing required; first season of Hunter’s Choice permit; new law prohibits shining wild animals from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sept. 15-Dec. 31; coyote season closed in northern management units to protect nascent wolf population.
1981 – Record registered deer kill of 166,673 with 629,034 licenses sold.
1982 – Another record registered gun kill of 182,715 with 637,320 licenses sold; three deer season fatalities.
1983 – Harvest continues to rise with another record registered gun kill of 197,600 with 649,972 licenses sold; experimental antlerless deer hunt in six southern management units to relieve crop damage. 1984 – Big jump in registered kill, fourth record harvest in a row of 255,726 with license sales totaling 657,969; handgun deer hunting allowed in shotgun areas; group hunting legalized.
1985 – Fifth consecutive record kill of 274,302 with 670,329 licenses sold; deer season extended in 21 management units; legislature further strengthens road hunting restrictions.
1986 – Gun deer season now nine days statewide; landowner preference program begins for Hunter’s Choice permits. 1987 – First year of bonus antlerless permits; seven fatalities and 46 hunting incidents.
1988 – Handguns permitted statewide.
1989 – Record registered harvest of 310,192 with 662,280 licenses sold; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.15 million deer; two fatalities and 37 hunting incidents.
1990 – Another record kill of 350,040, including 209,005 antlerless deer; record license sales of 699,275; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.3 million deer; season extended for seven days in 67 management units.
1991 – Third consecutive year of record harvest, 352,330; hunters allowed to buy more than one antlerless permit; season extended to 72 management units, mostly in the north; first year of separate, seven-day muzzleloader season.
1992 – Though kill fourth highest on record, 288,820, many hunters voice discontent over lack of success and claim DNR raised expectations by pre-hunt harvest prediction of around 370,000; hunters allowed to apply for bonus antlerless permits in more than one unit; Natural Resources Board approves Secretary’s recommendation to keep the gun season at nine days; new metro management units established around La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee. 1993 – Harvest drops to 217,584, including 100,977 antlerless deer; pre-hunt herd population at 1 million with many units well below prescribed goals; 34 units, mainly in the north, designated as buck-only units; one fatality, 17 hunting incidents. 1994 – Hunters Choice permit availability jumps to 177,340 from 103,140 in 1993; six northwest management units remain buck only; herd beginning to build-up in southern agricultural range.
1995 – Harvest totals 398,002, a new state record; 32 incidents, one fatal; over 577,000 antlerless permits available with 414,000 plus applicants with 163,000 bonus permits offered to hunters; for the first time hunters can use their bonus or Hunter’s Choice permits in either the gun, bow or muzzleloader seasons.
1996 – “Earn a Buck” requirement placed on hunters in 19 deer management units situated in agricultural range where existing deer seasons and permit systems aren’t controlling herd growth; special four-day antlerless only season, state’s first October hunt since 1897, takes place in 19 ‘Earn a Buck’ units, resulting in a kill of 24,954 deer. 1997 – “Earn a Buck” provision scuttled; early Zone T season in seven management units and three state parks results in over 7000 deer killed; the safest gun season even with one fatality and 10 incidents.
1998 – An early October gun season for third year in a row held in one management unit, 67A; harvest of 332,254 is fifth highest; incidents total 19 with two fatalities; most units in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed goals due to the mild winter of 1997-98. 1999 – Early antlerless Zone T deer season held in seven mainly east-central management units and one state park; early archery season is extended through Nov. 18 in Zone T units; pre-hunt herd estimate is 1.5 to 1.6 million deer; 33 management units in the central and southern part of the state are designated ‘watch unit’s that are above population goals and may be designated as Zone T units next year if quota numbers aren’t filled; resident deer license costs $20; non-resident license costs $135; record harvest of 402,204 deer. 2000 – Early four-day Zone T antlerless hunts produces kill of 66,417 deer; 97 of the state’s 132 deer management units listed as Zone T; two free antlerless permits given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; hunters kill a record 528,494 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day, muzzleloader and late antlerless only gun seasons; nine-day gun harvest totals a record 442,581 (170,865 antlered, 271,573 antlerless); 694,957 licensed gun hunters.
2001 – Wisconsin’s pre-hunt population estimated at 1.5 million deer; free antlerless permit given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; 67 deer management units and nine state parks designated as Zone T; October and December four-day, Zone T antlerless hunt results in kill of 58,107 deer; nine-day gun harvest is the state’s fifth largest, totaling 361,264 (141,942 antlered, 219,260 antlerless); chronic wasting disease (CWD) later identified in three deer harvested in the Dane County Town of Vermont.
2002 – Herd estimate at 1.34 million deer; DNR samples about 41,000 deer during the early Zone T antlerless hunt (Oct. 24-27) and opening weekend (Nov. 23-24) of the nine-day gun season to determine if CWD is present anywhere else in the state besides the Disease Eradication Zone in southwest Wisconsin; expanded hunting opportunities set-up in the CWD Management Zone and a gun deer season slated for Oct. 24 to Jan. 31 in the CWD Eradication Zone; October and November four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts in 25 deer management units produce a harvest of 36,228 deer; hunters register 277,755 deer during the traditional, nine-day season; number of licensed gun hunters drops about 10 percent with much of the decrease attributed to concerns about CWD.
2003 – Fall deer population estimated at 1.4 million; landowners in CWD Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ) can request free permits to harvest deer without a license and receive two buck tags per permit; earn-a-buck (EAB) rules in effect and no bag limits on deer in the CWD management zones; deer hunting license sales up 14 percent over 2002, but down 13 percent when compared to 2001; overall, DNR collects 15,025 samples for disease surveillance with 115 wild deer testing positive for CWD; all but two positives are from the Disease Eradication zones (DEZ) of southwest Wisconsin and Rock County; hunters killed 388,344 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzleloader and land antlerless only deer seasons.
2004 – Many deer management units (DMU’s) in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed management goals with 48 DMU’s designated as Zone T and 26 units as EAB; fall deer population estimated at 1.7 million deer; hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (archery or gun) up to a maximum of two; during all seasons, hunters in the CWD DEZ and much larger Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ) are required to kill an antlerless deer before harvesting a buck; hunters kill 413,794 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzle loader, late antlerless only and CWD zone deer seasons; eight gun deer hunting incidents documented with two fatalities; all incidents are either self-inflicted or shooter and victim were in the same party; hunters set a new record of venison donations by giving 10,938 deer yielding nearly 500,000 pounds of venison for food pantries to feed needy people across the state.
2005 – Forty-five DMU’s designated as Zone T units with unlimited antlerless permits and expanded gun hunting opportunities; hunters issued free antlerless permits for both archery and gun licenses; permits valid in any Zone T and CWD units; hunters in CWD units could get an unlimited number of antlerless permits at the rate of four per day; hunters harvest 387,310 deer during the early October, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined, the eighth highest kill on record; 195,735 deer harvested during the opening weekend (Nov. 19-20) of the nine-day gun season; gun deer sales total 643,676, down one percent from 2004; DNR conducts CWD surveillance survey in the agency’s Northeast Region where 4500 deer are tested and CWD not detected; 14 incidents, including three fatals, during the nine-day season (Nov. 19-27); top five gun deer harvest counties – all located in central Wisconsin--are Marathon (15,871), Clark (13,918), Waupaca (12,260), Shawano (11,748) and Jackson (11,461).
2006 – Statewide harvest quota totals 469,385 antlerless deer; more than 1 million antlerless deer permits issued to reach this quota; all hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (bow and gun) with permits valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; hunters kill the fifth highest gun total (393,306) during the youth, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined; 10 incidents, one fatal, with five self-inflicted and five with shooter and victim in the same party. 2007 – Again, over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued and all hunters again get one free antlerless permit for each license type valid in all Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; nine-day gun season (Nov. 17-25) earliest possible opening day under the current season structure; 402,563 deer killed during all gun seasons is the third highest total on record, surpassed only by 2000 (528,494) and 2004 (413,794).
2008 – The 157th deer season: state’s deer herd estimated between 1.5 and 1.7 million; 57 DMU’s under EAB regulations and hunters must “earn” a buck sticker authorizing them to shoot a buck by first killing an antlerless deer; 51 DMU’s are on the EAB “watch list” meaning they could be designated as EAB units in 2009 if a sufficient number of antlerless deer aren’t harvested; a major change is the CWD DEZ and much larger HRZ have been combined into one CWD-Management Zone (CWD-MZ); most of southern Wisconsin lies within the CWD-MZ boundary and rifles can be used to hunt deer in previously shotgun only areas of the CWD zone; venison donation program available statewide in both the CWD-MZ and non-CWD units. ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Did we think house values could continue to grow every year. Deer numbers and harvest levels couldn't continue upward forever. I am just glad it isn't 1970 any more. We got spoiled with high deer populations.
1961 – Resident big game license increased from $4 to $5; first use of SAK--sex-age-kill population-reconstruction technique for estimating deer numbers; hunters required to transport deer openly while driving to registration station; legislation authorizing unit specific quotas for antlerless harvest established. 1962 – Deer population above 400,000; deer management unit specific population goals established. 1963 – First year of quota party permits in eight management units; assassination of President Kennedy lessens hunting pressure.
1964 – Party permit quota extended to 32 management units.
1967 – Hunter Safety Education Program begins. 1970 – Registered gun kill is 72,844 with 501,799 licenses sold; 13 hunters killed.
1973 – No deer season fatalities.
1978 – Record registered gun kill is 150,845 with 644,594 licenses sold. 1980 – Blaze orange clothing required; first season of Hunter’s Choice permit; new law prohibits shining wild animals from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sept. 15-Dec. 31; coyote season closed in northern management units to protect nascent wolf population.
1981 – Record registered deer kill of 166,673 with 629,034 licenses sold.
1982 – Another record registered gun kill of 182,715 with 637,320 licenses sold; three deer season fatalities.
1983 – Harvest continues to rise with another record registered gun kill of 197,600 with 649,972 licenses sold; experimental antlerless deer hunt in six southern management units to relieve crop damage. 1984 – Big jump in registered kill, fourth record harvest in a row of 255,726 with license sales totaling 657,969; handgun deer hunting allowed in shotgun areas; group hunting legalized.
1985 – Fifth consecutive record kill of 274,302 with 670,329 licenses sold; deer season extended in 21 management units; legislature further strengthens road hunting restrictions.
1986 – Gun deer season now nine days statewide; landowner preference program begins for Hunter’s Choice permits. 1987 – First year of bonus antlerless permits; seven fatalities and 46 hunting incidents.
1988 – Handguns permitted statewide.
1989 – Record registered harvest of 310,192 with 662,280 licenses sold; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.15 million deer; two fatalities and 37 hunting incidents.
1990 – Another record kill of 350,040, including 209,005 antlerless deer; record license sales of 699,275; pre-hunt herd estimate of 1.3 million deer; season extended for seven days in 67 management units.
1991 – Third consecutive year of record harvest, 352,330; hunters allowed to buy more than one antlerless permit; season extended to 72 management units, mostly in the north; first year of separate, seven-day muzzleloader season.
1992 – Though kill fourth highest on record, 288,820, many hunters voice discontent over lack of success and claim DNR raised expectations by pre-hunt harvest prediction of around 370,000; hunters allowed to apply for bonus antlerless permits in more than one unit; Natural Resources Board approves Secretary’s recommendation to keep the gun season at nine days; new metro management units established around La Crosse, Madison and Milwaukee. 1993 – Harvest drops to 217,584, including 100,977 antlerless deer; pre-hunt herd population at 1 million with many units well below prescribed goals; 34 units, mainly in the north, designated as buck-only units; one fatality, 17 hunting incidents. 1994 – Hunters Choice permit availability jumps to 177,340 from 103,140 in 1993; six northwest management units remain buck only; herd beginning to build-up in southern agricultural range.
1995 – Harvest totals 398,002, a new state record; 32 incidents, one fatal; over 577,000 antlerless permits available with 414,000 plus applicants with 163,000 bonus permits offered to hunters; for the first time hunters can use their bonus or Hunter’s Choice permits in either the gun, bow or muzzleloader seasons.
1996 – “Earn a Buck” requirement placed on hunters in 19 deer management units situated in agricultural range where existing deer seasons and permit systems aren’t controlling herd growth; special four-day antlerless only season, state’s first October hunt since 1897, takes place in 19 ‘Earn a Buck’ units, resulting in a kill of 24,954 deer. 1997 – “Earn a Buck” provision scuttled; early Zone T season in seven management units and three state parks results in over 7000 deer killed; the safest gun season even with one fatality and 10 incidents.
1998 – An early October gun season for third year in a row held in one management unit, 67A; harvest of 332,254 is fifth highest; incidents total 19 with two fatalities; most units in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed goals due to the mild winter of 1997-98. 1999 – Early antlerless Zone T deer season held in seven mainly east-central management units and one state park; early archery season is extended through Nov. 18 in Zone T units; pre-hunt herd estimate is 1.5 to 1.6 million deer; 33 management units in the central and southern part of the state are designated ‘watch unit’s that are above population goals and may be designated as Zone T units next year if quota numbers aren’t filled; resident deer license costs $20; non-resident license costs $135; record harvest of 402,204 deer. 2000 – Early four-day Zone T antlerless hunts produces kill of 66,417 deer; 97 of the state’s 132 deer management units listed as Zone T; two free antlerless permits given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; hunters kill a record 528,494 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day, muzzleloader and late antlerless only gun seasons; nine-day gun harvest totals a record 442,581 (170,865 antlered, 271,573 antlerless); 694,957 licensed gun hunters.
2001 – Wisconsin’s pre-hunt population estimated at 1.5 million deer; free antlerless permit given to all hunters buying deer-related licenses; 67 deer management units and nine state parks designated as Zone T; October and December four-day, Zone T antlerless hunt results in kill of 58,107 deer; nine-day gun harvest is the state’s fifth largest, totaling 361,264 (141,942 antlered, 219,260 antlerless); chronic wasting disease (CWD) later identified in three deer harvested in the Dane County Town of Vermont.
2002 – Herd estimate at 1.34 million deer; DNR samples about 41,000 deer during the early Zone T antlerless hunt (Oct. 24-27) and opening weekend (Nov. 23-24) of the nine-day gun season to determine if CWD is present anywhere else in the state besides the Disease Eradication Zone in southwest Wisconsin; expanded hunting opportunities set-up in the CWD Management Zone and a gun deer season slated for Oct. 24 to Jan. 31 in the CWD Eradication Zone; October and November four-day, Zone T antlerless hunts in 25 deer management units produce a harvest of 36,228 deer; hunters register 277,755 deer during the traditional, nine-day season; number of licensed gun hunters drops about 10 percent with much of the decrease attributed to concerns about CWD.
2003 – Fall deer population estimated at 1.4 million; landowners in CWD Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ) can request free permits to harvest deer without a license and receive two buck tags per permit; earn-a-buck (EAB) rules in effect and no bag limits on deer in the CWD management zones; deer hunting license sales up 14 percent over 2002, but down 13 percent when compared to 2001; overall, DNR collects 15,025 samples for disease surveillance with 115 wild deer testing positive for CWD; all but two positives are from the Disease Eradication zones (DEZ) of southwest Wisconsin and Rock County; hunters killed 388,344 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzleloader and land antlerless only deer seasons.
2004 – Many deer management units (DMU’s) in all regions of the state estimated to be above prescribed management goals with 48 DMU’s designated as Zone T and 26 units as EAB; fall deer population estimated at 1.7 million deer; hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (archery or gun) up to a maximum of two; during all seasons, hunters in the CWD DEZ and much larger Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ) are required to kill an antlerless deer before harvesting a buck; hunters kill 413,794 deer during the early antlerless only, nine-day gun, muzzle loader, late antlerless only and CWD zone deer seasons; eight gun deer hunting incidents documented with two fatalities; all incidents are either self-inflicted or shooter and victim were in the same party; hunters set a new record of venison donations by giving 10,938 deer yielding nearly 500,000 pounds of venison for food pantries to feed needy people across the state.
2005 – Forty-five DMU’s designated as Zone T units with unlimited antlerless permits and expanded gun hunting opportunities; hunters issued free antlerless permits for both archery and gun licenses; permits valid in any Zone T and CWD units; hunters in CWD units could get an unlimited number of antlerless permits at the rate of four per day; hunters harvest 387,310 deer during the early October, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined, the eighth highest kill on record; 195,735 deer harvested during the opening weekend (Nov. 19-20) of the nine-day gun season; gun deer sales total 643,676, down one percent from 2004; DNR conducts CWD surveillance survey in the agency’s Northeast Region where 4500 deer are tested and CWD not detected; 14 incidents, including three fatals, during the nine-day season (Nov. 19-27); top five gun deer harvest counties – all located in central Wisconsin--are Marathon (15,871), Clark (13,918), Waupaca (12,260), Shawano (11,748) and Jackson (11,461).
2006 – Statewide harvest quota totals 469,385 antlerless deer; more than 1 million antlerless deer permits issued to reach this quota; all hunters issued one free antlerless permit for each license type (bow and gun) with permits valid in any Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; hunters kill the fifth highest gun total (393,306) during the youth, regular gun, late December and muzzleloader seasons combined; 10 incidents, one fatal, with five self-inflicted and five with shooter and victim in the same party. 2007 – Again, over 1 million antlerless deer permits issued and all hunters again get one free antlerless permit for each license type valid in all Herd Control, EAB and CWD units; nine-day gun season (Nov. 17-25) earliest possible opening day under the current season structure; 402,563 deer killed during all gun seasons is the third highest total on record, surpassed only by 2000 (528,494) and 2004 (413,794).
2008 – The 157th deer season: state’s deer herd estimated between 1.5 and 1.7 million; 57 DMU’s under EAB regulations and hunters must “earn” a buck sticker authorizing them to shoot a buck by first killing an antlerless deer; 51 DMU’s are on the EAB “watch list” meaning they could be designated as EAB units in 2009 if a sufficient number of antlerless deer aren’t harvested; a major change is the CWD DEZ and much larger HRZ have been combined into one CWD-Management Zone (CWD-MZ); most of southern Wisconsin lies within the CWD-MZ boundary and rifles can be used to hunt deer in previously shotgun only areas of the CWD zone; venison donation program available statewide in both the CWD-MZ and non-CWD units. ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Did we think house values could continue to grow every year. Deer numbers and harvest levels couldn't continue upward forever. I am just glad it isn't 1970 any more. We got spoiled with high deer populations.
12-05-2008, 05:18 AM
#29
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nekoosa Wi USA
Posts: 6,066
RE: How was your opening Wisconsin gun hunt?
Handles it wasnt the wind trust me on this. The SE wind is perfect for my property and we didnt see crap all season, and so far only saw 1 this muzzle loader season.
ORIGINAL: Handles
Hunted with my dad for the first time in almost 20 years. The SE wind however absolutely affected our hunt. This was far fewer deer than we expected to see on the weekend, but we were on the SE side of the field (the stand is set up for a NW wind), and it was easy to tell that everything that came outof the woodswas sooner or later alerted to our presence even at the end of the field 365 yards away. Our group did ok shooting6 bucks, and everyone let the smaller ones pass.
Hunted with my dad for the first time in almost 20 years. The SE wind however absolutely affected our hunt. This was far fewer deer than we expected to see on the weekend, but we were on the SE side of the field (the stand is set up for a NW wind), and it was easy to tell that everything that came outof the woodswas sooner or later alerted to our presence even at the end of the field 365 yards away. Our group did ok shooting6 bucks, and everyone let the smaller ones pass.