New for 2018
When it comes to mid-November in Wisconsin, a new set of primary colors takes center stage.
There’s brown, the winter coat worn by white-tailed deer.
And white, the transient mantel of snow on the landscape.
And blaze orange, the hue worn by hunters.
Together they paint a picture of a Wisconsin tradition: deer hunting.
The Wisconsin nine-day gun deer season starts Saturday and runs through Nov. 25.
Mother Nature has done her best to prepare the state for this year’s edition.
At least an inch of snow fell across southern Wisconsin on Friday, and northern portions of the state were covered by greater depths from previous weather systems.
Anticipation is ramping up among the nearly 600,000 hunters expected to participate this year.
“It’s sure looking and feeling like deer season,” said Jim Smukowski, 49, of Oconomowoc. “Can’t wait to get to deer camp.”
Smukowski is planning to join about 20 other hunters, including his 81-yearold father, Jerry Smukowski, at The Roost, a Richland County property and cabin owned by Lloyd Purnell of Pewaukee and Mike Purnell of Oconomowoc.
The conditions there, and across most of Wisconsin, are favorable for deer hunters, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
Deer populations are good to high in most of the state, according to wildlife managers.
Just one county (Iron) has buck-only regulations, the lowest number since the county-specific deer management system began in 2013, and a reflection of the recovery of the northern deer herd.
In much of the rest of the state, hunters are eligible to receive multiple free antlerless deer permits in their county of choice.
Here is a preview of the season: winters, heavier snows and colder temperatures were measured across much of the north in 2017-’18, according to the DNR.
However, except for a relatively small area centered on Iron County and diminishing outward, most of the north experienced moderate winter conditions while the southern two-thirds of the state received considerably less snowfall, more mild temperatures and little impact on the deer herd.
This year was marked by high precipitation and an excellent growing season that is providing abundant food sources for deer and other wildlife, according to the agency.
Reports from across the state indicate plentiful deer sightings “fueling enthusiasm of good prospects for Wisconsin’s deer hunting seasons in 2018,” the DNR said in its preseason report.
Last year hunters killed 197,733 deer in the nine-day gun season, including 99,002 bucks and 98,731 antlerless deer, according to DNR records.
The 2017 harvest was on par with 2016 (197,604).
But notably, hunter participation was down last year.
The agency sold 588,387 gun licenses, a drop of 10,420 from 2016 and the lowest in 41 years.
There are relatively few regulation changes for this season.
One has to do with terminology - deer tags are now called harvest authorizations. The change was necessitated when physical carcass tags (paper or plastic) were eliminated.
Among other changes, the boundaries in several deer management zones, deer management units and metro sub-units were modified in 2018. In southeastern Wisconsin, the metro sub-units in Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties were adjusted.
In addition, the archery and crossbow deer seasons have been extended in several deer management units and will close Jan. 31.
Last, baiting and feeding regulations have changed in several counties following new findings of chronic wasting disease. No baiting or feeding is allowed in the 55 counties considered “CWD-affected.”
In all cases, consult the DNR regulations for the latest rules and regulations.
As a reminder of changes instituted in recent seasons, hunters no longer are required to wear back tags and no longer must take deer to physical registration stations.
But hunters must still possess a valid license and register the animal.
All harvested deer must be registered by 5 p.m. the day after the game is recovered.
Hunters can register deer online at GameReg.WI.Gov or by phone at (844) 426-3734.