Crossbows propel record buck kill
The data will trickle in for another few weeks, but it's not too early to gauge the 2020 Wisconsin deer hunting seasons.
Participation was good, with 820,299 deer hunting licenses of all types sold, a 3% increase from 2019, according to the Department of Natural Resources. The uptick is likely part of the COVID-19 effect that led to more participation in all sectors of outdoor recreation during the coronavirus pandemic.
And hunters registered 188,712 deer during the nine-day gun deer hunting
season, still the big kahuna among Wisconsin hunting seasons. The 2020 gun kill was a 16% increase from the previous year but 9% below the 10-year average. All in all, a decent season.
But when it comes to numbers that really stand out, one word dominates: crossbows.
For the fourth consecutive year, hunters using crossbows killed more white-tailed deer in Wisconsin than those using vertical bows, according to 2020 preliminary data.
And for the second consecutive year, bowhunters overall (crossbow plus vertical bow) smashed the Wisconsin record for number of bucks taken with a bolt or arrow.
That record would not have been set without crossbows.
It's part of a continuing trend toward increased crossbow use by hunters since the equipment became legal for all hunters in Wisconsin in the 2014 season. Previously crossbows were restricted to hunters with physical disabilities and those over age 65.
The equipment has been increasingly embraced by deer hunters since it is easier to use and doesn't require as much practice as a vertical bow.
For the 2020 Wisconsin hunting seasons, hunters using crossbows registered 62,824 deer, including 36,766 bucks and 26,058 antlerless deer, while the vertical bow kill was 45,932 (26,635 and 19,297, respectively).
The numbers are as of Dec. 29 and will change slightly as additional deer are registered in the coming weeks.
More bow hunters are choosing crossbows since they became legal in 2014, because they are easier to use than vertical bows.
Most bow hunting concluded Sunday; some counties offer an extended season through the end of January.
History shows the additional kill in January is relatively small and does not alter the makeup of the harvest.
The high number of crossbow deer registrations isn't a surprise since it continues a trend observed since 2014. However, the 2020 data are notable to underscore the widening gap between crossbow and vertical bow harvests.
When the bow kill is evaluated from 2014 through 2020, crossbows have accounted for 33%, 39%, 45%, 51%, 54%, 55% and 58% of the harvest. It's now become a given in Wisconsin that more deer will be registered by crossbow hunters than vertical bow users.
Crossbow use has also been the driving force behind record buck kills by bowhunters in recent years.
For the 2020 season, bowhunters registered 63,401 bucks (36,766 with crossbows and 26,635 with vertical bows) through late December, topping the previous high of 54,380 in 2019.
Although some hunters have criticized crossbow users of primarily targeting bucks, the complaints are unfounded.
Registration data show the behavior of crossbow users and vertical bow users has been nearly identical in recent years.
For 2020 bucks were 58.5% of the crossbow kill and 58% of the vertical bow kill. In 2019 it was 58% and 58%, respectively, and in 2018 it was 55% and 54%.
While increased crossbow use has caused some major changes in Wisconsin deer hunting, it's important to note two things: They haven't been linked to a significant increase in deer hunters, which some proponents had touted before the state law was changed; and as popular as crossbows are, they are only tools.
Even with crossbows added to the mix over the last seven seasons, antlerless deer harvests have still fallen short of goals set by state wildlife managers and county deer advisory councils.
That would likely take adding new, more effective tools to the DNR's tool box.
For perspective, the Wisconsin record bow kill of 116,010 was achieved in 2007 when Earn-A-Buck regulations were in place. Bowhunters that year killed a relatively modest 38,011 bucks but a whopping 77,999 antlerless deer.
And that was just bowhunters. Gun hunters killed 402,563 deer that year, including 269,432 antlerless.
Data show Earn-A-Buck, which required hunters to register an antlerless deer prior to shooting a buck, was the most successful hunting tool in state history for reducing deer numbers.
It was banned by the Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker in 2011.
No regulation has surfaced to successfully take EAB's place in counties where the "reduce" deer goal has been set by local councils.
But that's a bigger issue than equipment choice.
Crossbows, if you didn't know by now, are here to stay in Wisconsin.