MADISON – A survey of Wisconsin deer registration stations conducted by the state Department of Natural Resources has yielded a preliminary tally of 195,647 for the just-ended, nine-day November gun deer hunt. This includes a buck tally of 86,251 and an antlerless tally of 109,396.
This number is preliminary and is expected change before a final report is published in late winter. It does not include harvest information from the archery, October antlerless gun deer hunt, muzzleloader, December antlerless deer gun hunt or late archery seasons. The preliminary harvest count in 2008 was 276,895.
“Deer populations are variable throughout the state,” said Keith Warnke, DNR’s big game biologist, “and we believe people when they say they did not see deer in their hunting area. We have also received reports from successful camps. As always, local populations make all the difference.
“Wildlife management and especially deer management is a process of continual adjustment. In response to hunter input we adjusted seasons this year to reflect lower populations across the north and central forests and suspended EAB in many areas.”
DNR wildlife officials anticipated the total harvest would be down due to changes in season structure that significantly reduced the antlerless deer harvest, lower fawn production and tough weather conditions for deer and hunters alike. In some northeastern units it was not possible to shoot an antlerless deer and in other northern region units the small supply of bonus antlerless deer tags did not meet demand. Careful adjustment of antlerless tag numbers is an important tool in managing deer numbers.
“There are still days to hunt in 2009 in herd control units where deer are above goal and in CWD units. The muzzleloader hunt is underway and the December antlerless hunt is around the corner.”
In February, DNR biologists will compare unit-level harvest numbers against overwinter population estimates and will adjust the recommended season structure for 2010 to address any significant trends.
“A pillar of Wisconsin deer management is the accurate harvest figures provided by hunters,” said DNR wildlife biologist Jeff Pritzl. “Periods of stable deer populations have always been relatively short-lived in Wisconsin. Mandatory deer registration allows us to respond quickly to changing population levels. We have annually adapted our harvest strategies, and will continue to do so in consideration of what the 2009 harvest tells us about the deer population.”
“This year, in response to hunter input, we moved 29 units from earn-a-buck to herd control status and 38 units from herd control to regular unit status. The total number of regular units grew from 21 in 2008 to 59 this year.” said Warnke. “The result was inevitably less antlerless opportunity and lower antlerless harvest numbers.”
A table of county by county (pdf; 39kb) harvest broken down by DNR region, with a comparison to the 2008 preliminary harvest is available on the DNR Web site.
Young hunters prove themselves safe and responsible
“What is really exciting, is the 9,907 mentored hunting licenses purchased by 10- and 11-year olds,” said Diane Brookbank, chief of DNR’s licensing and customer service unit. “These are the future hunters and conservationists that will step into the woods in place of the hunting ‘retirees’ as our population ages.”
Wardens reported no firearm incidents among these young hunters.
Hunt fourth safest in history
DNR hunter education administrator and conservation warden Tim Lawhern said there were seven hunting incidents during the nine-day gun hunt. A possible eighth incident remains under investigation.
"Our hearts go out to the families whose loved ones suffered injury during the hunting season,” said Lawhern. “Our goal is to eliminate all injury and loss of life while hunting. Every incident is investigated to learn what happened so we can work to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Self-inflicted gunshot injuries accounted for 57 percent (4 of 7) of this season’s incidents. Deer drives contributed to 25 percent of all incidents. Both categories and all firearm related incidents can be attributed to failure to observe one of the basic rules of firearm safety according to Lawhern.
Still, noted Lawhern, hunting remains a safe sport and has gotten safer over time as more and more hunters are graduates of hunter safety education courses. This is especially true in Wisconsin where the incident rate for hunters is well below the national average. The incident rate for 2009 in Wisconsin was 1.11 incidents per 100,000 hunters – the national average is 3 per 100,000.
“This was the fourth safest season ever and the fourth time in history that we’ve had a gun deer season with less than 10 incidents,” said Lawhern, “Nonetheless, our goal is zero incidents.”
More than 638,000 gun deer licenses sold
DNR’s automated License Issuance System, known as ALIS, peaked at 200 transactions per minute at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before gun season. The 638,040 gun licenses sold through the end of the season on Nov 29 represent a near identical number of hunters as in 2008 when 642,419 hunters hit the woods.
•Nearly one in five hunters age 15 and younger is female and women bought 8.6 percent of all gun licenses sold
•All 50 states are represented in license sales with the highest number of nonresident hunters coming from Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan.
•The most licenses were sold in Dane County.
•All ages participate with over 54,000 hunters age 65 and older buying licenses.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=1511
News Release Published: December 1, 2009 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Keith Warnke (608) 264-6023
Showing posts with label late season deer hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label late season deer hunting. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Late Season Deer Hunting Tactics
Hunt the Early Season Stands - Many deer hunters during the regular season the first few days or weekends of the season and then bag their deer or run out of time. These hunting spots have been untouched for a period of time and the smartest of deer will know this. Areas you know that haven’t been hunted or have received little disturbance since early to mid season are great spots to check back into as these spot may seem obvious but rarely get hunted from the early season on.
Let the Moon be Your Guide - Even though there is a lot of talk about this during the early season, late season hunting will require you pay even more attention to the moon phases. Deer naturally become more nocturnal during the winter in part because of the energy benefits they receive by resting during the day when it’s a bit warmer and moving around to feed at night when the temperature is at its coldest. Pay special attention to the nights where there is less moonlight and nights with heavy cloud cover, deer will be making the move in the mornings to get back to bedding areas in the morning. Remember that during the late season, deer will require less food so bites to eat will become quicker and less frequent.
Hunting the Weather Fronts – Cold weather and cold fronts will push deer to look for food or a bedding area. Cold weather requires high energy consumption so watch for cold fronts coming through and either get out in front of it or grab that chilly morning to sit. Mature bucks may try to ride out the cold front but even mature bucks will need to replenish the energy they are spending to staying warm so consecutive nights of chilly weather will make the mornings a great time to catch that big guy looking for a quick bite to eat.
Deer Pattern You – Like I stated above, stands, or areas that you or others hunted in your area, get away from them and hunt the areas that have not seen pressure. Deer pattern people as much or more than people pattern deer. Find un-hunted travel corridors as well as wooded creeks and swamps that deer love. Mature bucks may walk across a property without being spotted, even if it means going across a wide open field where he knows you are not. Consider hunting untraditional areas at untraditional times, especially during a full moon. During a full moon, deer move more during mid-day, and if you are in the travel line less traveled, you may just get that big guy to walk right on by.
Post Rut Bucks - Although early winter creates harsh conditions with low temperatures, rain and snow, it is one of the few times during the year when bucks carrying trophy racks may be seen together. Because the rut is over the bucks are no longer antagonistic toward each other, and they often begin to reform the bachelor groups they were in before the rut. They are also in search of high quality foods, in order to gain back the weight they lost during the rut. This combination of factors provides late season hunters the opportunity to see several bucks, including some that are trophy class, together on a regular basis.
Let the Moon be Your Guide - Even though there is a lot of talk about this during the early season, late season hunting will require you pay even more attention to the moon phases. Deer naturally become more nocturnal during the winter in part because of the energy benefits they receive by resting during the day when it’s a bit warmer and moving around to feed at night when the temperature is at its coldest. Pay special attention to the nights where there is less moonlight and nights with heavy cloud cover, deer will be making the move in the mornings to get back to bedding areas in the morning. Remember that during the late season, deer will require less food so bites to eat will become quicker and less frequent.
Hunting the Weather Fronts – Cold weather and cold fronts will push deer to look for food or a bedding area. Cold weather requires high energy consumption so watch for cold fronts coming through and either get out in front of it or grab that chilly morning to sit. Mature bucks may try to ride out the cold front but even mature bucks will need to replenish the energy they are spending to staying warm so consecutive nights of chilly weather will make the mornings a great time to catch that big guy looking for a quick bite to eat.
Deer Pattern You – Like I stated above, stands, or areas that you or others hunted in your area, get away from them and hunt the areas that have not seen pressure. Deer pattern people as much or more than people pattern deer. Find un-hunted travel corridors as well as wooded creeks and swamps that deer love. Mature bucks may walk across a property without being spotted, even if it means going across a wide open field where he knows you are not. Consider hunting untraditional areas at untraditional times, especially during a full moon. During a full moon, deer move more during mid-day, and if you are in the travel line less traveled, you may just get that big guy to walk right on by.
Post Rut Bucks - Although early winter creates harsh conditions with low temperatures, rain and snow, it is one of the few times during the year when bucks carrying trophy racks may be seen together. Because the rut is over the bucks are no longer antagonistic toward each other, and they often begin to reform the bachelor groups they were in before the rut. They are also in search of high quality foods, in order to gain back the weight they lost during the rut. This combination of factors provides late season hunters the opportunity to see several bucks, including some that are trophy class, together on a regular basis.
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