(WFRV) – The numbers from Wisconsin’s nine-day gun deer hunt were released, and totals show a decrease from the previous year.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released the statistics from the 2021 nine-day gun deer hunt. The numbers are broken down into preliminary license sales totals, preliminary registration totals and hunting incidents.
License Sales Totals
The DNR says that year-to-date sales for all deer licenses are down 1.5% from 2020. License sales reached 808,224, of that, 564,440 were for gun privileges.
60% of the licenses were purchased online and the remaining amount was sold in-person through transactions at DNR license agents locations.
Registration Totals
The total firearm deer harvest was down 7.9% statewide. Antlerless harvest was down 13.2%. Hunters reportedly registered 175,667 deer during the nine-day season.
The numbers for each zone are listed below.
| Preliminary 2021 Nine-Day Season Harvest Totals | ||
| Deer Management Zone | 2021 Nine-Day Deer Harvested | Percent Change from 2020 |
| Northern Forest Zone | Antlered: 19,602 | 14.9% |
| Antlerless: 12,595 | 1.7% | |
| Central Forest Zone | Antlered: 3,307 | -1.7% |
| Antlerless: 2,460 | -4.7% | |
| Central Farmland Zone | Antlered: 44,610 | -1.8% |
| Antlerless: 54,909 | -14.0% | |
| Southern Farmland Zone | Antlered: 17,433 | -13.8% |
| Antlerless: 20,751 | -19.5% | |
| Total Preliminary Harvest Registrations | Antlered: 84,952 | -1.3% |
| Antlerless: 90,715 | -13.2% | |
| Total: 175,667 | -7.9% |
There are additional hunting opportunities including:
- Nov. 29 to Dec. 8 – Statewide muzzleloader hunt
- Dec. 9 to Dec. 11 – Statewide four-day antlerless-only hunt
- Dec. 24 to Jan. 1, 2022 – Nine-day antlerless-only holiday hunt in select Farmland Zone counties
- Now to Jan. 9, 2022 – Remaining archery and crossbow seasons
- Jan. 10 to Jan. 31, 2022 – Extended archery and crossbow seasons in select Farmland Zone counties
Hunting Incidents
There were a total of six hunting incidents ranging from Door County to Juneau County. A 65-year-old man died after he was shot in the chest in Saxon.
More information can be found on the DNR’s website.
