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2008 Opening Day Deer Hunting Report

MADISON – Cold, but nearly ideal hunting conditions – except for a lack of tracking snow in most of the state – greeted hunters for the opening of the 2008 Wisconsin regular nine-day deer hunting season. Temperatures were below zero in northern Wisconsin when the season opened at 30 minutes before sunrise Saturday. But temperatures warmed throughout the day and most areas of the state reported it was a near ideal opening day.

People working at many places that register deer for the Department of Natural Resources reported that throughout the day activity was slower than normal, likely because, with the cold weather, there was no need to rush in to register deer to preserve the meat. Deer could be left hanging at deer camps, allowing hunters to stay in the field. Many stations reported that they expected to be swamped with registration activity after sunset.

DNR Secretary Matt Frank was out in south central Wisconsin visiting hunters and DNR staff at registration stations on opening morning. He said spirits were up and Wisconsin's strong hunting heritage was evident everywhere.

“I loved hearing hunter's stories. The stations I visited were constantly busy -- even at mid-morning. And everyone I talked to said they were going back out to continue hunting.

“What was really gratifying was seeing our next generation of hunters taking their place. I especially enjoyed the chance to visit with the youngsters who brought in their first bucks at Sauk Prairie and Barneveld. Congratulations to all hunters for keeping our heritage strong. I wish them all success and an enjoyable and safe hunting experience in our great outdoors,” Frank said.

DNR Wildlife Management Director Tom Hauge called in from his ridge-top stand near Ithaca. “There are dry leaves so you can certainly hear the crunch as deer walk,” he said. So far, he hadn’t gotten a deer yet, but the rest of his nine-person hunting party was doing better, including nephew Kent Genter of Stoughton who had taken a 10-point buck. “I hear from the rest of the gang it has a nice 18-inch inside spread.

Hauge said the power of Wisconsin’s $1 billion deer hunting industry was clearly evident in Richland Center where he was staying. He said a local restaurant, Peaches, was packed with hunters for Friday fish fry, and the Starlight Motel where he was staying was all hunters, and it emptied impressively before dawn as hunters headed to their stands.

Some bitter cold temperatures were reported in far northern Wisconsin. At Hurley, in Iron County, “opening morning was tough to be a hunter,” reported DNR wildlife biologist Bruce Bacon. “It was 8 below zero so hunter activity was minimal.” Bacon said things turned round by midday. “It was nice and sunny, in the low 20s, with 6 to 10 inches of snow on the ground. Everything was good. It’s probably a 9 out of 10 opener…very huntable.”

Ken Jonas, DNR wildlife biologist at Hayward reported an out-of-state hunter got a two-fer. “One person who came out from Pennsylvania shot two deer with one shot, a buck and a doe. They were just lined up perfectly. He wasn’t thinking of doing it, he shot and they both went down.

Steve Klock, DNR wildlife technician registering deer in Dundee reported two of the biggest deer were brought in by two 13-year-old hunters. One shot a 10-point and one 13-point buck. “Those were some happy boys and their dads were beaming too,” Klock said.

Wildlife biologists working in Earn-a-Buck areas reported many hunters had taken advantage of prequalification by having shot an antlerless deer either last year, during archery, or during the early October antlerless hunt.

Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern, out working enforcement in Clark County, said he and his partner, Warden Randy Dunkel, heard a lot of shooting and saw a lot of happy hunters, and few violations. As of the time of publication, no hunting incidents had been reported in the state.

Lawhern reminds hunters that most incidents can be credited to failing to follow one or more of the four basic firearm safety rules. He urged hunters to keep them in mind as the season progresses:

License sales were brisk on Friday

“She’s humming,” exclaimed Licensing Director Diane Brookbank as she watched DNR’s Automated License Issuance System, known as ALIS, peak at 201 licenses sold per minute at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday before gun deer season.

Just before dawn today, 631,223 hunters hit the woods with a license to participate in the 2008 nine-day gun deer season. The nation’s economic woes were no match for Wisconsin’s strong hunting heritage. The number of resident hunters was up 1,633 from last year, and nonresident visitors are down by just 162.

The long custom of buying a license on the way to deer camp is also in tact. Over 45 percent – nearly half-- of all deer hunters purchased a license in the eight days preceding the gun deer opener. 12 percent purchased theirs on the Friday before the opener.

Of the hunters hitting the woods today:

• 595,926 (94 percent) were residents and 35,297 were nonresidents.
• When 203,571 bow deer license sales are added to deer gun totals, deer hunting participation is at 835,000, a slight increase over 2007. And additional licenses will likely be sold this week and during late bow, muzzle loader, December and “holiday” hunts that are still to come.
• Hunters throughout the U.S. and several foreign countries purchased a Wisconsin gun deer license. The highest number of nonresident hunters came from Minnesota (16,631), Illinois (8,910), Michigan (1,102), and Florida (985), each having increased in participation over last year.
• Youth hunters aged 12-17 represent 11 percent of the total number of deer hunters, and 8.1 percent of the total hunters are female.
• The most deer licenses were sold in Dane County (28,318), with Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties following.
• All ages participate in the hunt. More than 53,000 hunters are age 65 or older. 23 percent of the total are between the ages of 12 and 25. The ages most represented were 47 and 48.
• More than 132,000 antlerless deer tags have been sold this year.

Deer license and permit sales will continue through the hunting seasons.

“We’re here for you”

Hunters are taking advantage of DNR’s seven-day-per-week call center. Taking the motto “We’re here for you” at its word, hunters were on the phone to operators at the crack of business today, calling at 7 a.m. from tree stands, deer camps and fields—sounding excited, happy and a few, pretty cold.

A notable call was received from a female hunter early Saturday morning asking in a nervous, quiet whisper, “I have an albino deer in my sights right now, is it legal for me to shoot it?” [The answer is only in the Chronic Wasting Disease Zone, otherwise it is illegal to shoot an albino deer.] Operators also were busy helping hunters find registration stations, explaining earn-a-buck restrictions and clarifying rules and regulations.

During the week prior to the opener, the Customer Service Call Center was receiving 1,200 to 1,400 calls per day, peaking at more than 2,000 on the Friday before the opener. The call center handles nearly 230,000 a year, with 30 percent received on nights and weekends.

Call center staff are available to serve customers from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m., seven days a week by calling 1-888-WDNR INFo (1-888-936-7463) or online at [dnr.wi.gov]. Spanish and Hmong service is available.

DNR call center staff manning the poacher hotline was also kept busy Saturday with reports of hunters shooting from the road, baiting violations, and ATV’s on public land. Hunters wishing to report a violation can call 24 hours a day and seven days a week at 1(800)TIP-WDNR [800-847-9367] or cell #367.

Opening day reports by DNR Region

Ashland County

Butternut - Kathy Ernst at Butternut Feed Mill said they had only registered about 13 deer by 2 p.m., down from past years. “But it’s hard to tell. It’s very early.” And the weather was very cold: 8 below zero this morning, and about 20 degrees by 2 p.m., with a dusting of snow. The feed mill had just registered a nice buck – the hunter had early success, shooting the deer before he even reached his deer stand. “He was very happy. The deer was an 8-point buck with an 18-inch spread.”

Barron County

Mikana - Geri Lauerman, owner of Mikana General Store, said that business had been slow so far, compared to the other four seasons she’s registered deer. “I have 52 registered -- 29 bucks and 23 does. By 2 o’clock we’re normally pushing 200, but who’s to say they won’t catch up tonight. They aren’t seeing deer, plain and simple. There’s nothing out there. All of the deer have looked good, very healthy, not torn up. We’ve had a 182-pound, nine-point buck, field dressed. The base of the horn was big -- I could not touch my forefinger to my thumb. We also had a nine-point, 201 pounder, field dressed. Clayton McTaggart, 13, got his first deer, a 175 pound, nine-point buck with a huge rack, heavy base. It is a beautiful deer. He was very quiet -- all he did was smile. He was hunting with his father and his father’s best friend. Neither the dad nor his friend got a deer. Weather conditions were cold and clear. It’s actually a pretty nice hunting day. I guess we couldn’t ask for a better day."

Bayfield County

Drummond - Linda Cline of Wild Things Taxidermy reported registering 11 deer by 2:15 p.m., down considerably from normal. “We were pleasantly surprised to see the numbers (of hunters) showing up here. We had an absolutely pitiful bear season. People were not able to afford the trip with gas at $4 a gallon.” She says hunters reported not seeing many deer. She thinks numbers are down because of predation by black bears. “We’re seeing an awful lot of dry does this fall, which tells me the fawns got eaten, and black bear are the major predators. A lot of hunters are complaining about not seeing bucks or bucks of any size. I think it’s directly attributable to T-zone hunts.” She also said that hunters reported seeing a lot of wolves, pushing the deer around. Most of the deer registered thus far were yearlings. There was one buck that was an eight-pointer. She’s hoping business picks up, but said, “I’m not going to hold my breath. We just don’t have the deer population there has been.”

Editor’s note: Bruce Bacon, DNR wildlife biologist in Mercer, said that predators play a role in the deer populations hunters were seeing this year in some areas, but last winter’s severe weather played a bigger role. Lower fawn numbers were predicted and correlate to the small antler size we’ve seen in the bucks. We’ve seen over the years that winter has a greater effect on deer populations than predators, although there are a lot of predators besides humans that like to eat venison – bears and wolves, coyotes, bobcat, even fishers. We do have a big bear population and they contribute to deer mortality. We’re addressing that with new bear estimates and increased harvest in the future. The number of fawns per does would have dropped without a single predator on the landscape because of the severe winter, however. The winter severity index was 100 points in 2007-2008. Typically in the 1960s and 1970s, when we had more frequent severe winters, that number was in 90s. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were years when the winter severity index didn’t get above 50 points.

Burnett County

Webster - At Connor’s Marathon, Vicki Burton had registered 60 deer by 2:45 p.m. and was expecting business to pick up considerably in the evening hours. “Sometimes we get six to seven trucks backed up.” Thirty-five of the deer she registered were antlerless. Local resident Donald Reese brought in a big 14-pointer. A couple of 8-pointers were also brought in.

Douglas County

Gordon – At the Tradin’ Post, Randy Moey reported at 3 p.m. that registration was slow. “We’re down about 130. Usually about dark we get swamped, so I’m assuming we might make up that 100 then. The people have been saying they’ve been seeing a lot of hunters but not a lot of deer. We’ve only registered 55. We had a couple of nice 10 pointers. What was nice was one of them was taken by a first-time hunter. Another little guy, Joseph Croley, got an eight pointer, just a dandy. The kids were ecstatic. They were hunting with their fathers and uncles. Now the only problem they have is they’ve got to listen to the little guy all week: “What’s so hard about this?” Steve Rankila shot a nice 10 pointer and his nephew was the first-time hunter who got the 10 pointer.

Balsam Lake – Wildlife Biologist Michelle Carlisle said the registration station where she was aging deer produced an opening day story that’s hard to beat. “We had an older gentleman who saw five deer come out into a clearing and he was able to harvest three of them. He was as pleased as punch. The deer were all great looking.” As of 3 p.m., registrations were slow but steady. The most common comment she heard from hunters was there wasn’t as much shooting this morning as compared to last year. A lot of younger deer were brought in for Carlisle to age. She had been aging a lot of younger deer, with the oldest so far 3 year old. They were all pretty healthy. “We have great deer here. Beautiful deer and good to eat.” She said hunting conditions were pretty good. “This morning when I woke up it was 19 degrees and there was a very light dusting of snow, not enough to improve conditions for tracking. It was pretty to see and it got me excited to go out in my stand. There were light to moderate winds. It was pretty chilly. I got a doe fawn at 8 a.m.“

Florence County

Aurora – Heather at the C and R Bar said registration had been slow, 15 or 16 deer by 3:30 p.m. We had one nice nine-pointer and an eight-point buck. There was a little bit of snow on the ground and it was a little nippy. The number of hunters coming in on Friday seemed to be down a little, but not a lot. “It was busy to a point, but not like normal.

Iron County

Hurley – “Opening morning was tough to be a hunter,” reported DNR wildlife biologist Bruce Bacon at 3:45 p.m. “It was 8 below zero so hunter activity was minimal. Now it’s a beautiful day, nice and sunny, in the low 20s, with 6 to 10 inches of snow on the ground. The roads are all really good. So access is good. Everything is good. It’s probably a 9 out of 10 opener. This is very huntable. So I’m guessing this afternoon, the hunters will do quite well. We did have a long winter last year, so deer numbers are down and antler development is sub par -- and that’s what hunters are reporting. One boy, he couldn’t be 12 or 13, shot a deer and it took him two hours of tracking to get it. A little guy, he was proud of the doe he got and really worked for it.”

Lincoln County

Tomahawk – DNR Public Affairs Manager Jim Bishop, hunting at his camp near Tomahawk, reported it was very cold when the season opened: “Zero degrees at sun-up, with heavy frost on trees. The trees were cracking everywhere because of the ice on the branches.” Deer were in post rut condition, Bishop said, with no signs of scrapes on the ground at all. By mid morning, it had turned into a “beautiful day...not a cloud in the sky.” There was just a smattering of snow on the ground. It warmed up to 25 degrees by mid-day, and the wind was picking up to 5 to 10 miles per hour. Conditions are not super for sitting on a stand. Bishop said he heard the fewest number of shots that he has ever heard off his stand, just five shots all morning.

Oneida County

Hazelhurst – At ICO Amoco, Joe said about 60 deer had been registered by mid afternoon, even does and bucks. He noted that hunting conditions were “pretty good” with about 3 inches of snow on the ground, chilly and a south wind of 5 to 10 mph. He said the deer looked pretty good, except for the first one he registered this morning. “It had been hit in the face by a porcupine. Ouch. Kind of wakes you up.” He noted that registrations were slower than last year, probably setting up a “mad rush” for the evening.

Polk County

St. Croix Falls – Tammy at Jorgas Food Mart said they had registered 10 deer by mid afternoon, 10 of them does. “Kinda’ slow,” she said, “We’re bracing for the evening.” She noted hunting conditions at the opener were good, no snow, 25 degress and a light wind.

Price County

Ogema – At Raab’s Extra Innings, Sandy said things were pretty slow. They had registered 15 antlerless and 19 bucks by mid-afternoon. “It’s cold and there’s no reason for them to bring the meat in, my opinion,” she said. She said hunting conditions at opening were cold, “about 0 degrees, I think,” with only a trace of tracking snow in the woods and a light wind. “It’s going pretty good, but some hunters are saying they aren’t seeing deer; they may not be moving.”

Rusk County

Glen Flora – Marty at Edming Oil said they had registered 38 deer – even bucks and does – by mid-afternoon. She said it was very cold, “and getting worse because the wind is picking up now.” There was no tracking snow. Mark Schmidt, DNR Wildlife Biologist aging deer at Edming Oil, said the deer looked “just great, with some really, really nice bucks. A little older than in other years – a lot of 2-and-a-half to 3-and-a-half-year olds.” He noted that he aged one 9 to 12-year-old doe. “She looked really great, healthy, and she was lactating, so she had fawns this year,” he said. “Everything is going really well – hunters say they are seeing a lot of deer. Having a good time,” he said.

Sawyer County

Hayward - DNR wildlife biologist Ken Jonas was at a registration station in Hayward when an out-of-state hunter got a two-fer. “One person who came out from Pennsylvania shot two deer with one shot, a buck and a doe. They were just lined up perfectly. He wasn’t thinking of doing it, he shot and they both went down. He was really excited. They had been hunting on a local farm and came in with four deer in their truck. Jonas was pleasantly surprised by the number of deer registered by 3:30. It’s fairly nice up here, and when the sun is shining, people will sit in the woods a long time. I’m expecting a rush just after quitting time. He was busy aging deer and taking lymph nodes to check deer health. I’ve seen a fair number of heavily antlered bucks.

Winter – At the Flambeau Forest Inn, Dan shared what he could between customers. He said he had registered 15 deer, but it was early and he expected more at the sun set and the cold drove hunters in. He noted hunting conditions at the opener were cold, no tracking snow and no wind.

Shawano County

Bowler – Owner Georgia of Bowler Foodland said the hunters “are a very happy, giddy bunch on a deer hunting high here.” She noted they look forward to deer season every year, and business triples for them at that time. By mid afternoon, she had registered 73 deer, most of them bucks, “and some really nice, big bucks. One of the first people in registering a buck today was a little gal on her first hunt. She got a nice buck hunting with her dad. He didn’t get anything, but he was way more excited than she was,” she said.

Taylor County

Perkinstown – Nancy at Rock Point Bait and Convenience Story said hunters say they aren’t seeing deer. Nonetheless, she had registered 64 deer – even bucks and does – by mid-afternoon. She said bucks included 2 10-pointers, a 9-point and quite a few 8-pointers. She reported hunting conditions were “cold and cold, and colder because the wind picked up at sunrise.” She noted that registrations were down compared to what they had seen in their 12 years registering deer. “Hunters will be coming in to warm up, we’ll see then.”

Vilas County

Conover – Ron at Northern Waters Angling and Archery said registration were slow, with 28 deer, 14 of them bucks, registered by mid-afternoon. He noted that archery registrations in the area were down compared to previous years, too. He said hunting conditions at the opener were 12 degrees below zero, 3 or 4 inches of snow, and no wind, “It was nice out,” he said. He noted that hunters had been in looking for doe tags. Jim Baughman, DNR Forester out of Eagle River, was at the store aging deer. He confirmed it was slow, but the deer he had seen looked healthy. “I don’t know, guys may not be coming in because it’s cold and they don’t have to worry about the venison spoiling.”

Washburn County

Minong – Sue at Sportsman’s Headquarters said registrations were running a little slow, with 70 deer in by mid-afternoon. DNR Wildlife Tech Gary Dunsmoor out of Spooner said things were slower than previous years at Sportsman’s, but noted that afternoon conditions in the woods were “almost perfect,” in the 20s and clear and “really nice for sitting and waiting for a deer to come along.” He predicted registrations would pick up. He noted that of registered deer, more were young and spike bucks, “common in the area and a little north in the sand country.”

DNR Northeastern Region

Calumet County

Kiel – Mike, owner of Mike’s Bait and Gun said he’d registered 73 deer by 3:45 p.m. compared to 114 total registrations for opening day last year. Hunters coming in said judging on the number of hunters and amount of shooting it seemed more like the second weekend of the season rather than the first. Hunters did report some rutting activity but it did not appear widespread.

Fond-du-Lac County

Rosendale – Rog at the PC Travel Store in Rosendale reported registration was slow compared to last year and Mark Randall, DNR wildlife biologist aging deer at the station confirmed that adding that he expected a rush to start any time as hunters began heading in from the woodlots and marshes in the area. He also noted that the marshes in the area were not quite frozen over yet so they weren’t being driven and deer were probably sitting tight in the cattails recovering from the rut. Hunters who did bring in deer early had some real trophies according to Randle. One 8-point buck had a 22-inch inside spread. Randle estimated the deer to be a 5-year-old. “A lot of hunters around here practice Quality Deer Management,” said Randle, “so we tend to see more older larger deer at this station.”

Kewaunee County

Sturgeon Bay – Brian Woodbury, DNR wildlife biologist, was registering and aging deer in Sturgeon Bay. Deer coming into the station were from management units 80A and 80B which together cover all of Door and a good piece of Kewaunee counties. Both counties are in the earn-a-buck season structure and most hunters bringing in bucks had prequalified for a buck sticker and were able to bag the first deer they saw that they liked. Woodbury said they’d registered roughly 100 deer by about 2 p.m. He was seeing a number of nice 2 and 3-year-old bucks. Hunters were saying that at least in units 80A and 80B they were still seeing rutting activity with bucks actively following does. In addition to aging deer a team from the Department of Health and University of Wisconsin were there asking hunters for permission to examine their deer for deer ticks as part of a Lyme disease study.

Manitowoc County

Manitowoc - Jeff Pritzl NER wildlife supervisor who was aging deer at the Mobile 310 registration station north of Manitowoc said registrations started slow probably due to near ideal conditions. “The only thing that could make it better would be some snow on the ground,” he said. Hunters began showing up to register deer at a steady rate about 12:30 p.m. and said that they’d been hearing quite a bit of shooting. Most of the deer coming in to Pritzl’s station were from an Earn-a-Buck unit and he said that most hunters already had buck stickers having used the prequalification option for shooting an antlerless deer either last year or during the archery or antlerless gun hunts this year. So far there hadn’t been any really old deer registered and Pritzl said that in his estimation antler growth on the bucks was a little below average. He attributed that to the tough winter last year saying that reduced antler growth in was one effect of a hard winter.

Collins Marsh - Aaron Buchholz, DNR wildlife biologist worked the Collins Marsh Inn on County Road W across the road from the Collins Marsh Wildlife Area. When contacted about 1 p.m. he said registrations were slow but he expected things to pick up later in the afternoon. He was seeing a pretty average range of antler development in yearling, two and three year-old deer.

Marinette County

Athelstane – Nicole at the Red Pine Amoco said registrations seemed pretty slow compared to previous years but like other stations thought it was probably the cooler weather and hunters were hanging their deer without fear of spoilage. This was Nicole’s seventh year of working registration and said she, “looked forward to it every year, liked listening to the stories and meeting the hunters.” Hiede Springborn, DNR wildlife technician out of Wautoma was aging deer at the Amoco and said much of what she was seeing were yearlings, 2 and 3-year-olds so far. Both women thought registrations would pick up later in the day.

Oconto County

Townsend - John Huff, NER wildlife biologist, working at the Townsend Shell Station had aged about 50 deer by 2:45 p.m. and said he thought the station had registered 75 to 100. He too expected a rush of registrations at sunset. “People seem pretty happy,” he reported, “they’re seeing deer, seeing bucks still chasing does, but seeing fewer other hunters.” It was 7 degrees at sunrise but temperatures have been rising slowly all day under a clear blue sky. There wasn’t any snow on the ground. Huff had registered several “first deer” for some youngsters including two brothers one who brought in his first deer and the other his third.

Outagamie County

Shiocton – Tammy, co-owner with her husband of Krull’s Corner Store reported a very slow start to registration, noting that she wished she were out hunting herself. At 3 p.m. she’d registered 84 deer compared to 583 deer on opening day in 2007; however, they had had several 10-pointers pass through. She also mentioned that she registered one hunter’s first bow-killed deer during the early archery season and today registered his first gun-killed deer. Several youth hunters also brought in first deer. “We love it when the kids come in,” said Tammy, “we take their picture and they think that’s pretty cool.”

Shiocton - Dick Nikolai, DNR wildlife biologist, called during a lull in registration to say the station had registered some 200 deer so far including some very nice bucks, several in the 150 to 160-pound class. He was there aging deer and was seeing quite a few broken antlers – a sign of winter stress due to deer using available nutrition for their bodies and not putting extra energy into antler growth. Nikolai reported that access was good in the area with marshes and small streams frozen over and that rutting activity was still evident.

Waupaca County

Waupaca - Steve Hoffman, northeast region wildlife biologist aging deer at the Waupaca Truck Stop reported steady registrations through the morning hours of the hunt with about 100 deer registered including some nice bucks. Hunters reported hearing a fair amount of shooting and also reported rutting activity still on. Conditions were cold at dawn with temperatures in the single digits but by early afternoon had risen closer to 30 degrees. The Waupaca station is usually pretty busy, Hoffman said, so he was expecting a rush of registrations closer to sundown. From the sound of his voice you could almost see him grinning as he told of registering a “first deer” for some youth hunters and told of one youngster bringing in both a doe and a buck. The station registered a couple of 6-year-old does.

Waushara County

Wild Rose - Paul Samerdyke, NER biologist, was collecting deer heads for CWD testing at the Wild Rose Hatchery. Conditions were cold early but during the morning the wind shifted to the south and it was warming up. He said that registrations were steady early on but had slowed in early afternoon. Most of the deer he was seeing were coming from DMU 65B which has been in earn-a-buck for several seasons which usually produces some nice bucks in following years. When contacted he had seen several come through that were “definitely mounting material” and that it appeared the rut was pretty well along, “past peak”.

DNR Southeast Region

Fond du Lac County

Dundee – Steve Klock, DNR wildlife technician registering deer in Dundee reported things had been “fairly brisk at first,” but then by 2 p.m. things came to a stand still. “It was a brisk morning, which had people moving around, which got the deer moving too. Not a lot of complaints. We’re pretty much on par for average. Almost 50-50 antlerless to bucks.” Klock said two of the biggest deer were brought in by two 13-year-old hunters. One shot a 10-point and one 13-point buck. “Those were some happy boys and their dads were beaming too,” Klock said. Bow hunters had reported last week that the rut was just getting going in this area, which was much later than usual.

Jefferson County

Jefferson – Brian Glenzinski, DNR wildlife biologist, reported activity was about usual at River’s Edge Farm Market in Jefferson. Registrations were coming in at a similar pace to last year. The station was registering a lot of antlerless deer. He had registered about one buck for every seven doe. Also a deer donation site, six deer had been donated so far. "Hunters have been saying it’s been quiet. They haven’t heard a lot of shots." Glenzinski had hunted the new Mukwanago Unit of the Kettle Moraine state Forest and there were 30 cars there this morning, so the newly acquired property is receiving a lot of hunting pressure. It shows what a demand there is for pubic hunting grounds in that area. Two of the seven were nice-sized bucks, the others were year-and-a-half olds. They’ve all been looking for their buck sticker, which tells us the Earn-a-Buck rule is working."

Racine County

Paddock Lake – DNR Wildlife Technician Paul Hainstock reported the Paddock Lake registration station had been very busy all morning. “We were seeing at least one deer in every 15 minutes. Most people were either bringing in does to register in order to get a buck harvest tag or were brining in a doe and buck at the same time. He had registered several 8-point bucks that morning. Hainstock was expecting Sunday morning to be very busy. “It so cold people aren’t going to bring their deer in real fast. We expect hunters will be hanging their bucks overnight and brining them in to register in the morning. It is better to be cold like this than when it was warm. There were some years when it was so warm people were brining their deer in right away and packed in ice to keep them cold.” Ironically, the nicest deer brought in was a 22-point road kill that had been hit that morning. “It must have been hit by a non hunter, because a hunter most likely would have kept it for the rack,” he noted. A car of hunters came upon it shortly after it was hit, because they noted the body was still steaming. They brought it in and had it registered as a car-kill. Although the area is in the CWD earn-a-buck zone, Hainstock said “we haven’t heard any complaints. I think people are getting used to it.”

Rock County

Janesville – Only six deer had been brought in by 1:45 p.m. to the Janesville registration station, and all but one were antlerless deer that people had brought in to get buck harvest stickers. Wildlife Technician Rachel Anderson reported conditions were good, with the temperature just above freezing and fairly calm at mid-day. “We expect there to be rush this afternoon, since it’s cold enough that hunters don’t need to bring their deer in right away,” she said.

Sheboygan County

Plymouth – Missy Sparrow, DNR wildlife biologist and private lands specialist, said activity ad at the Farm and Fleet in Plymouth “was a little slow this morning but it has picked up and we had a noon-time rush. Deer have been coming in a good rate. There were 45 registered by 2:30 p.m. We’re expecting a big rush this afternoon – we’ll probably be swamped.” Missy said a 22-year old female hunter who had been hunting for five years brought in her first buck. “She came in with her dad and I’m not sure who was more excited her or her dad. But they were both excited,” she said. The biggest buck was brought in by someone who works the night shift and he couldn’t get out until 8 o’clock and he shot it within the first half hour. A really nice wide spread on a 10-pointer.

Walworth County

Delavan – DNR Wildlife Biologist Tim Lizotte was working a brand new registration station at Bob Black’s Meets Processing in Delevan. “It’s been relatively slow, but since this is a new station, it’s hard to gauge.” Some hunters had just brought in two deer to register at 2 p.m. So far, most of the deer that had been brought in were antlerless, which Lizotte said was expected, since it was a earn-a-buck zone. “Hunters say they are seeing deer. People were cold early but then it warmed up. It’s absolutely gorgeous out now. Clear skies, low wind, mild temperatures. Conditions are great. No one has been grumpy.”

Waukesha County

Monches – DNR Wildlife Biologist Tom Isaac was working a registration station Saturday afternoon, after hunting himself in the morning. “It was cold in the morning, in the low teens, but very nice, later in the day with mild to light winds. Where I was hunting I heard a fair amount of shots.” Isaac had registered 26 deer by 2 p.m., a similar pace to last year. Just under half of the deer were bucks, of which a 14-pointer was the biggest. Several of the hunters had brought in bucks and antlerless at the same time to register. “Hunters are generally happy, although one hunter did come in disappointed because he had a real nice buck under his stand, but he didn’t shoot it because he didn’t have a buck sticker yet, then just a bit later he shot a doe,” Isaac said.

North Prairie – DNR Regional Wildlife Supervisor Tami Ryan reported things were steady at the registration and aging station at Bill’s Self Service Mini Mart in North Prairie. “There has not been a lot of down time,” she said. The station had aged 20 deer, probably, 10 more had been registered. They were seeing a ratio of one-to-one buck-to-antlerless. The oldest deer aged were a 3-and-half-year-old buck and one 6-year-old doe. A television station reporter was at the station and conducted an interview with a hunter who brought in a large buck deer which he allowed staff to take a sample from for chronic wasting disease testing. “He was very supportive of efforts to control the deer herd and monitor for CWD,” Ryan noted. Students from the UW-Madison were also at the station collecting ticks from deer as part of a Lyme disease study, and another student spent several hours shadowing Ryan on the job to see if he was interested in becoming a wildlife manager.

Oconomowoc – DNR Wildlife Manager Marty Johnson reported things in western Waukesha County were getting off to a slow start. By 1 p.m. he had only registered six deer: one eight-point, 2-year-old buck, with the rest does and fawns. Temperatures were in the upper 20s to mid 30s, with no wind. “Not horrible conditions for hunters to stay out in the field,” he said. Those hunters who had come in were saying they were not seeing a lot of hunters or hearing a lot of shots.

Washington County

Allenton – DNR Wildlife Technician Angie Rusch had registered 16 deer by 3:30 p.m. “It’s been pretty quiet. We’ve had one real nice 10-pointer, but I think a lot of people are not bringing their deer in right away,” she said.

Kewaskum – “Slow...very, very slow compared to last year,” reported Bob Zinkgraph, wildlife technician for Washington County. Zinkgraph said he had hunted in the morning. “I heard little to no shooting in an area where they is usually a lot of shooting. I didn’t see a single deer in three hours of hunting.” Only one group registering deer said they saw a lot of deer and heard a lot of shooting. “Others are saying this is the only deer we saw and we shot it.” He had registered just seven bucks and 11 antlerless by 3:30 p.m. “There have been very small racks, even on a 3-year-old deer. Nothing even near a trophy.”

DNR South Central Region

Columbia County

Portage – Hunters all reported seeing deer, said DNR Wildlife Technician Chris Seuser at about 1:40 p.m. “Nobody has reported being skunked, and I think they are all seeing animals because the cold weather is keeping the deer moving. I even saw skim ice across the Wisconsin River this morning, which is unusual given that the water has a current there,” Seuser observed. “Our numbers are good for this time of day.” About 30 or more deer had been registered. We registered one for a 13-year-old who shot his first buck: a six-pointer that he will have mounted.

Lodi - Tim Sellers estimates he had registered 15 to 20 deer by mid-afternoon at the Lodi Sausage Company and Meat Market; the normal pace here. It was mainly does from hunters trying to earn their buck tag. It’s been a good start and hunters seem comfortable with the weather.

Dane County

Waunakee – Fred Loy said they had registered 14 deer by 3:30 p.m. at the Village Market, up a bit from past years at that time. The count was even between bucks and does. "Hunters sure liked the chilly weather compared to warmer starts in the early season and a few said that had seen some darn nice bucks, but could not take a shot at them until they had taken and registered a doe," he said.

Black Earth – In Black Earth at DNR station near Norslein’s Wood Works registrations have been pretty steady, perhaps a bit ahead of last year’s pace with a few 10-pointers brought in. Hunters report they are not sensing as much hunting pressure in the woods, though they like the weather compared to wetter and warmer conditions in recent years. Some University of Wisconsin students were working the station earlier in the day collecting deer tick samples for a study.

Dodge County

Watertown – Brian Walsh at Detjen’s Country Cutting said the station had registered a couple dozen deer by early afternoon, about normal for a cool year. Most of the hunters are just staying out on the woods. “The conditions are nice. They are in a good mood. Those who get a doe like the chance to get a second permit and the first-time hunters who got their deer are grinning from ear to ear.”

Lomira – At the Lomira Shell Station, they had registered 29 deer by mid-afternoon, which was about their norm. Felicia Mondragon reported that one party of five came in, registered their five deer, had extra permits and went out again only to come back a few hours later with two more deer.

Grant County

Cuba City – About a dozen deer had been registered by 3 p.m. at Weber’s Processing. Rich Udelhofen said the most recent was a nice 10-pointer that dressed out at about 175-180 pounds, “a real solid deer probably about 3 and-a-half to four years old.”

Green County

New Glarus - Dennis Hoesly of Hoesly Meats said they had registered about 40 deer by 3 p.m., “but that’s not very telling because it’s so cold out there that people aren’t bringing in their deer yet. We usually see a pretty good rush between 4:30-7 p.m. Otherwise they may skin them, hang the deer a bit over night and register them tomorrow. If you are going to hang a deer overnight, keep it in a garage or protected, unheated area to keep it clean and keep it from freezing. “It’s not like recent years where it was so wet and warm that the deer needed to get in here pretty quickly to preserve quality. We’ve seen about six really nice bucks including a 12-pointer with a drop tine and one really big eight-pointer with two spit drop tines. “That particular deer was just a monster, a good 180-pounds or so dressed out. The guy who got that one is a Minnesotan who has been coming to this area to hunt with a friend for 34 years. This is the first really big one he has gotten, though he usually does pretty well. He said the deer was hanging out in the swamp with a doe and he shot it with a rifle, though the deer was close enough that he could have taken it with a bow and arrow. Hunters had also donated quite a few deer to the food pantry program, which is nice in these times.”

Iowa County

Avoca - Darssan Singh at the Avoca Easy Stop said they had registered about 52 deer by 3 p.m., down just a little from last year at this time. He saw one really nice14-point buck, but it was quite busy then and he didn’t hear the story of that hunt. Hunters reported that deer movements were spotty: some had seen very few deer and others reported deer were “all over the hillsides.”

Barneveld - The weather has been overcast and blustery all day, and. “it is just down right cold, especially here at the registration station,” reports DNR Regional Public Affairs Manager Greg Matthews. “Deer registration has been steady since nine this morning, and it’s difficult to keep your hands and feet warm on this exposed hill!” The station registered about 150 deer between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. DNR Secretary Matt Frank and Executive Assistant Mary Ellen Vollbrecht were on hand for part of the morning to meet and greet hunters. As you would expect, many hunters brought in does to get their Earn-A-Buck tags, but also a fair number of two- to three-year-old bucks in the six- to eight-point range were registered. Hunters have been generous about donating deer to food pantries as well with 15 deer already donated at this station by early afternoon. A 13-year-old who shot his first buck saved the antlers, then donated the animal for the food pantries, Matthews said. “Because of the cold weather, deer will keep well and we expect a lot of hunters will stay in the field until the end of shooting hours,” Matthews added. We expect a big rush here especially between 4:30 and 5 this afternoon,” he said.

Jefferson County

Jefferson – Lucy Mowery said they had registered 35-40 deer at the River’s Edge Farm Market by 3:30 p.m., about the same as in past years. “And, just as in past years, I expect all **** will break loose here in a little while and the next few days will be wild with all the registrations.”

Lafayette County

New Diggings - At Anton’s General Store, Robert Anton said registrations were running about normal and 19 deer had come in by 3:45 p.m.

South Wayne – Denny Malott at Holverson’s Meat Processing had registered only 25 deer by mid-afternoon. “We’ve usually registered about 100 by now in past years, Malott said, “but there is a lot of standing corn down here this year and there seems to be more land in the area that just isn’t open to hunting as it used to be. Hunters say they just are not seeing as many deer with so much land closed to hunting. “We saw one deer that was quite unusual. Its antlers were still all in velvet,” Malott said. Two first-time hunters also registered deer – a 16-year-old who registered a doe and a buck, and a 15-year-old who registered his first deer. They were both pretty happy, but quiet.”

Richland County

Boaz - More than 40 deer were registered at the Boaz Country Store, which may be up a bit from past years. Hunters reported the weather was cool, but nice without a lot of wind, which was great for hunting. We expect registrations will pick up a little later in the afternoon said Dominic Buening.

Rock County

Beloit – Rocky Coleman at Jans K Market said they had registered 37 deer, mainly does for hunters who wanted to earn a buck tag. One lady who had not taken a deer since the late 1970s registered a nice doe, and she was pretty happy. She said it had been a long, long time.”

Evansville – At the Evansville Gas & Go, Ben Tomlin reports hunters brought in 51 deer by 4 p.m. “They’re starting to come in quick now. I just registered five from one group. A bunch of first-time hunters got their deer, and of course, they were VERY happy.”

Sauk County

Sauk City –Larry Wipperfurth at the Ace Hardware reported “It was a perfect day for hunting. The deer started moving later in the morning and a lot of guys were shooting does to earn their buck tags. We saw a lot of nice two- to three-year old 10-pointers and it was really nice to have first-time hunters -- a couple of girls and two young guys – bring in their first deer. A lot of families are out there together, which is great.”

DNR West Central Region

Adams County

Monroe Center - At Petenwell Sportshop and General Store, Sue said it was still pretty quiet at the store. Hunting conditions were cold, still only 28 degrees by 1:30, with no snow or wind. She had already registered 22 deer, slow by previous year standards. But some of them were beauties – two 12-point bucks, two 10-point bucks and two 8-pointers. Registrations were running about half antlerless, and so far five women had registered deer.

Springville - “We’re starting to slow down here now,” reported DNR wildlife biologist Lesa Kardash. “Most hunters are going to stick it out for the rest of the day. We had a lot more deer come in this morning that I remember in the last couple years. It was about 13 degrees. With it being cooler this morning with very little wind it was very easy to hear deer moving. It was good weather for being out. I’m hearing from hunters that they are seeing more deer than in past years. It’s mostly antlerless deer. I saw the oldest deer in three years here, a doe 9 to 12 years old. That’s unusual. Most deer we see are one to three years old.”

Buffalo County

Mondovi - Gary Wolf DNR wildlife technician reported slower than usual registrations. “I think the cold weather is keeping hunters in camp. I’m thinking Sunday will be busier than today. I saw some excited young hunters with their first deer which is always fun.”

Chippewa County

Town of Ruby – At the G & 64 Country Store, three hunters stood near a pickup truck with three deer in the back, two does and a buck. “They’re all dead,” reported Steve Fischer, exhibiting the kind of dead pan humor Wisconsin hunters are famous for. There was a dusting of snow in the woods they hunted that morning, not enough for tracking but it improved visibility. Fischer was in a heated stand, but his friend Tom Murphy was in the open with the temperature hovering around 10 degrees. “It was freezing for about three hours,” Murphy reported. “Then the deer came out. I think they felt sorry for us.” Murphy, 65, lost his left arm in a farm accident when he was 7 years old. He hunts with a bolt action rifle that he rests on the stump of his missing arm and had no trouble placing his shot, taking a good-sized doe. Murphy uses a lace-lock to get his boots on without help. “When we get mad at him, we cut a lace,” Fischer said. “He goes through about seven laces a year.”

Clark County

Neillsville – DNR wildlife technician Scott Krultz said registrations were slower than usual. “Some hunters are seeing a lot of deer. Others are not. It’s spotty. I’ve seen some nice bucks coming off the county land so they’re having some success. It was a little cold, but it wasn’t bad. The conditions weren’t bad, but hunters said deer were hunkering down early and didn’t start moving till later. Some of the county spots I passed this morning … there weren’t many people out there. If you don’t have people pushing them around the deer don’t move as much. People have said some of the bucks are chasing does. I’ve talked to bow hunters this past week and they didn’t think the rut had peaked. One guy said he saw two deer, a buck in the morning and a doe in the afternoon and he shot them both.”

Crawford County

Gays Mills – At Gays Mills Amoco, Mindy reported doe registrations were brisk. By early afternoon, 31 does had been registered compared to only eight bucks. She noted that it was snowing in the area before 8 a.m., and was quite chilly. “It’s pretty slow right now – they’re staying out there. It’s going to be busy later.” When asked if it was fun to be out registering deer, you could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “Of course it is…we had one kid in this morning with his first deer. We took a picture of him. It was pretty neat.”

Dunn County

Coflax – Chris Lumn had registered more than 100 deer at the Express Mart and with the sun falling below the horizon was seeing the evening rush begin. “It’s been a normal opening day,” he reported.

Eau Claire County

Augusta – Rena Yoder had registered 85 deer at the Express Mart. “I think it’s down a little myself, but we’re about to get a rush,” she said. “Some hunters said they saw quite a few. Others just saw the ones they shot. It seems to be about even does and bucks. They are all really nice size, with big bodies.”

Juneau County

Camp Douglas – At the Eagle’s Next Resort, owner Kim was enthusiastic, “We’re doing really good here today. We’re really excited about today and the eight days to come.” By early afternoon, Kim had already registered 13 bucks and 10 does. She noted hunting conditions were brisk, but no rain. Asked if she was seeing a lot of soldiers from the nearby base, she laughed and said, “I can’t tell. Everyone looks the same, orange and puffy.” She noted that she was enjoying waiting with a friend whose daughter was out hunting for the first time – they were excited and waiting to hear how she did.

La Crosse County

West Salem – Laurie at Neshonoc Sports and Service said they had registered 80 deer by 2 p.m. and two hunters were waiting when we talked to her. Does were the target of choice in the area at 56 of the total registered. She noted that there was a trace of snow in the area at opener, with temperatures in the low 20s and breezy. A local boy had registered his first deer in the morning, and they were expecting a rush after dark, with so much public hunting land nearby. She noted that the store had sold fewer licenses than in previous years, but with sales up statewide, she was hoping for a lot of hunters to show up with deer in tow.

Marathon county

Town of Wausau - Sunset Country Store - It’s a little slow, reported wildlife biologist Cortney Schaefer at 3 p.m. “Last year they had 258 deer here opening day. So far today we’ve had 58. I think registration is going to be down. We’ve been seeing some really nice bucks. Two of the deer were Boone and Crocket, they were huge.” Most deer coming in were bucks, she reported. “Some of our deer look like they are older than they are. I think the deer we have here are eating really well. We have some well-fed deer. Most of the bucks have come off of private land. A few of the hunters have said they’ve heard fewer shots than in the past.”

Monroe County

Sparta – Don at Don and Vi’s Hunting and Fishing has been registering deer for 13 years, and he noted it was slow, with more than 50 does and more than 20 bucks registered by 2 p.m. He said there were slow flurries at daylight, and registrations started shortly after that. “A lot of those hunters were pretty happy to get their buck sticker,” he noted. DNR’s Sandhill Wildlife Area Manager Neil Paisley was aging deer at Don and Vi’s, and he noted hunting conditions in the area were “near perfect.” He had aged about 30 deer by early afternoon, and among them was a 6 to 8 year old doe. He said four really nice bucks had come in, but the proud hunters were hesitant to have them aged as Paisley would have to cut to expose all the teeth. But they still wanted to know. “So I told them to get the cape off and come back tomorrow. I’ll still be here and I can tell them how old their deer was – I’m guessing 3 or 4 years old.”

Pierce County

Ellsworth – “It’s going excellent,” reported wildlife biologist Harvey Halvorsen. “We have three volunteers from UW-River Falls so things are going smoothly. We’re getting more bucks registered than does.” Usually does outnumber bucks by two to one. This is an earn-a-buck watch unit so unless more does start coming in, it will be in earn a buck next year. “There are fewer deer being seen and fewer antlerless deer are being seen. People are coming in early because of the cold conditions. The oldest deer so far has been a doe six to eight years old. People are saying they are not seeing the deer running as much, so the rut is definitely over. Hunters are often amazed, Halverson said, when they learn their large buck is only one or two years old. They are seeing yearling bucks with eight-point racks. “It’s not uncommon if the genetics are right and they’ve been well fed,” Halverson said. “Deer grow fast.”

Portage County

Plover – Tim Arnold, working at the Post Road BP in Plover, said registrations were proceeding at a slower pace than the year before. “I think we have maybe 50 deer. Last year we had over 150 for the night, but there are more coming in. In talking to hunters, they are not seeing as many deer on average. The ones on private land see a lot and the ones on public land don’t. Arnold’s own experience was the opposite, however. He hunted on public land before coming to work. “I got three deer today,” he said. “I was one of the few who saw a lot.”

St. Croix County

Baldwin - "All the hunters we are talking to are saying it's slow this year," said DNR’s Mike Soergel. “They are not seeing that many deer. Our registration has been slow here compared to previous years. The only think I can think of is this is as late as the season can be on the calendar so the rut is over. This morning I was out with my kids and I thought conditions were great. There was a light skiff of snow on the ground. We did not see a single deer, and these are the kind of conditions that we as DNR managers hope for. I’ve seen one big buck so far which strengthens the argument that the rut is over.”

Trempealeau County

Whitehall – So far its been kind of slow, but I expect it to get busy in another 40 minutes,” said wildlife supervisor Tim Babros. “The hunters are saying they are hearing a lot of shooting. The weather is nice. It’s a beautiful day for the opening day of deer season. I think the reason we are not seeing a lot of hunters is that they are out in the field yet. The temperatures are perfect for hunting deer. We are seeing a lot of really nice bucks coming through.”

Vernon County

Ontario – At Rivers End Bar and Grill, Brenda said they had registered more than 50 does and 20 bucks by mid-afternoon. Opening conditions in the area were cold with snow flurries, but snow quickly melted. Her husband, a deer hunter himself, said deer appeared to not be moving, and Brenda reported registrations were running slower than previous years at this point.

Wood County

Wisconsin Rapids

Registration was proceeding slowly but steadily for wildlife biologist Greg Dahl at the Food Tree. It was his first year aging deer at this station so he didn’t know how it compares with previous years. “In this kind of weather no one is in a rush to come in and get registered. It’s nice and cool, good weather for hanging deer. It was relatively cold this morning, but it was nice and still. It was easy to hear anything moving in the woods. Dahl reported seeing about a 50/50 ratio of does and bucks.