MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin hunters took slightly more deer in the recent nine-day gun season than they did a year ago. The DNR says just over 226,000 deer were harvested statewide. That’s a preliminary figure, and it’s almost 5,000 more than last year’s final number. Hunters took home almost 103,000 bucks, about 2,000 more than a year ago. The antlerless totals were up slightly, from 119,000 last year to 123,000 this season. For the first time in several years, hunters in certain zones no longer had to shoot antlerless deer to earn a trophy buck. The controversial “Earn-a-Buck” program was eliminated by the governor and Legislature. The DNR says it will keep gathering more data over the next few months – and this year’s final deer numbers are due out in February.