APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Many Northeast Wisconsinites are looking to expand their deer hunting opportunities this season.
There’s a bonus week in this year’s archery and crossbow season. DNR Deer Program Specialist Jeffrey Pritzl says itis gaining popularity.
“This year, archery season is opening on the calendar as early as it possibly can, and gun season opens as late as it possibly can on the calendar,” says Pritzl.
The early season allows hunters to harvest antlerless deer before they change their patterns, and before the pressure of gun deer season.
Pritzl says over half of the Wisconsin deer hunters are now archers.
“Of the 600,000 roughly, over 300,000 are purchasing either an archery license or a crossbow license or a patron’s license,” says Pritzl.”So many Wisconsin deer hunters are looking to expand their hunting opportunities and adventures throughout the calendar year.”
Pritzl went on to say a record mild winter means greater fawn productivity, and deer sightings on the rise.
“Now, this early in the season, is a great time to take advantage of the summer feeding pattern that deer are still in, especially in farm zones where deer are getting at agricultural crops,” Pritzl says.
The Reel Shot, an archery store in Appleton, says they start to see a big spike of crossbows in the second week of October.
“A lot of the first timers are buying crossbows just to get themselves into it, and I’ll see them a year or two later and they say, ‘Oh, it’s cool, but I want to try with a bow’ and then we get them all set up,” says Mike Williams, hunting archery buyer at The Reel Shot.
A reminder to all hunters: All harvested deer must be registered by 5 p.m. the day after recovery. You can register using GameReg online, by phone or at a participating registration station.
Wisconsin’s archery and crossbow deer hunting seasons opened Saturday and run through Jan. 5, 2025, except in the 35 counties and metro subunits that have extended seasons until Jan. 31, 2025.
For more information, head over to the DNR Website
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