Opening morning was a bust, according to Monroe resident Tim Harris. Not to be denied, however, he trudged back out that afternoon to what he calls the "acorn honey hole."

"As I approached the top of the hill and looked down, there were already two does feeding underneath my stand," he reported. "After scaring two deer before hitting my stand, it wasn't going to be a good night."

Things improved, however, when a group of six young does and bucks helped themselves to the acorns below. Later, Harris said, three other bucks, all "decent sized" showed up near his location.

Two of the bucks began sparring, Harris observed, while the third positioned himself near the tree stand, thus becoming a great "decoy" for Harris' next move. "I blew my grunt call a couple of times and the two bucks stopped sparring, stared and then bolted towards the decoy."

"I decided to take the mature, older deer," he said. "While it's not the largest deer I've ever shot, it still got my heart pounding and adrenaline rushing."

"The property owner said 'the excitement could not be wiped off my face.'" He harvested the buck east of Blanchardville in Green County

Harris joins a minimum of 125,000 other bow hunters who will access the many public and private woodlands of Wisconsin this fall. Archery license sales totals through the end of the first weekend of hunting reflect an increase of seven percent from the opening weekend of 2009.

The increase in archery sales shows a continuing upward trend. Figures for 2002 show 144,145 resident archery licenses sold by the end of the season, with an additional 6,639 purchased by non-residents.

By 2006, total sales of archery licenses had grown to 196,726. Each year since, archery sales have surpassed the previous year by substantial margins.

These figures underestimate the potential number of archery deer hunters, however, since many conservation patron holders might also hunt with bow. More than 50,000 such licenses have already been sold for 2010.

Increased sales and more hunters bode well for Harris as he expands his taxidermy business, High-Tines Taxidermy. While he has done turkey and pheasant mounts, he specializes in white-tailed deer. Some of his mounts are on display at Hunting Woodlands in Monroe and at Whitetail Valley Sports in Blanchardville.

Contact him at 608 206-5622 for details.

- Lee Fahrney is the Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.