MADISON - Preliminary numbers for the opening weekend of the 2010 gun deer season show Wisconsin hunters harvested 106,404 whitetails, an increase of 6.3 percent from 2009. The preliminary tally shows a buck harvest of 54,263, while 52,141 antlerless deer were taken.
"We want to remind folks that these preliminary numbers come from a staff call-around to deer registration stations this morning (Nov. 22)," said Tom Hauge, director of the DNR wildlife management program. "The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger when all the registration stubs are entered into the data base over the next couple of months."
The West Central Region of the state had the largest harvest with almost 40,000 deer shot. The harvest there was up by more than three percent from 2009. In contrast, the harvest in the 11-county South Central Region which includes Green and Lafayette counties was half that of the West Central with approximately 20,000 whitetails registered.
However, the South Central Region recorded the largest percent increase at just less than 12 percent. Wisconsin Conservation Congress Delegate Mike Rogers, who represents the 9th District on the Executive Council, reported excellent hunting opportunities in Sauk County which had the largest harvest (3,817) for the South Central Region.
Lafayette County recorded 1,864 deer killed, while Green County had 933. Both counties enjoyed sharp increases over 2009. There were 52 percent more deer harvested in Lafayette County with a buck kill of 575 and an antlerless harvest of 1289. The Green County tally revealed an increase of approximately 25 percent from 2009. The buck harvest there was 305, while 628 antlerless deer were shot.
Hunters in Iron County were left empty-handed for the most part as only 128 deer were harvested. Of those, 127 were bucks with only one antlerless deer taken. The harvest there was down by approximately 35 percent.
The only county with fewer deer taken was the much more densely populated Kenosha County where only 76 deer were harvested, a decline of more than 20 percent from 2009.
By the start of the season on Nov. 20, the number of gun deer licenses sold reached 607,926, according to the Department of Natural Resources. This number was down three percent from the start of the 2009 season.
As in the past, many hunters waited until the last minute to purchase a license. At one point in late afternoon Friday, computers showed license sales coming in a rate of 333 per minute. Hunters purchased 235,547 licenses in the five days preceding the season opener, officials said. Deer license and tag sales will continue throughout the hunting seasons.
The opening weekend was relatively safe once again with only four incidents recorded on Saturday when about half of all deer hunting accidents occur, according to Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern.
"Hunting is safe and getting safer when compared to the 'good ole days,'" he said. "In 1915, of the state's 155,000 hunters, 24 were killed and 26 were injured."
"That meant one in about 3,100 hunters could expect to be killed or injured," he noted. "Today it's one in 100,000 or better."
"Still, any shooting incident is one too many," he noted. Lawhern urges hunters to be especially careful during deer drives later this week.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times Outdoors Writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
"We want to remind folks that these preliminary numbers come from a staff call-around to deer registration stations this morning (Nov. 22)," said Tom Hauge, director of the DNR wildlife management program. "The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger when all the registration stubs are entered into the data base over the next couple of months."
The West Central Region of the state had the largest harvest with almost 40,000 deer shot. The harvest there was up by more than three percent from 2009. In contrast, the harvest in the 11-county South Central Region which includes Green and Lafayette counties was half that of the West Central with approximately 20,000 whitetails registered.
However, the South Central Region recorded the largest percent increase at just less than 12 percent. Wisconsin Conservation Congress Delegate Mike Rogers, who represents the 9th District on the Executive Council, reported excellent hunting opportunities in Sauk County which had the largest harvest (3,817) for the South Central Region.
Lafayette County recorded 1,864 deer killed, while Green County had 933. Both counties enjoyed sharp increases over 2009. There were 52 percent more deer harvested in Lafayette County with a buck kill of 575 and an antlerless harvest of 1289. The Green County tally revealed an increase of approximately 25 percent from 2009. The buck harvest there was 305, while 628 antlerless deer were shot.
Hunters in Iron County were left empty-handed for the most part as only 128 deer were harvested. Of those, 127 were bucks with only one antlerless deer taken. The harvest there was down by approximately 35 percent.
The only county with fewer deer taken was the much more densely populated Kenosha County where only 76 deer were harvested, a decline of more than 20 percent from 2009.
By the start of the season on Nov. 20, the number of gun deer licenses sold reached 607,926, according to the Department of Natural Resources. This number was down three percent from the start of the 2009 season.
As in the past, many hunters waited until the last minute to purchase a license. At one point in late afternoon Friday, computers showed license sales coming in a rate of 333 per minute. Hunters purchased 235,547 licenses in the five days preceding the season opener, officials said. Deer license and tag sales will continue throughout the hunting seasons.
The opening weekend was relatively safe once again with only four incidents recorded on Saturday when about half of all deer hunting accidents occur, according to Hunter Safety Administrator Tim Lawhern.
"Hunting is safe and getting safer when compared to the 'good ole days,'" he said. "In 1915, of the state's 155,000 hunters, 24 were killed and 26 were injured."
"That meant one in about 3,100 hunters could expect to be killed or injured," he noted. "Today it's one in 100,000 or better."
"Still, any shooting incident is one too many," he noted. Lawhern urges hunters to be especially careful during deer drives later this week.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times Outdoors Writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
