Wisconsin DNR discusses upcoming deer hunt with near-perfect weather forecast

(WLUK) — The nine-day gun deer hunt in Wisconsin begins in less than 24 hours.

Hundreds of thousands of hunters will take part in this Saturday tradition.

Wisconsin’s whitetail deer population is nearing two million.

DNR deer program specialist Jeff Pritzl joined Good Day Wisconsin to talk about the hunt.

He says other than the lack of snow, hunters really can’t ask for better weather on opening day. Hunters prefer temperatures to around 30 degrees or less with low wind speeds. When temperatures reach above 40 degrees, it really reduces deer movement.

Pritzl says hunters will have an advantage this year as the herd is coming off a mild winter.

“When deer come out of the winter in such good physical condition as they did last year, that means better fawn production so that means there’s going to be a few more deer on the landscape and the bucks can devote more energy into antler development than recovering from the winter so we’re seeing good reports of large antler development from those who have already been out bow hunting this year,” he said.

If you get a deer this season, Pritzl says you should register your deer with the DNR to help with conservation efforts. Hunters have until 5 pm the day after they recover the animal to register.

“In registering your deer, the most important act a deer hunter can do in terms of conservation of the deer resource; that is where we generate our data, it helps us make informed decisions for future deer hunting seasons,” he said.

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Pritzl says although the deer population is robust this year, hunters do have some challenges to face.

“The fact that the deer opener is so late this year does work against us a little bit because as we get further away from the rut early in November, deer daytime movement starts to decline so it’s part of the challenge of deer hunting,” he he said.

One of the most rewarding parts of deer hunting is getting to enjoy the venison. Pritzl says if hunters are in the position to donate some of their harvested deer, there are ways to do that.

The Wisconsin DNR’s Deer Donation program helps hunters to donate their venison to food pantries. Officials say it’s a great way to help those less fortunate in the community.

“As we have been talking about for years, especially in the southern 2/3rds of the state, much of this viewing area we’re actually challenged with getting enough deer harvested, especially antlerless deer so we’re always encouraging those that find themselves in a position to take an extra deer and share it either through the formal deer donation program or there’s a lot of sharing among family and friends. There’s a lot of folks who have aged out of deer hunting but they would still appreciate some venison so think about those in your community that would appreciate some venison and hunt for your community as well as yourself,” Pritzl said.

Since the Deer Donation program began in 2000, hunters have donated over 98,000 deer, totaling nearly four million pounds of venison, to help Wisconsinites in need.

The gun deer season ends on Sunday, Dec. 1.