Deer registrations were down 21 percent this year for the nine-day gun season in Oconto County, compared with the 2013 hunt, according to figures released by the state Department of Natural Resources last week.
The statistics reflect the number of deer registered in the county, though some deer may have been harvested in neighboring counties.
A total of 3,872 deer were registered in the county from Nov. 22-30, compared with 4,930 last year. Of the deer this year, 2,024 were bucks and 1,848 were antlerless deer. In 2013, 2,565 bucks and 2,365 antlerless deer were harvested.
John Huff, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Peshtigo area wildlife manager, said the reduced deer harvest in Oconto County can be attributed to two things: a reduction in the number of antlerless tags issued and a couple of years of harsh winter weather which depleted the herd.
For 2014, Oconto County was split into two zones, the Northern Forest and the Central Farmland, due to changes in deer habitat. In the Northern Forest Zone, north of state Highway 64 where deer are less plentiful, bucks-only harvesting was authorized this year.
The state’s far northern counties had 18 percent fewer bucks killed and a 58 percent drop in antlerless deer. The decline in those areas was expected, as the state enforced tighter restrictions to rebuild the herd.
“The net result on a statewide basis is that we issued approximately half of those permits this year, compared to last year,” Huff said.
Weather also played a factor in the hunting outcome.
“We had a few days of good visibility with snow and a few days of really, really lousy visibility with rain and fog,” Huff said.
He said after a “fantastic opening day,” the remainder of the season was at or below average, compared to past harvests.
Although the gun hunt concluded Nov. 30 and the muzzleloader season on Dec. 10, a four-day antlerless hunt starts Dec. 11 in the Central Farmland zone, and archery season continues until Jan. 4.
“So there’s still plenty of opportunities to go out and hunt,” Huff said.
Statewide, the number of licenses issued this year was also down 3 to 4 percent going into the opener, and hunters killed nearly 25 percent fewer deer compared to a year ago. Preliminary figures show 191,500 deer were taken, compared to 255,003 over the same period last year. The buck harvest was a little over 90,000, down about 8 percent.
At least some of the steep drop was expected after the DNR reported earlier that the harvest during the opening weekend — the only days many hunters go out — was down 18 percent.
The DNR said the dropoff mirrored similar declines in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa this year. In Minnesota, which tightened restrictions as part of a move to rebuild its herd, the take was down nearly 22 percent.
Three shooting-related incidents were reported during the Wisconsin season, an all-time low.
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