TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On the heals of the 2022 gun deer hunting season in Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released preliminary statistics related to the harvest, number of hunters, and safety during the season.
Preliminary license sales
As of 11:59 p.m., on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, sales for gun, bow, crossbow, sports, and patron licenses had reached 795,072. Of that total, 436,423 were for gun privileges only and 554,898 were for all gun privileges including gun, sports, and patron licenses. As of that timeframe, deer license sales were down 1.6% from the same time relative to the hunting season in 2021.
Of those license sales, 63% were purchased online and 37% were purchased in-person through transactions at DNR license agent locations. Records showed licenses were sold to hunters who reside in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, in addition to hunters from 21 different countries, all of whom came to deer hunt in Wisconsin, evidence that hunting increases visitors to the state.
Preliminary harvest numbers
Preliminary numbers as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, showed hunters had registered 203,295 deer during the 2022 gun deer season, including 98,397 antlered and 104,898 antlerless deer. In Lincoln County, hunters registered 1,333 antlered deer in 2022 plus 816 antlerless deer, for a total harvest of 2,149. This compares to a harvest of 1,027 antlered deer and 546 antlerless deer for a total harvest of 1,537 in 2021. And further compares to a five-year average harvest (2017-2021) of 1,154 antlered deer per year plus 854 antlerless deer per year for total average harvests of 2,008 per year.
Lincoln County Hunters harvested 29.8% more antlered deer this year than in 2021, 49.5% more antlerless deer this year than in 2021, and overall, 36.6% more deer in 2022 than in 2021.
The rest of the Northern Forest Deer Management Zone (DMZ) (of which Lincoln County is a part) experienced an increase in harvests this year compared to last, but not as much of an increase. In the entire DMZ, there was a 21.2% in the antlered deer harvest, 16.4% increase in the antlerless deer harvest, and a 19.3% overall increase.
Comparing 2022 to the five-year period (2017-2021) just prior in Lincoln County, antlered deer harvests were up 15.5%, antlerless deer harvests were down 4.4%, but the total harvest this year was overall 7.0% higher than the average of the last five years.
In the Northern Forest DMZ, the total harvest numbers were 11.3% higher in 2022 than in the average of the prior five years.
In nearby Marathon County, hunters registered 3,545 antlered deer and 3,811 antlerless deer, for a total harvest of 7,356 deer during the 2022 season, up 17.3% overall from the 2021 harvest numbers and up 8.7% from the average harvest during the five-year period from 2017-2021.
Since archery season opened on Sept. 17, 2022, hunters had registered 301,540 total deer statewide.
Compared to 2021, the total firearm deer harvest statewide was up 14.4%, with the antlered harvest up 14.7% and antlerless harvest up 14.1%.
All four deer management zones showed harvest increases from 2021 for both antlered and antlerless harvests.
Opening weekend saw cold temperatures and snow throughout the state, with ideal conditions except for the strong winds on Saturday, Nov. 19, the DNR report indicated. During the weekdays, weather was good statewide, but warm weather later in the season melted snow, reducing deer and hunter activity.
Gun Deer Season hunting incidents
The DNR reported eight firearm-involved injuries and one fatality for the 2022 Wisconsin gun deer season.
The injuries occurred in Sauk, Marquette, Oneida, Iowa, Green Lake, Forest, and Jefferson Counties. Most of the incidents were either self-inflicted accidental injuries or as a result of the discharge of a weapon from someone else in the shooter’s own hunting party.
The fatal incident occurred in Green Lake County, Seneca Township, on Nov. 20, 2022, shortly after 9:00 a.m., when an 11-year-old male was the victim of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the DNR press release. A 41-year-old male shooter attempted to unload his firearm while the firearm was placed in the backseat of a vehicle, the release said. The firearm discharged, striking the victim. The victim was flown via Med Flight to a hospital, where he died. The shooter and victim were members of the same hunting party.
The average hunting incidents per year for the last 10 gun deer seasons (2013-2022) is 6.4. In addition, there were zero fatalities in 6 of those 10 years, the DNR reports.