MADISON, Wis. — New state data shows hunters killed almost 8% fewer deer during this year's nine-day gun season than in 2020.
The Department of Natural Resources released preliminary numbers Tuesday showing hunters killed 175,667 deer, down from 190,646 last year. The number of buck's killed declined 1.3% while the antlerless numbers dropped 13%. The northern forest was the only one of the state's four management zones where hunters killed more deer than in 2020, up 9.3%.
The DNR had sold 564,440 licenses authorizing hunters to kill a deer with a gun during any of the state's 2021 deer seasons as of Sunday. That's down about 0.8% from last year.
