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DNR: Seven shot during nine-day gun deer season

Posted at 4:56 PM, Nov 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-28 13:16:48-05

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Department of Natural Resources says seven hunters were shot during the nine-day gun deer season.

The season opened on Nov. 18 and closed at sunset on Sunday. According to Department of Natural Resources data on its website, five male hunters accidentally shot themselves during the season. A sixth man was shot by someone within his own party during a deer drive in Ozaukee County on Wednesday. The seventh victim was hunting ducks from a kayak in Waukesha County on Friday when a stray bullet struck him or her. None of the incidents were fatal.

License sale data suggest fewer hunters were in the woods this year than in 2016. The DNR sold 588,387 licenses authorizing hunting with a firearm during the nine-day season through midnight Sunday, down 1.7 percent from the previous year.

Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill on Nov. 13 eliminating the minimum age for participating in a mentored hunt. All five of the hunters who shot themselves were at least 24. It's unknown who fired the shots in Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. Those incidents remain under investigation.

It wasn't immediately clear whether anyone under 10 was involved in the injuries. All five hunters who shot themselves were at least 24 years old but the shootings in Ozaukee and Waukesha County remain under investigation and the DNR said the identity, age and sex of the shooters in both incidents is still unknown. The age and sex of the duck hunter wounded in Waukesha County also remained unknown as of Monday evening.

The agency planned to release preliminary deer kill totals on Tuesday.