State gun deer harvest far outpaces 2021 season

Dan Holtz, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Nov. 30—Hunters took far more deer statewide during the 2022 nine-day gun deer hunting season than during the 2021 season, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Preliminary figures show that hunters registered 203,295 deer during the 2022 gun deer season, including 98,397 bucks and 104,898 antlerless deer.

Since the archery season opened on Sept. 17, hunters have registered 301,540 deer statewide.

Compared to 2021, the total gun deer harvest was up 14.4% statewide, with the antlered harvest up 14.7% and the antlerless harvest up 14.1%.

The Central Forest Zone in Eau Claire County registered 4.8 deer per square mile.

Of the 12-county region in west-central Wisconsin, Clark County easily led the way with 9,881 deer killed. Dunn County was second with 7,293 deer harvested and Barron County was third with 6,526 deer killed.

Following are the deer kill numbers for all 12 area counties for the nine-day gun deer season:

—Barron County: 2,956 antlered and 3,570 antlerless for a total of 6,526.

—Buffalo County: 2,323 antlered and 2,762 antlerless for a total of 5,085.

—Chippewa County: 3,063 antlered and 3,072 antlerless for a total of 6,135.

—Clark County: 4,459 antlered and 5,422 antlerless for a total of 9,881.

—Dunn County: 3,362 antlered and 3,931 antlerless for a total of 7,293.

—Eau Claire County: 2,007 antlered and 1,940 antlerless for a total of 3,947.

—Jackson County: 3,114 antlered and 2,526 antlerless for a total of 5,640.

—Pepin County: 947 antlered and 1,108 antlerless for a total of 2,055.

—Pierce County: 1,757 antlered and 2,091 antlerless for a total of 3,848.

—St. Croix County: 1,916 antlered and 2,042 antlerless for a total of 3,958.

—Trempealeau County: 2,869 antlered and 3,556 antlerless for a total of 6,425.

—Rusk County: 2,617 antlered and 2,144 antlerless for a total of 4,761.

The DNR reported eight firearm-involved injuries and one fatality for the entire 2022 gun deer season.

Those incidents occurred in Sauk, Marquette, Oneida, Iowa, Green Lake, Forest, and Jefferson counties. Sauk County accounted for two of the incidents.

The average hunting incidents per year for the last 10 gun deer seasons is 6.4. In addition, there were zero fatalities in six of those 10 years.

The DNR said a total of 795,072 gun, bow, crossbow, sports and patron licenses were sold for the 2022 season. That is down 1.6% from last year.

This year, licenses were sold to hunters in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Additionally, hunters came from 21 different countries to deer hunt in Wisconsin.