If a non-hunter asked a dozen deer hunters why they hunt, they might be surprised to learn it's far more than for the rare shot at a trophy buck.

Venison steaks, stew meat, sausage and jerky are among the mouth-watering reasons that hundreds of thousands of members of the camo and blaze orange gang hit the forests and fields of Wisconsin each fall.

Of course, what true hunter doesn't occasionally dream of the chance encounter with a buck so large in body and rack that it takes his or her breath away and sends the heart into hammer time?

While visions of giants may be dancing in the heads of many again this season, the truth is, there are plenty of hunters who will consider the hunt a success if they can simply put some fresh venison on the table.

Even with a herd significantly smaller than it was a decade ago, Wisconsin is still poised to produce its 16th-straight 300,000-plus total deer kill this fall, something that happened for the first time ever in 1985. It's also very possible that Badger State hunters will top 400,000 for the 11th time in the past 12 years.

The chronic wasting disease fear factor season of 2002 was the only blip since 1998. The unknowns of the disease sparked a 100,000-plus drop in combined gun and bow deer license sales. Even with that, the 317,888 firearm kills and 54,133 bow kills taken that year were higher than any season totals before 1990.

All of Wisconsin's top 10 deer kills have taken place since 1995, eight in the past decade alone.

HUNTERS GANG UP
Like most Green Bay Packers fans, Wisconsin deer hunters are a passionate bunch. So it really wasn't that much of a surprise when thousands of them vociferously bent the ears of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife managers and state legislators earlier this year, asking for a break from earn-a-buck and October antlerless gun deer seasons.

They got some of what they wished for, but certainly not everything. Outside of the CWD zones, there will be no earn-a-buck in place this fall. But there will still be herd control hunts with unlimited antlerless tags available and a mid-October season for does and fawns.

All those tags certainly won't be used. They never are. But it's possible, without the threat of earn-a-buck, that more hunters will let does walk this fall. In fact, a number of hunters have organized across the state and are encouraging others -- if they're not seeing a lot of does in their hunt areas -- to pass up antlerless deer to let herds rebuild.

Keith Warnke, the WDNR's big-game specialist, said there are units in the northern forest and northeast where deer populations are substantially below goal. However, he said most of the state is either near goal or above goal, with plenty of opportunity for hunters to score this fall.