Photo by Ken Thommes

By Gary F. Martin

White-tailed deer hunters don't have to put their guns and bows away after the regular nine-day firearms season ends in Wisconsin, because there are still plenty of opportunities to sit in a tree stand, make drives or track a deer.

The muzzleloader and late archery seasons begin on Nov. 29. The bowhunt will run through Jan. 3, 2005, and the muzzleloader hunt runs through Dec. 8. In addition to these regular late-season opportunities, Zone T and earn-a-buck (EAB) deer management units (DMUs) south of U.S. Highway 8 will have a special antlerless-only four-day hunt Dec. 9 through Dec. 12.

At this writing, the Department of Natural Resources had yet to issue the chronic wasting disease (CWD) zone hunting regulations, but you can bet that there will be late-season hunting opportunities there, too. You can also expect special hunts in our metropolitan DMUs. In each case, check with the local DNR Service Centers for specific season dates and regulations.

In general, baiting and feeding are prohibited in the southern half of Wisconsin and are legal in the north with a two-gallon limit. Once again, check with the local DNR office for specific areas where baiting is allowed and for any last-minute changes in the regulations.

Most regular season, Zone T, EAB and CWD DMUs had bonus permits for sale at the beginning of the deer hunting seasons, and sales will continue until the tags are sold out for specific DMUs. Bonus permits allow killing antlerless deer only, cost $12, and when available can be purchased at any license sales location. Hunters are allowed to buy up to two bonus permits per day while supplies last, and you must remember that bonus tags are unit-specific.

Statewide, late-season bowhunters killed 2,392 antlered deer in 2003, or 23 percent of the total harvest. Late-season buck percentages near 25 percent have been "normal" in recent years. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues with the introduction of earn-a-buck in 2004.

Our top 10 late-season archery deer counties in 2003 were Marinette, Marathon, Oneida, Waupaca, Bayfield, Wood, Shawano, Vilas, Douglas and Price. As was the case last year, the top counties are all in the northern half of Wisconsin. Bowhunters killed 3,151 whitetails in these 10 counties during last year's late season. That is 30 percent of the total late-season archery harvest.

Weather, especially snow cover, is always important to late-season hunting success. Last year, Marinette County was our top late-season archery county even though some areas were knee-deep in lake-effect snow in December. Hunters bagged 585 deer in Marinette County, and 111, or 19 percent, of them were antlered.

Central Wisconsin had snow on the ground, too - approximately 5 inches in mid-December 2003, and Marathon County was the second-ranking county after bowhunters tagged 518 deer, of which 93 (18 percent) were antlered. Nearby Waupaca, Wood and Shawano counties ranked fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Archers killed 408 deer in Waupaca County during the late season, and 16 percent (64 deer) were antlered, which was the lowest buck percentage in our top 10 late-season archery counties. Wood County bowhunters put down 365 whitetails, with 73 sporting antlers, and in Shawano County the late-season bowkill was 359 deer, of which 20 percent were antlered.

In the northwest part of our state, Bayfield and Douglas counties ranked fifth and ninth. Archers took 385 whitetails in Bayfield County, and 94 (24 percent) were bucks. Douglas County came in with 340 archery kills in the late season, and 111, or 33 percent, were antlered.

The last three of our top 10 late-season archery counties - Oneida, Vilas and Price - rank third, eighth and 10th, respectively, for 2003. In Oneida County, 481 whitetails fell to archers, and 26 percent of them were bucks. Vilas County saw 346 deer die, and 81 were antlered. Tenth-ranking Price County was the only top 10 county to fall below a deer kill of 200. Archers there took 189 deer, but surprisingly, 146 of those, or 77 percent, were antlered.

During the late-archery season last year, Wisconsin's top 10 DMUs were 62B, 63A, 53, 77M, 58, 35, 62A, 46, 65B and 54A. A total of 2,227 deer fell to late-season archers in these 10 units. This is 22 percent of the statewide late-season harvest, and 417 of those deer, or 19 percent, were antlered.

Most of these DMUs overlap with our top 10 counties, but one notable exception is DMU 77M. This is the huge metro unit covering parts of Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Washington, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties. In 2003 the late-season archery kill was 217 whitetails, with 29 percent (63 deer) having "horns."

Last year's top 10 muzzleloader counties were Waupaca, Bayfield, Oneida, Price, Marinette, Ashland, Marathon, Douglas, Shawano and Vilas. Hunters killed 2,148 deer with muzzleloaders in these 10 counties. That's 35 percent of the total 2003 muzzleloader harvest. With the exception of Ashland replacing Wood County, this list is the same as the top 10 late-season archery counties. Last year hunters took a higher percentage of bucks during the muzzleloader season than they did during the late archery season, 27 percent compared to 23 percent for archers.

Our No. 1 muzzleloader county in 2003 was Waupaca, where 293 deer were registered, and 72 of them, or 25 percent, were antlered. Bayfield County was second statewide with 269 whitetails, but the buck percentage was lower than most of the top 10 at 21 percent. Oneida County was third in muzzleloader kill with 267 deer, of which 68, or 25 percent, were legal bucks.

In fourth place, Price County hunters bagged 251 whitetails, but surprisingly 98, or 39 percent, were antlered. Marinette County took the fifth place in 2003 with 209 muzzleloader registrations, and 28 percent, or 59 deer, were sporting legal antlers. Sixth was Ashland County with 186 deer, but 38 percent (71) were bucks.

Marathon County came in with 183 muzzleloader kills to take seventh place and 39, or 21 percent, were bucks. Douglas County ranks in eighth place with a total kill of 175 deer, but the antlered percentage is high at 46 percent. That means 81 of the muzzleloader kills. In Shawano County, 162 deer were taken by muzzleloaders and 33, or 20 percent, wore antlers. Finally, the No. 10 spot is held by Vilas County, where 153 deer were harvested and 37, or 24 percent, were bucks.

Last year's top 10 DMUs of the muzzleloader season were 63A, 61, 62B, 59C, 65B, 20, 14, 66, 03 and 77C. While nine of the top 10 best late-season archery counties are also in the top 10 list of muzzleloader counties, only three DMUs (62B, 63A, 65B) made both top 10 muzzleloader lists. All this means is that one county can cover all or part of several DMUs. However, these three DMUs are all grouped together in the area of Shawano, Waupaca and Outagamie counties. Obviously this is a deer hunting hotspot, which is supported by the fact that for 2004 this whole area is in earn-a-buck.

Twenty-two percent (1,346 deer) of the state's total muzzleloader kill of 6,092 whitetails were taken in the top 10 DMUs, and 25 percent of those were antlered. DMU 63A was the best unit with 225 dead deer, of which 65, or 29 percent, were bucks.

The next best unit was DMU 61 along the Mississippi River on the west side of the state. Here, 181 deer were registered and only 21, or 12 percent, were legal bucks. Third was DMU 62B with 154 muzzleloader kills. Of these, 22 percent (34 deer) had antlers. For fourth place, once again we go to the west side of Wisconsin and DMU 59C, where 127 deer died by smokepole, and 33 were wearing antlers.

DMU 65B, again in the central area, came in fifth with a total of 127 deer, and antlered animals were 23 percent of that total. DMUs 20 and 14 in the northwestern part of the state took sixth and seventh place. DMU 20 registered 115 muzzleloader kills, with 42 (37 percent) as bucks. DMU 14 came in with 110 whitetails and 35, or 32 percent, were antlered. Eighth place for 2003 is held by DMU 66 with 103 muzzleloader deer, and 26 of them, or 25 percent, were bucks. In the extreme north, DMU 03 takes ninth place with 103 deer, and only 12 were antlered.

So far, all the muzzleloader hotspots have been clustered in three areas around Wisconsin, but our 10th place muzzleloader unit for 2003 was DMU 77C in the southeast section of our state and covering a portion of three counties. Muzzleloaders killed 101 whitetails there, and 33 were bucks.