Loaders Nevada
Loaders Nevada
Hunting in Wisconsin?
I am getting ready to move to Wisconsin. Is the Deer Hunting a draw type system, or can I buy tags across the counter and hunt any where, and is there a lot of public land? Where I live now, in Nevada, we have to apply for a specific area and a specific type of hunt, archery, rifle, muzzel loader ect..
Wisconsin used to be very easy to understand deer hunting. In the last few years, they have completely overhauled the deer hunting regulations in the last few years.
I would lump the Wisconsin deer seasons into three types, archery, gun, and muzzleloader. The DNR sells two types of deer licenses, archery and gun. For any of the seasons, a tag can be purchased over the counter (most stores with a sporting good section sells deer licenses and tags). With your license you get two tags, a “buck” tag and an “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” tag. The “buck” tag can be used statewide (but what you can shoot with it varies by area). The “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” tag can only be used in certain areas. (To summarize so far, you buy a deer license over the counter and can be used statewide…it gets much more complicated from there.)
The archery season runs roughly from the middle of September to the middle of November, then the end of November to the beginning of January. The gun deer season runs from the Saturday before Thanksgiving and goes for 9 days. There is an additional 10 day muzzleloader season beginning the day after the gun season ends. This year, there was an additional 4 day anterless deer season in the beginning of December. There is also a 2-day youth hunt on October.
While a license is good statewide and the “buck” tag is good statewide, there are many “areas” throughout the state (about 100). For both archery and gun seasons, the “areas” are either regular, EAB, herd control, or CWD. The following are a brief description of each type:
Regular: In this type of area, a hunter is allowed to only shoot a buck and the “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” tags are not valid in these zones. Additional anterless tags for this area type can be purchased over the counter while supplies last for $12 if you are a resident.
EAB: EAB is the acronym for Earn a Buck. In this area, you need to shoot a doe before you can shoot a buck. The “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” are valid in these areas. I think you can get as many as you like, but I think the “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” tags are $2 each after the first one. To shoot a buck in this zone, you need to have an authorization sticker. I think you can also shoot a buck without a sticker if you register a doe at the same time.
Herd Control: This area type used to be referred to as “Zone-T”. In this area type, you can fill either the buck tag or the “Anterless Herd Control/EAB” without restrictions.
CWD: CWD is the acronym for Chronic Wasting Disease. In southern Wisconsin, there are two types of CWD areas, eradication and herd reduction. As of 2006, you can get unlimited either-sex tags for CWD zones. At least this year, the CWD areas are not EAB, you can shoot whatever walks by.
Finally, a little more on the gun deer season. Besides the area types I’ve mentioned above, the same zones may have weapons restrictions. Each zone is either a rifle or a shotgun zone. In shotgun zones, you can either use shotgun, muzzleloaders, or handguns. In rifle zones, you can use whatever you want.
The state does have a number of Wildlife Recreation Areas where you can hunt. Besides that, there are a few federal properties that allow hunting and state parks as well. Personally, I do most of my hunting on public land. I haven’t gotten any huge bucks, but I have always put meat in the freezer and have seen some terrific animals.
The state of Wisconsin also has “Managed Forest Areas”. These are private properties that are opened to the public in exchange for huge tax breaks. You can order listings of these properties at the following website (but you may need a plat book to figure out where the lands really are):
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/forestry/ftax/index.htm
The following site might give you a start on finding public land:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/reclands/index.htm
Finally, there are farms that are open to hunting under the crop damage program. Farmers are required to have a certain number of hunters a day on their property. You can get listings of addresses and phone numbers of participating properties at the website:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/damage/twotypes.htm
If you were born after 1/1/1973, you will need proof of taking a Hunter Safety Course. There is an armed forces exemption to this rule if it applies to you.
Good luck and happy hunting.