2023 Wisconsin deer hunting summary

The Wisconsin DNR has released preliminary numbers for The 2023 gun deer hunting season and hunters registered 173,942 deer this year, including 85,390 antlered and 88,552 antlerless deer. Compared to 2022, the total gun deer harvest was down 17.6% statewide, with the antlered harvest down 14.7% and the antlerless harvest down 20.3%.

Fond du Lac County’s numbers fared better than the state average. Hunters shot 2257 total deer with 1,174 being antlered and 1,083 antlerless. Antlered shootings were up 2.6% over last year and the shooting of antlerless deer was down 11.7% with the total deer shot down 4.8%.

The gun deer hunting season lasted 9 days from November 18 through November 26.

Three firearm-involved hunting accidents occurred during the 2023 gun deer season with one being self inflicted compared to 8 accidental shootings last year with 4 being self inflicted.

Since the opening of the bow and crossbow seasons, hunters have registered 266,132 deer statewide with hunters from all 50 states and 27 countries purchasing a Wisconsin hunting license.