DNR: Gun Deer Season Harvest Numbers Down from 2018

Numbers released by the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources Tuesday show that hunters killed 25 percent fewer deer during the
nine-day gun season this year over 2018. Preliminary figures show hunters
killed 160,769 deer during the season that ended on Sunday, which is down from
213,972 in 2018.

Officials say a late start to the season caused hunters to
miss the rut stage and deer were not moving around while they were in the
woods. The DNR also said strong winds, snow and rain later in the week may have
kept hunters at home and out of the woods.

The DNR also says the number of licenses sold for the gun
hunting season also dropped this year. The DNR sold just over 564-thousand
licenses through the end of the nine-day season. That number stood at over
577-thousand licenses sold in 2018.