Wisconsin’s Preliminary Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey Results
OutdoorHub 09.28.12
A total of 159 Wisconsin deer hunters have reported 385 hunting trips via the online survey. 72 individuals have also supplied an email address to have a summary of their observations e-mailed to them at the end of the survey period.
Trips were reported from 63 of 72 counties in the state, and in 78 of 139 deer management units. DMU 77M has the greatest number of observations (35), followed by DMU 65A with 27 observations. Hunters reported spending 1,330 observation hours in the field, and averaged 3.5 hours per trip. Most trips and observation hours occurred in the Southern Farmland followed by the Eastern Farmland, Northern Forest, Western Farmland and lastly the Central Forest region.
Deer hunters have reported 180 bucks, 442 does, 282 fawns, and 66 unknowns. Statewide, hunters averaged 0.73 deer seen per hour. Deer seen per hour varied between regions with the high being the Eastern Farmland averaging 0.83 deer per hour and the low being the Central Forest averaging 0.58 deer per hour. The Northern Forest and the Southern Farmland reported 0.68 and 0.67 deer per hour, respectively. Hunters in the Western Farmland saw 0.80 deer per hour.
The most frequently observed species other than deer were turkeys. Hunter sightings varied greatly by regions, with most sightings occurring in Wisconsin’s primary turkey range, the farmland and central forest regions. The next most frequently seen animal was raccoons.
Please continue to enter your observations by clicking here or go to the WDNR homepage and keyword search ‘deer hunter wildlife’.
Questions about the Wisconsin Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey, accessing the tally sheet, reporting your observation, or the results of the survey, can be referred to Jes Rees at (608) 221-6360.
