Deer harvest totals go up both locally and statewide
Hunters in both Clark and Marathon counties bagged more deer than they did last year during the recently completed nine-day rifle season, according to preliminary numbers released by the Wisconsin DNR on Tuesday.
In Marathon County, hunters registered a total of 6,895 deer, including 3,240 bucks and 3,655 anterless, according to the DNR. The county’s buck harvest was up 10.5% over 2023, and the anterless numbers increased by 9.8%.
When combined with previous hunting seasons, the total number of deer killed in Marathon County so far this year is 10,695, including 5,676 bucks and 5,019 does.
In Clark County, which is split between the Central Farmland and Central Forest zones, the total deer harvest during the rifle season was 6,445, including 2,606 bucks and 3,839 does.
The number of deer registered in the Central Farmland portion of Clark County went up by 10.7% over 2023, while the number of deer in the Central Forest zone dropped by 6.6 percent.
Overall, though, the number of deer claimed in the Central Forest Zone – which also includes portions of Adams, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe and Wood counties – increased by 7.5 %.
Since the start of the year, a total of 9,913 deer have been killed in Clark County.
Across the Central Farmland Zone, which includes Marathon, Clark and parts of 33 other counties, the total number of deer harvested during the nine-day rifle season was 111,011, which includes 49,326 bucks and 61,685 does. Numbers were up by an average of 9% across the board.
Statewide, preliminary figures show hunters registered 189,622 deer during the 2024 gun deer season, including 89,787 antlered and 99,835 antlerless deer. Compared to 2023, the gun season harvest total is up 5.2% statewide, with the antlered harvest up 3.6% and the antlerless harvest up 6.6%.
Since the opening of the bow and crossbow seasons, Wisconsin hunters have registered 289,361 deer. This harvest is 8.7% ahead of the same time last year.
Adams County in the Central Farmland Zone led the state with 12.4 deer registered per square mile. Vernon County led the Southern Farmland Zone with 7 deer registered per square mile. Adams County also led the Central Forest Zone registering 4.2 deer per square mile. Finally, Florence County led the Northern Forest Zone with 2.9 deer registered per square mile.
The regular gun deer season ran from Nov. 23 through Dec. 1 and is followed by the statewide muzzleloader season (Dec. 2-Dec. 11), the statewide antlerless-only fourday hunt (Dec. 12-Dec. 15) and the antlerless-only holiday hunt in select farmland zone counties (Dec. 24-Jan. 1, 2025).
At the publication time of this news release, the DNR reports only one nonfatal firearm-related hunting incident during the 2024 gun deer season.
On Nov. 29, at approximately 4 p.m., a 14-year-old male was sitting in an enclosed tower stand with his father, hunting on private property in Vernon County.
The victim’s father heard what sounded like a gunshot in the distance. Shortly after, the victim felt pain in his feet and found that he was shot through both the left and right foot. The victim was transported privately to the hospital and received medical treatment for his injuries.
The shooter has been identified, and an investigation is pending.
