DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As Deer Hunt 2023 approaches, hunters are getting ready to possibly bag a trophy buck and make some memories along the way.
But what is the health of the herd?
The state’s deer expert says this season will arrive early, and the outlook is favorable.
“The peak of deer activity, associated with the breeding season, is really the last week of October, and the first two weeks of November. Where the gun season starts as it relates to being closer to the middle of November, only helps catch more of that deer movement. And that’s the situation we’re in this year,” said Jeff Pritzl, State DNR Deer Program Specialist.
Jeff Pritzl says the 2023 calendar puts Saturday’s opener at its earliest possible date.
“And that can benefit the gun harvest, because it gets us closer to the breeding season,” he said.
Pritzl says there are plenty of deer in the area, due to another relatively mild winter in Northeast Wisconsin.
“The harvest last year was up, but so was the population. So I wouldn’t say we put a bigger dent in the herd last year,” he said.
Hunters say they are seeing more white-tails too. Greg Coulthurst is the Door County Deer Advisory Council Chair.
“There’s a lot of deer. There’s a lot of big deer. There’s a lot of does. I expect a really good season if the weather stays the way we hope it to be,” said Greg Coulthurst, Door County Deer Advisory Council Chair.
Keith Propson chairs the Calumet County CDAC.
“The deer herd in Calumet County is growing steadily. So we are always encouraging people to be good, and maybe take an extra doe or two, and fill that tag,” said Keith Propson, Calumet County Deer Advisory Council Chair.
Experts say the summer was dry, but conditions in the spring may have had more of an impact.
“In terms of how much vegetation is available, spring green up was a little later this past year, so that can set things back a little bit, but overall there’s nothing to really expect that we had weather conditions that would have hampered deer productivity,” said Pritzl.
Pritzl says fall farm crop harvest is on pace with the five-year average.
“Standing corn creates great deer cover. And in a lot of cases, we think of that as if there’s too much standing corn on the landscape, that can be challenging,” he said.
He says there is one thing that may hamper deer hunting productivity, the calendar.
“Next year, in 2024, the calendar flips and we go back to the latest possible. So we lose, the gun season will almost be a week later next year. And there’s a measurable difference in terms of deer harvest, because that takes it a week further away from the rut,” said Pritzl.
The nine-day season begins on Saturday at about 6:30 a.m.
