Walworth County hunters had best luck bagging trophy bucks
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
Likely benefiting from relaxed tag rules and higher numbers of deer, hunters in the three-county area registered about 10 percent more deer during opening weekend of the state’s gun hunt compared to 2011, according to a preliminary tally compiled by the state Department of Natural Resources.
While the number of deer registered here is up, only Racine County kept pace with the statewide increase of 20 percent.
Totals from across the state show 134,772 deer registered during the opening weekend – a 19.7 percent increase over 2011.
In the three-county Kenosha-Racine-Walworth area, hunters registered a total of 533 deer this weekend compared to 486 in 2011.
In terms of increase locally, Racine County leads the way with 162 deer registered, up 20 percent from the 135 registered during the same period last year.
The Walworth County number is up 14 percent with 248 deer registered compared to last year’s 217.
Kenosha County was one of the few counties throughout the state to see a decline in its number. Hunters there registered 123 deer this past weekend, compared to 134 in 2011. That represents a decrease of 8 percent.
Walworth County was the place to be for trophy deer. Hunters there registered 150 bucks during the opening weekend, an increase of 33 percent over last year. The buck harvest was down 3 percent in Racine County and 22 percent in Kenosha County.
Tom Hauge, director of the DNR wildlife management program, cautioned against reading too much into the preliminary numbers.
“The final opening weekend tally will likely be somewhat larger, when all the registration stubs are entered into the database over the next couple of months,” he said. “Generally, we see about 60 percent of the overall harvest in the first weekend, but we hold drawing of conclusions until the season is complete.”
The season continues through Nov. 25.
The increase in the first weekend tally, he said, could be attributed to a number of factors. Most likely among those is the fact that unseasonably warm temperatures greeted hunters and motivated them to register their deer immediately rather than waiting and risking spoiling the venison.
While hunters generally like a dusting of snow to aid in tracking deer, the absence of that was likely offset by the warm weather, which allowed many hunters to stay out in the field or tree stand longer, Hauge said.
“I suspect for every deer reported there are 10 great deer camp stories out there, he added. “It appears that this season is well on its way to creating lifelong memories and more importantly, starting traditions for thousands of new hunters.”
By the numbers
Here are some facts about the current season provided by the DNR:
• 614,435 total deer gun hunting licenses sold, up 2 percent from last year;
• Resident deer licenses (568,831) are up 1.5 percent
• Nonresident deer licenses (32,554) up 2 percent;
• 10- and 11-year-old mentored gun deer licenses (13,050) are up 10 percent;
• 60 percent of gun deer licenses were sold in the month of November;
• Females represent 9.5 percent of total gun hunters;
• 78,604 (or 13 percent) were youth (under age of 18);
• 61,276 (or 10 percent) were senior citizens (65 years of age and older);
• Hunters come to Wisconsin from all 50 states and several foreign countries
• 25,703 first time buyer licenses were sold;
• 9,001, or 35 percent of first time buyers were youth (17 years of age and under).
Three injuries reported
DNR officials said there were three hunting-related injuries reported during the opening weekend. Of the injuries – that occurred in Columbia, Manitowoc and Portage counties – one was self-inflicted and two were two-party related.
Wildlife officials also said there were several reports of injuries resulting when hunters fell from tree stands. The DNR does not officially track non-firearm-related injuries.
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