Gun deer opening weekend numbers

MADISON, Wis. (WRCO / WRCE) – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today (Tuesday) announced preliminary deer harvest and license sales totals for the opening weekend of the 2025 gun deer season.

Preliminary figures indicate that the number of gun deer hunters in Wisconsin stayed nearly constant compared to 2024. As of Sunday night, sales for deer hunting privileges, which include gun, archery, crossbow, conservation patron and sports licenses, reached 777,843, down 0.03% from the same time last year. Of those, 538,865 were for gun privileges only. Final license sales figures will be available in January.

In total, hunters registered 90,671 deer statewide during the opening weekend of the 2025 gun deer hunt, compared to 87,248 registered for the same period in 2024. This is a 3.9% increase from a year ago and 1.1% below the 5-year average. Hunters registered a total of 48,748 antlered deer on opening weekend, compared to 48,063 in 2024, a 1.4% increase.

The antlerless harvest was 41,923, which is up 7% from last year. Around the WRCO listening area Columbia County registered 1,002 antlered deer and 793 antlerless deer for a total of 1,795. Crawford County registered 746 antlered deer and 1,010 antlerless deer for a total of 1,756. Grant County registered 1,103 antlered deer and 1,067 antlerless deer for a total of 2,170. Iowa County registered 592 antlered and 489 antlerless for a total of 1,081. Lafayette County registered 372 antlered deer and 364 antlerless deer for a total of 736. Richland County registered 876 antlered and 743 antlerless deer for a total of 1,619. Sauk County registered 996 antlered and 874 antlerless for a total of 1,870; and in Vernon County 1,272 antlered deer and 1,376 antlerless deer were recorded for a total of 2,648 deer.

The DNR reports two firearm-involved hunting incidents occurred on the opening day of the 2025 nine-day gun deer season. One in Grant County in North Lancaster Township, when a 57-year-old male was a victim of a gunshot while walking to a field to go deer hunting. The victim was transported to the hospital and treated for injury. The second was in Fond du Lac County when a 24-year-old male deer hunter was a victim of a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest. The victim was found deceased several hours after the close of hunting hours by family on private property. Comparatively, during the 2024 nine-day gun deer season, the DNR reported one firearm-involved hunting incident resulting in injury.

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