Wisconsin Hunters Get Back in the Woods With the Opening of Bow Hunting
Monday, September 14th, 2020 -- 12:23 PM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -Deer hunters throughout the state are enjoying their first opportunity to hunt this fall with the opening of the 2020 archery and crossbow deer seasons, which run concurrently statewide through January 3, 2021.The Department of Natural Resources says the seasons are extended to January 31, 2021 in metro sub-units, and many counties will offer the antlerless-only holiday hunt between the Christmas and New Year holidays. "Reports from many areas of the state indicate that people are generally seeing good deer numbers and excellent antler growth," said DNR Big Game Section Chief Bob Nack. Last year, archery and crossbow hunters harvested more than 92,000 deer, including 54,000 bucks. Forest County and the forest zone portions of Marinette and Oconto counties will be the only units with buck-only seasons in 2020. Throughout the remainder of the state, antlerless hunting opportunities are available using farmland (Zone 2) and bonus antlerless deer harvest authorizations.
Meanwhile, bonus antlerless harvest authorizations remain available in many counties. Formerly known as doe tags, the authorizations may be filled with any weapon type during the appropriate season but must be filled in the zone, county and land type designated on each harvest authorization. Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations are available on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of $12 each for residents, $20 each for non-residents and $5 for youth hunters under age 12.
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