Bow Hunting Season to Start Soon in Wisconsin

Monday, August 14th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

(Paul Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) It's only mid-August but already the signs of autumn are popping up in Wisconsin.

According to Paul Smith with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Green Bay Packers have played their first preseason game and splashes of red are showing on sumac trees across the state. And less conspicuous but just as telling, bowhunters are on ranges practicing with archery and crossbow equipment.

The Wisconsin bowhunting seasons for white-tailed deer open Sept. 16 across the state. Among the dozens of Wisconsin hunting seasons managed by the Department of Natural Resources, the annual bowhunting opportunities are second only to gun deer hunting in number of participants.

Of the approximately 600,000 deer hunters in Wisconsin, about 42% are archery or crossbow hunters, according to Jeff Pritzl, DNR state deer program specialist. With a large deer herd and liberal bowhunting opportunities, Wisconsin is among the national leaders in number of bowhunters.

The 2023 Wisconsin archery and crossbow seasons open Sept. 16 statewide and run through at least Jan. 7. In 31 counties, the bow hunts are extended to Jan. 31. Coming off a winter rated as moderate by the DNR's annual Winter Severity Index, the statewide deer herd is predicted to be larger this fall, according to the DNR.

The DNR estimated Wisconsin had 1.51 to 1.84 million deer statewide after the 2022 hunting seasons, a number that likely increased to more than 2 million after fawn births this year. The ample state of the deer herd is underscored by recommendations by County Deer Advisory Councils to offer antlerless deer permits for sale this season in 71 of 72 counties.

Only Iron County will be buck-only this year. In response to the herd growth, the statewide antlerless deer quota was increased 3.4% for the 2023 hunting seasons, according to the DNR. Deer numbers are especially high in the central and southern farmland regions.

Licenses are available at hundreds of sales outlets such as sporting goods stores as well as at the DNR's online site at gowild.wi.gov. For Wisconsin residents, both an archer (vertical bow) and crossbow deer hunting license costs $24.

A junior archer (12 to 17 years old) license is $20. The non-resident cost for an archer or crossbow license is $165.

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