MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) - The gun-deer hunting season opened with better numbers than last year despite a similar number of hunters, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported Tuesday.

The DNR says hunters registered 90,671 deer across the state through Sunday, a 3.9% increase from last year’s 87,248 deer. It’s about 1% below the 5-year average.

Anterless deer harvest improves

The harvest included 48,748 antlered deer, a slight increase from last year, and 41,923 antlerless deer, a significant 7% jump over 2024.

The DNR asked hunters to focus on antlerless deer as the state’s deer population grew to a record estimate of 3 million after some mild winters.

Through Sunday, the state sold almost 778,000 hunting licenses. The vast majority (538,865) were for gun privileges only.

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