Reviewing the Numbers: 2024 Wisconsin Deer Harvest

When you think of hunting in Wisconsin, you think Whitetail Deer. With over 300,000 deer harvested annually ranks top 5 annually in both total deer harvest and deer harvested per square mile (source NDA 2024 Deer Report).

I enjoy starting the hunt on my laptop by reviewing harvest numbers and looking for trends and identifying areas worth exploring. Turning data into something insight requires context and understanding the variables.

Heat map created from NDA's 2024 Report listing States' Whitetail Bucks Harvested Per Sq. Mile. Lots of variables to consider but a quick glimpse of Wisconsin compared to other states.

Wisconsin has great harvest density when looking at it at a national scale. With 3.0 bucks harvested per mile (BSM) it ranks number 4 in 2024 according to the National Deer Association. Factors for the success are likely a result of a rich tradition, high hunter numbers, accessible over-the-counter tags for non-residents, a mix of ag and forest habitat, a long season (5 months across different methods of take) and limited predation compared to some states.

Compare to Iowa for example which shares a lot of similarities in terms of landscape and culture. Iowa requires non-residents to acquire points generally 3-4 years before they can get a tag, has lower population density 58 people per sq. mile compared to Wisconsin with 111. Iowa has a great reputation for whitetail hunting but other factors such as population and limited non-resident tags reduce its heat index and BSM to 0.8.

Wisconsin Harvest Heatmaps

The Wisconsin heatmap I created below is a look at the Total Harvest Numbers by county using the Wisconsin DNR's Harvest Data. This includes all seasons/methods of take (general gun, archery/crossbow, muzzleloader, youth, anterless hunts).

At a high level you can see the center of the state is the "hottest" with it "cooling" down the further north and south you go.

The next heatmap I created is a look at Bucks harvested per square mile (BSM) in a county. I chose this as a control as it eliminates the most variables. Each hunter in the state can acquire two buck tags a year, one that can be used for Gun season and one that be used for archery/crossbow season. The tags are valid statewide and not county specific. Not all county's offer bonus doe tags, offer the holiday or anterless hunt which drive much of the state's total harvest. Dividing by square mile eliminates the county size factor giving a more level playing field.

This map shows some similarities to the first with the center of the state being the "hottest" and "cooling" off as you move North and South. But the "hottest" counties vary with Marquette/Waupaca/Waushara being red and Marathon/Clark/Marinette which are larger counties cooling down.

I also want to state that most counties have very healthy harvest per sq. mile anything above 3.0 I would consider very good on a national average. So would not consider yellow or green to be bad or poor counties to hunt, they are likely above average in the national scale.

This is the data in table format with the addition of column and ranking per capita. It is filtered by Bucks Per Mile Harvested.

Got the Blues

When you look at the blue counties the factors are likely different for the north and south.

• North you have areas with the heaviest predation (wolves, bears, coyotes) and harshest winters.

• North also has much lower population densities, so while there may be hunters that come north to hunt during gun season. The general lower population will limit season-long opportunities in those counties.

• South has arguably less suitable habitat compared to other parts of the state. My friend Paul suggested less forest/timber and more flat ag fields in some of the southern blue counties which are not going to be ideal to hunt or maintain deer.

• South also has heavy urbanization/high population, opposite problem of the north but in Milwaukee County for example if you look at On-X there are put a few miles in the South part of the county you could envision hunting in the rest is developed.

Weapon/Method of Take Variation

When I looked at the top five counties for each method of take. The top five counties were the same for each method of take with some variation in order. This indicated to me that there are not counties that are anti-crossbow or muzzleloader purists.

My Top 5 Take-Aways from the Harvest Report

1. Central Wisconsin is on top of the leader board. If you eliminate all other variables and I had to fill a buck tag in Wisconsin I would head straight for the center of the state.

2. More people does not mean more harvests. If you look at the top 10 counties that have the ten largest populations only Marathon County (at #10) has a BSM a above 3.5 with an average of 2.1 BSM. Compared to 10 least populated counties with a BSM of 2.7.

3. Tough Sledding in Northern Wisconsin, once you cross the 45th Parallel the BSM drops off significantly with the 12 most Northern counties averaging 1.75 BSM. With Marinette being the outlier at #15 no other county is the top 50% of Wisconsin counties in BSM.

4. There is limited variation in rankings across the different seasons/method of takes and anterless vs. anterled. IE a county ranked high in buck harvest during general gun season is going to be ranked high in anterless for Youth Season.

5. Wisconsin is blessed statewide, 87% of counties are above the national average (1.5) for bucks harvested per square mile. Giving hunters statewide ample opportunity to fill their tags.

Notes about how I summarized the data

• I summed the seasons (9-day gun, archery, crossbow, youth, holiday hunt, anterless hunt, muzzleloader) this left a 3,400 unit delta from the "Total" report. I am not sure of what harvest data was not included that created the difference but was approximately 1% so deemed it statitically insignificant.

• For the nine counties that have data for two different zones, I combined them (Ex: Eau Claire has areas in both the Central Farmland and Central Forest)

Factors not included in the data:

• Public vs. Private land harvests

• Public land by county

• Deer maturity or trophy potential

• Hunters per county

Sources

• Wisconsin Harvest Data

  https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/harvest/deerharvest

• The National Deer Association (NDA) 2024 Report

  https://deerassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024DeerReport.pdf

Disclaimers

• Harvest data is not a direct indicator of deer density

• This is my personal interpretation of the data, I encourage you to review on your own

• As mentioned multiple times in article most of Wisconsin is above average in terms of harvest, don't let this dissuade you from trying a new place or discourage you about the county you call home! Get out there!