MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 25, preliminary deer harvest and license sales totals for the opening weekend of the 2025 gun deer season.
Preliminary License Sales Data
By the numbers:
A news release says preliminary figures indicate that the number of gun deer hunters in Wisconsin stayed nearly constant compared to 2024. As of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, 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 (which include gun, conservation patron and sports licenses).
Final license sales figures will be available in January, at which time DNR staff will perform a thorough analysis and interpretation.
Preliminary Registration Totals
By the numbers:
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.
Opening Weekend Hunting Incidents
What we know:
At the time of this release, the DNR reports the following firearm-involved hunting incidents on the opening day of the 2025 nine-day gun deer season. Season runs from Nov. 22-30.
- Grant County, North Lancaster Township: On Nov. 22, 2025, in the afternoon hours, a 57-year-old male was a victim of a gunshot to his buttock while walking to a field to go deer hunting. The victim was transported to the hospital and treated for injury. Investigation pending.
- Fond du Lac County, Oakfield Township: On Nov. 22, 2025, in the evening hours, 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. Preliminary investigation reflects the victim was in a tree, gun deer hunting from a saddle stand, when the unintentional discharge of their firearm occurred. Investigation pending.
Comparatively, during the 2024 nine-day gun deer season, the DNR reported one firearm-involved hunting incident resulting in injury.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Wisconsin DNR.