Hunters killed 228,629 deer during 2011 gun season

MADISON (AP) -- State wildlife officials say their final tally shows hunters killed slightly more deer during Wisconsin's traditional gun hunt last November than in 2010.

The Department of Natural Resources says hunters killed 228,629 deer during the latest nine-day season, up 3 percent from 2010. Hunters killed roughly the same number of bucks, taking 100,758 in 2011 compared with 100,574 in 2010.

They also killed about 7,150 more antlerless deer than in 2010, even though the DNR ended its contentious earn-a-buck program going into the 2011 season. The herd control strategy required hunters in overpopulated management zones to kill an antlerless deer before taking a buck.

The DNR says hunters killed 347,711 deer across all hunting seasons last year, up 3 percent from last year.