Deer hunters are asked to record their hunting observations

[Woody]

The Wisconsin DNR is giving all deer hunters the chance to record their sightings of deer and other wildlife during the upcoming gun and muzzleloader deer seasons on the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey.  The WDNR is interested in all hunting trips, even if you do not see anything during your hunt.  This data will be used to measure the relative abundance and distribution of deer and other mammalian/avian wildlife species in the state.   

During the first two months of the archery, and during the youth, and antlerless only deer seasons hunters have reported over 5600 hunting trips on the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey.  Hunters are averaging 4.1 hours per hunting trip.  Deer hunters see on average about 1.55 deer per trip, or about 0.38 deer per hour of hunting time.  Does are the most commonly sighted deer, followed by fawns, then bucks.  Turkeys are the next most commonly seen animal, with an average of 1.44 turkeys seen per trip.  Ruffed grouse and raccoons are the next most commonly seen animal after turkeys.   

If you are participating in the survey, please continue to record your hunting trips and observations.  Please report all hunting trips, even if you see nothing during the hunt.  If you have not yet hunted or recorded your observations, please do so when you get a chance.
Thank you to all the hunters for the information you've collected so far.  If you have any questions about the results so far or about the survey, please feel free to contact me at Brian.Dhuey@wisconsin.gov .
Have a safe and memorable hunt!