Breakdown of the 2002 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Seasons
Archery Season total harvest was 54,093. There were 29,317 antlered and 24,776
antlerless deer. This figure is down 36% from the 2001 Archery harvest of 83,120.

Rifle Season license sales down 10% in 2002.
Total deer for the 9 day Gun Deer Season - 277,959. There were 121,962 antlered,
155,968 antlerless, and 29 unknown. This figure is down 10% from 2001.

2002 total kill down 20% from the ten year average, and is the lowest harvest
Wisconsin has had since 1993.This figure also includes the deer harvested within
the CWD Zone, which has an extended rifle season.

Muzzleloader Season total harvest was 3,905 deer, with 1,038 antlered
and 2,867 antlerless deer.

The early and late season T-Zone hunts harvested 36,119 deer, and this figure
doesn't include any deer harvested in the eradication zone. This figure is down
almost 50% from 2001, but you must take into consideration that there were 76
management units participating in all T-Zone hunts in 2001, compared to only 56
in October 2002 - and 22 in December 2002.

Total deer kill for 2002 in Wisconsin was 372,076 with 40,086 deer having
samples taken for CWD tests. Some of the 40,086 deer were not included in the
harvest figures above. The total harvest for 2001 was 444,384, and the main
reasons for the drop in the harvest for 2002 was the CWD scare and the banning
of baiting and feeding.

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Due to the fact CWD was found in Wisconsin in 2001, and the DNR's law changes
in regard to the feeding and baiting of deer, there were many hunters that decided
to back off on their hunting this year. Mainly their concern was split down the
middle between these 2 issues.

There were quite a few hunters that did decide to hunt, sighting their responsibility
to the sport and the DNR's wanting to control the deer herd. Many of the hunters
that I am in contact with did very little hunting, if any, during the archery season.
They did how ever hunt during the rifle season, as this involves hunting with groups
and family. The rifle season is more of a tradition, and it is very hard to break
tradition. The Denninger and Waggoner families did hunt this year, and had some
success. Denningers shot 9 with a couple of racked bucks, while the Waggoners
harvested 15, including a 10 pointer and a few 8 pointers.

For the record, I did limit my hunting this year to a minimum, as you can see
from my Hunting Log. I just couldn't seem to get into the spirit of things. Many
of my friends, that are normally on this website, also limited their hunting.

Below are some photos of bucks that were shot locally this year during the archery
and rifle seasons. They were registered at Sportsman's Headquarters. I apologize
for the quality of the photos as they are from polaroids.
Waggoner's Buck Pole 2002 (Rifle Season)
Kujo's Bow Deer
Presently there hasn't been any positive test results on the CWD testing in Northern
Wisconsin. Go to the Wisconsin DNR's Website to stay up to date on this issue.
Their address can be found on the "links" page of this website.