Bear hunting season in Wisconsin began Wednesday with 11,500 licenses awarded statewide. An estimated 30,000 people applied for a license, and another 100,000 people purchased a preference point towards future drawings.

Licenses are awarded through a lottery system. Wisconsin DNR Large Carnivore Specialist Randy Johnson says it can take anywhere from a couple of years to 10-12 years to get a tag.

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“It’s an activity that we continue to see more and more interest in, and I think there’s a number of reasons,” said Johnson. “A lot of folks are familiar with deer hunting, they’re familiar with that activity, what that looks like. I think folks are finding that bear hunting is a completely different opportunity.”

Gunsmith Heath Moulding works at Superior Guns and Ammo and says he has talked to many hunters who are going bear hunting for the first time this year.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s Wisconsin or Minnesota, but deer hunting up here in the north is a family driven, my great-grandpa has been hunting deers up out of the shack for the last, you know, hundred years type of scenarios, which is awesome, right? We love that tradition, we love that right there, but there are very few families that are going, ‘we are bear hunters’,” said Moulding.

There are different elements that make bear hunting stand out to hunters, such as the time of year.

“It’s warmer. It’s a different experience in the woods.” said Johnson. “It’s a very social activity, which deer hunting isn’t always that social. You know, whether you’re hunting bears with the aid of bait, you know, there’s a period of weeks to months during the summer where you can be running those baits with family and friends. Or if you’re hunting with dogs, there’s a lot of training of those dogs, keeping of the dogs, and again, a very social activity.” 

Warmer temperatures also make it easier to get kids into hunting, which is something Moulding values.

“I love getting kids out in the woods, I love getting them out there, experiencing it because when it comes time for me to retire, I want to make sure we’re passing it off to the right generation who has those same values that most of us do have,” said Moulding. “So I think that that’s a big role of like bear hunting on there, you’re not out walking the woods, you get to see animals, bear comes in, it’s a cool experience, even if you don’t, you know, even if you don’t fire the shot, it’s a very cool experience to be out there and just watch them.”

Every bear harvested in the state has to be registered with the DNR, and hunters have to share information about the bear and send in two small teeth.

“That gives us genetic information as well as the age of all of these bears. So hunters are basically providing us the majority of the information we use to keep track and keep tabs on the population and make sure it remains healthy and sustainable,” explained Johnson.

The current bear population is stable in northern Wisconsin and growing in the southern portion of the state. Last year’s hunt had a lower harvest than normal, but hunters should have better luck this year.

“ The biggest thing that impacts bear hunting success is the abundance of natural food. Last year we saw like a record high acorn crop across much of the state. Acorns are, you know, a really stable food item for bears. With lots of them in the woods, bears were less hungry and less coming in to bait. So hunter success dropped way down. This year, I think expectations are looking really favorable. There’s fewer acorns, much more normal year.”

The bear hunting season goes until October 8 in Wisconsin. In Minnesota, the season started September 1 and goes until October 13.