Deer harvest numbers were down significantly across the Northland last season. Will this season be any better? Both the Minnesota and the Wisconsin DNR feel hopeful for a more normal season. 

According to Wisconsin DNR Wildlife Biologist Gregory Kessler, there was about a 20-30% decline in last year’s harvest success. 

“In severe winters like [2022-2023],  we saw significant over-winter mortality,” explained Kessler. “Younger deer fawns born in that spring of 2022 had a pretty tough first year of their life. Also,  mature bucks that have just come out of the rut. They wear themselves down and they didn’t have a lot of time to put energy back on. Probably didn’t do very well in that hard winter.” 

Minnesota DNR Big Game Program Coordinator Todd Froberg says that the type of snow can also play a role in deer survival. 

“If we get some crust on the top, it makes it easier for predators to hunt deer where deer fall through the snow,” explained Froberg. “Once it gets over about 15 inches, which is about the belly of a deer, it affects the mobility of deer and their kind of ability to move around and acquire food. It makes them more limited to a specific area.”

Last year’s mild winter meant good over-winter survival for deer, but Froberg says it will take more than one mild winter to see the population grow. In addition to the winter weather impacting the deer population, it can also influence how hunters hunt.

“Seasons that are bitterly cold, really windy, and in the teens or lower, are not so conducive to hunters sitting for long periods and spending opportunity in the woods. So we see a decline in harvest in those years,” explained Kessler. Every year is slightly different, but the common factor is moderate temperatures, mild winds, a little bit of snow on the ground, and rut all increase our harvest opportunities.”

A later season means a greater chance of snow and colder temperatures. Kessler says the timing also means a change in deer movement.

“There’s always a few deer that are still in the breeding mode looking and being a little less than cautious, but hunters can expect most of the breeding to be done,” explained Kessler. “The activity levels are going to be a little lower. So deer are going to probably be concentrating more on food sources than they are looking for breeding opportunities.” 

Less movement is good for drivers. It also means hunters may have luck if they too concentrate on food sources. 

“I would say that one of the biggest differences from last year is that there’s not a huge acorn crop,” said Froberg. “So maybe last year where deer were more scattered and spread out across the landscape, eating up a lot of that hard mast in the hardwoods. This year, if you can find some leftover acorns or maybe some trees that are producing acorns to key in on those and really focus on where those deer patterns are changing so they might be a little bit more predictable this year.”

According to Kessler, there are a few specific areas that hunters may want to seek out in Wisconsin once their season begins. 

“The northern red oaks right around Brule produce some acorns, but deer and other animals have eaten all of them for the most part. Southern areas that have some of the pin oaks and the black oak species in our pine oaks mixed cover types and sandy soils near Gordon and Barnes and down into Washburn and Burnett County, those areas have some pockets of really good acorns,” said Kessler. 

The Wisconsin Deer Opener is next weekend. For the Minnesota Opener, the deer harvest numbers were up around four percent statewide compared to last year. The biggest increase was in northeast Minnesota with a six percent gain.