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Opening weekend of the 2007 Gun Deer Hunt is at the doorstep, and state wildlife officials say prospects are excellent, especially for those hunters who take time to scout their hunting areas before heading out.
"The herd is large and healthy and rutting activity is under way," said Keith Warnke, deer and bear ecologist for the state Department of Natural Resources. "There is plenty of good hunting opportunity in all areas of the state but as always, the best chances for success go to hunters who've done the early legwork, scouting out travel lanes, food, water and bedding sites in order to be at the right place on opening morning."
Biologists emphasize that it's not too late to do some scouting.
"Deer respond to changes in their habitat and range over time," says Warnke. "They change their patterns and routines in response to their environment. A tree stand or blind that provided good hunting in past years may not be as productive today due to changes in available food, forest cover, development, and other factors. Some of these changes take place slowly over time and aren't as noticeable to hunters but they do affect deer behavior."
Wisconsin's deer herd is estimated at between 1.6 and 1.8 million animals heading into the nine-day Nov. 17-25 gun hunt, which will be followed by a muzzleloader only hunt Nov. 26 – Dec. 5 and a statewide antlerless deer only gun hunt Dec. 6-9. Deer hunters have harvested, on average, at least 460,000 deer every year for the last 10 years. Wisconsin's deer harvest holds 3 places in the top ten North American deer harvests and in 2006 Wisconsin archery hunters established a new Wisconsin harvest record of 113,918.
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