Successful 2024 gun-deer season

Preliminary numbers are in for this year’s nine-day gun-deer hunt. Hunters killed more deer this season compared to 2023. Preliminary numbers show hunters registered 189,622 deer for the 2024 season (89,787 antlered, 99,835 antlerless). That’s a 5.2% increase from 2023, according to the DNR. There was also a slight bump in the number of hunters who bought licenses. One non-fatal firearm incident was reported for the whole nine-day season in the Town of Wheatland Friday. A 14-year-old boy was shot through both his left and right feet. According to the DNR, he was sitting in an enclosed blind with his father on private property. The father heard what sounded like a gunshot in the distance. Shortly after that, the victim felt pain in his feet. The boy was taken to the hospital for treatment. The shooter was identified, and an investigation is ongoing.