What hunters need to know about bonus archery and crossbow permits

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Hunters are getting ready for their shot at bonus permits for Wisconsin’s archery and crossbow seasons.

“If they haven’t already through thinking about putting out trail cameras and getting trails ready and stands ready, when the bonus permits go on sale it’s the first signal that deer season is right around the corner,” says Jeff Pritzl, DNR Deer Program Specialist.

Starting Monday, Aug. 16, bonus antlerless permits are up for grabs. Sales are staggered over three days.

“Day one on August 16th is for the Forest Zone, both the Central and the Northern Forest, and we recognize that in many of those counties antlerless permits are pretty limited and so there’s a lot of interest in getting in on that right away,” says Pritzl.

Pritzl recommends hunters do their research ahead of time to see how many bonus permits are available per county on both public and private land.

Central Farmland permits go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 17, followed by Southern Farmland on Wednesday, Aug. 18.

Online or over-the-counter sales begin at 10 a.m. each day. Some counties, especially up north, traditionally sell out fast.

Pritzl says the antlerless permits are a key component to properly managing the state’s deer herd.

“Based on last year’s harvest information, all arrows are pointing towards increasing deer herds and in some areas that’s a good thing and some areas that’s a challenge, and as we’ve talked about before, in farmland areas it’s often a challenge to get an adequate antlerless deer harvest,” says Pritzl. “In many of those farmland counties we just need more hunters to take just an antlerless deer or a couple, we’re not necessarily targeting people shooting multiples of deer.”

ONLINE SALES: https://gowild.wi.gov/