Depending on where you hunt in North America, the annual bag limit on whitetail bucks can vary greatly. In many of the prime Midwest big buck states, resident deer hunters can usually shoot one buck with a gun, and another with a bow, so two bucks total. In some areas, Iowa for example, resident landowners can get an additional buck tag, so they can shoot three bucks per year.

If you hunt in famed Buffalo County, Wisconsin, however, there’s a chance the annual bag limit for whitetail bucks in 2019 could be zero. That’s right — even as a Wisconsin resident, even if you’re a landowner — you wouldn’t be allowed to shoot a single buck in Buffalo County, regardless of whether you hunt with gun, bow or both.

Obviously, this rule proposal isn’t sitting well with many Wisconsin deer hunters and outfitters. Buffalo County is seen by many avid whitetail hunters as the No. 1 destination on the planet to tag a trophy whitetail buck.

“Holding an antlerless-only hunt would be devastating to local landowners and outfitters who depend on that revenue to pay property and sales taxes every year,” said Bluff Country Outfitters Owner Tom Indebro. A 5-day bowhunt with Bluff Country Outfitters is $3,200.

So, why the proposal to reduce the bag limit on Buffalo County bucks to zero?

According to a recent story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mark Noll of Alma, Wisconsin, who is chairman of the Buffalo County Deer Advisory Council (CDAC), said “We are out of bullets, and our herd is still growing.” 

Apparently, the CDAC set a harvest quota of 6,000 antlerless deer for Buffalo County in 2018 (private and public land combined), but only 4,257 were killed. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) figures show that 37,449 private land antlerless tags were sold in Buffalo County, but only 3,870 were used.

Buffalo County Big Bucks = Big Money

Large amounts of Buffalo County private land are leased by outfitters who cater primarily to nonresident deer hunters hoping to shoot the buck of a lifetime. These outfitters pay big money, perhaps in excess of $100,000 per year, to landowners for the rights to host trophy whitetail hunts in Buffalo County.

Unlike Iowa, which limits the number the nonresident deer licenses, Wisconsin deer licenses are sold over the counter. There’s no preference point system or lottery, which makes it easier for out-of-state deer hunters to book hunts in Wisconsin. Simply show up and buy a deer license.

Here’s the rub: Even though you receive one free antlerless deer tag with your gun or bow license (and can purchase additional antlerless deer tags: $12 for residents, $20 for nonresidents), how many traveling whitetail hunters want to shoot a doe during their 5-day guided hunt in Buffalo County? If you’re bowhunting whitetails in early November, which is prime time for mature bucks to be chasing a doe-in-heat, will you arrow the doe in the name of conservation? Or, will you let the doe walk by broadside at 15 yards and hope that in 30 seconds a 30-pointer is following her scent trail?

Similarly, during Wisconsin’s late-November firearms deer season, will you drop the (very loud) hammer on a doe and risk spooking a big buck that might be just out of sight?

It’s easy to understand why the antlerless deer harvest has been, and continues to be, so low in Buffalo County. What’s not easy to figure out is a solution that’s acceptable to everyone involved.

The CDAC feels as if its hands are tied, so they are putting forth a recommendation to the Wisconsin DNR that they know won’t be welcomed by many. “We don't want to be pushed into using this tool,” said the CDAC’s Mark Noll. “We also don't want to back off our efforts as if everything is wonderful and nothing is wrong. Our members are greatly concerned to do what is best for the resource. We are crying for help.”

No Easy Answers

As a Wisconsin landowner (not in Buffalo County), and someone who has bowhunted the state as a nonresident for 40 years, I wish I could suggest an easy solution, but there isn’t one.

In many ways — and keep in mind this is only my opinion — Buffalo County is more like Texas than other parts of Wisconsin. Just as outfitting is big business in Texas, it’s big business in Buffalo County. I’ve hunted large ranches in Texas for whitetails, aoudad, hogs and turkeys, and in every case the landowner and/or outfitter has explained to me the difficulty in harvesting the required number of antlerless whitetails per year to maintain a deer herd that isn’t too high for the habitat.

These Texas outfitters have the same problem as Buffalo County outfitters: traveling nonresident hunters have little interest in shooting a doe or two, at least until they’ve filled their buck tag. But Texas whitetail outfitters have it a bit easier because baiting deer is a way of life. In Texas, a client might see 5 to 15 bucks during a single evening sit over a two-track baited with corn. The result is it’s common for a client to shoot their buck on the first or second day of their week-long hunt and still have time to harvest a doe or two.

I’m sure deer managers and wildlife biologists with far more insight than I have will weigh in on this problem. The only possible remedy I see is putting the responsibility on Buffalo County landowners and outfitters. For instance, the Wisconsin DNR could mandate that Buffalo County landowners and outfitters shoot “XX” number of antlerless deer per year on their owned/leased “XXXX" acres, and give them a 2-week period (don’t even call it a hunting season) during late August. With centerfire rifles, shooters could sit on the edges of green fields as sunset approaches and then harvest antlerless deer. All the meat would go to a nonprofit such as Hunters and Farmers Feeding the Hungry, and the outfitters would pay for meat processing fees. I realize the outfitters and landowners in Buffalo County wouldn’t welcome this cost, but I think their clients would pay an extra $100-$200 per person to avoid having to shoot one or two antlerless deer during their 5-day outfitted hunt.

Again, this 2-week antlerless deer reduction program wouldn’t be a hunt; it would be a venison shoot benefitting charity. The DNR would hand out XX number of antlerless deer tags to the landowner/outfitter and it would be up to them to harvest the required number of deer, and document everything. They couldn’t sell the tags or keep the harvested deer. It would be up to the landowner, outfitter and guides to reduce the number of deer on their property.

Is this a perfect solution? Certainly not. But it’s better than having a buck bag limit of zero in Buffalo County for 2019.

P.S. Tom Indrebo of Bluff Country Outfitters recently posted on Facebook his opinion on the current proposal, and I think he makes a lot of sense. Click here to check it out. In summary, he recommends reducing the annual Wisconsin buck bag limit per hunter from two (one with gun, one with bow) to one total. If a hunter wanted to shoot a second buck, then he or she would have to first tag one or two antlerless deer. Such an “earn a buck” system used to be in place in Wisconsin, but it was dropped for a variety of reasons, one of which was many deer hunters hated it.

Important Update (May 9, 2019)

The Wisconsin DNR has chosen not to approve the Buffalo County Deer Advisory Council recommendation for an antlerless-only deer season in 2019. Instead, the season format for the county will remain unchanged from 2018, meaning deer hunters can once again pursue bucks.

"Public feedback received since the final CDAC recommendation to have an antlerless-only season suggests that hunter participation will be negatively affected, presenting challenges to achieve the 2019 quota," said DNR Secretary Preston Cole.