Wisconsin deer hunting in recent years has become a very complicated thing and the season, which opens Nov. 19, will be wrought with those storylines.

With the arrival of chronic wasting disease has come the arrival of very interesting regulations.

Chronic wasting is an animal-transmitted disease that scientists have not yet proven affects humans. However, due to the great need to eliminate this disease, many stipulations have been set for Southeastern Wisconsin areas.

It is believed that the worst area infected by chronic wasting is in the Dane County area near Madison. The Department of Natural Resources has worked from this area since the arrival of the disease, and this year has established most of the area west of Milwaukee all the way to Crawford County as “infected areas.”

This area outside of the initial contact has become the herd reduction zone, HRZ for short. In an attempt to halt the spread of chronic wasting disease, the DNR has made the ability to kill a deer in the HRZ very easy.

The DNR has given stores such as Sportsman’s Warehouse and others an unlimited supply of carcass tags. These tags are to be used in the HRZ and are distributed for free at a four tag per day amount.

While hunting with these bonus tags, one may need a lawyer to decipher the technicalities of the use of such tags. Basically everyone and their brother (to use the old cliché) are hunting in Southeastern Wisconsin.

This poses an interesting question: Where can you go and find a deer that hasn't been chased by hundreds of other hunters?

The northern half of the state has always been productive, but one area many people often overlook is the Mississippi River valley. The rolling hills of the valley often give people the idea that this is not good hunting land.

On the contrary, this area has been producing some of the best deer for years. In fact, Buffalo County is considered the top area in the state to find a trophy buck.

No matter if you chose the north or the west, the odds of seeing a trophy buck or any deer for that matter is greater than in the southern area of the state.

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