Wisconsin deer research / Buffalo County

Buffalo County, Wisconsin Deer Hunting Research

Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 41.1 Provisional, ranked #63 of 61 ranked Wisconsin counties. Built from Wisconsin DNR county registrations, 1960–2025 plus public-land access.

C - Above Average
41.1 / 100
Provisional FDR Index
#63 of 61
Ranked-county rank
99→
Buck Index
24,345
Public-land acres
5,806
2025 deer harvest

What drives the Buffalo County index

Provisional components, each scored 0–100 against the ranked Wisconsin counties. Provisional.

Herd quality16
Population62
Buck Index100
Habitat42
Momentum7
Deer-vehicle crash rate28

Buck Index

99→ out of 100. How this county ranks on the Buck Index against every county we cover. 100 is the top. Land is measured as what a hunter can actually hunt (10 m estimate).

Hunting pressure

Pressure Index 9.1 / 10 (Higher). About 14 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 91st percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 42nd percentile within Wisconsin. How often deer run into people, 0 to 10 on one scale across every rated state; 10 is the most crowded county in the country.

Modeled. Wisconsin does not publish hunter numbers by county, so FDR places this county within Wisconsin from deer harvest per huntable acre (2021 to 2025 seasons) and population density. The model was checked against agency hunter counts in Michigan, Indiana and Missouri, and against agency hunter surveys by hunting unit in 10 more states. It estimates crowding; it is not a hunter count. Wisconsin averages 13.5 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land (National Deer Association Deer Report, 2024 season).

1960–2025 harvest trend

SeasonTotal harvest
20255,806
20245,321
20235,148
20225,718
20215,565
20206,302
20195,714
20187,010
20176,951
20167,410
20157,815
20148,125
20137,595
20129,006
20117,787
20107,734
20097,915
200811,131
200711,264
200612,392
20059,232
200411,001
20039,246
20027,217
20017,499
20009,618
19998,088
19987,320
19979,723
19968,672
19958,513
19949,421
19938,200
19928,383
19918,431
19908,629
19898,116
19886,570
19876,741
19866,921
19856,345
19846,175
19834,453
19824,870
19811,242
19803,932
19793,966
19783,621
19774,265
19764,003
1975833
1974449
19732,198
19722,733
19712,938
19703,162
19692,884
19682,954
19672,686
1966452
19651,974
19642,699
19632,433
19622,479
1961524
19602,100

Harvest totals from Wisconsin DNR county registrations, 1960–2025. WDNR reports totals by county and season; archery / firearm splits are not broken out in this dataset.

See full Buffalo County harvest charts →

Harvest composition

WDNR reports each deer as antlered or antlerless. In 2025, the Buffalo County harvest was 2,497 antlered and 3,309 antlerless deer.

SeasonAntleredAntlerlessTotal
20252,4973,3095,806
20242,3472,9745,321
20232,3012,8475,148
20222,4013,3175,718
20212,6462,9195,565
20202,6763,6266,302
20192,4243,2905,714
20182,7534,2577,010
20172,8524,0996,951
20163,0584,3527,410
20153,1894,6267,815
20143,1904,9358,125
20132,7984,7977,595
20123,6675,3399,006
20113,0874,7007,787
20103,2204,5147,734
20093,0844,8317,915
20082,9018,23011,131

WDNR's antlerless category includes does AND button bucks (male fawns); it is not a doe-only count. Table shows the most recent 18 seasons; the full 1960–2025 series (66 years) drives the chart.

See full Buffalo County composition charts →

Herd & land detail

MetricValue
Latest season (2025)5,806 deer
Harvest per sq mi8.59
Antlered harvest2,497
Antlerless harvest3,309
County land (sq mi)675.80
Public-land acres24,345

Methodology

Provisional index. Provisional index: herd, harvest, the Buck Index, and roadway (exposure-normalized deer-vehicle crash rate) components; habitat/age-structure partial where the state does not publish them.. FULLY DRAWN RESEARCH · Wisconsin DNR (WDNR) PROVISIONAL COUNTY DEER INDEX

Informational only. Built from public-record Wisconsin DNR (WDNR) county harvest data, US Census TIGER county land area, the Buck Index, and exposure-normalized deer-vehicle crash rates where published. Provisional index; some components partial or pending. Not a prediction or guarantee. Verify with the Wisconsin DNR (WDNR).

See Buffalo County on the map

Parcels with owner & acreage, public hunting land, leaf-off imagery, and this research, together on one hunting map.

All Wisconsin counties

Nearby counties

Pepin · 36.6Trempealeau · 42.6Eau Claire · 50.4Dunn · 43.7Pierce · 28.9La Crosse · 58Chippewa · 51.3Jackson · 55.2
← #62 Brown County#64 Grant County →

Frequently asked questions

Is Buffalo County, Wisconsin good for deer hunting?

Buffalo County scores 41.1 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (C - Above Average), ranked #63 of 61 ranked Wisconsin counties. The provisional index is built from WDNR public harvest records, the Buck Index and deer-vehicle crash data; some components are partial, as noted in the methodology.

How many deer were harvested in Buffalo County last season?

WDNR records show 5,806 deer harvested in Buffalo County, Wisconsin in 2025, the most recent reported season.

Cite this

Fully Drawn Research. "Buffalo County, Wisconsin deer hunting research." County page. https://www.fullydrawnresearch.ai/research/wi/buffalo. Accessed Nov 1, 2026.

Data and charts from this page are free to use with attribution. See the Content Lab.

Sources: Wisconsin DNR county registrations, 1960–2025; public-land access from public land-cover and public-hunting-area records. Public-record data only: no private contact information, no landowner lists. This is a provisional index, harvest and access components only; Buck Index and roadway components are a later step.

Fully Drawn Research is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wisconsin WDNR. Historical data and modeled indexes describe the past; they are not a promise of hunting outcomes. Always verify current seasons, permits, and site rules with the WDNR before you hunt.

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