Wisconsin deer research / Portage County

Portage County, Wisconsin Deer Hunting Research

Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 51.8 Provisional, ranked #31 of 61 ranked Wisconsin counties. Built from Wisconsin DNR county registrations, 1960–2025 plus public-land access.

C - Above Average
51.8 / 100
Provisional FDR Index
#31 of 61
Ranked-county rank
90→
Buck Index
36,137
Public-land acres
8,384
2025 deer harvest

What drives the Portage County index

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

Herd quality23
Population86
Buck Index46
Habitat54
Momentum86
Deer-vehicle crash rate41

Buck Index

90→ 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 9.5 / 10 (Higher). About 17 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 95th percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 89th 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
20258,384
20247,641
20236,559
20227,535
20216,750
20207,488
20196,115
20186,243
20175,841
20166,265
20156,560
20146,822
20137,529
20127,421
20117,182
20105,638
20095,199
20087,879
20079,540
200610,626
200510,527
200411,322
20038,788
20026,758
20019,461
200013,039
199911,275
199811,171
19978,150
199610,225
19958,680
19948,827
19936,707
19927,743
19917,730
19908,362
19897,601
19886,727
19876,412
19866,533
19857,836
19846,830
19835,783
19825,766
19815,484
19803,802
19792,719
19784,466
19773,613
19763,093
19753,893
19743,584
19732,661
19722,321
19711,993
19701,896
19692,615
19683,689
19673,555
19663,094
19651,954
19641,629
1963881
1962626
1961651
1960364

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 Portage County harvest charts →

Harvest composition

WDNR reports each deer as antlered or antlerless. In 2025, the Portage County harvest was 3,648 antlered and 4,736 antlerless deer.

SeasonAntleredAntlerlessTotal
20253,6484,7368,384
20243,6264,0157,641
20232,9673,5926,559
20223,3614,1747,535
20213,0533,6976,750
20203,1414,3477,488
20192,7433,3726,115
20182,9193,3246,243
20172,7343,1075,841
20162,8873,3786,265
20152,9283,6326,560
20142,8573,9656,822
20132,9724,5577,529
20123,2654,1567,421
20112,9394,2437,182
20103,0392,5995,638
20092,4232,7765,199
20082,6585,2217,879

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 Portage County composition charts →

Herd & land detail

MetricValue
Latest season (2025)8,384 deer
Harvest per sq mi10.47
Antlered harvest3,648
Antlerless harvest4,736
County land (sq mi)800.90
Public-land acres36,137

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 Portage 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

Waushara · 60.9Marathon · 52.8Waupaca · 47.5Wood · 46.3Adams · 63.5Marquette · 55.6Shawano · 52.5Green Lake · 54.4
← #30 Racine County#32 Sauk County →

Frequently asked questions

Is Portage County, Wisconsin good for deer hunting?

Portage County scores 51.8 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (C - Above Average), ranked #31 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 Portage County last season?

WDNR records show 8,384 deer harvested in Portage County, Wisconsin in 2025, the most recent reported season.

Cite this

Fully Drawn Research. "Portage County, Wisconsin deer hunting research." County page. https://www.fullydrawnresearch.ai/research/wi/portage. 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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