Wisconsin deer research / Waushara County

Waushara County, Wisconsin Deer Hunting Research

Provisional FDR Deer Herd Index 60.9 Provisional, ranked #6 of 61 ranked Wisconsin counties. Built from Wisconsin DNR county registrations, 1960–2025 plus public-land access.

B - Strong
60.9 / 100
Provisional FDR Index
#6 of 61
Ranked-county rank
93→
Buck Index
19,415
Public-land acres
8,678
2025 deer harvest

What drives the Waushara County index

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

Herd quality38
Population94
Buck Index59
Habitat34
Momentum97
Deer-vehicle crash rate63

Buck Index

93→ 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 9.6 / 10 (Higher). About 18 deer hunters per square mile of huntable land: 96th percentile of 3,051 rated counties in 48 states, 92nd 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
20258,678
20248,191
20236,404
20227,150
20216,469
20207,112
20195,446
20186,291
20175,395
20165,627
20155,778
20145,951
20135,627
20125,908
20115,854
20105,380
20094,885
20087,798
20078,888
20069,222
20059,565
200411,288
20039,050
20026,479
20018,285
20009,839
19999,420
19987,852
19976,785
19967,848
19957,407
19948,246
19936,542
19926,860
19917,196
19907,876
19897,633
19886,863
19876,545
19867,509
19858,567
19848,657
19836,673
19826,724
19815,931
19804,907
19793,435
19784,762
19774,213
19764,151
19754,467
19743,412
19732,998
19722,470
19711,999
19702,000
19692,669
19684,239
19674,184
19663,576
19652,236
19641,751
1963939
1962745
1961667
1960412

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 Waushara County harvest charts →

Harvest composition

WDNR reports each deer as antlered or antlerless. In 2025, the Waushara County harvest was 3,865 antlered and 4,813 antlerless deer.

SeasonAntleredAntlerlessTotal
20253,8654,8138,678
20243,9754,2168,191
20233,1843,2206,404
20223,2253,9257,150
20213,0843,3856,469
20203,0834,0297,112
20192,5072,9395,446
20182,8323,4596,291
20172,3623,0335,395
20162,6682,9595,627
20152,7383,0405,778
20142,5893,3625,951
20132,3293,2985,627
20122,8633,0455,908
20112,5763,2785,854
20102,5322,8485,380
20092,1892,6964,885
20082,2825,5167,798

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 Waushara County composition charts →

Herd & land detail

MetricValue
Latest season (2025)8,678 deer
Harvest per sq mi13.86
Antlered harvest3,865
Antlerless harvest4,813
County land (sq mi)626.20
Public-land acres19,415

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 Waushara 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

Marquette · 55.6Green Lake · 54.4Portage · 51.8Waupaca · 47.5Adams · 63.5Winnebago · 57.8Columbia · 62.1Shawano · 52.5
← #5 Columbia County#7 Walworth County →

Frequently asked questions

Is Waushara County, Wisconsin good for deer hunting?

Waushara County scores 60.9 of 100 on the provisional FDR Deer Herd Index (B - Strong), ranked #6 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 Waushara County last season?

WDNR records show 8,678 deer harvested in Waushara County, Wisconsin in 2025, the most recent reported season.

Cite this

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