2017 Wisconsin Hunting Seasons

Hunting Season is always a special time of the year. Whether you are planning on waiting patiently in a deer stand to bag that trophy buck or sitting knee deep in the marsh hoping to bag a band. Being able to take advantage of all the hunting seasons is why The Waterfowl Hunter has put together the hunting dates for Wisconsin.

These dates serve as a general guide for more specific hunting visit Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Deer Hunting Seasons

Type of Hunt	First Day	Last Day
Archery and Crossbow	Sept. 16, 2017	Jan. 7, 2018
Archery and Crossbow Metro Sub-Units Only	Sept. 16, 2017	Jan. 31, 2018
Gun Hunt for Hunters With Disabilities (Not a Statewide Season )	Oct. 7, 2017	Oct. 15, 2018
Youth Deer Hunt	Oct. 7, 2017	Oct. 8, 2017
Gun	Nov. 18, 2017	Nov. 26, 2017
Muzzleloader	Nov. 27, 2017	Dec. 6, 2017
December 4-day Antlerless Hunt	Dec. 7, 2017	Dec. 10, 2017
Antlerless-Only Holiday Hunt	Dec. 24, 2017	Jan. 1, 2018

Bear

Zones	First Day	Last Day	Additional Notes
Zone C (Dogs Not Permitted)	Sept. 6, 2017	Oct. 10, 2017	With Aid of Bait With All Other Legal Methods Not Using Dogs
All Other Zones (Dogs Permitted)	Sept. 6, 2017	Sept. 12, 2017	With Aid of Dogs Only
	Sept. 13, 2017	Oct. 3, 2017	With Aid of Dogs With Aid of Bait With All Other Legal Methods
	Oct. 4, 2017	Oct. 10, 2017	With Aid of Bait With All Other Legal Methods Not Using Dogs

Migratory Birds

Dates Will Be Established In Mid-April

Wild Turkey

Season	Period	First Day	Last Day
2017 Youth Turkey Hunt		April 15, 2017	April 16, 2017
Spring 2017	Period A	April 19, 2017	April 25, 2017
	Period B	April 26, 2017	May 2, 2017
	Period C	May 3, 2017	May 9, 2017
	Period D	May 10, 2017	May 16, 2017
	Period E	May 17, 2017	May 23, 2017
	Period F	May 24, 2017	May 30, 2017
Fall 2017	Zones 1 – 5	Sept. 16, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017
	Zones 6 – 7	Sept. 16, 2017	Nov. 17, 2017

Small Mammals

Cottontail Rabbit

Zone	First Day	Last Day
Northern Zone	Sept. 16, 2017	Feb. 28, 2018
Southern Zone	Oct. 14, 2017 (9 a.m.)	Feb. 28, 2018

Squirrels (Gray and Fox)

Zone	First Day	Last Day
Statewide	Sept. 16, 2017	Jan. 31, 2018

Other Game Birds

Pheasant

Zones	First Day	Last Day
Statewide	Oct. 14, 2017 (9 a.m.)	Dec. 31, 2017

Bobwhite Quail

Zones	First Day	Last Day
Statewide	Oct. 14, 2017 (9 a.m.)	Dec. 6, 2017

Ruffled Grouse

Zones	First Day	Last Day
Zone A	Sept. 16, 2017	Jan. 31, 2018
Zone B	Oct. 14, 2017	Dec. 8, 2017

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Season is Under Review

Hungarian Partridge

Zones	First Day	Last Day
Statewide (Closed in Clark, Marathon, and Taylor Counties)	Oct. 14, 2017 (9 a.m.)	Dec. 31, 2017

Crow

Zones	First Day	Last Day
Statewide	Sept. 16, 2017	Nov. 16, 2017
Statewide	Jan. 18, 2017	March 20, 2017

Furbearers

Coyote

Season	First Day	Last Day
Hunting	Continuous Open Season
Trapping	Oct. 14, 2017	Feb. 15, 2018

Fox, Red, and Gray

Season	First Day	Last Day
Hunting	Oct. 14, 2017	Feb. 15, 2018
Trapping	Oct. 14, 2017	Feb. 15, 2018

Beaver

Season	Zone	First Day	Last Day
Trapping	Zone A (Northwest)	Nov. 4, 2017	April 30, 2018
	Zone B (Northeast)	Nov. 4, 2017	April 30, 2018
	Zone C (South)	Nov. 4, 2017	March 31, 2018
	Zone D (Mississippi River)	Day After Duck Season Closes	March 15, 2018

Mink

Season	Zone	First Day	Last Day
Trapping	Statewide	Oct. 28, 2017	March 4, 2018
Trapping	Mississippi River Zone	The Day After Duck Season Closes or the Second Monday in November (Nov. 13), Whichever Occurs First	March 4, 2018

Muskrat

Season	Zone	First Day	Last Day
Trapping	Statewide	Oct. 28, 2017	March 4, 2018
Trapping	Mississippi River Zone	The Day After Duck Season Closes or the Second Monday in November (Nov. 13), Whichever Occurs First	March 4, 2018

Bobcat

Hunt Type	Period	First Day	Last Day
Hunting	Period 1	Oct. 14, 2017	Dec. 25, 2017
Hunting	Period 2	Dec. 26, 2017	Jan. 31, 2018
Trapping	North & South Zones, Period 1	Oct. 14, 2017	Dec. 25, 2017
Trapping	North & South Zones, Period 2	Dec. 26, 2017	Jan. 31, 2018

Otter

Hunt Type	Zones	First Day	Last Day
Trapping	North Zone	Nov. 4, 2017	April 30, 2018
	Central Zone	Nov. 4, 2017	March 31, 2018
	South Zone	Nov. 4, 2017	March 31, 2018

Fisher

Hunt Type	Zones	First Day	Last Day
Trapping	Various Zones	Oct. 14, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017

Raccoon

Hunting/Trapping	First Day	Last Day
Resident	Oct. 14, 2017	Feb. 15, 2018
Non-Resident	Nov. 4, 2017	Feb. 15, 2018

Opossum, Skunk, Weasel and Snowshoe Hare

No Season Limits, bag limits, size limits or possession limits, but a license is required.