Wisconsin

Wisconsin holds more total Boone & Crockett record-book whitetail entries than any other state or province in history. The dairy state is legendary for producing giant typical and non-typical bucks, anchored by Buffalo County (the all-time #1 trophy whitetail county in North America), Trempealeau, and the farmland-forest transition zones.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) manages deer across Farmland and Forest zones. The iconic 9-day November gun deer season is a deeply rooted cultural tradition involving multi-generational deer camps. Bow and crossbow hunters pursue monster bucks along agricultural edges, river bottoms, and extensive public tracts in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Wisconsin is one of the premier black bear hunting states in North America, maintaining a healthy population of over 24,000 bears across the northern and central forests. WDNR allocates bear harvest permits via a preference point lottery across management zones.

Hunters utilize both trained hound packs and baiting techniques. The season opens in early September, alternating opening weeks between hound hunters and bait hunters. High hunter success rates and heavy bear weights exceeding 400 to 500+ pounds make Wisconsin a top-tier bear destination.

Wisconsin's wild turkey restoration is one of the greatest wildlife management successes in the Midwest. Turkeys are abundant across all southern, central, and western counties.

WDNR divides the spring season into six consecutive one-week hunting periods across seven management zones. Hunters glass agricultural fields, set up ground blinds along woodlot edges, and call birds across rolling coulee country.