Warden Wire: FAQs - Special Edition (#7) Fall Hunt (bow hunt, shining, rifles, landowners, more)
November 21, 2013
Welcome to the Warden Wire feature launched during last year's gun-deer season -- the special edition series of Frequently Asked Questions dealing specifically with hunting. The FAQs: Special Edition - Fall Hunt is a periodic feature. Today is the seventh installment of these special edition FAQs taken by the DNR Call Center and the Department of Natural Resources' conservation wardens. Today's edition is about shining deer, bow hunting, disabled hunt permits, landowners and hunters and more. The Call Center is staffed daily, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., and offers bilingual service in Spanish and Hmong. The Call Center staff is happy to help you with any and all of your questions. The number is 1-888-936-7463.
Question 1: Can I still bow hunt during the 9-day deer season?
Answer: Yes, archery season is open during the gun-deer season. However, you will have to wear the same amount of blaze orange as required for gun-deer hunters, and you may not use a firearm to fill your archery buck and archery antlerless deer carcass tags.
Question 2: Can I use a bow with my gun-deer license during the gun-deer season?
Answer: Yes, during the gun any deer season open to hunting deer with a firearm, including the muzzleloader season, you my use a lesser weapon bow & arrow or a crossbow with your gun-deer license to fill your Gun Buck deer carcass tag, and most antlerless deer carcass tags. This means you can use a firearm, a bow or a crossbow which is a legal caliber or draw weight during the 9-day season with your gun-deer license.
Question 3: Can I now use a rifle in my area for the deer season?
Answer: The use of certain caliber rifles for hunting deer will not be restricted by DNR rules, statewide. This started on Nov. 1, 2013, in time for the 2013 9-day firearm deer season. While shotgun-only counties will no longer exist by virtue of state law, local units of government may still restrict the use of rifles by ordinance if they feel there is a public safety concern. Please contact your local township officials or local police department to find out if there are any local ordinances restricting the use of rifles in your area.
Question 4: Is there a waiting period after I purchase my gun license?
Answer: No, there is no waiting period after you purchase your gun-deer license even if you purchase the license after the season has already started.
Question 5: Can I still shine for deer or other wild animal the day before gun season starts? When is it legal to shine?
Answer: Yes, it is generally legal to shine the day before for the season starts. However, there are restrictions. From September 15 through December 31, it is generally legal to shine between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. only, so long as you do not have in your possession or in your vehicle any firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow. However, individual counties may enact more restrictive local ordinances to prohibit shining at all times. So, it is important to check with county officials for any local restrictions as well.
Question 6: I am concerned about allowing others to hunt on my land. Do landowners such as me have any protections when it comes to a hunter injuring themselves on my land?
Answer: Under sec. 895.52 of the Wisconsin Statutes, landowners are generally immune from liability for injuries received by individuals recreating on their lands. This law provides liability protection to landowners for injury or death of individuals participating in outdoor recreation such as fishing, hunting, trapping, hiking, camping, boating and berry-picking activities on their land. This immunity does not apply when the landowner receives more than $2,000 a year in income from the recreation activity or when the landowner acted maliciously with intent to harm the recreator. There is also an exception for social guests invited specifically for an occasion on residential or platted property or property within 300 feet of a commercial building or structure. Courts have consistently interpreted this statute to protect landowners and to encourage landowners to allow others to recreate on their lands. Here’s the link to the actual statute, where you can find more specific information:
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/895/II/52
Question 7: I have a disabled hunting permit that authorizes hunting from a stationary vehicle. What special privileges does this grant me?
Answer: The stationary vehicle hunting authorization allows you to hunt with a firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow from a vehicle parked within 50 feet from the center line of roadways if the roadway is part of a county highway, a town highway or any other highway that is not part of a street or of a state or federal highway. The vehicle must be parked off the traveled portion of the roadway and not in violation of any prohibition or restriction that applies to parking, stopping or standing of the vehicle. If otherwise legally parked, a permittee may hunt from a vehicle parked on the left side of the roadway; these parking restrictions have been placed in the law to assure public safety on the roadways. The car must have disabled license plates or an 11" x 11" sign that says “Disabled Hunter” clearly displayed in the window. All shots must be directed away from the roadway, and permission must be secured from the owner or lessee of any private property to be hunted. Persons hunting from stationary vehicles parked along a roadway may not hunt game to fill tags for others. Additionally, an authorized disabled hunter may exit a legally parked vehicle, as identified above, but must remain with the vehicle while exercising the privilege of shooting within 50 feet of the roadway center. Therefore, if the vehicle leaves the location, the hunter would no longer be exempt from the roadway firearm discharge restrictions.
If you missed the first six sets of Special Edition FAQs, here are the Warden Wire links:
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=354
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=353
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=350
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=335
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=338
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WardenWire/WardenWire_Lookup.asp?id=343