Washington Co., WI – It’s opening of the gun-deer season and we’re encouraging successful hunters to show off their big bucks. Below is a story from the 2023 season.
Fond du Lac County, WI – Stacy Wright of Fond du Lac, Wi hasn’t been hunting in five years. Injured in a hunting accident 17 years ago following a fall from a tree stand, he said the pressure points from sitting were too painful. This year, he decided to take to the woods with his kids and all scored some mighty big bucks. “Sam, 21, got his during archery but Allison, 18, and I got ours this past weekend,” said Wright.
The family hunts on land in Crawford County; it’s near Gays Mills where Stacy grew up. Now living in Fond du Lac, WI, the Wrights visit the old homestead during gun deer season and this year it paid off.
Stacy brought down a 12-pointer with one shot from about 50 yards. “I had not been hunting for about five years and this year I thought I’d just head out,” he said.
On Saturday Stacy saw a doe but on Sunday he saw what neighbors had caught on a trail cam; a big buck with a pair of drop tines. “I knew he was out there,” said Stacy. “I was sitting there, and he came walking through the brush with a doe. I heard the leaves rustling and I didn’t know how big he was but when I saw the drop-tines I knew I was going to take him,” he said.
“I had to pick a hole through the brush and shoot through it to get him. I didn’t think he was going to step in the open because I had a doe come in the exact same way he did on Saturday and stood there and went back the other way. I wasn’t going to take a chance, so I picked a hole and shot him through the heart.”
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Stacy said he dropped on the spot. “When I came up to him, he was way bigger than what I thought. I was actually kind of shocked at how big he was, and the double drop-tines convinced me it was the one the neighbors had on camera.
“That’s the biggest buck I’ve seen,” he said.
Allison took her 8-pointer from about 150 yards on Saturday. “She was in the middle of a field in a tent and the buck walked out and started to walk away and she grunted at it and when it turned to look back, she shot it right through the heart,” said Stacy. “It ran about 20 yards and tipped over.”
“She did gut her own deer,” said Stacy. “She also helped with mine; she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty that’s for sure.”
Sam, 21, had success a couple weeks earlier during bow season when he scored a 9 pointer from 20 yards with a double-lung shot, right behind the shoulder.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the 2023 combined Wisconsin Hunting Regulations pamphlet is now available online and will soon be available at license agents and open service centers around the state.
The combined regulations pamphlet brings season dates, shooting hours, and regulations together in one convenient document.
For more information on hunting in Wisconsin, CLICK HERE
If you had success this season, contact judy@washingtoncountyinsider.com
