Officials in Wisconsin have held a regulated hunting season for white-tailed deer since 1851, just three years after statehood.

It has varied greatly over the decades, including closed seasons, rules that prohibited archery equipment, times when deer numbers were highest in the northern part of the state and the current era when whitetails are much more numerous in the southern half.

And every four years the gun deer hunting season is held in the same month as a presidential election.

The Department of Natural Resources held a media briefing Wednesday to present information in advance of the 2024 Wisconsin gun hunt.

The agency normally holds the pre-hunt event later in the year, but given the Nov. 5 election for president and other offices did it earlier this year to “make sure this information is able to reach the public and doesn’t get lost,” said Zach Wood, DNR public information officer.

Yes, no two years are exactly alike.

Here’s another new piece for 2024, this one from the regulation book: Due to a change in state law, hunters in Wisconsin can now use air rifles to hunt deer and other big game.

In another rule change this year, the junior antlerless deer tag is good on either public or private land (in the past the hunter had to designate one land type).

Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the state’s annual gun deer hunt.

More: Wisconsin deer harvest in 2024 trending higher than last year

When is the 2024 gun deer hunting season in Wisconsin?

The Wisconsin gun deer hunting season traditionally begins on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and runs for nine days.

This year’s nine-day gun deer season runs from Nov. 23 to Dec. 1.

Do I need to buy a deer hunting license?

Yes, all deer hunters are required to buy a Wisconsin deer hunting license.

You can buy a license online at gowild.wi.gov or in person at a sporting goods store or other license sales outlet. The DNR has an interactive map of license sales locations on its website.

How much does a deer hunting license cost?

A resident gun deer hunting license is $24; $20 for those aged 12-17; and $7 for those under 12.

Where available, residents may purchase additional antlerless deer permits for $12 each.

A non-resident gun deer hunting license is $200.

What is the rut? And does it affect deer hunting?

The rut is the annual mating period for deer. In Wisconsin it peaks in early November and is associated with increased deer activity, including during daylight hours, as bucks pursue does.

This increased deer activity definitely favors hunters, and data show gun deer harvests are typically higher when the season starts earlier in November rather than later.

How do I learn about hunting regulations set by the Wisconsin DNR?

The DNR publishes a hunting regulation pamphlet that lists rules pertaining to the gun deer and other seasons. The document is available online at dnr.wi.gov and in print form at license sales outlets.

In general, each deer hunting license authorizes a hunter to kill one buck and at least one doe.

Antlerless deer tags are issued for public or private land. And counties serve as deer management units.

The number of antlerless deer tags in each county is determined through a process that starts with recommendations from the County Deer Advisory Council, followed by review and potential changes by the DNR and the Natural Resources Board.

If I shoot a deer, do I have to register it?

Yes, all harvested deer must be registered by 5 p.m. the day after the animal is recovered.

Hunters can register deer online at GameReg.WI.Gov or by phone at (844) 426-3734.

Can you bait deer in Wisconsin?

Baiting deer is prohibited in 61 of Wisconsin’s counties and legal in 11, according to the DNR. The prohibitions are due to a state law that bans baiting and feeding deer in areas where chronic wasting disease has been found.

The 11 counties where baiting is legal are Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Clark, Douglas, Iron and Price in northwestern Wisconsin, and Brown, Door, Kewaunee and Manitowoc in northeastern Wisconsin. In these counties, hunters are limited to two gallons of corn or other bait at a site. Check the DNR website for further details.

Penn State faced issues with its communications equipment last week at Wisconsin, to the point that head coach James Franklin said the sideline lost contact with the coordinators and players on the field in the fourth quarter. Coach-to-player communications equipment has become an issue in college football, as ESPN and The Athletic reported Wednesday that Big 12 teams are returning devices to address “technological concerns.”

After practice Wednesday in State College, Franklin said that coaches on the sideline could not connect with cooordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen in the press box or quarterback Beau Pribula and middle linebacker Kobe King on the field. Pribula and King wore the in-helmet earpieces, through which coaches relay play calls. Franklin said the blackout occurred in the fourth quarter of the Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win over the Badgers. It’s an issue Penn State will want to fix before Saturday’s game against No. 4 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.

“Last week at the end of the game, we lost contact with the booth, so we had no contact with the coordinators at the end of the game, we had no ability to communicate with the quarterbacks and the linebackers on the field,” Franklin told reporters. “We’ve been working on that, coming up with a soliution, but we did have a problem at the end of that game at a very critical moment.”

Asked how long the issue persisted, Franklin said, “if it’s one play, it’s too many plays.”

Penn State’s issue was different than those of other programs reporting concerns with the technology. According to The Athletic, Big 12 officials asked teams to return their coach-to-helmet devices because of concerns about encryption. The Athletic reported that teams believe others might be able to listen to their in-game discussions.

Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt told ESPN that he learned his football team’s in-game conversations might be accessible to anyone with a scanner. Hocutt told ESPN that it’s about operating a game “whose integrity is not questionable in any way on a Saturday afternoon.”

Penn State has had issues with its in-helmet communications system this season, though apparently not regarding encryption. In early games at West Virginia and the home-opener against Bowling Green, Franklin said that Penn State’s defense had trouble with the audio. Penn State solved that in part by moving Allen, the defensive coordinator, to the coaches booth and having defensive analyst Dan Connor call plays to the linebacker.

“I think the other thing that’s a big one for us that we got settled in the second half [against Bowling Green] is the communication,” Franklin said in September. “We were trying to rely specifically on the headset communication, and at home that can be a little bit more challenging with the linebacker trying to verbally communicate to all 11 guys on the field. It’s very similar to what I had explained to about-no huddle teams on offense trying to get the quarterback to communicate to everybody. That was still going to be challenging unless you’re huddling.”

This is the first season in which college football teams can use coach-to-player communications equipment to make play calls. Franklin has said that he’s uncertain whether the technology will curb the sign-stealing concerns it was meant to address.

“The interesting thing is, all of this got pushed because of the whole sign-stealing [issue], and for the offenses that are no-huddle, it doesn’t change them at all,” Franklin said before the season. “Because you still have to get the information to the wide receivers. How do you do that? You signal. Do I think we should have had helmet mics? They’re good changes, but I don’t know if they’re necessarily solutions to some of the challenges out there.”

More Penn State Football

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers ― the popular, Louisiana-based fast food chain known for its chicken, Cane’s Sauce and Texas Toast ― will continue expanding in Wisconsin in 2025.

Raising Cane’s opened its first Wisconsin restaurant on downtown Madison’s State Street in 2021 and now has four locations in the state — in Brookfield, Greendale and Kenosha, in addition to Madison.

With at least three more Wisconsin locations in the works, where is Raising Cane’s coming next?

Here’s what to know:

Raising Cane’s is coming to Eau Claire, Janesville and La Crosse

Raising Cane’s will soon open locations in three Wisconsin cities: Eau Claire, Janesville and La Crosse.

According to the company website, the Eau Claire location at 3631 Gateway Drive is set to open on Dec. 3. The Janesville restaurant at 3030 Milton Ave. is expected to follow on Jan. 14.

Raising Cane’s has also recently secured a site in the La Crosse area for a restaurant scheduled to open next summer, a company representative told the Journal Sentinel. There are multiple job listings on the Raising Cane’s careers site for a restaurant at State 16 and Braund Street in Onalaska, just outside of La Crosse.

Finally, according to a previous Journal Sentinel article, Raising Cane’s plans to open a restaurant in Oak Creek in December 2025, but the exact address has yet to be finalized.

Is Raising Cane’s coming to Milwaukee?

While the Raising Cane’s representative didn’t provide any concrete plans for expansion into Milwaukee, she did express the company’s interest in coming to the city.

“At Raising Cane’s, we’re always looking for vibrant communities where we can make a meaningful impact, and the greater Milwaukee area fits that description perfectly,” she said.

“We’re excited to bring our passionate team and crave-able menu to more of the Milwaukee area and continue growing in this amazing state.”

Raising Cane’s opened three Wisconsin restaurants in the past year

Raising Cane’s recently opened three locations in southeastern Wisconsin. In December, the Kenosha restaurant at 6303 75th St. opened its doors.

Then, over the summer, two restaurants opened in the Milwaukee suburbs. Raising Cane’s Greendale at 5250 S. 76th St. opened July 30 with a grand opening event and a free food giveaway. The Greendale location was first proposed in March 2023.

Next, the Brookfield restaurant at 12660 W. Capitol Drive opened Sept. 5 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and more giveaways.

How many Raising Cane’s restaurants are there?

Raising Cane’s has locations in nearly every U.S. state, as well as in Guam and Washington D.C. The company representative said the chain is set to open 100 restaurants in 2024, marking the first year it will open that many.

By year’s end, Raising Cane’s will have nearly 900 restaurants. According to the representative, the chain plans to open about 100 additional locations in 2025.