Cold weather impacts hunting season in central Wisconsin - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

After an unusually warm summer, hunters like Michael Hughes say they're glad it's getting cold. 

"When it's really warm they don't like to move around any more than they have to," said Hughes. "Especially in the fall, so whenever the weather turns cold I'd take that any day."

A DNR wildlife biologist says that's because the cooler weather makes the deer active. And then comes mating season.

"As our daylight hours start to shorten throughout the fall, the deer will become more active as the breeding season gets into full swing," said Cortney Schaefer, Wildlife Biologist with the DNR. "Typically in Wisconsin the peak of our rut is in early to mid November."

Experts say that's the best time to hunt.

"Obviously bucks have other things on their mind other than just feeding and resting," said Schaefer. "So they tend to take more risks than they would normally take. You might see deer moving in the middle of the day, especially when the peak of the rut is going on."

This is the first year bow hunting is allowed during the upcoming gun season. The gun hunt starts November 17.