Wisconsin sells 626,000 deer hunt licenses

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - State wildlife officials say they sold about 626,000 gun deer licenses going into opening day of Wisconsin’s tradition-rich November hunt on Saturday.

The Department of Natural Resources says about 9,500 licenses to 10- and 11-year-olds, who could participate under the state’s new youth hunt mentor program.

Other license sale factoids from the DNR: About 592,000 state residents bought licenses compared with 34,117 nonresidents, including about 16,000 from Minnesota.

More than 79,000 hunters were under age 18, more than 54,000 were 65 or older and more than 191,000 were under age 30.

The DNR sold the most licenses - 29,000 - in Dane County, followed by Brown, Washington, Marathon and Waukesha counties.