Crossbows Prove Overwhelmingly Popular in Wisconsin’s Northwoods

   Wisconsin decided in 2014 to create and sell two categories of bowhunting licenses, one for crossbows and one for compounds and all other “vertical” bows.

   That decision is providing plenty of nerdy insights about the two groups of bowhunters, but nothing significant for managing deer.

   As predicted, the percentage of deer killed by crossbow hunters steadily grew the past 12 seasons from 33% of the total 2014 bow-kill to 63% of it in 2025. Likewise, crossbow kills jumped 165% from 26,891 in 2014 to 71,387 in 2025, while vertical-bow kills fell 23% from 54,810 in 2014 to 42,233.

     Crossbows have proven especially popular in Wisconsin’s Northern Forest, where they took over 73% of the arrow harvest in 2025. In contrast, crossbows accounted for 53% of the arrow harvest in southern Wisconsin last year.     — Patrick Durkin photo

   Both groups, however, shoot bucks at nearly identical rates, whether they hold their bows vertically or horizontally. The largest difference was the first year, 2014, when bucks made up 55.5% of the vertical-bow kill and 58.6% of the crossbow kill, a difference of 3.1 percentage points. Since then, the difference never exceeded 1.5 percentage points. In fact, it was less than 1 percentage point eight times, including 2025 when bucks (25,858) made up 61.2% of the vertical-bow kill (42,233) and 60.6% (43,241) of the crossbow kill (71,387).

   A more fascinating distinction also held true the past 12 seasons: Bowhunters in Wisconsin’s Northern Forest zone shoot deer with crossbows at consistently higher rates than do bowhunters in the Southern Farmlands zone.

Specifically, when crossbows were first legalized for all bowhunters in 2014, the so-called X-bow accounted for 46.3% of the Northern Forest’s archery kill and 24.1% of the Southern Farmlands kill. Likewise, crossbow hunters in Wisconsin’s other two zones — the Central Forest and Central Farmlands — recorded kills at rates roughly halfway between the northern and southern zones, 38% and 34%, respectively.

   Brian Dhuey, the Department of Natural Resources’ longtime data collector and analyst, noted those north vs. south differences in January 2015. However, one year of data doesn't prove a trend, so Dhuey cautioned against conclusions.

   Dhuey has since retired, but the differences he identified only grew and strengthened. As crossbows grew in popularity and killed higher percentages of the annual arrow harvest, the Northern Forest’s bowhunters chose crossbows far more often than their counterparts did in the Southern Farmlands. By 2021, crossbow hunters took 70% of the Northwoods’ combined archery harvest but only 51% of it in southern counties.

   In 2025, crossbows accounted for 73% of the bow-kill in the Northwoods and 53% in the Southern Farmlands. And once again, crossbow kills in the two central zones were halfway between: 65% in the Central Forest and 64% in the Central Farmlands.

   So, to generalize, crossbows now take three-quarters of the archery harvest in northern counties, two-thirds of it in central counties, and half of it in southern counties.

   Why the differences?

   Paul Frater, a DNR wildlife biologist and data analyst, said the answer starts taking shape when analyzing the ages of successful bowhunters. Frater said 50- to 75-year-old bowhunters account for most crossbow kills, while 15- to 50-year-old bowhunters account for most vertical-bow kills.

   To narrow it further, Frater looked at the ages of hunters holding antlerless permits in individual counties and deer-management units during 2025. The average age of Northwoods deer hunters was 48.6, while those in southern counties were 43.3, nearly 5½ years younger. Further, the median age was 50 in the North and 42 in the South, meaning half the population is older and half the population is younger than those ages.

   Duane Harpster, a retired DNR conservation warden in Boulder Junction, said he can explain things by just watching bowhunters in the forests around him. “Northern hunters are older on average, and old guys definitely prefer crossbows,” Harpster said.

   Jim Bishop, a retired DNR public information officer in Spooner, agreed. Bishop is an elections inspector, so he knows the area’s demographics. “Eighty percent of the men in my township (Casey) are retired and over 60,” he said. “Our core population is retirees. Most all of my friends are over 65 and they’ve switched from compound bows. Crossbows are easier for them to shoot and take deer more effectively.”

   Rhinelander’s Keith McCaffery, a retired but near-legendary DNR deer biologist, said regional deer populations tilt hunter-age differences even further. “Deer are so numerous in the Southern Farmlands that one needs to wear protective equipment,” McCaffery joked. “It’s easier to get a deer there. Given that zone's much larger deer herd, a vertical bow preserves some challenge compared to a firearm or crossbow.

   “Deer densities in the Northern Forest are above what we would have if the herds were properly managed, but the forest’s carrying capacity is nowhere near that of the farmlands’ (capacity)," McCaffery continued. "So, it’s understandable that Northern Forest bowhunters would use crossbows to improve their odds.”

   That description fits Bishop and his friends. “We’re retired and have more time to hunt, but we still want to hunt the most effective way possible,” Bishop said. “We all used to shoot compounds, but I’m not sure I can even pull mine back anymore. I think many of the younger hunters see what we oldsters are doing and don’t want to be outdone, so they go to the crossbow, too. I have no way to prove that, but it’s what I see with my 75-year-old eyes while hunting from my chair in the woods.”

   Harpster also thinks Northwoods outlaws prefer crossbows, whether they cruise the forests in pickup trucks and shoot through open windows, or bait deer into their backyards and arrow them from their cabins. Baiting deer remains legal in 12 counties: Ashland, Brown, Burnett, Bayfield, Door, Douglas, Iron, Kewaunee, Price, Rusk, Sawyer and Taylor counties.

   “Cabin shooting became an issue when baiting took off 40-plus years ago, and scoped crossbows are much easier to shoot from a window, whether it’s a truck or cabin,” Harpster said.

   Even so, Wisconsin’s top archery-season harvests were 113,918 in 2006 and 116,010 in 2007, seven years before crossbows became legal for everyone during archery season. Likewise, the 2025 crossbow buck kill surpassed 40,000 for the first time with 43,241 kills. The buck kill with vertical bows topped 40,000 five times from 1999 to 2013, including a record 45,988 in 2012.