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Dane County, Wisconsin: deer harvest and public hunting land

Dane County is its own deer management unit, 1,238 square miles around Madison. Hunters registered 4,438 deer here in 2025, 2,247 of them bucks, by the DNR's Deer Metrics. That is up 1% from 2024. 5.7% of Dane County is public land open to the public, the largest share state wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land (26,202 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).

Data updated October 2026. Harvest: DNR Deer Metrics. Land: PAD-US 4.1, the DNR's managed lands and VPA layers.

Map of Wisconsin's Dane County deer management unit: public land by manager, Voluntary Public Access land, the deer management units around it, highways US 151, US 12 and US 18; towns: Madison, Fitchburg, Windsor, Brooklyn and Edgerton

State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR landCounty forestNational forestNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasOther federal landNational park landOther county, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landVoluntary Public Access landDane CountyNeighboring deer management unitsLakeHighway

Dane County at a glance
CountiesDane County and Sauk County
Size792,488 acres (1,238 square miles)
Deer registered, 20254,438 (2,247 bucks, 2,191 antlerless)
Yearly average, 2016 to 20254,281 deer
Public land5.7% (45,012 acres)
Properties40 (22,359 acres inside Dane County)
Voluntary Public Access land7 sites, 462 acres
Towns in and near itMadison, Fitchburg, Windsor, Brooklyn, Edgerton and Sauk City

How many deer are harvested in Dane County?

The DNR registered 4,438 deer in Dane County in 2025: 2,247 bucks and 2,191 antlerless deer, 49% of the harvest antlerless. Over the 10 years shown, the harvest averaged 4,281 deer a year; the most bucks were registered in 2020 (2,421).

YearDeer registeredBucksAntlerlessAntlerless share
20254,4382,2472,19149%
20244,4032,0842,31953%
20234,4612,3282,13348%
20224,4732,1702,30351%
20213,9471,9362,01151%
20204,9482,4212,52751%
20193,9582,0481,91048%
20184,3692,2522,11748%
20173,6301,8361,79449%
20164,1861,9882,19853%

Source: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics, harvest history for Dane County. Deer registered is the DNR's buck and antlerless harvest added together. The DNR's Deer Metrics shows every year back to 1960 for most counties.

How much public land is in Dane County?

45,012 of Dane County's 792,488 acres are public land open to the public (5.7%). The biggest share is state wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land: 26,202 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Dane County
State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land26,2023.3%
Other county, city and regional land14,3081.8%
County forest2,0440.3%
National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas1,7460.2%
Land trusts and other open land4370.1%
National park land155under 0.1%
State parks80under 0.1%
National forest40under 0.1%
All public land open to the public45,0125.7%

Measured by FilledTag inside the DNR's boundary from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). Hunting rules differ by manager: DNR wildlife areas and state forests are open to hunting unless posted; county forests are open to hunting in most cases (check the county forest's rules); national forest land is open in season; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks allow hunting only in listed seasons and areas; national park land is closed to hunting.

DNR properties in Dane County

DNR properties in Dane County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Dane County Waterfowl Production Area (1,745 acres), Walking Iron - 7A Farms (912 acres), Extensive Wl Habitat - Public Hunting Ground (844 acres) and Ice Age Trail - Sd (491 acres).

Voluntary Public Access land in Dane County

The DNR's 2026 lease map shows 7 properties in Dane County, 462 acres of private land open to the public; 3 of them are spring-turkey-only Turkey Hunter Access land. No landowner permission is needed. DNR VPA program.

How do you get to Dane County?

Highways through it: US 151 (about 96 miles inside), US 12 (about 86 miles inside), US 18 (about 83 miles inside), I-39 (about 78 miles inside) and I-90 (about 78 miles inside). Towns inside: Madison, Fitchburg, Windsor, Sun Prairie, DeForest and Middleton. Nearby: Brooklyn (on the line), Edgerton (on the line), Sauk City (on the line) and Prairie du Sac (on the line).

Which deer management units border Dane County?

Dane County touches 7 other deer management units. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:

DMUDeer harvestedYearPublic landVoluntary Public Access land sites
Iowa County2,94820255%3
Rock County2,66720252.9%20
Sauk County6,02520257.9%1
Dodge County5,47720258.5%3
Green County2,56220251.7%5
Columbia County7,18920255.5%4
Jefferson County3,84320256.7%4

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Dane County in 2025?

4,438 deer were registered: 2,247 bucks and 2,191 antlerless deer (DNR Deer Metrics). In 2024: 4,403.

Is there public hunting land in Dane County?

Yes. 45,012 acres, 5.7% of the unit, are public land open to the public by PAD-US 4.1, the largest share state wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land (26,202 acres). The DNR's map shows 40 DNR properties open to hunting here.

Does Dane County have VPA land?

Yes. The DNR's 2026 lease map shows 7 properties, 462 acres.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.

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