Remember the good old days of Wisconsin trophy buck hunting?

You’d better, because they’re right now.

Steve Ashley of Glenwood City, the Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club’s records director, said hunters from Wisconsin have put more than 100 whitetails into the Boone and Crockett records in recent seasons.

“Last year was probably the best,” Ashley said, referring to the number of trophies entered into the state records book.

If you’re hoping to put a trophy buck onto the back of your truck this year, concentrating your efforts in units that have had multiple Earn-a-Buck seasons in recent years would be a good idea.

Even though Earn-a-Buck was shelved outside the chronic wasting disease zone last year, its benefits in saving bucks in units that had it two or three times in recent seasons will still be seen this fall.

Surveys have found that a majority of hunters don’t like Earn-a-Buck. Yet Ashley believes the “doe-first” tool is directly responsible for Wisconsin’s rise to the top in Pope and Young record book bucks and one of the leading states for Boone and Crockett entries.

“Wisconsin has the best genetics, no doubt about it,” Ashley said. “Now add Earn-a-Buck — it’s the reason our trophy numbers have soared — and you have more bucks reaching an age class they normally wouldn’t have. That’s opened a lot of people’s eyes.”

The increased awareness of the importance of age to trophy buck production will need to play a major role if Earn-a-Buck is taken out of the herd management toolbox for good.

“Deer need age, food and cover,” Ashley said. “Earn-a-Buck is more or less forced Quality Deer Management. I would love to see Earn-a-Buck statewide, but there has to be certain modifications to make it acceptable to hunters.”

For one, Ashley said he’d like to see buck stickers valid for several seasons after a doe was registered.

“There has to be a limit on the number of does shot,” Ashley said. “There was some over-harvesting of does in a majority of areas where Earn-a-Buck was in place. A lot of guys are pretty selective on the bucks they shoot, and they often don’t shoot one every year or every other year. They were frustrated that they’d have to go out and start all over again and shoot a doe.”

Ashley said suspending Earn-a-Buck outside the chronic wasting disease zone last year resulted in a spike in trophy buck registrations.

“It’ll be real interesting to see what happens this year and next,” Ashley said.

Units still under Earn-a-Buck rules in the CWD zone have been producing an enormous number of trophy bucks.

“I don’t know if it’s simply Earn-a-Buck, or less hunter pressure, or that the deer are being more educated from longer and more liberal seasons,” Ashley said. “But boy, we’ve seen some dandies come out of there. There are a number of hunters who shoot two, three or even four trophy-class bucks in one year. Whether they’re over-harvesting or there are simply that many bucks, that’s hard to tell.”

Healthy deer populations in most areas mean lots of bucks on the meat pole, including some with impressive racks. Photo by Kevin Naze.

Ashley said the “brown is down” mentality has gradually been replaced by the club’s trademark, “Let ‘Em Go, Let ‘Em Grow.” He’s concerned, though, that the absence of Earn-a-Buck and a soft economy will mean more hunters targeting whatever kind of buck they can kill.

Ashley compiles and inputs the data from 110 Buck & Bear Club measurers across the state.

“Many counties are seeing the fruits of Earn-a-Buck now, but will it last?” he said. “There’s been a really large increase in older bucks. But without Earn-a-Buck, they’ll eventually get shot off again. We may be seeing that already. Hopefully, though, Earn-a-Buck taught the hunters or at least reaffirmed to let ‘em go and let ‘em grow.”

Ashley said there’s another possible scenario playing out as more areas move to rifles. He said when Buffalo and several other counties had a “two-plus-seven” season years ago — shotgun-only and either-sex opening weekend of the gun deer hunt, followed by seven days any weapon but bucks only — more bucks survived those first two days.

“That one rule probably did more to help Buffalo County than anything else,” Ashley said. “My best guess is more bucks are being harvested opening weekend. The average trophy rack size in Buffalo County has been going down a few eighths a year while it’s been going up in other areas. That major change (rifles) may have had some impact.”