Metro Sub-Unit 118, Wisconsin

The sub-unit occupies southeastern Wisconsin's glacially shaped lowlands between roughly 580 and 900 feet in elevation. Development dominates — residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and impervious surfaces broken by second-growth oak-hickory woodlots, riparian greenways along the Milwaukee, Root, Fox, and Menomonee rivers, scattered wetlands, and remnant agricultural fields on the suburban fringe. Usable deer habitat exists as fragmented islands connected by river corridors and stormwater greenways draining toward Lake Michigan to the east.

Pressure is concentrated and highly variable. Public parcels that allow hunting draw noticeable early-season bowhunter traffic, while many private suburban parcels see only one or two hunters across the entire five-month archery season. The nine-day gun season is largely a non-event inside municipal limits due to local firearms discharge ordinances, meaning core suburban deer effectively skip the annual gun-season harvest. Deer in developed areas are accustomed to constant human activity — landscapers, joggers, cyclists — but are naive to hunting. Competition for legal access sites is intense; hunters who secure permitted suburban ground often encounter remarkably underpressured deer.

Free Metro Sub-Unit Antlerless Deer Harvest Authorizations are available in metro counties including Waukesha through the GoWild licensing system while supplies last. Hunters may also apply statewide Farmland Antlerless Harvest Authorizations (one to five included with the base deer license depending on unit) toward hunting within this metro sub-unit. Bonus antlerless authorizations are available for purchase at $12 for residents and $20 for non-residents when quota allows. There is no earn-a-buck requirement. The base license includes an any-deer tag covering one buck or antlerless deer during gun season. All metro counties fall within a CWD management zone; Ozaukee County implemented a baiting and feeding ban in early 2024 following a positive detection at a nearby captive facility.

The extended metro archery and crossbow season runs September 13, 2025 through January 31, 2026 — four weeks longer than the standard statewide archery close of January 3. The nine-day gun season runs November 22-30, 2025; firearm hunting inside city and village limits is restricted by local ordinance across most of the sub-unit. Muzzleloader season runs November 30 through December 9. Spring turkey permits are available through the GoWild draw for Periods A-F (April 15 through May 26, 2026); a fall turkey season runs concurrently with the archery deer season. Pheasant and ruffed grouse are scarce in this heavily developed landscape. Waterfowl hunting exists on Lake Michigan shoreline areas and inland wetlands. CWD has been detected in surrounding counties and prompted new baiting restrictions.

The Milwaukee metro sub-unit is one of Wisconsin's most challenging but potentially rewarding bowhunting destinations. Suburban bucks experience far less hunting pressure than rural counterparts and frequently reach 4.5 to 5.5 years of age with heavy antler development that rivals any rural county in the state. The extended archery season through January 31 provides nearly five months to work suburban parcels. Access is everything: politely approaching homeowners in neighborhoods where deer damage gardens regularly unlocks overlooked private ground that has never been hunted. Focus on river corridor greenways and drainage ways connecting fragmented woodlots — whitetails use these travel routes predictably at dawn and dusk. Late-season hunting after the gun season close is particularly productive as deer are undisturbed and increasingly focused on remaining food sources.