DMU Taylor, Wisconsin

Taylor County sits in Wisconsin's Northern Forest zone, covering 268.7 square miles of heavily forested terrain. Over 60% of the county is wooded, dominated by mixed northern hardwood-conifer forest — sugar maple, yellow birch, aspen, hemlock, balsam fir, and white spruce. Elevation ranges from roughly 1,200 to 1,951 feet, with Timm's Hill (Wisconsin's highest natural point at 1,951.5 feet) located within the county. The landscape is characterized by rolling glaciated terrain with numerous wetlands, flowages, and river corridors, including over 1,000 acres of wetlands and 17 flowages within the Pershing Wildlife Area alone. The Jump River and its tributaries drain much of the county. Agricultural land is limited and concentrated in southern portions; the bulk of the unit is mature forest interspersed with regenerating aspen cuts, alder swales, and boggy lowlands.

Hunting pressure in DMU Taylor is moderate by Wisconsin standards. The vast public land base, particularly the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest interior, disperses pressure effectively across the unit. Gun season sees the highest concentration of hunters, with camp activity clustered around established forest roads and county campgrounds, but the roadless interior of the Chequamegon blocks remains genuinely lightly hunted. Archery season pressure is low overall. Compared to Wisconsin's agricultural DMUs to the south, Taylor County offers a more wilderness-like experience with real opportunity to escape crowds by pushing a mile or two off main forest roads.

Taylor is designated DMU 114 in Wisconsin's Northern Forest zone. Resident hunters receive one any-deer tag valid for antlered or antlerless deer with their base license — no lottery required. Bonus antlerless authorizations are available on a first-come, first-served basis starting mid-August each year. For 2026, 250 bonus public-land antlerless authorizations and 3,300 bonus private-land authorizations are available for DMU 114. A separate Taylor Central Farmland segment offers 2,000 bonus private-land tags plus one antlerless tag issued with the base license. Authorizations cost $12 for residents and $20 for nonresidents. Public-land bonus quotas fill quickly — purchase on opening day of sales. No earn-a-buck requirement exists in this unit.

Archery and crossbow season runs September 12 through January 3. The nine-day gun season runs November 21 through 29. Muzzleloader season follows November 30 through December 9. A youth and disabled hunt is held October 10 through 11, and a December antlerless-only season runs December 10 through 13. Taylor County also supports wild turkey (spring and fall seasons), black bear (license required, draw unit), ruffed grouse (September through January), woodcock, and waterfowl including ducks and geese along the Jump River and its flowages. Timber wolves are present throughout the Northern Forest zone and are fully protected. Coyotes may be hunted year-round with a small game license.

DMU Taylor leads all Northern Forest zone units in deer harvest density, registering 2.7 deer per square mile in the 2023 gun season — the highest figure in the zone. The combination of Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Pershing Wildlife Area, and Taylor County Forest creates one of the most accessible public-land hunting systems in northern Wisconsin, with no gate codes or permission slips required. Timm's Hill and its surrounding hardwood ridges hold acorn-seeking deer through October, making it a standout archery destination. Mature bucks in the forest interior can reach full age class under low hunting pressure, especially away from forest road corridors. The Jump River and its alder-choked drainage corridors funnel pre-rut buck movement predictably in November. For do-it-yourself hunters willing to pack in, the Chequamegon blocks offer a genuine wilderness deer hunt within a day's drive of Minneapolis or Milwaukee.