Across the state, avid hunters are heading out or getting ready for deer hunting season. While you’re checking off your prep list, make sure a physical examination is part of it.

Just a few decades ago, deer hunters who wanted to create a tack-driving rifle needed some amateur gunsmithing skills to tweak their factory bolt-actions.

You have a straight-shooting rifle with a dialed-in scope, plenty of ammo, a backpack full of gear and lunch, and plenty of sleds, ropes and carts to haul out the biggest buck. Now if you only had a place to hunt.

Because you hunt in Wisconsin, you’re in luck. You have more than 7 million acres of public hunting land available to you, including some you’ve heard of and some you probably haven’t.

Thanks to the effort of a local sportsman’s club, area hunters have a place to take their deer carcasses while also helping to keep chronic wasting disease in check.

Since 2019, the Oconto County Sportsman’s Alliance has provided Dumpsters for carcasses.

This year, seven of the Dumpsters are located throughout Oconto County, two are in Marinette County and one is in Shawano County.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that they play an important role in the continued efforts for chronic wasting disease surveillance and management in Wisconsin. One of the most effective tools for monitoring CWD is testing harvested deer, and testing is available statewide.

Menominee hunters are encouraged to bring in adult white-tailed deer heads for chronic wasting disease testing this hunting season. Participation not only helps protect families, but it also supports the ongoing monitoring of the health of the local deer herd.

Each submitted deer head will qualify hunters for one entry into an end-of-season raffle for prizes. There is a limit of one raffle entry per deer head.