Reports from the DNR indicated fewer deer were killed during the 2023 gun season than were taken last year.  An assortment of reasons were given for the drop in the number of animals taken, such as warmer temperatures and lack of snow on the ground, making the deer hard to see. That may be the case.
It has also been noted that the hunter population is changing as fewer dedicated and experienced older folks are going into the woods.
I have to wonder whether a part of the fun of the hunt has been lost in the name of efficiency with the use of cell phones and other electronic gadgets.
When a hunter kills that sought after 15-point buck, who does he or she brag to? Deer registration stations have waved goodbye. The hunter can stand on a hill with a foot on the neck of the freshly killed trophy and register it with the DNR.
Nobody but you may ever know just how great a hunter you really are if the carcass goes nowhere except to the folks who are will process the meat.
No longer is there the fun of taking the deer to a registration station in town and telling other hunters about the “thrill of the hunt”, and maybe celebrate a bit on the side.
    For the non-hunting folks in the village, driving the streets looking for dead deer hanging in trees has gone away. Shucks, you can’t even see the person in charge of the registration station climb into the back of a pickup filled with dead animals and tag the ears.
“Going deer hunting?”

“Nah, no fun. Might as well stay inside where it’s warm and watch the Packers!”