MANITOWOC, Wis. — Archery and crossbow season in Wisconsin is well underway. The season began Sept. 14.
“Trapper” Dan Cichantek has been hunting since he was a teenager. Cichantek said he has already bagged one deer this year, but he needs three more for his freezer.
He said since bow hunting season is longer than gun season, it allows him flexibility with how he chooses to hunt.
“I can pick my days,” said Cichanktek. “I'm not narrowed down to such a nine-day gun season frame. I muzzle loaded, hunted for many years also just to have the extra time…Hunting with archery gives me the extra time.”
Cichantek said he had to switch to a crossbow from a compound bow, because of his heart arrhythmia. He is scheduled to have heart surgery in January.
He said other than trapping, there’s nothing he’d rather do.
“Even with my heart condition, if they find me dead in the woods, I died happy,” said Cichanktek. “I got this attitude, why worry about something you can't change. I can't change the fact that the heart doesn't work quite right, but I'm not going to sit in the easy chair all day either in front of the TV.”
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources deer program specialist, Jeff Pritzl has worked with the DNR for over 30 years.
Pritzl said archery hunting has become more and more popular over the years because of the longer season.
“It’s not that they're increasing the number of deer they're harvesting, they're just shifting their effort and their time and in which weapon they're choosing to use to do their do their hunting,” said Pritzl. "It’s grown to the point now where over 600,000 deer hunters in Wisconsin, over 300,000 of them are archers.”
Cichantek said he enjoys the tradition and the time he gets to spend with family and friends. He said one of his goals is to teach the next generation about wildlife.
“There's so much disconnect from the earth now that people don't understand that meat does not come from a supermarket,” said Cichanktek. “I'm sorry, it comes from an animal on a farm.”
Archery and bow hunting season will continue through the end of January for some counties.