The "Big One" is out there, and the "Big" weekend is this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21-22, for the official start of the nine-day gun deer season in Wisconsin.

This year the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking a different approach with predicting the size of the 2009-10 deer herd, with the opening day of the nine day gun deer season — nothing is being taken for granted.

While Dave Matheys, a DNR wildlife biologist in Viroqua, didn’t give any hard numbers, Matheys did say of the deer herd in general, there are fewer deer out there this year, compared to last year.

"It’s kind of up to hunters to find where the deer are," Matheys said.

Matheys said hunters should know that the distribution of deer is not even throughout the state.

"We (the DNR) just want to get the message across to hunters that deer are not distributed uniformly, and there are going to be pockets where there are fewer deer and pockets, where there are more deer," Matheys said.

During the opening weekend of the 2008 nine-day gun deer season, Vernon County saw about an 8.5 percent decrease in the harvest — from 4,210 in 2007 to 3,860 in 2008. Only two deer registration stations, The Stockyard in Coon Valley and River’s End Bar and Grill in Ontario, saw an increase in registered deer.

Another change this year is the elimination of Earn-A-Buck (EAB), but only outside the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone.

Matheys said EAB is still required for hunters hunting in the CWD Management Zone, which this year covers all of Richland County, as well as portions of Crawford and Vernon counties.

"We know from experience that the Earn-A-Buck regulations increase antlerless kill and that’s what we’re trying to do in the CWD zone is increase the antlerless kill to depress the populations for disease control purposes," Matheys said.

Matheys said this will be for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of forecasts, hunters can look forward to a potentially fair-weather opening weekend.

A mild November has yielded not only a lengthy stretch of days for farmers to bring in the harvest, but it also is making it easier for hunters to spot the deer.

"When we have years, where there’s lots of standing corn, obviously there’s more places for deer to gain cover from, so it makes it a little more difficult for deer hunters to find those animals. When the corn comes off, it helps to concentrate the animals, cutting down on that available hiding cover for deer," Matheys said.

According to the National Weather Service on Tuesday, Saturday is supposed to be mostly sunny with a high near 48. A slight chance of rain is expected for Sunday, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 51 degrees.

"Our focus is that one, hunters have a safe hunt, and two, that they have a fun and enjoyable hunt," Matheys said.

Matheys said part of making sure hunters enjoy the hunting experience, is taking away some of the frustrations hunters may have with some of the DNR’s rules and regulations with hunting.

Matheys said if hunters have any questions about the DNR’s hunting rules and regulations this season, they are encouraged to call the helpline at 1-888-WDNR INF or 1-888-936-7463. Hunters can call every day, including opening weekend of the nine-day gun deer season, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.