Wisconsin Youth Deer Hunt 2026 Runs Oct. 10-11: The Mentor R

Last updated: September 2026

Wisconsin hands its youngest hunters two days in the woods before anyone else gets a rifle. The 2026 youth deer hunt runs Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11, and it splits kids into two groups that follow different rules.

Quick Answer: Wisconsin’s 2026 youth deer hunt runs Oct. 10-11 for hunters 15 and under, residents and non-residents alike. Hunters 12-15 who hold a hunter education certificate hunt accompanied by an adult. Hunters 11 and under, or 12-15 without hunter education, must be mentored by an adult within arm’s reach. A gun deer hunting license is required, and the adult may not hunt deer with a firearm during the youth hunt. Price County sits in Deer Management Unit 29.

When is the 2026 youth deer hunt in Wisconsin?

The season is fixed by a rule rather than a date on a calendar. DNR schedules the youth gun deer hunt for the Saturday and Sunday nearest Oct. 8. In 2026, Oct. 8 falls on a Thursday, which puts the hunt on Oct. 10-11.

That placement is the point. The youth hunt lands about six weeks before the nine-day gun season opens Nov. 21. For two days, the woods belong almost entirely to kids, with the regular firearm crowd still weeks away.

There is a wrinkle worth knowing. Archery and crossbow season opens Sept. 12 and runs to Jan. 3, 2027, so it is running the same weekend. A youth hunter who holds an archery or crossbow license can hunt with a bow or crossbow during those two days as well as with a gun.

Who can hunt, and which rules apply?

Both resident and non-resident youth hunters are eligible. The dividing line is age and hunter education, and it decides how closely an adult has to be standing.

Hunters 12 to 15 with a hunter education certificate

These hunters must be accompanied by an adult 18 or older. Accompanied has a specific meaning in the regulations: the adult stays within both visual and voice contact of the youth, without using an amplifying device other than a hearing aid.

The adult does not need a hunting license or a hunter education certificate to accompany one or two youth hunters in this age group. That matters for parents and grandparents who do not hunt.

Hunters 11 and under, or 12 to 15 without hunter education

These hunters must be mentored, which is a stricter standard. The mentor stays within arm’s reach at all times.

The mentor has to be at least 18, have the parent’s or guardian’s permission, and hold a valid Wisconsin hunting license for the current season. If the mentor was born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, they must also have completed a hunter education course or finished basic training with the U.S. armed forces.

A qualified mentor may only mentor one youth in this category at a time. That is a change from the accompanied tier, where an adult can take two.

Hunter education is not a dead end for a kid who wants to hunt this October. The state’s mentored hunting program lets someone hunt under an arm’s-reach mentor without first completing a course.

What can the adult do during the youth hunt?

Not much. An adult accompanying a youth hunter may not hunt deer with a firearm during the youth hunt. They may carry a bow, crossbow or gun to hunt other game that is open at the time, and they may hunt deer with a bow or crossbow only.

The restriction keeps the firearm deer harvest to the kids. An adult may not accompany more than two youth hunters at once.

What can a youth hunter take, and where?

Youth hunters may hunt deer with a gun, bow or crossbow in all Deer Management Units except state parks, with Menominee County also excluded. Hunters should confirm their specific unit before the weekend.

The bag limit is one buck per Gun Buck Deer Harvest Authorization, plus additional antlerless deer for each valid Antlerless Deer Harvest Authorization for the unit, zone and land type the youth is hunting.

There is also a Jr. Antlerless Deer Harvest Authorization, which is valid statewide regardless of land type. That is a meaningful difference for a young hunter working public land, where antlerless tags can otherwise be limited.

All other hunting regulations still apply. Youth under 18 may not possess or use handguns for hunting.

Where can Price County kids hunt?

Price County sits in Deer Management Unit 29, split into subunits 29a and 29b, inside the Northern Forest Zone. That is the same unit covered in our deer hunting guide for Price County, which tracks the season structure and public land access across the year.

The county offers real access. The Flambeau River State Forest spreads across Sawyer, Price and Rusk counties and wraps 75 miles of the North and South Forks of the Flambeau River, with its headquarters in the town of Winter. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest runs across the north, and Wisconsin as a whole holds more than seven million acres of public hunting land.

For a young hunter, the practical advantage is terrain that suits a short sit. Aspen regeneration and edge habitat concentrate deer, and a mentor and child working a logging road in the county forest do not need to cover miles to find sign. Cell service is thin to nonexistent across much of that country, so downloading maps before leaving the truck is worth the two minutes.

What paperwork does a youth hunter need?

A gun deer hunting license is required to hunt with a firearm during the youth hunt. Licenses, stamps and harvest authorizations are issued through the DNR’s Go Wild system. Fee schedules are published there, and the cost depends on residency and license type. Our Price County hunting guide collects the wider license and season picture in one place.

Every deer harvested must be registered. Wisconsin requires harvest registration, and the DNR’s harvest reporting tools handle it online or by phone.

One caution for families planning the weekend: antlerless tag availability varies by unit and is set annually, so check what is available for DMU 29 before assuming a tag is in hand.

What safety rules should be reviewed first?

DNR asks mentors to walk through the four basic firearm safety rules before hunting. Treat every gun as if it were loaded. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.

That last one carries extra weight on public land in October, when archery hunters may be in the same woods. Families planning a weekend outdoors may also want our Price County recreation data on license sales and outdoor spending, and our free fishing weekend guide for the open-water side of the same state programs.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Wisconsin youth deer hunt in 2026?

Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. DNR sets the season for the Saturday and Sunday nearest Oct. 8 each year.

Does a parent need a hunting license to take a kid hunting?

It depends on the child’s age. To accompany a hunter 12-15 who has a hunter education certificate, an adult does not need a license or hunter education. To mentor a hunter 11 and under, or 12-15 without hunter education, the adult must hold a valid Wisconsin hunting license and meet the hunter education requirement if born on or after Jan. 1, 1973.

Can a youth hunt without hunter education?

Yes. Hunters 11 and under, and those 12-15 without a certificate, may hunt under a qualified mentor within arm’s reach through Wisconsin’s mentored hunting program.

Can adults hunt during the Wisconsin youth deer hunt?

Not deer with a firearm. An accompanying adult may carry a bow, crossbow or gun for other open game, and may hunt deer with a bow or crossbow only.

What deer management unit is Price County in?

Deer Management Unit 29, with subunits 29a and 29b, in the Northern Forest Zone.

Sources

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