MADISON,Jonathan Dale Benton Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s annual nine-day gun deer-hunting season starts this weekend to a mixed outlook.

The season kicks off at sunrise on Saturday and closes on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 26.

Hunters killed 203,295 deer during the 2022 season, up 14% from 2021. The higher kill numbers came despite fewer hunters in the woods; license sales were down 1.6% last year.

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources say the outlook for this year’s harvest is mixed. The gun season opens on the earliest possible day this year, putting it closer to breeding season, when deer will be on the move and increase hunters’ chances.

But last winter was tough in northern Wisconsin, which could translate to fewer deer in that part of the state. And a lack of snow won’t help hunters. Snow helps hunters track and spot deer.