100 Best Public-Land Hunts: Wisconsin

Clark County Forest (133,000 acres)
Jackson County Forest (120,000 acres)
Location: central Wisconsin
Size: 253,000 acres
ZIP: 54456 (Clark County), 54615 (Jackson Co.)

Many central Wisconsin counties maintain extensive public forests that are open to hunting, and those located in the adjacent counties of Jackson and Clark are two of the best. Active logging here creates a number of forest openings that make good deer food and winter cover, and deer densities are much higher than in northern Wisconsin, ranging from 50 to 75 per square mile. “This is land that produces big bucks year after year,” Warnke says, “but you’ve got to do your homework to find them.” Start by identifying logged areas and then trace the travel routes between them. No food plots are planted at either site, but surrounding agricultural areas are important food sources.