The 2008 gun deer hunting season in Wisconsin begins at sunrise Saturday morning.

The DNR estimates more then 600,000 hunters will take part in the 9-day event.

It also estimates there are 1.7 million deer ready for the harvest.

Retailers say sales of hunting gear, except for big ticket items have been brisk in spite of the economy.

For the first time, nearly all of Wisconsin is under some form of hunting regulation designed to kill more whitetail deer.

Roughly 1/3 of the state is again zoned where hunters must shoot a doe first to qualify to bag a buck.

The only part of the state with deer management units designed as "regular" this fall, meaning there are no special incentives to shoot more deer, is in far northeast Wisconsin.

Link to Wisconsin DNR Website