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Where to hunt northern bobwhite near Tomah, Wisconsin

Last updated 2026-09-24 · seasons from WDNR · 2026 season year

There are 22 public units within 40 miles of Tomah, Wisconsin that hold ground where northern bobwhite is recorded — 73,550 acres of it. The most of it is in Wood County Forest, 22.9 miles out, with 25,054 recorded acres. The closest is Monroe County Forest at 2.9 miles. The season runs October 17, 2026 to December 9, 2026 — 54 days afield, bag 5 per day, 15 in possession, read against the 2026 season year from WDNR. Public-land boundaries here are PAD-US, which records who manages a parcel rather than where the line runs or whether a unit carries a local closure — check with WDNR before you park.

Public land within 40 miles of Tomah

Distance is measured to the nearest edge of a unit rather than to its middle, in a straight line — this app carries no road network and will not print a drive time it cannot compute. A unit whose ground reaches inside the circle is listed for the acreage that is inside it, never for its statewide total.

Ordered by recorded acres — how much of each unit lies inside subbasins where northern bobwhite is recorded at regular strength or better — rather than by how big the unit is. The biggest block in a state is often not in the half of it the bird is in. PAD-US splits a forest into many parcels, so acreage is summed over the unit's name, and the share is measured against the unit's drawn boundary rather than a centroid: a national forest can be two polygons across half a peninsula.

WDNR names no geographic restriction on this season, so no unit is excluded for being outside one.
Season geography here is read off a dates table rather than the rule itself, and a dates table carries no boundary.

UnitClassMilesRecorded acresAcres in rangeWhere the records are
Wood County Forest part of the unit County forest 22.9 25,054 36,948 68% regular, 32% present
Juneau County Forest County forest 11.1 16,918 16,918 100% regular
Jackson County Forest County forest 12 11,026 121,256 9% regular, 91% present
Sandhill Wildlife Area State wildlife area 26.6 4,659 9,654 48% regular, 52% present
Monroe County Forest County forest 2.9 3,529 7,306 48% regular, 52% present
Coulee Experimental Forest State forest 26.8 2,965 2,965 100% regular
Yellow River Wildlife Area State wildlife area 21.3 2,198 2,198 100% regular
Dell Creek Wildlife Area part of the unit State wildlife area 35.9 1,836 1,836 100% regular

22 units clear the circle in all and the 8 holding the most recorded ground are named. The rest are ground a reader would drive past something better to reach.

A unit marked part of the unit has ground outside the circle as well, and the acreage here is only what is inside it. PAD-US records who manages a parcel, not where its line runs on the ground and not whether it carries a local closure: context, not permission. Check the unit with WDNR before you park.

Season and limits

WDNR's dates for the 2026 season year, read from WDNR. Wisconsin lists this season as Northern bobwhite.

SegmentOpensClosesDays
Statewide October 17, 2026December 9, 202654
Open today
Shut — next opening October 17, 2026
Bag limit
5 per day, 15 in possession
Hunter orange
requiredAt least 50% of clothing above the waist, and any head covering, must be blaze orange or fluorescent pink any time a firearm deer season is in progress. This applies to small game and archery hunters, not only to deer hunters. Waterfowl hunters are exempt.
Shooting hours
not carried

What to walk when you get there

Broomsedge and native warm-season grass with bare ground under it, brushy field borders, and the edge of a cut field against a hedgerow. Quail need to walk under the cover, not through it, which is why manicured ground holds none.

Hunt the edges of managed early-succession fields and the borders between crop and brush. Coveys hold in a few known spots and use them year after year; the singles after a covey rise scatter into the thickest nearby cover.

Written for this app rather than read off an agency page — the cover a bird uses does not change at a state line. Everything above that is a date, a limit or an acreage names the source it came from.

Read next

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