I was out back testing some handloads for my 9mm this afternoon and my neighbor stopped by to tell me that I was breaking the law by recreational shooting during open season.
Sounds just dumb enough to be true, my neighbor is a good guy who shoots frequently so I'm sure he is just looking out for poor ignorant me.

Legal.  

Unless a member here can post the law or maybe is a warden your best bet is to contact the DNR for clarification.

not unless you were doing it to harass hunters and they could prove it.

On your property legal. It's in the rule book.

I looked the rule book, must have missed it.
Where did you see it?

There is no "law" to post.  
It is legal because it is not prohibited.  No DNR Administrative code nor State Statute prohibits target shooting on private property during any hunting season.  You will not find a "law" stating that you may do so because you do not need a law to give you special permission during hunting season.

You can shoot on your own property anytime.. Don't need anyone's permission.

The only mention of target shooting restrictions in state regs for certain times of the year applies to the day before deer gun season. On this day only, you cannot target shoot unless you're at an "established" shooting range, or if on private land, target shooting is restricted to the land owners & immediate family (so if you're on your own land, there are no restrictions for you).

Under the heading "it is illegal to", page 19 of deer hunting regs booklet:
(as we all know, this booklet is just a "summary" of rules, but this one is pretty clearly spelled out here)

http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/wm/WM0431.pdf

possess any firearm from 12:00 midnight–11:59 P.M. on November 16, 2012 unless the
firearm is unloaded and enclosed within a carrying case. Exceptions:Target shooting at
established target ranges, target shooting on private lands by landowners and immediate
family members, waterfowl hunting during open season, hunting game birds on licensed
bird hunting preserves, hunting turkeys and small game in CWD Management Zone
units, and handguns possessed by persons authorized to carry a concealed weapon.
note: An established target range means an existing location that is set up for target shooting
with firearms as its major purpose.


Those with a CC license are allowed to possess loaded handguns on the day before deer season.

Edit to add: The only part of the regulation above that I find confusing is this :  "unless the firearm is unloaded and enclosed within a carrying case". Apparantly the gun case requirement changes made by Act 51 don't apply on the day before deer season... or they overlooked it when printing the booklet.

I've never understood why Stoughton Conservation Club closes it's range on the friday before the opener. I mean, it's an established target range and all. And it's not like it's going to spook deer in the  nearby fields or anything.

If you are wandering in the woods, wear bright colors (or blaze orange).  Tell someone where you are going and when you should be back.  You never know when someone will wander or trespass onto your land, and what type of hunters they are.

This.  A lady got killed a while back wearing a white hat jogging down the road.

Some guy fired at the white thinking it was a deer.  

It's sad how many people haven't figured out the whole identify your target rule.  Seems every year there's one of these stories between deer and turkey seasons.

Suppose some of these people are the type that just because they're out in the woods with a gun, they have to shoot every thing that moves.  My brother was one of those guys.  Sitting out in a deer stand he'd waste all his ammo shooting at squirrels with an 30-06.  But anyway, these stories could be a topic of it's own thread.

The "gun case" changes were changes to WI State Statutes Chapter 167.31.  This refers to firearms and vehicles.  The changes remove specific prohibitions but do not explicitly make anything "legal".  The hunting "regulation" book requiring a firearm to be unloaded and encased refers to WI Administrative code NR 10.09(2) which was not effected by WI Statute 167.31 changes.  Also, the exception for landowners and their immediate family to target shoot on their own land is found in WI Statute 29.312.  This is a case where a Statute was created explicitly to keep a DNR Administrative Code in check.
The WI Statute 175.60(2g)(a) is unusual as it gives explicit authority for a Licensee to carry their concealed weapon including a handgun anywhere in the State with only a few explicit exceptions.  The 24 hours before the 9 day deer gun hunt is not one of them.

Nicolet Rifle Club does the same thing.  They are concerned about scaring the deer for the neighbors who hunt.  The funny thing is that we have animals walk onto the range while we are shooting on a regular basis.  They don't seem too scared.   This is brought to you by the same guys who prohibit full auto and even bump firing, including at a 20' high berm and being only 15 feet away.  

Some guy offed his hunting partner up near Superior yesterday.  That's the only one I know of so far.  One heart attack and one so old he forgot to tie up or where his boat was...





 

2 gunshot deaths for deer hunters have been reported.

My mistake. It is only for the Friday before the season opens. Page 19 to 20.

I heard there was a hunter shot and killed at Ft McCoy this year.


http://www.wrn.com/2012/11/deer-hunter-killed-at-fort-mccoy/

Officials at Fort McCoy say 22-year-old Thomas Stamborski of Milwaukee was found dead of a gunshot wound in a designated hunting area at the Army base near Sparta. The incident happened on Saturday.

The fort said the victim was a civilian who was not connected with the Defense Department. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the shooting.

The DNR had gone two straight years without a hunter being shot-to-death, the first time that’s ever happened. Only three November gun seasons in the last 160 years did not have a fatal shooting in Wisconsin.

At least two other hunters died over the weekend from either natural causes or as the result of an accident. 51-year-old Shaun Lemanski of Green Bay died after he fell from a tree-stand in the Marathon County town of Cassel west of Wausau. 51-year-old Steven Jackson of Antigo, the head of the Langlade County Forestry Department, was found unresponsive Saturday evening in a wooded area near Gleason. Foul play has been ruled out, but the death is still being investigated.