WAUSAU, Wis. -- With two days to go before Wisconsin's tradition-steeped deer hunt begins, state officials said that license sales are on track to equal what were sold a year ago despite the sour economy.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources licensing administrator Diane Brookbank said 510,527 licenses were sold as of midnight Wednesday and she was confident nearly 120,000 more will be issued before Saturday morning.

The nine-day hunt begins before sunrise Saturday.

Compared with a year ago, license sales are up 5 percent. Brookbank attributes that mostly to more hunters buying licenses earlier because of a four-day October hunt.

Brookbank said that she's seen no evidence the economy is affecting the sales.

The DNR estimates up to 1.7 million deer roam the fields and woods, about the same as a year ago.