Minnesota's best deer hunting regions and four other things to know about the 2024 opener

Last season's warm winter helped the deer population, and that bodes well for firearm hunters anticipating next Saturday's opener, especially in parts of central and southern Minnesota.

As many as 400,000 hunters are expected to hit the field during the firearm season, which concludes with the 16-day muzzleloader season Dec. 15.

Central Minnesota continues to have the healthiest and most productive deer population, and river flood plains will remain prime habitat for hunters in southern Minnesota. So far the deer harvest in the northeast region is faring better than last year, said Barb Keller, Big Game coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Department of Natural Resources. The region remains the most restrictive area of the state. Harsh winters, in part, have diminished the deer population. Some, like deer permit areas (DPA) 118 and 119 on the Canadian border in St. Louis and Lake counties, have a one-deer, bucks-only limit.

"Even coming off that mild winter, we further reduced bag limits in order to allow those populations to recover in some of those northern DPAs," Keller added.

A glimmer of positive news has been hard to come by in the last several years. The number of hunters in woods and fields have incrementally declined, Keller said. So far this year, current license sales (160,047) one week before the opener were consistent with 2023′s one week out. Archery sales, however, were up 3%.

The success rate for hunters is trending downward, too, she added, reflected in the 14% drop in the overall deer harvest since 2019. Last year, hunters took 150,365 deer.

Here are several other things to know ahead of the opening weekend:

DPAs with notable success in 2023

The highest harvests in 2023 based on total deer (bucks and does) and volume of land area:

DPA 227, covering part of northern Anoka and southern Isanti counties, had 7.36 deer taken per square mile.

The others include:

– 214 (7.33 deer): Northeast Todd County, southern Wadena and west-central Morrison counties.

– 646 (7.14 deer): Near Rushford and including Money Creek; special chronic wasting disease (CWD) regulations also allow for late hunts Dec. 20-22.

– 225 (7.00 deer): Northern parts of Isanti and Chisago counties along with the southeast portion of Mille Lacs and southern Kanabec and Pine counties.

– 649 (6.88 deer): Includes Caledonia; also special CWD regulations.

Crossbow use creeps up

Last year's harvest data suggests crossbow use is more prevalent, and Keller said a slow increase in their use is expected. Until last fall, crossbows were illegal to use to take deer in Minnesota unless a hunter was 60 or older or physically impaired.

Crossbows were used in about 42% of the deer taken by arrow or bolt last year, according to DNR data. As of Oct. 9, the crossbow harvest was ahead of last year's pace. At 108,065, archery licenses increased 6% overall in 2023 from the prior year.

Study: Fawns struggled to survive in southwest

Heavy rain that sparked flooding last June was hard on fawns in southwestern Minnesota. DNR researchers have collared fawns the last four summers to analyze their survival. Last summer was the worst to date: Only about 40% of the 103 collared fawns survived.

Until last summer, fawn survival had ranged from 51% to 77%. The rain arrived in spring during a vulnerable period for fawns. Researchers said the weather contributed to the leading causes of death: predation, drowning, starvation and exposure.

Keller said the effect on fawns was localized and not indicative of their health statewide.

How does Minnesota rank among Big Ten states?

How does Minnesota deer hunting compare to other states? A Minnesota Star Tribune analysis last spring parsed data from the National Deer Association. Outdoors reporter Tony Kennedy used metrics like hunter success rate, total harvest, trophy bucks and volume of public land, among others, in analyzing the data to rank the Big Ten states (pre-2024 expansion) for their deer-hunting attributes.

"Minnesota boasts 8.2 million acres of public hunting land and has fielded an average of 476,000 deer hunters per season over the past 10 years. Those numbers are fundamental to the state's rich tradition of whitetail hunting" Kennedy wrote. "But when it comes to targeting monster bucks, tallying total deer harvest and measuring hunter success rates, the bragging rights belong elsewhere."

Find his report at bit.ly/btendeer.

Another attempt to erase shotgun-only zone

A bill that would change rules to allow hunters to use rifles during the firearm deer hunt in the southern half of Minnesota didn't survive the last legislative session. One of its authors said he plans to see his plan through next session.

Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said he is committed to ending a law from 1942 that allows only shotgun and muzzleloader use in southern Minnesota. It affects an area south of a line from Moorhead to Taylors Falls.

Drazkowski, a former DNR firearms safety instructor, told the Minnesota Star Tribune last week that he still believes rifles are safer than shotguns. He also said having uniformity will make it easier on law enforcement. The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association has supported the proposed change.

Wisconsin DNR survey results support the safety of rifles over shotguns, as does a U.S. Army Armament study in Pennsylvania that swayed that state's legislature to abolish shotgun-only zones.

"It doesn't make sense for us to mandate out the most safe option for people," Drazkowski said. "Why do we not let them choose that option? Not only to give them more flexibility and more choice, but it is actually a safer choice."

Drazkowski said next week's election could alter legislative support for the change.