High winds, cold weather and fewer deer in the woods resulted in a disappointing Minnesota firearms deer opener for many hunters.

Reports were especially bad in the far north, where a brutal winter pummeled the deer herd.

Conservation officer Troy Fondie of Orr said it was the worst deer hunting he has seen, along with the lowest number of deer hunters.

"A number of traditional hunting camps sat vacant,'' he said.

Other northern Minnesota conservation officers, including ones in Detroit Lakes, Pelican Rapids, Warroad, Baudette, Cook, International Falls, Ely and Grand Marais reported poor hunting.

"[The] hunting opener was slow with fewer than normal hunters out, very few bucks seen and many stating they are pulling the plug after sitting all weekend and not seeing a thing,'' said conservation officer Mark Fredin of Aurora.

But hunters did well in some areas, particularly farther south.

"Most groups checked had at least some success and some were doing very well,'' said officer Caleb Silgjord of Sauk Centre. Some hunters did very well near Pequot Lakes. And officer Tom Hemker of Winona reported "a good deer opener with high numbers of successful hunters with very few violations.''

State Department of Natural Resources offices were closed Tuesday for Veteran's Day, so deer harvest tallies from the weekend weren't available. DNR officials said earlier that the season deer harvest could come in around 120,000, a level not seen since the early 1980s. Hunters killed 170,000 whitetails last year. Officials are restricting the antlerless harvest in hopes of boosting the herd.

Did you know?

• The DNR sold 324,859 deer licenses through Thursday before the opener, down about 7,700 (or 2.3 percent) from the same time last year.

• Two hunters died in firearms-related accidents, one self-inflicted, the other apparently shot by another hunter. A hunter near Park Rapids who fell out of a tree stand was hospitalized.

• Mountain Iron will host the 13th Minnesota Governor's Deer Hunting Opener next year.

Doug Smith • 612-673-7667