Up North, a lone buck falls

In much of northern Minnesota, deer hunting circa 2014 will be remembered as chilly and snowy, with relatively few deer taken.

Where my brother, Dick Anderson, of Eveleth, and his son, Brian, of Champlin, and I hunted on opening weekend, near Cook, we heard very few shots.

And took only one.

Brian was our lucky hunter. Or most skilled. About 7:30 opening morning, he found just enough opening between balsams and birch, spruce and popple, to pinpoint a fork buck and drop the animal with a single round from his .243. It was the only deer we saw.

Throughout the north, the firearms whitetail harvest is down 50 percent from a year ago, according to DNR tabulations completed Friday. A reduction in the number of antlerless permits issued is one reason. But doubtless fewer whitetails roam the region as well.

Statewide, the firearms deer harvest is off about 26 percent from a year ago, with a total of 70,600 animals taken.

Photos, at right, and text by DENNIS ANDERSON