The Minnesota deer harvest this fall might be the lowest since 1982, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

About 120,000 deer are forecast to be killed, said Leslie McInenly, DNR big game program leader, well below the 170,000 animals felled in 2013.

"By design, this year's deer harvest will be one of the lowest we've seen in decades," McInenly said.

The past two severe winters adversely affected the state's whitetail herd, particularly in the north, at a time when DNR harvest restrictions remained fairly liberal. The result was larger than expected herd population declines.

In response, and amid a chorus of complaints by hunters that the state's herd has fallen too far, the DNR this fall significantly restricted the number of antlerless permits it issued, while limiting hunting to bucks only in some parts of the state.

The last time Minnesota deer hunters' kill was below 150,000 was 1997, when hunters bagged 143,000. The state's record deer kill was 290,000 in 2003.

Firearms hunting begins Nov. 8. Archery season for deer began Sept. 13. More at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer.

Grouse, woodcock stats

Hunters participating in the 33rd Ruffed Grouse Society National Grouse and Woodcock Hunt, Oct. 9-10, killed about the same number of birds as last year, even though the state's ruffed grouse spring drumming survey showed a significant increase over that of 2013.

This fall, hunters averaged 1.07 grouse per day, while the 2013 mark was 1.06 grouse. The woodcock kill was down from 2013, 1.8 woodcock per day this fall compared to the 2.03 woodcock last year.

The proportion of immature birds harvested this year was 10 percent below the long-term average for ruffed grouse and 20 percent below for woodcock.

Ruffed grouse populations cycle, with lows typically occurring in years ending in 4 or 5, followed by four to five years of increasing populations toward the cyclic high, which often occur in years ending in 9 or 0.