Deer hunters prepare for one of Minnesota’s biggest outdoor traditions

Hundreds of thousands of hunters across Minnesota will experience a true November deer opener Saturday when the state kicks off its firearms season in freezing temperatures.

If opening day of the nine-day firearms season also brings rain, as most forecasts predict, that could diminish the state’s annual whitetail harvest on the two biggest days of the year for deer management.

“It’s going to be colder weather and that usually bodes well for getting the deer moving,” said Paul Burr, acting big game program coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources. “But folks kind of draw the line when it’s cold and rainy. I am hoping the rain pushes away.”

Burr said a resurgence in whitetail populations following back-to-back mild winters bodes well for hunting success this year. Heading into the firearms season, archers and youth hunters have killed around 25,500 deer – up more than 10% from this time a year ago.

Participation in deer hunting is consistent with last year, according to DNR license sales, but Burr said hunters are seeing more deer. He said observers have reported good fawning rates this year, with lots of twins seen afield with their mothers. In the north this spring, there were very few reports of natural winter mortality, Burr said.

“The conditions have been huge for survival of adults and fawns,” he said.

Even in northeastern Minnesota, where deer are most scarce, the DNR has measured a 14% increase in whitetail registrations this year.

Last year, Minnesota deer hunters killed 170,679 deer – up 12,000 from the year before.

The annual culling helps to reduce conflicts between deer and people, including automobile crashes and crop damage. Roughly half of the deer harvested in Minnesota are shot on the first Saturday and Sunday of the firearms season, so the outcome this weekend can have a disproportionate effect on the season.

More than 400,000 people a year buy a license to hunt deer in Minnesota.

Burr said the Nov. 8 starting date is later than normal and slightly behind the peak of the whitetail mating season, or rut. When the rut is on, bucks become less wary and more vulnerable to ambush by hunters.

Burr said the DNR has been getting a lot of inquiries about rifle usage in counties where rifles have long been outlawed. Minnesota’s shotgun-only zone for deer hunting is changing — but not until 2026. Starting next year, hunters generally will be allowed to use rifles or shotguns throughout the state during the deer hunting season unless a county formally passes an ordinance restricting the use of rifles in their county.