Deer Harvest Similar To 2016
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announces that Minnesota firearms hunters registered 70,724 deer during the first two days of the season. This number is basically around the same as the beginning of the 2016 hunt. Of the deer harvested last weekend, 57% were bucks compared to 67% last year. It was thought that this seasons harvest would be larger. However, the large amount of corn still standing in fields probably accounts for part of the less than anticipated harvest.
Based on the number of antlerless permits available and the number of permit areas that allow multiple deer to be take, the DNR is projecting the 2017 total deer harvest to be around 200,000 which compares with 173,213 in 2016.
In most of the state the deer season continues through November 12. There is a late southeast season which runs from Saturday, November 18 through Sunday, November 26. The muzzleloader season runs Saturday, November 25 through Sunday, December 10.