Minnesota Deer Harvest Report Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife DNR Building – 500 Lafayette Rd Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155 (Version 2 updated July 2020) 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000. Of those, about 450,000 hunters are expected to be afield statewide during the firearms season. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released a series of changes ahead of the 2020 firearms deer hunting season. For the second year running, the Minnesota DNR has announced two special hunts will be held to help limit the spread of chronic wasting disease in wild deer. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources urges deer hunters to participate in chronic wasting disease testing in designated areas, following lower-than-anticipated harvest numbers and hunter sample submissions during firearms deer season. Total Reported Deer Harvest by Season, 1999-2019. The hunts will be open to residents and nonresidents, and will happen on the weekends of Dec. 26-27 and Jan. 2-3. Minnesota sells about 520,000 deer hunting licenses each fall, including firearms, muzzleloader, youth and archery. About half the deer shot during the season are shot opening weekend. Minnesota deer hunters had a very slow opening weekend across much of the state, registering only 59,711 deer after the first two days of the season — … Minnesota hunting seasons offer the chance to bag deer, wolf, bobcat and a variety of small game. Only two (2) antlered deer may be harvested from the South Delta Zone. While Minnesota has permitted moose hunting in the past, a significant drop in population for unknown reasons has encouraged the Department of … The DNR had tight restrictions in place in several areas of Minnesota to minimize the spread of the disease, which is fatal to deer, as well as holding a special hunt in late December to cut down on deer populations in areas … Firearms deer season coincides with peak breeding season for bucks Mature male whitetails risk becoming trophy bucks when the firearms opener collides with mating pursuits November 2, 2019 — 11:20pm Hunters encouraged to help protect the wild deer herd. Firearms Archery Muzzleloader Officials said that given the resilience of the deer population, and rec… Minnesota would do away with shotgun-only zones for deer hunting if the Legislature this year takes up a bill that recognizes changes in firearms technology and … Antlered Buck Deer: The statewide bag limit on antlered buck deer is one (1) buck per day and three (3) per annual season. One (1) of these three (3) may have hardened antlers that do not meet the zone legal antler requirements on private land and Holly Springs National Forest. The upcoming season is being affected by the state's ongoing battle with chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is fatal to deer, as well as challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers and state regulators appear to be warming to the idea of eliminating shotgun-only deer hunting zones in Minnesota. The Minnesota DNR has shared promising results from its investigation into chronic wasting disease following the 2020 deer hunting season.