Minnesota firearms hunters registered 145,054 deer through the second weekend of deer season, and preliminary results show that number is up 10 percent from 2016.
Of the deer harvested, 54 percent were bucks, compared to 63 percent during the same period in 2016.
In Zone 1, in northeastern Minnesota, total firearms harvest was up 25 percent. In Zone 2, which covers the majority of the state and runs from Canada to Iowa, harvest was up 6 percent and Zone 3, in southeastern Minnesota, was down 12 percent.
“It appears as though deer harvest improved substantially since the first weekend,” said Steve Merchant, wildlife populations and regulations manager. “Getting more corn out of the fields and a bit drier weather likely helped.”
Based upon the number of antlerless permits available and the number of permit areas that allow multiple deer to be taken, the DNR is projecting the 2017 total deer harvest to be around 200,000. The 2016 total harvest was 173,213.
In much of Minnesota, the firearms deer season ended Nov. 12. Additional deer will be harvested during the northern rifle zone season, which continues through Nov. 19; the late southeast season, which runs Nov. 18, through Nov. 26; and the muzzleloader season, which begins Nov. 25 and continues through Dec. 10.