Firearms deer season begins half an hour before sunrise on Nov. 7, and the Department of Natural Resources expects nearly half a million hunters to participate.
Firearms deer season is one of several seasons for deer hunters. Archery deer season opened Sept. 19 and lasts through Dec. 31. Muzzleloader deer season is from Nov. 28 through Dec. 13.
Hunters are advised to make a deer hunting plan this year — not only to buy their licenses, but also to figure out where to hunt, whether they will be providing a sample for chronic wasting disease testing, and how they will process their deer.
Hunters who are traveling should do the following to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. They are advised to travel as directly to your destination as possible, and minimize stops along the way; attempt to bring all needed supplies with you; if you do need to stop for gas or supplies, wear a cloth face covering;
Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after touching common surfaces (gas pumps, door handles, shared bathrooms, etc.); and so not travel if sick. The DNR outdoor recreation guidelines are available here.
Hunters will have more opportunities to harvest deer because deer populations have increased in much of the state. Opportunities in southeastern Minnesota have also been increased as part of the DNR response to chronic wasting disease.
Hunters in north-central, northwestern and south-metro areas of Minnesota should double-check deer permit area boundaries. Some boundaries have changed due to public input during the deer population goal-setting process or in response to chronic wasting disease spread.
The DNR created additional surveillance areas because CWD was detected in both wild and captive deer in new areas last year. As part of the COVID-19 response, CWD testing will be voluntary for all disease zones and surveillance areas. Hunters who harvest a deer in a disease zone are strongly encouraged to submit a sample.
More details are available here.
As in previous years, the DNR is enforcing carcass movement restrictions in disease management and control zones to limit the spread of disease.
On July 1, deer feeding and attractant bans expanded to include the south metro area. Due to the spread of CWD and the DNR’s CWD management strategy, the antler point restrictions in southeastern Minnesota are not in place this year and cross-tagging, also known as party hunting, will be allowed in southeastern Minnesota for antlered bucks.