Staying safe during firearm deer hunting season

Special — For many Minnesotans the deer hunting season opener is only second to the States fishing opener.

I managed to garner a deer that year, more by accident than by design. This helps to avoid shooting another hunter.

Share photos from your successful hunt, or views from your stand or blind using hashtag #MNDeerOpener.

Whether enjoying the camaraderie of hunting with friends and family or relishing the solitude of hunting solo, November is the ideal time to appreciate Florida’s abundant wildlife populations and great hunting opportunities. This year, it’s bucks-only again in most locations. The total deer harvest for 2014-2015 was 208,075 for all seasons combined. The DNR says a deer hunting license bought after a season is open is valid the same day of purchase if purchased before the start of legal shooting hours. The total previous year was 139,000.

With the relative late start to the season, hunters should be out in the field during the height of the early rut, known as the chasing phase, when bucks are most active as they seek out fertile does.

Permit Area 240 recorded a slight decrease past year in the harvest. The DNR is managing those permit areas primarily for moose and is intentionally keeping deer numbers lower for that reason.

“You look at it on the (deer regulations) map, and it sticks out like a sore thumb – that five-deer limit”, Balzer said.

Sergeant McDerby tells 47 ABC, “Letting them know what time you’re planning on going into the woods what time you plan on being back out of the woods and having contact with them you know by cellphone or having your cellphone with you”. Kuettel said the sight-in range has been less busy this year than in a few past years.

For more information, go online to www.willowbrookhorses.com and click on “Horse Events” at the top of the page, or call 610-621-7269 to sign up.

While a few hunters find it easier to track animals with a dusting of snow, Merchant said that’s not the biggest weather-related effect.

“There are three ways people can register deer now”.

“Everything is pointing in the right direction, that is for sure, ” said Jeff Miller, assistant wildlife manager with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at the office in Sibley State Park near New London. The DNR sells about 500,000 firearms and muzzleloader deer licenses each year. The National Weather Service is predicting partly sunny skies, westerly breezes, and highs both days around 40 degrees. However, in Zone 1 counties, hunters may take an unlimited number of antlerless deer provided they have purchased the appropriate number of additional deer permits. Lottery deadline was September 10.