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Minnesota deer hunters fared notably better on opening day of the firearms season this year than last year.

“Hunters are seeing more deer this year as we continue to build deer populations across much of the state”, DNR wildlife populations manager Steve Merchant said. Fortin says with stronger hunting pressure in northwestern and southwestern Vermont and higher deer density, more young deer are found in those areas.

Because of the conservative regulations, the DNR is anticipating a relatively low deer kill this fall, projecting a total harvest in the range of 140,000 to 155,000 deer between the archery, firearm and muzzleloader seasons. You can use a shotgun slug. The drop in numbers has impacted the 1½ and 2½-year-old classes most, and this has prompted a major reduction in the available antlerless harvest permits, in order to give the herd a chance to recover.

St. Clair and Sanilac counties and the rest of the Thumb are in the state’s limited firearms zone for deer hunting.

Despite the lack of deer, hunters are holding up well, she said.

Where are the deer taken? About 80 percent of the corn crop has been taken off, where at this time previous year it was 40 percent. “As populations approach goal, antlerless permit use has been restricted to help stabilize deer populations”.

Vermont’s deer hunting rifle season begins on Saturday morning. They also must possess a hunting license and proper tags and should carry an ink pen and a rubber band, length of wire or zip tie so they can fill out their tag and attach it to their deer before transporting it.

“When you had mandatory registration, there were people who didn’t want to travel the distance to take their animal to get it registered… or simply forgot to register their deer”, Lobner said.

Wear hunter orange. Go to the 2015 Michigan Hunting and Trapping Guide, www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/hunting_and_trapping_digest_461177_7.pdf, for hunter orange requirements. Public input is an important part of Ohio’s deer management program, and survey participants are asked to complete and return their surveys.

State biologists hope that feedback from deer hunters will tell them if Chronic Wasting Disease has spread in MI.

“Hunters who may have sat out the past couple of years are getting back into it”, Laidlaw said. “Know the rules about bringing deer back in and know the facts about CWD, how it’s spread”.

At nearby Four Rivers Conservation Area, 324 hunter shot 670 ducks on opening day, which made it a good start of the duck season in the middle zone. Unless rain, fog or other weather conditions seriously limit opportunities, Wallenfang expects a 3-8 percent uptick in the statewide harvest compared to 2014, a down year.