Opening Weekend Deer Harvest Sharply Lower
The harvest from the opening weekend of the 2014 firearm deer hunting season in Minnesota was down about 50-percent compared to the first three days of the hunt last fall.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says hunters registered about 54,000 deer after the opening weekend. The tally from the opening weekend in 2013 was around 84,000. The DNR notes the agency implemented regulations this year aimed at lowering the harvest.
“Comparing this year’s harvest to harvests in previous years doesn’t necessarily reflect hunter opportunity or the number of deer on the landscape in 2014,” said Leslie McInenly, DNR big game program leader. This year’s lower harvest is by design because regulations were implemented to place more deer – particularly does – off limits to increase Minnesota’s deer population.
The overall harvest, which include special hunts and the archery seasons, is around 67,000 deer. That’s down from about 100,000 last year.
Additional information about the DNR's deer population and the ongoing deer hunting season can be found on the agency's website.
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