Make a plan for deer hunting season

White-tailed Deer buck and doe in snow taken in southern MN in the wild

As deer hunters enjoy current hunting seasons, and 400,000 hunters prepare for the opening of firearms deer season on Saturday, Nov. 5, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds them to plan ahead for a safe and enjoyable hunt.

The DNR’s online make a plan tool (mndnr.gov/DeerHunt) provides a comprehensive step-by-step list of information hunters need to consider before heading to deer camp. Using the tool, hunters can review hunting regulations, plan for deer processing, learn where to get deer sampled for chronic wasting disease if required to do so, how to get a deer sampled for CWD where sampling is optional, and ways to be safe and make the most out of their hunt. To use the online tool, hunters need their deer permit area number, which they can find on an interactive deer map.

In Minnesota, archery deer season began Sept. 17 and continues through Saturday, Dec. 31; youth deer season is Thursday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 23; early antlerless season is Oct. 20-23 in select DPAs; firearms deer season begins Saturday, Nov. 5, with various closing dates depending on a hunter’s DPA; and muzzleloader season is Saturday, Nov. 26, through Sunday, Dec. 11.