More than 400,000 deer hunters are preparing for the firearms deer season, which opens Saturday, Nov. 8. The season offers opportunities to spend time outdoors with friends and family, find adventure and put venison in the freezer.
Deer hunting is the primary tool Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses to manage deer populations, and hunters help keep deer numbers in line with population goals across the state. Managing deer populations contributes to the overall health of Minnesota’s landscapes, natural systems and economy.
DNR wildlife staff report that there should be good opportunities to harvest deer in most areas.
Hunters should know the deer permit area number for where they plan to hunt prior to buying a license and ensure they understand chronic wasting disease regulations and sampling requirements and options for that area. Hunters can find these details using the DPA lookup tool (mndnr.gov/deerhunt). Hunters should also note that the shotgun zone remains in place for the 2025 deer season.
Deer hunters in all CWD management and surveillance zones are required to have deer one year or older sampled for chronic wasting disease during the opening weekend of the firearms A season Saturday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 9, and during late CWD hunts Friday, Dec. 19, through Sunday, Dec. 21. In CWD management zones, carcass movement restrictions apply during the entire deer season. Additional information about CWD requirements and sampling can be found at the Minnesota DNR’s CWD webpage (mndnr.gov/cwd).
Southern deer report
Deer populations continue to increase in southern Minnesota, and deer fared well over last year’s mild winter. Prolonged summer-long flooding during the fawning and fawn rearing season likely had a negligible effect on the population but has had significant habitat impacts in floodplain habitat and has pushed deer to more upland areas.
Prior to 2024 and 2025 flooding, there were several years without a major flood, and now vegetation in river floodplains offers excellent woody cover for deer, which bodes well for deer hunters. Blufflands that overlook floodplains offer oak and other sources of nuts and seeds that saw a moderate to excellent crop in 2025, especially bur oak. Large areas of grass with embedded wetlands are also prime deer habitat. If water levels continue to lower between now and the firearms season, hunters will have easier access to this type of habitat. Hunters interested in getting their deer tested for CWD can check the CWD testing options page (mndnr.gov/cwd/cwd-testing.
Central deer report
Deer populations remain robust and highly productive in central Minnesota, and deer also fared well over the winter.
Hunters can harvest as many as three deer in many deer permit areas in central Minnesota, and as many as five deer in CWD management zones and the Twin Cities metro zone. To help manage deer populations, wildlife managers encourage hunters to take advantage of opportunities to harvest antlerless deer.
Hunters should also know that CWD sampling will be mandatory during the opening weekend of the regular firearms deer hunting season in 11 CWD management zones (601, 605, 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649 and 655) and three surveillance zones (229, 285 and 338). Hunters should be aware that DPA 701 was redesignated as DPA 601 after CWD was detected last year near Rockford. DPA 601 will now have CWD management zone regulations, including carcass movement restrictions and the availability of disease management permits for antlerless deer harvest.
It is important to note that there is a three-buck limit (one permissible by each license type of archery, muzzleloader and firearm) in place for the southeast CWD management zone DPAs 643, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649 and 655. This three-buck limit does not apply to other CWD management DPAs in the state, including southeast DPAs 642 and 644, or to the metro CWD management zones (DPAs 601 and 605). Hunters can find these regulations on the DPA lookup tool (mndnr.gov/deerhunt).
Other changes that might impact central region deer hunters include the elimination of the B season license — there is now one statewide firearms deer license that may be used in both A and B seasons.
Northeast deer report
Deer populations in most of the northeast region of Minnesota remain low. The best deer harvest opportunities in the northeast part of the state will be in the southern portion of this region, where deer numbers are higher.
In addition, the highest deer numbers are expected in areas of mixed habitat of open fields and forest. Scouting for local pockets of deer will improve hunter success. Hunters in far northern areas will again have fewer opportunities to harvest antlerless deer, and in some areas, hunters will only be allowed to harvest bucks. This will give local deer populations in these northern areas a chance to grow where their numbers are below goals established through the public deer population goal setting process.
A new change in the northeast is to DPA 183, which has been split into DPA 153 on the west and DPA 154 on the east. This change was made to better accommodate differences in the deer population across the permit area.
Hunters should also know that CWD sampling will be mandatory during the opening weekend of the regular firearms deer hunting season in two CWD management zones (DPAs 604 and 679). The city of Grand Rapids hunts also have mandatory sampling of all deer one year of age or older taken in any season.
Northwest deer report
Last winter was one of the mildest winters on record, following the moderate to severe winters of 2021-22 and 2022-23. As a result, the deer population is in good condition throughout the northwest part of the state.
Reports abound of does giving birth to twins and even triplets in many parts of the region this spring and early summer. This level of reproduction will help local herds recover from mortality events experienced during harsher winters. The acorn crop this year was good. When abundant, acorns are one of the most important and nutritious natural foods for deer and other wildlife. Additionally, with prolonged warm temperatures and relatively late frosts, grass and forbs, various food plot crops, and hay fields have remained green throughout much of fall, which helps deer enter winter in good shape.
Many DPAs in northwest Minnesota have two- or three-deer harvest limits, whereas hunters in DPAs 111 and 203 are limited to bucks only. Some DPAs continue to have lower harvest limits, with the objective of returning local deer herds to established population goals following recent severe winters.
Hunters should also know that CWD sampling will be mandatory during the opening weekend of the regular firearms deer hunting season in four CWD management zones (DPAs 661, 666, 671 and 684) and four CWD surveillance zones (DPAs 239, 262, 269 and 270).
Deer hunting information is available on the Minnesota DNR’s deer hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/deer).
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