New to MN

[floridaboy]

HelloEveryone... I’ve been looking around on here for a few weeks. And thought I would introduce my self. I was born and raised in FL but I’ve had the chance to hunt in many different places. My biggest buck to date is a 130" 8pt from public land in TN. I have to Boys they are 5 and the other is 7 . They both have the hunting bug as bad as I do lol. The oldest killed his first 2 deer last year at 6 but has now moved on to hunting coyotes and hogs. I will be moving to the Sandstone MN area in March. Any tips on gear, public land for archery ,how the tag draw works up there ,any thing that might be helpful would be much appreciated.

[Bear55]

I don't know the Sandstone area all that well but I would guess there will be a decent amount of public land in the area to hunt. Picking up a Pine County plat book might be a good start.

http://www.co.pine.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={EC1BB4C9-6E8F-4CCA-8C94-37A90DB3EF7F}

I believe Turkey, Bear, & Moose tags are lotto but everything else is over the counter, the DNR HSOforum will have all the details you need depending on what you want to hunt.

I would also get those boys out fishing & camping in the summer, lots of lakes and woods to explore. Heck you might even try a little ice fishing this winter, it would be quite a story for their friends back in Florida. Welcome to MN!

[matchset]

there's LOTS of GOOD public land up that way. the Minnesota DNR HSOforum is a very useful tool.

just click on hunting, and you can select my species.

one side note.... bear tags are Lottery, but if u hunt in the "No Quota" area you can buy them over the counter.

less bears in that area, but it can still be done!

[mrklean]

You can also get left over tags for turkey depending in the area there is usually plenty to go around

[sticknstring]

Welcome aboard floridaboy. MN has a lot of public land and archery deer tags are over-the-counter. I'm not familiar with the Sandstone area but I'll sure someone will chime in and give you a local response. March is a great time to get out on the ice with favorable weather and agressive panfish. Your boys will love it. Our turkey lottery deadline has passed but keep an eye out for surplus tags as they become available. Otherwise, you can purchase an archery license over-the-counter. Make sure to check out the geographic subforums as well. That might generate some good response to any other questions you may have.

[Gordie]

Firstoff welcome to the HSO family

Alot of great info on this site

Alot of great guys to help you out also

I'm not familar with the Sandstone area but I know of a few guy that hunt out that way and they usally do very well for deer. I think there is alot of state land out there as well.

the DNR site is a great tool to use for finding stuff pertaining to hunting and fishing.

Also check out the Duluth forums they may have some insight for you

Again welcome and Good Luck hunting

[picksbigwagon]

Welcome to HSO and eventually Minnesota. Things are done a little differently than in Florida I suppose.

No drawing for buck tags in MN, there are regions that have a lottery (draw) for doe tags though

Sandstone area has a lot of public ground within 30-45 minutes of driving, thousands of acres....

our deer hunting laws for kids are a little different too, you might be best off reading the DNR hunting and trapping handbook to get an idea of what is different, for example, youths can only deer hunt once right now between the ages of 10 and 11 and they must complete a hunters safety course before they can get a youth license at 12. Adult supervision is required at all times.

search for the minnesota DNR and go to their hunting page and click on their regulations booklet and read on........

[lakevet]

Once you move there, you can connect with locals (neighbors, co-workers,church,etc.) who will get you up to speed. One thing to watch is the tick diseases we have in MN...lymes and anaplasmosis. East central Mn has a fair amount of those. Also easy to travel to Canada/Northern MN for fishing trips.

Have fun with those boys!!

lakevet

[BigJakeL]

Welcome to the Midwest Floridaboy

[archerystud]

Welcome aboard!

[leech~~]

Once you move there, you can connect with locals (neighbors, co-workers,church,etc.) who will get you up to speed. One thing to watch is the tick diseases we have in MN...lymes and anaplasmosis. East central Mn has a fair amount of those. Also easy to travel to Canada/Northern MN for fishing trips.

Have fun with those boys!!

lakevet

Jeez lakevet, with all the things that can kill you down in Florida like gators and snakes, ticks would be the least of his worries up here! Heck our mosquitos are twice as big as theirs although!