Itasca State Park Predictions

[Itasca0217]

HEY THERE! Anyone hunt Itasca State Park in MN? If you do then what are your predictions for this year? Tips are good, areas are obviously confidential unless you want to share that also. Pictures are also very much appreciated!

Also, what brand and caliber of rifles do you prefer for the park environment??? calls that have proven successful? Basically anything related to Itasca is AWESOME! It is hard to find Itasca Hunters, were a breed of our own.

Thanks guys and good luck, I think well all need it!

[BuckSutherland]

My prediction is a lot of wolves! Few deer. I used to hunt that area back when you could shoot five deer and everyone filled there freezer. Now the herd is down and there are a lot of wolves in the area. I have moved on to better woods.

[schmoe147]

Itasca is still in a intensive area, the deer numbers are not high enough in it to have intensive but the parks plan is to limit the Deer in the area, therefore I doubt it Will ever change from intensive. I predict it'll be slow like the last few years and if you really work at it you'll get a deer. Wolf sightings will be up like normal. don't let the intensive area fool you into thinking there's deer running all over the place,less dear in that area then some hunters choice and lottery areas around the state. Good luck!!

[Itasca0217]

I actually moved to a new location in the park last year with my dad and we were very skeptical about it because it's obviously a new area and that

s risky business in the park. I saw 3 deer on opener in the first 3 hours. 2 Spikers and a basket 8. I do know that was a blessing because the park is down in numbers and continues to decline. The only upside to this year is the very mild winter. There was predicted to be 0 winter related deaths this last winter which might bring the herd up VERY slightly. And since were talking about wolves, I saw one in our new area last year roaming around, It was very exciting to see wolf in the park. Not many bear but I have seen one running away when we drove wilderness. So overall I guess I will predict a season similar to last year, maybe slightly better, but probably not noticeable. Thanks for the Posts!

[summit090706]

Hello, I have been gun hunting the park for about 21 years now. I was out there all day Saturday and today and will be back out next week to continue scouting. Sign is about the same as last year. Most area's are really dry so I assume lots of patterns have changed. I saw lots of Wolf and Bear scat walking around. I would guess that my brother and me walked about 8 miles on Saturday. I would go with your estimate. I also agree with the other posts that most people see the number of deer you can take and think that there are deer running everywhere. I heard that last year there were 500 vehicle in the park opening morning. I would enjoy talking and sharing pictures you want to shoot me your email?

[Itasca0217]

Yes sir it is ( [email protected] ) Anything is awesome! I will share pictures also !

[iland99]

I live next to Itasca near the east entrance. The previous comments about numbers of deer are spot-on. I've seen more wolves in my yard (1) than deer (0) this fall. I also see very few deer near the park on my commute to work, north of the park is a whole different story. Now those are pretty unofficial observations, but the fact that the park is intensive again this year really gives people the wrong impression about the deer population. I'd believe the 500 vehicle comment, people park in the ditch all along the park borders near my house every year, and that's during the week (we get the heck out of Dodge most weekends during rifle season!).

[schmoe147]

Hollywood_pete do you notice less deer by your place do to the liberal deer limits inside the park? I've always been curious how much it affects area just outside the boundarys, as much as i hope it doesn't happen I assume more deer than a person realizes are shot just outside of park but registered in the park area, especially with areas around it being lottery. I have a cabin in the area and it even seems to affect us(area184).

[iland99]

It's tough for me to say for sure since my property literally borders Itasca. I'm sure the liberal limits inside the park have a ripple effect to the nearby deer populations, obviously deer come and go as they please so I'm sure a few deer range over the border and get shot. I also think your theory of antlerless deer shot near the park getting tagged with Itasca bonus permits has some accuracy too. How much this happens is impossible to guess. I don't hunt the area but sure notice a lot more deer the further north I go on my way to work (I work in Bagley).

I'll say this, I had an unfenced garden this year and had no issues with deer at all. Not a track. Not too many people can say that.

[schmoe147]

Not a lot of shooting, any reports from park

[MidCoast]

I don't think the deer population has gone down for just Itasca State park, it has pretty much gone down for much of MN whether it is north, south, east, or western MN. Well, just my observations but I have noticed that ever since CWD was discovered in WI, and then in MN, the DNR has been very lenient on the deer bag limit and choice of sex. I think we need to go back to the regs back in the 80's and 90's for bag limit for deer. If we do, I think the deer population has a chance to recover within the next maybe 5 to 10 years.

The deer population was sure great during the 80's and 90's in MN. The DNR did something right back then with their management.