Now that firearms season is over...........

[sportfish]

I hunt 222 & 221 , both are intensive harvest and both need to be dropped down to maybe hunter choice

[Odonata]

It pains me to say it, but in 183, bucks only. Of 7 hunters, we saw the "same" 8-10 does a night. 5 bucks, with one taken, a 10 pt. I am still hunting WI about 2 miles away and have yet to see a deer. Spoke to a few guys in the bush today, they have hunted all week with only three does seen. We'll see what the snow reveals in tracks, but it's no where close to what anyone east of hwy 23 expected, IMO.

[96trigger]

I thought 342 had good numbers, few sits where I didn't see deer. Probably 75% of my sits had deer sightings. Every time I go out, I hope to see at least one deer. I was pushing 100% deer sightings all fall until the latter part of the deer season. They were still there but were moving much later at night. I would say 342 should stay managed.

[JIvers]

347. Managed.

Things look good in my area--plenty of deer around. We were Intensive for a few years, and while a little thinning out of the herd wouldn't hurt I'd say keeping 347 Managed is fine for now.

[fishadb]

275- close the season for one year.

[winterwalleye]

Area 184 few deer, should remain lottery.Size of area 184 should be reduced for better management especially around Itasca State Park which is intensive.

[honker23]

I can only comment on 3A-B. I'd like to see the 3A only 4 days with 3B at 7 and muzzy 10. 2 deer a piece each season with continued APR

[Fowlmouth]

Lottery statewide

[laker1]

Areas that go lottery permits issued have to be low enough it makes a difference.

[Jameson]

Just do away with the Lottery designation. If the deer population is that low, just shut down the season completely in those areas.

[laker1]

We don't need a close season even in the worst of time. Also we as hunters including I complain,but we in Minnesota still harvested a lot of deer.

Years ago about 200,000 hunters were hunting,now 430'000 hunters are competing for the same deer and no more land was made. That is finite. Yes we can improve habitat.

You can still have a very viable hunt like much of the 70's and 80's were in the northern zone with limited lottery and bucks only.

We need to get back some of those 2.5 and older does for breeding. Also some fawns that were shot were buck fawns,now with limited lottery etc. they will be yearling bucks the following year instead of out of the system.

After having liberal seasons recently, which along with a hard winter the herd is down it takes at least two years just to get enough does into the system,but than it builds very fast in time,unless mother nature deals its hand.

Face it the northern half of the state is harsh country in the winter. Practilly(sp)all of Wisconsin is south of the north half of Minnesota.

[Jameson]

Yep, the Northern part of the state has harsher winters than the Southern part of the state.

I guess "need" is a relative term. If you are happy with lottery year after year in SW Minnesota or any part of the state, then we don't need to change what we are doing. If you are not happy with areas in the Southern part of our state or any part of our state never rebounding above lottery designation, then we need to do something different.

[MUSKY18]

I'm in 259 which is a HC zone. I think its borderline whether it should be HC or Lottery. I hunt the larger woods of the northern part of 259 but I know there are other areas that have more ag land so I'm guessing I'm in an area with lower density compared to the rest of the zone so its hard to say based only on what I am seeing in my one little chuck of woods.

Hunt 259 also and from what we saw in our neck of the woods and all the hunters we talked within a couple mile radius, definitely would like to see it go back to lottery for a couple years. I know its a huge zone and the area we hunt on the east side is big woods, lil ag but when you get over by Park Rapids its woods and big ag as stated. Makes it hard to manage a zone when it is so diverse.

[BLACKJACK]

277 - lottery now, I see a lot of deer, would like to see it goto Managed.

[Hench]

I can only comment on 3A-B. I'd like to see the 3A only 4 days with 3B at 7 and muzzy 10. 2 deer a piece each season with continued APR

100% agree!!!!

[Hench]

342 B-season - first time shut out in 28 years, same property. Only a few sightings and heard very little shooting.

[Fishingfox]

We had our best year in 277. It is lottery and I would like to see it stay that way.

[phorn]

348 B season. Slowest are party of 4 have ever had. I got a nice 8 pnt on Saturday evening. Only 3 other deer seen in 5 days. They started picking the corn on Saturday. The corn looked in pretty rough shape. There was actually deer trails through the corn. Next years deer numbers should be better barring a bad winter or spring.We've never had that much standing corn around where we hunt the last 3 years. Plus there were very few hunters. All in all its great to get in the woods. Now that its over I wish I could be back out there. September is a long ways away.

[zepman]

What part of 348 were you hunting?

[phorn]

About 4-5 miles north of the Big woods. South East of Lanesboro. Does that help?

[Wanderer]

Hey zepman,

I sent you a PM last week.

[zepman]

Yep...thanks guys.

[bigbucks]

213 HC, wish it was managed, personally have a lot of places to shoot does, a lot get hit by cars in the 10 miles W of Long Prairie. The North Eastern part of the area has a lot of deer in it, but farther West & South there aren't as many, so HC is probably right for the most part. Hwy 71 is the dividing line & it really should be a bit farther West, but realize the areas need to follow something easy to identify. Hwy 29 to I94 would probably be more accurate for the terrain.

214 Managed, which is right, lots of deer there, pretty good mix of bigger woods & agriculture. The woods had a few less deer this year do to a down acorn year, but the ag next to bigger woods was all but over run with deer.

[Musky Buck]

The only change I would like to see is a no quota on timberwolves south of highway 10 in ottertail county. This spill over of wolves into Wadena, todd Morrison ottertail counties must reflect either too few of deer to eat in the north and northeast or simply a lot more wolves on the ground or likely both. Overall I think the winter may determine what changes we see for next season, wish I could bow, I think repeat think we'll see some better bucks next fall pending winter and I hear about run down bucks after the rut, I don't believe that happens to them all, the bucks we all have on trailcam this December seem plump to say the least, not a 1 looks ragged whatsoever, I think certain bucks the ron Jeremy types do overdo it and yes they can nearly lose their life in the process, have seen a couple in my 30 years of observations, however in my area with a high high buck population I just think so many get bred by the gang of bucks there isn't a dire need to service them as they're getting serviced, in areas with low buck #'s I think you'd see that wore down buck more often.