2007 Hunting Regulations

[lcornice]

The 2007 hunting regulations should start hitting the vendors soon. While you can't actually buy a deer license until after August 1st, it should provide some light reading over the next couple of weeks. Also, there's some detailed deer-only information posted here: 2007 Deer Season Information. There are color maps of permit areas and also how many either sex permits will be in each lottery area. There's also a list of frequently asked questions at the end and a little more detailed information that you'll find in the regulations book.

Happy reading.

[harvey lee]

Thanks for the information.

[surewood]

I've got a question that has never really been cleared up for me about the bonus permit. Is a bonus permit good for all seasons. Example is if I buy one for archery and don't fill it, is it good for rifle season or do I have to buy another bonus permit for rifle season.

[snapcrackpop]

Here is what caught my eye:

•Bag limits in deer areas have been simplified. Regardless of license type, the bag limits are: lottery – 1, managed – 2, intensive – 5.

•Leftover either-sex permits will be available first come, first served at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 15th.

•Crossbows are legal for use during the firearm season by individuals licensed to hunt during the firearm season. No special permit is required. Functionally, you can use a crossbow in place of a firearm.

•Eligible landowners no longer need to live on their property to obtain a free landowner deer license. This applies to residents only. Non-residents cannot get free deer permits.

•The minimum bow draw weight has been reduced to 30 pounds .

[Jameson]

How is the lottery area doe permit for AS license holders going to work? If a hunter draws a permit for a 4A lottery area, is that permit valid in 4A, 4B, and muzzleloader seasons? Or is that permit only valid for the 4A and muzzleloader seasons?

[lcornice]

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How is the lottery area doe permit for AS license holders going to work? If a hunter draws a permit for a 4A lottery area, is that permit valid in 4A, 4B, and muzzleloader seasons? Or is that permit only valid for the 4A and muzzleloader seasons?

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It'll be valid in any season.

[lcornice]

Quote:

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I've got a question that has never really been cleared up for me about the bonus permit. Is a bonus permit good for all seasons. Example is if I buy one for archery and don't fill it, is it good for rifle season or do I have to buy another bonus permit for rifle season.

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It's good for any season that you can legally hunt. So, if you have an archery and firearm license, it's valid in both seasons.

[jbell1981]

Quote:

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How is the lottery area doe permit for AS license holders going to work? If a hunter draws a permit for a 4A lottery area, is that permit valid in 4A, 4B, and muzzleloader seasons? Or is that permit only valid for the 4A and muzzleloader seasons?

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If you select a lottery area (say 412) and get drawn for an antlerless permit, area 412 is the only lottery area you can shoot a doe. With the AS you can still shoot a buck anywhere in the state and you can use you additional antlerless tags in any managment or intesive area.

[lcornice]

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If you select a lottery area (say 412) and get drawn for an antlerless permit, area 412 is the only lottery area you can shoot a doe. With the AS you can still shoot a buck anywhere in the state and you can use you additional antlerless tags in any managment or intesive area.

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The lottery is unchanged. If you get drawn for a doe in 412, the permit is good in 412 only. That's the same as it's always been. If you kill a deer (any deer) in 412, you are done in all lottery areas for the year. If you want to use the rest of your tags, you'll have to do that in areas with higher bag limits. The reason is the all-season license has pretty much taken the gloves off restricting deer harvest in lottery areas. Despite reductions in antlerless permits, doe harvest continues to increase because of the all-season license. So, all-season hunters get treated the same way as everyone else starting this year.

This issue was thoroughly addressed in the this thread: 2007 deer season changes.

[Jameson]

A big thanks to everyone for their answers!

A special thank-you to lcornice. Keep up the good work.

[BradB]

I plan to buy an all-season license for the first time.

I'll be hunting in the Metro (601) and in 156 which is categorized as "Intensive". The map didn't categorize the metro as "Intensive" though it probably is. I assume, then, that my limit is 5 deer (3 from the ASL + 2 bonus tags) including one antlered deer taken in one of the two zones I hunt.

I think I understand that right. As I always buy my license at the State Fair I'll ask one of the CO's there for confirmation.

[chucker34]

Ditto. Sincerely appreciated lcornice.

[Jameson]

BradB, hopefully the CO will be able to answer all your questions and get you the correct license. From what you stated you should only be buying a regular firearms license. A regular firearms zone 1 license is valid in the metro 601. You could take a max of 5 deer from area 156 and have an unlimited amount of doe tags in the metro(601).

[lcornice]

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BradB, hopefully the CO will be able to answer all your questions and get you the correct license. From what you stated you should only be buying a regular firearms license. A regular firearms zone 1 license is valid in the metro 601. You could take a max of 5 deer from area 156 and have an unlimited amount of doe tags in the metro(601).

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Correct. The metro has no color because it's not really intensive. Since yu can kill an unlimited number of deer, it really shouldn't be green. Same goes for the TB area in the NW.

[BLACKJACK]

Biggest change that I can see is that they really really cut down on the number of doe permits, for exanple only 15 in zone 426 where I slug hunt!!! Odds are that we'll be hunting bucks only Gets to be a long two days when you're hunting only deer with antlers...

[Jameson]

Two years ago 428 was a managed zone. A year ago it was lottery with 500 doe permits per season. This year it's 250 doe permits per season.

I shouldn't complain too much. 15 doe permits in 426, ouch!

[BradB]

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From what you stated you should only be buying a regular firearms license. A regular firearms zone 1 license is valid in the metro 601. You could take a max of 5 deer from area 156 and have an unlimited amount of doe tags in the metro(601).

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Are you saying that I can buy a firearms license and still bowhunt in the metro? Does the metro have some separate type of license or tags? Since I want to hunt in both zones by archery, and the northern one also by rifle then I think I still need the all-season.

[Jameson]

BradB- Sorry, from your first post I did not realize you were hunting both bow and rifle. Wouldn't it make more sense dollar wise to buy an archery license and then a firearms license? The archery license would be valid state wide, and you only need the zone 1 firearms license.

[BradB]

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Wouldn't it make more sense dollar wise to buy an archery license and then a firearms license? The archery license would be valid state wide, and you only need the zone 1 firearms license.

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See now, maybe I'm learning something here. You can buy both? I thought you were limited to either one or the other and that the all-season was a way to use both a bow and rifle during the same season.

[Powerstroke]

You can buy both a bow anf rifle license seperately. The all season is for people who would like to use

1. Archery

2. Firearms

3. Muzzleloader

in seperate seasons. Of course teh archery is valid the entire bow season.

I've always bought a bow tag for my bowhunting and then get a firearms tag right before the gun season to hunt with my family.

[bassNspear]

BRAD B.

I LOVE THE PIC MAN

[lawdog]

The all season allows you to hunt both the firearms season and the muzzleloader season, along with your archery. Powerstroke is right, you could always buy an archery tag along with EITHER a gun or muzzleloader tag, you just couldn't (and still can't) buy a regular firearms tag, then a regular muzzleloader tag too. I had a friend that got pinched for making that mistake, even though the gal selling the licenses told him he could buy both and he bought them back to back based on her assurances that it was OK(consecutive numbers even).

[BLACKJACK]

Before the All Season license came along, I always used to buy an archery license and a firearms license, then when the opportunity came to shoot multiple deer with the All season, I jumped on it. This year, with only being able to shoot one deer if I do most of my hunting in a lottery zone, I'll probably go back to buying an archery and firearms license. I'm waiting to see a map of the zones to see how close the nearest management area zone is.

[Rost]

BlackJack-

Click on the link in the original post by Icornice. There are maps for you to look at.

Kudos to the MN DNR! I think they have taken a step in the right direction with this new management policy!

[chucker34]

I would agree Rost. I would rather see them clamp down like this than some states out East that have decided the key to a quality deer herd is to go after every doe in sight. Talk to the hunters in Pennsylvania that now have a "quality" herd but are seeing far fewer deer.