Photo courtesy of Tim Guldan Blaine Kral, 14, of Courtland sits next to a deer he shot in the Minnesota River Valley near the Guldan family farm. Farm owner Tim Guldan said a dozen friends and family shot a dozen deer in the river valley on the second day of the firearms hunting season.

NEW ULM — While statewide and some area deer hunting numbers were down from last year, Guldan family farm owner Tim Guldan said the firearms deer hunting season was about a good as the group could hope Sunday, Nov. 5.

“Our party of 12 family and friends got a dozen deer before noon, near the farm, close to Courtland in the Minnesota River valley,” said Guldan.

Guldan’s son, Blaine Kral, 14, of Courtland shot a good-sized deer in the Minnesota River Valley near the Guldan family farm. Guldan said a dozen friends and family shot a dozen deer in the river valley on the second day of the firearms hunting season.

“My goal is (deer) population control due to the damage they do to my crops,” Guldan said.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said fewer Minnesota hunters were able to harvest a whitetail deer this year due at least in part of decreased antler-less tags this year.

The DNR reported Monday that the firearms and archery harvest accounted for 125,184 deer this year. Compared to 161,129 deer harvested last year, that’s a decline of slightly more than 22%.

“It’s not too terribly surprising. We had back to back severe winters in northern Minnesota. We’re trying to grow the population in those areas,” said DNR Big Game Program Coordinator Todd Froberg.

“I expected the harvest to be a bit higher, but it’s holding fairly steady compared to last year. The surprising thing is the fantastic weather in the southern part of the state. It wasn’t too warm or cold,” Froberg said.

Smaller deer harvests were reported in the Marshall area this year, said area wildlife supervisor Wendy Krueger. In permit area 288, which covers most of Lyon County, the preliminary firearms deer harvest was 398, compared to last year’s firearms harvest of 412, she said.

“There were less hunters out there, and the harvest is down a bit,” Krueger said. Krueger said she had thought the good weather on opening weekend would encourage more hunting. “I was kind of expecting our harvest would top last year’s,” she said.

Krueger said the area deer harvest could still make up some ground during muzzleloader season, which starts Nov. 25. Archery season also runs through the end of the year.

Another factor was 3% less license sales this year, Froberg said.

“Less hunters in the woods accounts for some of it (harvest decline),” said Froberg.

Demographic changes have affected statewide hunting license sales and deer harvests for several years, Krueger said.

“Baby boomers are aging out of the sport, and not enough new recruits are replacing them,” she said. “The DNR and other organizations have active recruitment, retention and re-activation programs to try and enhance and maintain interest in outdoor activities, so it’s an ongoing effort.”

The DNR reported 56% of the deer taken so far this season were adult bucks. About 30% were adult does. The remaining deer were juveniles.

In harvest area 290 (near New Ulm), 786 deer were harvested so far, according to numbers generated by the DNR electronic licensing and registration system. Data does not include deer harvested during special hunts.

Deer Permit Area 289 northwest of New Ulm showed 381 deer harvested. Deer Permit Area 291, west and north of Mankato showed 1,180 deer harvested. Deer Permit Area 288 in the Marshall area showed 446 deer harvested. Deer Permit Area 295 south of Marshall had 610 deer harvested. Deer Permit Area 281 south and east and northwest of Granite Falls saw 867 deer harvested.

Harvested deer numbers in all area deer permit areas were lower in 2023 than in 2022. Deer Permit Area 281 south, east and northwest of Granite Falls was 1,329 last year and 867 this year. Deer Permit area 288 in the Marshall area had 856 deer harvested last year, 610 this year. Deer Permit Area 291 west and north of Mankato had 1,346 deer harvested last year, 1,180 this year.

The Camp Ripley Archery Hunt near Little Falls saw 1,846 hunters harvested 202 deer Oct. 27-29 including two bucks that weighed 240 pounds or more. Last year, 1,953 hunters harvested 221 deer in the hunt.

The muzzleloader hunt is Nov. 25 to Dec. 10. The archery hunt is Sept. 16 to Dec. 31.

Hunters who buy an archery deer license may take deer with a crossbow throughout the archery season. Crossbow users must be age 10 or older.

Blaze orange is required on all ground blinds used at any time on public land.

For more information, visit https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/management/statistics.html.

Current deer harvest figures and harvest reports for past years can be found on the DNR deer reports and statistics webpage (Mndnr.gov/mammals/deer/management/statistics.html. The page features an interactive map and graph that visualize data.

— Deb Gau reported to this report