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MARSHALL -- The firearms deer hunting opener is coming up this weekend in Minnesota, and things are looking positive for area hunters.
"We're pretty optimistic for the season," said Wendy Krueger, Marshall area wildlife supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Deer populations appeared to be stable to increasing in the area, in spite of last winter's snowy conditions.
"Both deer and pheasants seem to have come out of it quite well," Krueger said.
DNR regional wildlife manager David Trauba said deep snow, or snow with a thick crust on top, can make it harder for deer to access food. However, he said deer numbers were looking good across southwest Minnesota.
Krueger said the mild weather forecast for this weekend and the end of harvest should also be good for hunters during the deer opener.
"The crop harvest is pretty much done, so there's not huge cornfields for deer to hide in," she said.
At Borch's Sporting Goods in Marshall, Rick Konold said the demand for supplies like shotgun shells, and for hunting licenses, had been picking up as the season opener approached. Customers looking for hunting licenses and supplies tended to come in waves, first with young hunters during the youth season that started Oct. 19, and now with adults.
"It's been busy, crazy the last few days," Konold said. License sales had been "pretty decent," he said.
"We're fortunate that we've got a lot of good public hunting grounds around here," in Lyon, Lincoln and Murray County, Konold said.
Lyon County's deer permit area has a one-deer limit, and a lottery for 500 antlerless deer permits, Krueger said. Hunters needed to apply for an antlerless permit in September.
Deer permit areas covering Lyon, Lincoln, Murray and part of Yellow Medicine County all have one-deer limits. However, some permit areas to the east, in the Minnesota River Valley area, have a two-deer limit, Krueger said. More information on Minnesota deer hunting, including an interactive map of permit areas, is available online at the Minnesota DNR website.
DNR staff urged hunters to keep safety in mind during this weekend's opener. A new requirement for this season is that hunters on public land who are using a ground blind need to have a blaze orange safety covering or blaze orange patches placed on each side of the blind. The patches need to be at least 144 square inches in size.
"We want to make sure people see that blaze orange," Trauba said. That way, other hunters are aware of where the blind is.
Krueger said following safety practices was also crucial for hunters taking part in a deer drive, where hunters move together through deer habitat. "You have to know where people are," Krueger said.
Konold encouraged people to enjoy the hunting experience. Going deer hunting is family time for many people, and it doesn't have to be a competitive atmosphere, he said.
"It's important to have good family time," Konold said.