REGIONAL— Increased hunter success in the border country is helping to boost overall deer registration figures in northern St. Louis and Lake counties through the second weekend of the firearms deer season.

Big registration gains in Permit Areas 108, where registrations are up 39 percent, and 118, which has seen a 25 percent jump, are setting the pace within the DNR’s Tower work area. Hunters in PA 108, located north of Orr and west of Hwy. 53 to the border, had registered 774 deer through Monday, up from 557 during the same period last year. Hunters in 118 had registered 451 deer, compared to 361 at the same point in the 2014 season.

Tom Rusch, DNR Tower Area Wildlife Manager, credited the improved hunter success to a modest increase in deer numbers, combined with mild weather, which has allowed hunters to spend more time in their stands.

Last winter’s mild conditions also helped improve survival of the 2014 fawn crop, and that’s meant an increase in the number of spike and fork-horned bucks available for hunters this year.

While northern permit areas saw some of the biggest gains in registrations this year, all of the nine permit areas at least partly within the Tower work area have seen a higher deer harvest. Hunters in PA 177, which runs from farm country west of Cook to the east end of Lake Vermilion, has seen the smallest increase in registrations, with numbers up a modest 11.3 percent. Overall, registrations in the area are up 21 percent over last year.

Statewide, hunters had registered 118,599 bucks through Monday, an increase of 13 percent over last year. “Hunters are seeing more deer this year as we continue to build deer populations across much of the state,” said Steve Merchant, wildlife populations and regulations program manager for the DNR. “We’ve again issued a conservative number of antlerless deer permits, and because of this, many hunters are seeing deer they can’t shoot. However, patience this year should translate to more harvest opportunities in the future.”

While the firearms season draws to a close on Sunday, hunters are expecting some help from Mother Nature with good chances of light snow or snow showers beginning Wednesday. That should provide good visibility for hunters as the white ground cover makes deer easier to spot in the woods. Temperatures are expected to cool down to more seasonal averages, with highs forecast in the upper 20s to low 30s and lows in the teens. Moderate winds from the west to northwest are forecast throughout the weekend.