REGIONAL— Preseason scouting and time in the stand are the best ways for hunters to improve their odds when the 2024 regular firearms deer season opens here in the North Country on Saturday.
With the deer population still well under goal here in northern St. Louis, Lake, and eastern Koochiching counties— and most hunters in the region limited to bucks only— DNR wildlife officials say hunters can expect they’ll need to work to put some venison in the freezer.
Last year’s record-mild winter undoubtedly reduced winter mortality for the region’s deer herd, but DNR assistant area wildlife manager Penny Backman said it takes more than one mild winter to allow for recovery of the region’s deer herd. “We could use about three or four mild ones in a row,” she said.
What’s more, other weather events may have blunted the impact of last year’s mild winter.
“The spring flooding could have hit our fawns, too,” said Backman. Fawns in the region are typically born in late May, so many were only a few weeks old during the June 18 deluge. “Fawns are not that good at swimming at that age,” noted Backman.
Even so, Backman said she’s hopeful there will be a few more deer on the landscape this season, as compared to last. “We are seeing a few more fawns, but nothing dramatic,” she said. “It’s going to take more time to really recover,” she said.
Backman said hunters will have the best chance for success near farm fields, which means parts of PA 177 and or those areas south of the Mesabi Iron Range. “It’s always a bit better in those areas rather than in hardcore wilderness,” she added.
She notes that deer make use of farm fields and pastures this time of year, which can help them put on extra fat heading into winter. She said fields that have recently been fertilized can be more attractive to deer since that tends to make the forage more nutritious.
With a season opener, which is set by law as the Saturday closest to Nov. 6, coming nearly as late as possible, area whitetails should be well along into the rut, which should aid deer movement. But predictions for highs in the 40 and even into the 50s for opening weekend, will likely be warm enough to slow buck movement, or keep them more active during cooler nighttime hours.
Wind is another factor, notes Backman. During high winds, deer tend to stay put since they’re less able to detect predators. “Cool weather without much wind is the ideal,” she said.
Backman notes that the key for most hunters is the presence of a doe somewhere near their stand. “If you’re lucky, that doe goes into heat and brings Mr. Buck right to you,” she said.
The phase of the moon is another factor that can play into hunter success. The moon will be at first quarter on opening day, waxing toward full by Nov. 15. That should keep the woods relatively bright overnight during the first week of the season, which means bucks will likely remain active outside of legal hunting hours. While that can be a disadvantage, deer that are active overnight tend to bed down toward morning and often are more active than usual at midday. That means hunters who pack a lunch, rather than heading back to camp at noontime, can gain an advantage.
Feedback from hunters
While many hunters have pointed to the region’s wolf population as the primary factor behind lower deer numbers, Backman said there seems to be an increasing understanding among hunters that habitat factors are also playing a role. As the Timberjay reported in the Oct. 18 edition, the diminishing number of fresh clearcuts, which provide nutritious food sources as the forests regenerate, along with a reduction in older forests and balsam fir, which provide winter cover, was likely limiting the ability of the region’s deer herd to rebound as quickly as in the recent past.
Backman noted that deer in the region have co-existed in the past with very high wolf numbers. “We had some of the highest wolf densities up here seen anywhere in the late 1990s and early 2000s and yet we had deer everywhere.”
Season details
The season gets underway officially at approximately 6:40 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 and runs through Sunday, Nov.. 24.
Successful unters will have the choice of registering their deer online (mndnr.gov), by phone (888-706-6367) or at traditional walk-in registration stations. You’ll need to include the harvest registration number that appears on your license to complete your registration.

DNR’s NE Minnesota report
REGIONAL—Per the DNR: “Despite a mild 2023-24 winter, deer populations in the northeast region of Minnesota are still low and will take multiple years to recover from several severe winters in prior years.
The best deer harvest opportunities in the northeast part of the state will be in the southern portion of this region, where deer numbers are higher.
In addition, the highest deer numbers are expected in areas of mixed habitat of open fields and forest. Scouting for local pockets of deer will improve hunter success. Hunters in far northern areas will again have fewer opportunities to harvest antlerless deer, and in some areas hunters will only be allowed to harvest bucks. This will give local deer populations in these northern areas a chance to grow where their numbers are below goals established through the public deer population goal setting process.
To help inform consideration of a proposed elk restoration project, new mandatory CWD surveillance sampling will be implemented on opening weekend of firearms A season in DPAs 156, 173, 181 and 199 as a precautionary measure within the potential elk restoration area.