REGIONAL— Minnesota hunters had registered a total of 165,124 whitetail deer as of 7 a.m. on the day after the end of the regular firearms deer season. The final total is likely to be a bit higher, as additional registrations trickle in over the next few days.

A few special hunts, including the muzzleloader season, will bring additional harvest, but it appears that the total take will come in well under 200,000 deer, which was the target set by the Department of Natural Resources in 2018. It appears the harvest may also be down slightly from the 188,706 deer that hunters registered last year, and possibly much lower in parts of the North Country.

Hunters in northern St. Louis, northern Lake, and Koochiching counties continue to run below last year’s tally. As of Monday morning, just ahead of the Timberjay’s early holiday deadline, hunters had registered the following numbers by permit area, according to the DNR:

108: 1,046 (1,085 in 2018)

117: 28 (23)

118: 722 (796)

119: 351 (457)

130: 221 (420)

176: 960 (1,709)

177: 1,081 (1,459)

178: 1,624 (2,777).