From the Duluth News Tribune
published Oct. 5, 2008
If license sales are any indication, deer hunters in part of Northeastern Minnesota are excited about the upcoming early antlerless firearms deer hunt.
The hunt, Oct. 11-12, is being held to bring deer populations closer to goals set by the Department of Natural Resources. This is the first time an early-season firearms antlerless hunt has been held in Northeastern Minnesota. It will be held in permit areas 178, 180, 181 and 182, bounded roughly by Duluth, Floodwood, Hibbing, Virginia, Brimson and Silver Bay. Licenses still are available.
“We’re doing really good on selling licenses for the early antlerless season,” said Tasha Stewart of Chalstrom’s Bait and Tackle just north of Duluth.
After buying a basic firearms or muzzleloader license, a hunter can buy one or two $7.50 permits, each good for tagging one antlerless deer. Most hunters are buying two tags, Stewart said.
The license-buying rush was Sept. 3-4 at Fisherman’s Corner, Alex Kusch said. For some reason, hunters thought they needed to buy them Sept. 4, the deadline for hunters seeking doe permits in lottery permit areas. While that wasn’t true, it motivated a lot of hunters to buy licenses early.
“I still think there will be another rush that Friday night before the season,” Kusch said.
At the Bear’s Den in Twig, owner Rob Parrott has received lots of calls about the hunt.
“We’ve had a lot of interest. I’m getting a lot of calls from adults wanting to take their kids out when the weather’s nice and there are fewer hunters in the woods, a safety thing,” Parrott said.
The season is getting a lot of chatter in the Virginia area.
“It’s been talked about a lot,” said Vaughn Herhusky of the Lucky Seven in Virginia. “It’s more talk than licenses. We’re selling licenses for it, but it’s not a rush. Most hunters are in favor of it [the two-day season] because the deer population is so high.”
“That was the No. 1 thing in the public input meetings — people said there were too many animals,” said Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, referring to deer stakeholder meetings held by the Department of Natural Resources. “And if folks don’t want all the venison, they should remember the venison donation program.”
Hunters need to be aware that the weather could be warm, and they need to make plans to care for any deer they kill, Parrott said.
“I know a lot of people are going to want to shoot an animal, then sit there and wait for another one,” he said. “If it’s above 60, I’d suggest they either get it gutted and get some ice in the body cavity or get it to a processing center. It doesn’t take that long to taint the meat.”
The Bear’s Den is one of several processing businesses that will be available to take hunters’ deer that weekend.
The early firearms hunt is superimposed over the ongoing bowhunting season, which opened Sept. 13 and continues through Dec. 31. Most bowhunters still will go into the woods when firearms hunters are out, said John Chalstrom of Chalstrom’s Bait and Tackle. They’ll have to meet the same blaze-orange requirements that firearms hunters do on that weekend rather than wearing their customary camouflage clothing.
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