Firearms deer season report: Carlson
Although the firearms deer season happens every year, one never really knows just what to expect. Without a doubt, deer success can vary greatly from year to year.
With that said, it is important to note that most of the deer that are harvested each year are taken during the early part of the season. After the first three or four days, deer kill numbers go down.
This is partly due to the fact there are fewer people hunting later in the season and partly due to deer finding a safe haven for hiding.
Weather is always a major factor in deer season success. Deer move around better when the weather is cool. Cool weather also seems to increase the rut breeding activity that keeps them roaming during daylight hours.
One of the worst weather conditions for deer hunting is heavy wind. That is exactly what happened on Sunday of last weekend. Many parts of our state were recording wind gusts over 50 mph. Deer do not like to move when there is heavy wind. They cannot hear and they cannot smell.
When I made my contacts for reports, every single person commented on the wind. The deer that were taken were basically harvested on Saturday.
Steve Taylor, who hunts north of Brainerd, reported slow hunting with only one buck taken during the weekend. He also commented that there were not nearly as many hunters out and about this year. There was very little shooting that took place around them.
Duane Radeke hunts farm property east of Milaca. He reported seeing lots of small deer on Saturday but nothing that he was interested in harvesting. He did note that the remodeled hunting cabin, expanded deck and great food were keeping people happy.
Although Jerry Hayenga did not hunt this year, the people he talked to in Park Rapids, Long Prairie and Osakis all saw deer and got numerous bucks.
Greg Klinefelter and his party hunt near the Wisconsin border. Although they saw deer on Saturday, the wind made hunting tough on Sunday.
Brian Corrigan’s group went three for five with his 15-year-old grandson Joe shooting his first deer. The first deer is always special and a real memory maker.
— This is the opinion of outdoors columnist Jerry Carlson. Contact him at jerrycarlson@cloudnet.com.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Firearms deer season report: Carlson