Sunday, November 17, 2013

Minnesota Monday: 10 Facts About Deer Hunting

This past week was the rifle season for deer hunting in central Minnesota. For nine days hundreds of thousands of men, women, and youth take to the fields and forests of Minnesota and harvest over 100,000 deer. It's quite an event!
I don't know of anyone in Minnesota whose life isn't impacted by deer hunting. It's a family tradition for many of us, with tales of deer hunting camp told for years. I still hear stories about my great-grandfather, who passed away when I was young. It's a great time for multi-generational gatherings--even if you don't hunt. Just this year my twelve year-old niece and nephew hunted with their dads.

In honor of deer hunting, I thought I'd share ten fun facts I discovered about deer and hunting on the Minnesota DNR website.
  • Adult female white-tailed deer weigh about 145 lbs., males 170 lbs. – the average weight of female and male humans.
  • The biggest white-tailed deer ever recorded was a 500-pound Minnesota buck.
  • A whitetail’s home range is about one square mile.
  • Minnesota’s deer population is about 1 million deer. Texas is No. 1 with 3.5 million deer.
  • Last year’s total deer harvest was 186,000.
  • Minnesota has averaged deer harvested 200,500 deer during the last five years. The Midwestern state with the largest deer harvest is Michigan at 425,000.
  • More than 725,000 deer hunting licenses and permits (all types) were sold in 2012.
  • Nearly 500,000 deer hunters in Minnesota.
  • Salaries, wages, business owner income – $127 million.
  • Number of directly supported jobs – 3,760.
Your Turn: Do you hunt? How popular is deer hunting where you live?

12 comments:

  1. I don't hunt, but it's very popular in Iowa, too. My parents live a few miles outside of town (wait, you've been there!) and they always have deer running past the cornfield in front of their house or the ravine area in back. :) Pretty sure the last thing they always say to me when I leave the house after visiting is "Watch out for deer!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's very common for people to say "Watch for deer!" here, too. :) And we usually see quite a few on our ride home. Your parents have a beautiful home--I can just imagine how much wildlife they see out their windows!

      Delete
  2. Don't hunt, but all the men in my family did when I was a kid. School was out in WV for the whole week of Thanksgiving because it was also when deer season started.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's funny, Sarah! I'm not a hunter, either, but the men in my family always go.

      Delete
  3. I hunt and it's pretty popular in Kentucky. I mostly hunt during muzzle load season. My sister bow hunts. My dad hunts during muzzle load season and rifle season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are quite a few different hunting season in Minnesota, as well. Bow, muzzle load, and rifle. My father-in-law and brothers-in-law also hunt most of them. My mother-in-law calls herself a deer hunting widow! :)

      Delete
  4. Wow, that's a LOT of deer! Texas is overpopulated right now -- to the point where hunting them on smaller property within spread out neighborhoods is encouraged. Tis the season to wear bright orange if you go hiking through the woods here. I had no idea Minnesota had so many deer. Thanks for the interesting info!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My son has 2 trail cameras in his garden,just because he wants to follow the deer.Thanks for info!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Interesting blog. This is one of my favorite blog about hunting and I also want you to update more post like this. Thanks for sharing this article.

    Best Reloading Equipment

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deer beds were scattered throughout the patch, and the deer were devouring the plants. Deer Scents

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great knowledge, do anyone mind merely reference back to it Backcountry hunting

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. Best backpacking stove

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are my favorite part of blogging!