ST PAUL, Minn. — It will be less than three weeks until hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans will don blaze orange and scour forests and fields across the state in search of a buck or doe.

The official deer firearms season opens Saturday, Nov. 8, and the Minnesota DNR on Monday offered a forecast of sorts for the 2025 season, breaking down their scouting report into regions. Here is what hunters should know, according to the DNR's field agents and deer management team.

Southern Minnesota

Deer populations continue to increase in southern Minnesota, and deer fared well over last year’s mild winter. Summer-long flooding during the fawning and fawn rearing season likely had minimal impact on the population, but has significantly changed floodplain habitat and pushed deer to more upland area

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