If anyone knows anywhere within a couple hours' drive of here where I could hunt -- rifle or shotgun zones -- with even a decent chance of SEEING a deer, please let me know. Private land would be the holy grail, but I'll take any suggestion.

My three trips to the Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area in the last three years have been bad, worse, and abysmal. Too many hunters, too much swamp.

Help a poor city boy from New York have a genuine Minnesota outdoors experience! Do it for the children!

Thanks!

Andrew

Andrew:

My son Matt was up near Mille Lacs the first weekend. They shot 6 deer for 7 hunters.

You'll have to go north now that the season ended here in shotgun country.

The muzzle-loader season is statewide, I think...

jb

metro season is through 11/30 with either gender.

I declined a guy's offer of $100 per PERSON to hunt his private land near the metro

This will help explain what public areas you can hunt.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/tips/locations.html

This will show you where the areas you can hunt are.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/compass.html

I've never hunted public land, it sounds like a pain in the ass. I might try Pheasant hunting on public land.

I've hunted public land, but only way up north. It's always been pretty deserted.

The public land that I know of is dead this year. I am sort of wondering if I should even go out in the cold.

Next year, sign up for the special permit hunt at Nerstrand Big Woods. It's close to the cities and they have this ongoing problem of too many deer.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/ ... index.html

I'm not sure where or when you have to apply for the permit.

Go North young man! WAY north. We go up on public land north of Virginia, and apparently that wasn't far enough as we only bagged one deer (my son's first deer on his first hunt carrying a gun). Everyone else got skunked.

There are deer up there - just have to get in front of them. On the other hand there are very few hunters to move them around - mostly due to my BIL and I needing to sit with our son's who can't hunt alone yet.

LONG drive though, about 4.5 hour trip from our place. One is tempted to just hit one on the way up and save on gas and ammo expense though.

Good luck

Mostly-

...excuse me while I jump on soap box for a moment..."this really pisses me off. $100/person? I used to believe that hunters/outdoors folks were some of the last 'good folk' left. very disappointing....off soap box now.

...not that I have land, but if I did, you could hunt there in exchange for one good set of tenderloins!