Deer opener roundup

Alexandria: According to Denise Freese of Christopherson's Bait, about 20 deer were registered, about average compared with recent years. By Saturday afternoon, it was hard to tell whether a lot of hunters had registered their deer online. "We won't be able to get a feel for it until the weekend is over," she said. "There's going to be a certain amount of people that don't really go on the computer and are kind of used to doing it a certain way."

International Falls: Don Thomas of the Outdoorsman's Headquarters had registered only four deer by Saturday afternoon, which is below average compared to past years. "A lot of them can call from the field and register and it's such a nice day that a lot of the hunters are still at their shacks," he said. Of the four deer Thomas had registered, two were bucks, including an 8-pointer.

Brainerd area: Buck Weidell at Weidell's Trustworthy Hardware in Brainerd said the weather for the opener was "nice now, although a little cold this morning." Weidell reported that many hunters were registering their deer online or by calling them in, with only about 20 or 25 hunters registering in person. "That's about half of what we had last year," he said. Weidell said a few of those hunters brought in 8-point bucks, and he saw some decent-sized deer at the large-buck contest being held by the Green Lantern Bar across the street.

Duluth: Chalstrom Bait & Tackle was very busy on Saturday, registering 37 deer by 5 p.m., about normal compared with other openers. "We've had nice ones come in, we really have," Sue Chalstrom said. "Nothing gigantic. There's been some 8- and 10-pointers around 200 pounds," she said.

New Ulm area: Mick Domeier of Twin Rivers Outfitters said the weather was nice for a deer opener although a little windy. By Saturday evening, 24 deer, including two exceptional 8-pointers and one 11-pointer, had been registered. Domeier said the number of registrations was down. "But we've got to see what tonight brings," he said. "I know that hunters are registering online and by phone."

Red Wing area: Eric Eichorn at Ike's Bait and Tackle in Red Wing reported he had registered about 15 deer, about half the number he saw last year. "It's been slower this year because of the DNR's antler point restriction," Eichorn said. The DNR is requiring that bucks taken in Zone 3, covering the southeast part of the state, have at least one four-point antler to be harvested. Eichorn reported warm but windy conditions and said the largest deer he helped register was a 12-pointer.

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