Deer registration gets easier for most Minnesota hunters

For Minnesota's 500,000 deer hunters, it's one of the biggest changes to come along in decades.

This fall, for the first time, most hunters can register their deer via phone or computer -- though they'll still also be able to do so at big game registration stations around the state.

"We're trying to make things more convenient for our hunters," said Lou Cornicelli, Department of Natural Resources big game program leader. About 40 percent of the 10,000 deer killed so far this fall by archery hunters have been registered via phone or computer. "And a lot of people don't know about it yet," he said.

Turkey hunters first tried it out last spring.

"It's pretty slick," said Cornicelli. "It takes about 30 seconds on the computer and 45 seconds on the phone. Our initial feedback has been good."

Not everyone is thrilled. Some businesses that are longtime deer stations fear their cash registers won't ring as much if fewer hunters come in to register their kill. "We understand there'll be reduced traffic in some businesses," Cornicelli said. But, he said, the benefit to hunters outweighs that. Other states that use the system, including Iowa and Missouri, love it, he said.

The phone number (1-888-706-6367) and web address (www.mndnr.gov/gameregistration) to register deer are listed on deer licenses.

Register in person Not all Minnesota deer hunters will be able to use the phone or Internet registration. Deer permit areas in the northwest bovine TB management zone (permit areas 101, 105, 111, 203, 208, 267 and 268) and in southeastern Minnesota (338-349) where antler-point restrictions are in place this year, will have to register their deer the old-fashioned way. So, too, will hunters in permit area 287 in Itasca State Park. For more information on how to register deer, see www.dnr.state.mn.us/hunting/deer/harvestreg.html.

Another big change The other major deer hunting changes are in the southeast, where bucks must have at least one four-point antler to be legal for harvest, and party hunting for bucks is no longer allowed. The changes are only in deer permit areas 338-349; youths 10 to 17 are exempt from the antler-point restriction, and adult hunters can't tag a buck for youth hunters. The regulations are intended to increase the proportion of mature bucks and still effectively manage the deer population, Cornicelli said. They also are expected to increase the number of antlerless deer harvested. "Hunters still can take and tag antlerless deer for others in their party," he said.

Stamp sales down Despite what has been considered a pretty good pheasant hunting season, sales of Minnesota pheasant stamps are down 5 percent from last year. The DNR has sold 88,126 stamps, or 4,882 fewer than at this time last year. Meanwhile, the DNR has sold 84,057 duck stamps, down 2,037 (2.4 percent) from last year.

Did you know? • A 10-point buck and a 12-pointer were found dead recently with their antlers locked together near Worthington. The fatal fight occurred in a field of standing corn. "Judging from the extremely large area of corn that had been leveled, the battle had raged on for a very long time," reported conservation officer Gary Nordseth.

• Hunters shot 2,623 bears this fall, down about 6 percent from 2009.

• Hunters in the early antlerless season last weekend bagged 1,297 deer. And about 2,500 youngsters killed 632 deer in the youth hunts in southeast and northwest Minnesota.

• A woman fishing on Lake Minnetonka recently told officer Aaron Kahre that her fishing license endorsement was on the back of her new driver's license. After being told that was impossible, she admitted to not having a fishing license.