Minnesota archery hunters set to begin season this weekend

It’s an exciting time of the year for archery deer hunters as they look forward to Minnesota’s archery deer season that runs from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Thursday, Dec. 31.

“Archery hunters benefit from having a long season to get out into the woods and fields, experience the change of seasons, and see deer and have opportunities to harvest them,” said Paul Burr, deer coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We encourage hunters to take advantage of opportunities to harvest antlerless deer, which are abundant in much of the state.”

Deer hunting is critical for deer population management. While parts of northern Minnesota continue to experience lower deer numbers than in recent decades, many areas need help reducing local deer populations. In the areas with an abundance of deer, hunters are allowed to harvest multiple antlerless deer.

“Hunting helps balance the size of local deer herds with the available natural forage and habitat conditions,” Burr said. “Early in the archery season is a great time to go out and harvest a doe or two.”

Many archery hunters do harvest antlerless deer. In 2025, 55% of archery-harvested deer were antlerless, and archery hunters were responsible for one-fifth of all antlerless deer harvested in Minnesota. Last year, 30,043 deer were harvested during Minnesota’s archery season, which is an all-time high for the state. Roughly half of those deer were harvested with crossbows, and the other half with vertical bows.

ELS updates in effect this season

Archery deer hunters are reminded that changes in how hunters buy licenses, validate harvests and register harvests are in place for all hunters in all seasons with the new electronic licensing system the Minnesota DNR launched in June.

There are three ways to buy a license (mobile app, online, or in person from a license agent) and three ways to carry it (paper, PDF, or stored in the app). Customers can access the new system on the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/buyalicense) or by searching “Minnesota DNR Licensing” in the Apple or Google app stores. In-person license agents can be found on a map on the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/licenses/agents-map.html).

When hunters purchase their license, they will choose if they want to validate a future harvest using the mobile app, or a paper tag. Then they will be able to register the deer in person, online or using the mobile app.

“We are encouraging hunters to buy their licenses early and get familiar with the process of validating and registering harvests this year,” Burr said.

The process on how to validate and register a harvest is detailed on pages 28-29 in the regulations booklet (mndnr.gov/regulations/hunting).

Hunters who are validating harvests using the mobile app are reminded to make sure they are logged into the app before leaving for their hunt. This allows the hunter to validate their harvest in the field even if they are out of cell service range. Once the hunter is back in cell service, the app will then send the harvest data.

CWD testing reminders

Hunters should check chronic wasting disease requirements, including new carcass disposal rules, and available sampling options for the deer permit areas where they hunt, on the Minnesota DNR CWD webpage (mndnr.gov/cwd).

Archery hunters should note that self-service sampling stations will only be available during the opening weekend of firearms deer season within the 2026 CWD surveillance block. And within the surveillance block, testing is mandatory for archery hunters during the opening weekend of firearms season. Information about the different ways to get deer tested for CWD is available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/cwd/cwd-testing.html).

Blaze clothing requirements and safety reminders

Archery hunters are reminded that blaze orange or blaze pink clothing is required during the youth and early antlerless seasons from Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18, and during any other open firearms deer season.

Since archery season overlaps with small game firearms season, hunters should wear an article of blaze clothing when hunting on public land to ensure they are visible to other hunters in the field.

Hunters are strongly encouraged to be safe when using tree stands, with more information on tree stand safety (mndnr.gov/safety/treestand/index.html) available online.

In addition, deer hunters, including archery hunters, who are hunting deer in a fabric or synthetic ground blind on public land must have a blaze orange safety covering on top of the blind that is visible from all directions, or a patch made of blaze orange material that is at least 144 square inches (12×12 inches) on each side of the blind.

Tips and information

Hunters can learn more about what to expect this deer season in an upcoming webinar at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Registration is required. Register and find more details on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/discover). If you are unable to attend the live webinar, it will also be recorded and posted on that webpage. Registration is not required to view the recorded webinar.

Detailed information for every deer permit area, including last year’s harvest, hunters per square mile, public hunting ground, and land cover types, is available through the interactive deer map (mndnr.gov/deermap) by selecting “DPA Details.” Deer hunting regulations are available on the Minnesota DNR’s deer hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/deer) and in the hunting and trapping regulations booklet.